The Azerbaijani national tennis team will strive for maximum results at the forthcoming 4th Islamic Solidarity Games on May 12-22, the head coach of the national team Yalchyn Manafov said, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza. Yesterday, the courts for holding the tennis tournament of the Islamic Solidarity Games were presented in the capital of Azerbaijan. All of them are located in the Tennis Academy in Baku, the main court can accommodate up to 1500 people. In addition, there will be 5 more reserve courts and 5 courts for training.
First of all, Manafov stressed that training of Azerbaijani athletes for the Islamic Solidarity Games is being held at the highest professional level. "Training exercises were started three weeks ago. All Azerbaijani tennis players will gather in Baku on May 10, on the eve of the draw, which will be held on May 11," the head coach of the team said.
"The main goal of the Azerbaijani national tennis team is to perform well," Yalchin Manafov noted.
According to him, the development of tennis in Azerbaijan is conducted according to the plan. "It is important to understand that one should not wait for an instant result in tennis. It is a specific sports, however, we strive to work in a way that our athletes experience as little developmental difficulties as possible. We expect them to achieve good results at the Islamic Games. It also depends on the work of the coaches and the leadership of our federation, as well as from financing the development of tennis in the country," the head coach of the Azerbaijani team stressed, adding that the Tennis Federation of Azerbaijan will be represented in the republic's regions starting from 2018.
The Islamic Solidarity Games will help increase the popularity of tennis in the country, Yalchin Manafov expects. "When we have tennis tournaments, getting wide coverage in the media, people have become increasingly interested in this sport," he believes.
The coach of the men's team Boris Bevanda, in turn, noted that the leadership of the Tennis Federation of Azerbaijan does a lot for the development of tennis in the republic. "Previously, this sport was practically not represented in Azerbaijan, but now the situation is much better," the coach said.
He encourages his wards to win medals. "We expect to win medals. Of course, we need to work hard. We have just started, but I think that over the next year or two, Rasul Gojayev will be an excellent player - he has the skills to do it," Boris Bevanda stressed.
