Report.az
If the draw goes as desired at the VI Islamic Solidarity Games, which will be held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijani table tennis players can win medals.
This was stated by the head coach of the national team, Farhad Ismayilov, in an interview with "Report".
He said that the best table tennis players were invited to the team:
"Both men's and women's teams will travel in an optimal way. The team consists of athletes who took first places in the competitions they participated in. 4 out of 6 are teenagers. We have been paying more attention to teenagers for several years and trying to ensure that they show good results. The children we invited to the team will participate in competitions among adults."
The expert said that they also want to participate in the team competition:
"We don't know exactly whether we will participate in the team competition. Because in terms of rating, the team is in the lower places. Still, we hope that if some team doesn't come, we can replace them. But both women and men will compete in personal, doubles and mixed doubles competitions."
The head coach also shared his thoughts on the opponents:
"Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the strongest rivals. Algeria and Morocco also have good athletes. It will be difficult for us in the individual competition. In doubles and mixed doubles competitions, we will try to achieve high results and return to Azerbaijan with a medal. If the results of the draw are as we want, I hope we can win a medal."
It should be noted that the table tennis competitions of the VI Islamic Solidarity Games will be held from November 8 to 13.
