Xetaq Qazyumov: "I am satisfied with the team's performance, everyone could have reached the podium"

"The victory of the Azerbaijan national freestyle wrestling team in the team standings at the European Championship in Albania is of great importance both for the country and for the athletes themselves."

Idman.Biz reports from Albania that this was stated by Khetag Gazyumov, the head coach of the Azerbaijan national freestyle wrestling team, after the end of the European Championship.

According to the expert, he is satisfied with the team's performance, although he believes that all Azerbaijani athletes could have reached the podium in individual competitions:

"Three gold medals are an indicator of the stable work of the team and the federation. There is nothing new or supernatural here. We just improved the performance in terms of gold medals, and this is very important for us. These children are taken as an example. It is important for others to strive and understand that they are the same people and can achieve the same heights.

We do not have a goal to conquer records. Our task is to identify each athlete and show the maximum. If we demonstrate the maximum of our capabilities, there will be a good result. Everyone could have reached the podium, but some had a very difficult, unfair draw. This is sport. Some made tactical mistakes."

He also noted that the squad for the world championship will remain approximately the same, but changes in one or two weight categories are not excluded:

"We do not have such a large reserve force to think about new people. It is very difficult to train an athlete at this level. It is possible that someone reaches due to their physical qualities, but the moral side is just as important. This is gained by participating in many international competitions."

The head coach also shared his long-term plans:

"First of all, we give preference to Olympic weight categories. We will transfer Ali Tsokaev to the Olympic weight - either lower or higher, so that there is stronger competition. The same applies to other weight categories, so that competition is higher closer to the Olympics."