Eliso Bedoshvili: "We very pleased that sport being developed in Caucasus"

This Friday the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup will be opened in Baku. On the eve of the competitions, Vestnik Kavkaza talked with the head coach of the Georgian national rhythmic gymnastics team Eliso Bedoshvili about her expectations of this tournament, as well as about the development of Georgian rhythmic gymnastics.

- How do you assess the level of training of the Georgian team at the World Cup in Baku?

- Preparing for the tournament was not easy: in winter, electricity was cut off from time to time and it was cold in the training hall without heating. Despite this, we were seriously preparing. Our first start was at the World Cup in Tashkent, and I would not call it very successful, because the rules in gymnastics have become more complicated: now it is necessary to synthesize the idea of ​​composition with artistry, showing mastery of an apparatus. But we have non-standard ideas to make both judges and viewers remember us, so we just have to work hard. The World Cup in Baku will allow us to see our weak elements in the exercises, so before the European Championships and the World Championships we have to make our program perfect.

- How do Georgian gymnasts feel themselves in Baku?

- We always feel in Baku like at home, they always nice and warmly welcome us and provide excellent conditions  conditions to prepare for the competition. The girls have the opportunity to train and adjust their program all day long. It is already the second start of this year, and it demands from the gymnasts and me a better result than in Tashkent, because we have to improve, get higher points and make fewer mistakes from start to start. So, we intend to perform better in Baku, especially since the Georgian artistic gymnastics has always been different in its handwriting, we should keep this tradition.

- What is the composition of the Georgian team at the World Cup in Baku?

- Unfortunately, Salome Pazhava could not arrived to this competition, although after the First European Games, where she won a bronze medal in ribbon exercises, she wants to perform in Baku again. She would be happy to be here, but she could not due to her trauma. She will be replaced by Natela Boltaeva and Victoria Shelia, the same girls who performed at the World Cup in Baku last year, that is, we arrived with the same team. In the future, after proper training, they will compete in the next competitions after the European Championships.

- What do you think of support of Baku citizens at the competitions?

- We feel great support from the Azerbaijani fans at the competitions in Baku. That's why we feel at home here, because we are very much supported by both fans, the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, Azerbaijani coaches and gymnasts. At every competition, when we performed here, they applauded us in a special way. It gives a very special emotion from our performances in Baku - the girls come to the platform here in good spirits.

- What are your impressions from the gymnastic infrastructure created in Baku?

- The national gymnastic arena in Baku is a unique building, it has very few analogues in the world. It can be said that other countries should try and make at least one such own arena, because it extremely develops gymnastics, plays a huge role in the growth in skills of gymnasts. Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the development of gymnastics, and such an arena is a huge help.

- How popular is rhythmic gymnastics in Georgia?

- We have built a new gymnastic arena for the World European Festival, and now we are training in new gyms. It is smaller than the arena in Baku, but the very fact that we have started constructing such buildings shows a very good trend in the development of gymnastics in Georgia. First of all, of course, it is the health of the nation. The government is trying to massively involve children in sports, gymnastics, athletics and swimming as basic activities for the development of any kind of sports. And not only in Tbilisi, but also in the regions. They promised to build similar arenas in Batumi and Kutaisi, because we have a lot of sporting events there, especially in the last three or four years - European championships, world championships, Grands Prix, World Cup stages. We are very pleased that sports is being developed in the Caucasian countries, it is very strong and healthy, because the Caucasus is our Motherland.