The quality of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation's organisation of competitions exceeds all expectations, Dutch gymnast Epke Zonderland said, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza after performing in the horizontal bar exercise qualification at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Baku.
"It's my first time in Baku, and I am impressed by the organization and the arena. I did not know what to expect. I heard that the First European Games were held at the highest level - but I didn’t expect that these competitions will be just as great," the Dutch athlete admitted.
"The organization and the arena in Baku are amazing, like it's not the World Cup, but the World Championship. Our hotel is also good, we have a very comfortable shuttle bus to the arena. It's really impressive," Epke Zonderland stressed.
The athlete expressed hope that after the main competitions he will have time to to see more of Baku. "I haven’t seen the city yet, only through the bus window. Maybe on the last day we will look around the city, since the competitions end quite early and after them we will have time to see Baku," he concluded.
The FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup is held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku on March 14-17. According to the new rules, the World Cup is a qualifying event for Tokyo-2020 Summer Olympic Games. 170 gymnasts from 41 countries will contest medals at the tournament.
