Azerbaijani grandmaster Vugar Asadli has arrived at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand as captain of Qatar's men's national team.
Speaking to İdman.Biz's correspondent in Uzbekistan, Asadli said that despite leading another country's team, he is supporting Azerbaijan and hopes the national team can achieve success at the tournament.
"Of course, I support our team. The match against Armenia is very important. Our team have a good chance of winning a medal. I hope we will achieve a successful result. It is a source of pride to see our chess players at such a prestigious competition. I wish all our players the best of luck," he said.
The grandmaster also commented on Azerbaijan's 2:2 draw with India.
"India are currently one of the top three teams in the world. You could even say they are one of the strongest teams. It is very difficult to play against them. In my opinion, a 2:2 draw was a good result for us."
Asadli said he had not been able to follow all of the Azerbaijani women's team's matches but stressed that the team have shown progress in recent years.
"Our women have been producing good results lately. When you watch them play, you can see that they are working hard and improving. It is impossible to succeed at every tournament. The main thing is for them to improve their ratings and achieve better results in future competitions."
Asadli named Uzbekistan as one of the main favourites to succeed at the Olympiad. Among the Azerbaijani players, he particularly highlighted the potential of Mahammad Muradli and Aydin Suleymanli.
Asadli represented Azerbaijan's third team at the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku. Ten years later, he has returned to the Olympiad in a new role as captain of Qatar's men's national team.
Araz Khalilli
