Paul Schmoelzer: There is friendly sporting atmosphere at XV Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku

There is an atmosphere of friendly sporting competition here in Baku, Austrian gymnast Paul Schmoelzer said, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the XV Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku.

"It's my first time in Baku, and I like it very much here. This is a very beautiful country, I hope we will be able to see more of the city after the competition,” he said in the first place.

"Baku has a wonderful, absolutely new and modern arena. We were accommodated very close to the arena, so it’s easy to get there. In general, the tournament is well organized and well thought out," the Austrian gymnast appreciated.

"All worthy gymnasts came to Baku. It is very important that there is a friendly sporting atmosphere here. Let's say, the guys from the other team helped lift me to the rings. I thanked them, of course, and asked them how they were doing. This also makes the Baku competition more positive and significant," Paul Schmoelzer concluded.

The XV Summer European Youth Olympic Festival is being held in Baku on July 21-27. The festival will be attended by more than 3,900 athletes from 48 European countries. Athletes will compete in ten kinds of sports - gymnastics, athletics, basketball, cycling, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. In total, athletes will compete for 135 sets of medals.