"Although the competition in the heavy weight categories of the Azerbaijan Championship is relatively low, there was intense competition in the middle weights."
These words were said by Sardar Hasanov, the head coach of the Azerbaijani women's national weightlifting team, while evaluating the concluded national championship.
He stated that the competition was organized at a high level as expected.
"We carefully watched the performances of all participants. There are no miracles in this sport, the result is specifically determined by the weight lifted. Even winning a gold medal is not always the main criterion. The athlete's performance and level of preparation determine his potential for success in international competitions. From this point of view, we definitely involve athletes who show promising results in the national team," he said in a statement to AZERTAC.
The head coach noted that there are promising young people in the team and more work needs to be done for their development:
"The European Championship is ahead of us and our main focus is currently on this competition. At the same time, since the Olympic qualifying stage will start this year, we have structured our preparation process accordingly."
The expert also emphasized that one of the main goals is to adhere to clean sports principles:
"This sport has regressed due to doping scandals in the past. We try to keep athletes away from such cases. The federation leadership is very sensitive to this issue and the control is extremely strict."
S.Hasanov expressed his belief that the team will successfully perform in the upcoming prestigious competitions and represent the country properly: "We will try to justify the trust placed in us."
It should be noted that the Azerbaijan Weightlifting Championship was held on March 14-15 at the Shuvalan Weightlifting Center.