The FIG World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics, which will be held on March 5-6 at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, will contribute to the development of this type of gymnastics in Azerbaijan, the Vice-President of the European Union of Gymnastics, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, Farid Gaibov, said in an interview with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.
He noted that this event is part of a series of international gymnastic competitions, which take in Baku this year. "The World Challenge Cup in Artistic Gymnastics was held two weeks ago, this week we are holding the World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics and the World Cup in Rhythmic Gymnastics will be held in July," the vice-president of the European Union of Gymnastics said.
He stressed that the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation aims to maximize its opportunities for the competition, especially possibilities of the National Gymnastics Arena.
"In recent years we have introduced three new types of gymnastics, so we have seven types recognized by the International Federation. Trampoline is one of them, and we already have some achievements in this type of gymnastics. In particular, our gymnast Ilya Grishunin won a bronze medal at the First European Games in 2015," Farid Gaibov reminded.
The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation is interested in the development of trampoline gymnastics, as it is an Olympic sport. "Tournaments raise interest to gymnastics: every time after this kind of competitions we receive hundreds of calls and Facebook messages. One of the main tasks of the Federation is the development of all kinds of gymnastics, and we do everything to ensure that this World Cup to be held at a high level, so that we can conduct annual international competitions in trampoline gymnastics in Azerbaijan," the Secretary General of the Federation said.
Baku awaits the arrival of the famous trampoline gymnasts at the World Cup. "Olympic silver medalist, Russian gymnast Dmitry Ushakov, will arrive. It will be attended by very strong Belarusian athletes, including the world championship medalist Vladislav Goncharov. Sebastian Martini from France, Andrei Yudin and Mikhail Melnik from Russia, all of them are winners of the world championship as well. Among girls there will be also strong gymnasts, for example, Ekaterina Khilko from Uzbekistan, Tatiana Petrenya from Belarus, Natalia Moskvina from Ukraine and Yana Pavlova from Russia. In general a sufficiently strong composition will be presented at the World Cup: it is a kind of test for European athletes before the European Championships, which will be held in Spain in late March, because there will be no major competitions between these tournaments," Farid Gaibov said, adding that gymnasts will arrive from other continents, including Australia and America.
"Of course, we believe in our athletes and we hope for a medal, but it will be very difficult to win it. Ilya Grishunin, who performed in Baku well, is in a good shape now, it was clear from the control training, but he has to deal with a pressure. Trampoline is a very unpredictable sport. Of course, our other athletes also have chances for medals, for example, Svetlana Makshtarova, who is our team leader, but, again, it all depends on their mood. As you know, everything is easier at home, but the voltage will be also higher," the Vice-President of the European Union of Gymnastics, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation drew attention.
The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, for its part, has created all conditions for training and development of the trampoline team. "We are young here, the Federation is developing this sport in Azerbaijan for only two years. We have serious plans: the World Cup in Baku and the forthcoming European Championship. Then gymnasts will have to prepare for the next year, for the new Olympic cycle. In general, we are pleased with current team," the Secretary General of the Federation concluded.
