Azerbaijani gymnasts Aghakazim Rustamov and Samad Mammadli commented on their performances, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the XV Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku.
Aghakazim Rustamov was pleased with his routine. "I did the very best I could in floor exercises, pommel horse and a vault. Perhaps it was my best performance," he admitted.
"I didn’t participate much in major tournaments - it's my third competition, before it I took part in the Azerbaijani championship and another tournament in Hungary. Therefore, of course, I am glad that I didn’t fail, did all my routine, the coach is also glad," the Azerbaijani junior noted.
Aghakazim Rustamov also stressed that the support of Baku fans helps a lot. "Strong rivals from all over Europe came here, so, of course, competing at home and having so much support from fans helps us a lot," he said.
Samad Mammadli, in turn, admitted that he would like to do his routine even better than today. "I know that I can perform vault even better, and the pommel horse too, although in general my showing was as planned, there were good moments. I hit the target, but the sky is the limit," the Azerbaijani junior said.
The gymnast also noted the importance of fan support. "The support of the audience helped me a lot, and I am glad that their expectations were met," he said, adding that he will continue to give 100% at competitions to become a world champion and Olympic champion.
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.
