Tia Sobhi: AGF turns gymnastics tournaments into colorful shows

The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation turns every international tournament into a very beautiful and colorful show, Egyptian gymnast Tia Sobhi said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza after performing in in the qualifying competitions of the 37th World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Baku.

“This is my third time here and this is my first World Championship. I really like the way the AGF holds competitions - each time they make a beautiful and colorful show, and organization is always perfect,” she said.

“I also like the way trainings are organized - each gymnast always has enough time. It’s easy to train, since the training hall has very good platform,” she added.

The 37th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships will last until Sept. 22. The first day of the competitions will see qualifications in an individual program, and gymnasts will perform in the exercises with a hoop and a ball. 

The Championships are the qualification competition for the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo in 2020. So, the first 16 individual gymnasts (max. two gymnasts per country) in the all-around ranking will qualify for the Games.

More than 300 gymnasts from 61 countries will compete for nine sets of medals. “Fairy Tales will come to life" is the motto of the championships.