The World Athletics Championships will kick off in Tokyo on September 13. Azerbaijan will be represented in Japan by just one athlete – Alham Naghiyev, who will compete in the 200 meters.
Maharram Sultanzada, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Athletics Federation, told Idman.biz that the sprinter is currently the team leader.
The official noted that Anna Skidan, who competes in shot put, had qualified for the World Championships but will be unable to participate as she recently became a mother. “As for Alham, he won both the 100m and 200m events at this year’s European Team Championships in Maribor, then became the Balkan champion in Greece and recorded a time of 20.70 seconds in the 200 meters. That is why Naghiyev earned the right to compete in Tokyo,” he said.
Sultanzada added that Naghiyev will start on September 17 and commented on his prospects at the Tokyo championships: “If Alham can replicate this year’s performance of 20.70–20.80 seconds in Tokyo, it would be a very good result. With this time, he could even advance to the next round. For an athlete of his level, this would be a major achievement, as he is the second Azerbaijani sprinter after Ramil Guliyev to achieve such a high mark (20.70 seconds).”
According to the Secretary General, another important competition this season will be the Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia in November. “The team is preparing for that event, but the final roster will be determined after September 22. There are no qualifying standards; athletes are selected based on the World Athletics ranking. For example, in the 100 meters, the top 32 athletes from Islamic Solidarity countries will qualify. In technical events such as triple jump, long jump, and shot put, the number of participants is smaller – only ten in each event, which makes qualification more challenging. Currently, the quota approved by the Islamic Solidarity Games Organizing Committee includes Alham Naghiyev (200m), Lamiya Valiyeva (100m and 200m), Rustam Mammadov and Yekaterina Sariyeva (both triple jump). On the reserve list are Nazim Babayev (long jump, 14th place) and Ismayil Aliyev (shot put, 15th place). Everything will be finalized after September 22.”
Zaki Feyzullayev
Idman.biz
