Rustam Alimli: "We could have performed better at the European Cup"

Rustam Alimli, the head coach of the Azerbaijan national team of young male judokas, shared his thoughts on the European Cup held in Berlin, the capital of Germany.

The expert gave an explanation to "Report" about this.

He said that they participated in the European Cup for the third time:

"These competitions give tickets to European and world championships. Our athletes gain ratings here. This helps us during the draw at the world and European championships. Those in the Top 8 do not face each other in the preliminary rounds. We are trying to ensure that our judokas have more rating points".

R.Alimli commented on the fact that the team, which won 1 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze medals, was the first in the men's competition in terms of the quality of medals among 34 countries:

"We could have performed better than this. On the first day, our judokas lost in three finals. But we don't consider this a big problem. Our main goal is the European and world championships. We must be in full form at those competitions. We will do it. It is gratifying that the competition is very strong in every weight category in our team. 3-4 of our athletes are fighting to win tickets to major tournaments. Where there is competition, results will come. It is difficult for us to make a choice. But we will try to make the right choice and take the strongest to the European and world championships. We have almost determined half of the squad. The other half will continue to compete. The next European Cup will be held on July 5-6 in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. 5 athletes from the main team will go to this tournament".