“It’s still too early to say anything about the Azerbaijani team’s lineup for the World Championship in Tokyo, as the qualification phase will continue until August 25,” the Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Athletics Federation, Maharram Sultanzade, told Idman.biz.
He emphasized that although selection for the marathon and race walking events has already concluded, the selection process for other disciplines will continue until the end of the month: “This year, the Islamic Solidarity Games will be held in Saudi Arabia, so most of our athletes are prioritizing preparation for that competition. The chances of reaching the finals and winning medals are higher there. Competing for medals at the World Championships is not yet realistic, but I believe this will change soon.”
When speaking about candidates for the World Championship, he highlighted triple jumpers Yekaterina Sariyeva and Rustam Mammadov, as well as hammer thrower Anna Skidan: “However, Anna Skidan is on maternity leave and preparing to become a mother, so it’s highly unlikely she will participate in the event in Tokyo. It’s very difficult to prepare properly and perform well in such a short time.”
Rustam Mammadov is preparing for the Islamic Solidarity Games: “His coach believes it would be more reasonable to skip the World Championship and focus on the Islamic Games instead. Since the Islamic Solidarity Games will take place in November and the World Championship is scheduled for the second half of September, there will be very little time to prepare for Saudi Arabia after Tokyo. That’s why many athletes are prioritizing the Islamic Games.”
He also noted that the final lineup for the World Championships will be determined after August 25: “In addition to meeting qualifying standards, world rankings will also be considered. We’ll see who can qualify for Tokyo based on ranking. For example, sprinter Alham Naghiyev has emerged as a promising athlete after winning the 100m and 200m races at the European Team Championships in Maribor. He also won the 200m race at the recent Balkan Championships in Greece, setting a new personal record of 20.70 seconds. These are very strong results, and Naghiyev may receive a wild card for the World Championships. We’ll see how it goes.”
Finally, he noted that the Azerbaijani national team is heading to Almaty to compete in the tournament dedicated to the memory of Gusman Kosanov. This tournament has continental tour status and will offer athletes another opportunity to meet the qualifying standards for the World Championships.
Zaki Feyzullayev
Idman.biz
