The second place of Azerbaijani gymnast Oleg Stepko at the First European Games in Baku in the individual all-round competition provoked only positive emotions, his coach Pavel Netreba told Vestnik Kavkaza.
Pavel Netreba noted that constant and persistent work for seven months helped Stepko to win his silver medal. "Within seven months after the World Cup which was unsuccessful for us, we did not leave the gym, we missed New Year's Eve and all other possible holidays and weekends. We got through a decent load, done a good job, hoping for a medal and we knew that we could do it," he said.
Netreba added that Stepko's silver medal was expected, he showed a good level and, in principle, he could take first place. But he stressed that all the best athletes in Europe competed at the European Games, which increases the value of the medal.
Now one of the main goals is to bring all Stepko's skills to the same level, so that all-round performance is even better, the mentor added. "At the moment, Oleg's best disciplines are the parallel bars, the pommel horse, and the vault. The worst part of all of his sporting life is the horizontal bar. But still there is some progress," the coach said.
According to Netreba, the fan's support helped Stepko in his performance, but on the other hand, it intensified the sense of responsibility.
