Nine-year-old Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast Yasmin Yusifli, who lives in the United States, is developing an innovative artificial intelligence startup designed to support coaches in elite sport, as reported by İdman.Biz, citing tech.az.
Currently competing in the USA Gymnastics system, Yasmin regularly finishes among the top performers at competitions in California. Her experience as a gymnast has given her first-hand insight into the challenges faced by both athletes and coaches, inspiring the idea behind the project.
The platform is intended to address one of the biggest challenges in rhythmic gymnastics: creating personalised competition routines. Successful routines require coaches to consider not only technical elements but also an athlete's physical abilities, personality, artistic expression, stage presence, music selection, strengths and weaknesses, as well as the latest judging regulations. Bringing all of these factors together demands extensive experience and detailed analysis.
Yasmin's AI-powered platform aims to analyse each gymnast's individual profile and suggest suitable movement combinations, routine structures and performance options. The system would also take into account updates to international gymnastics regulations, automatically reviewing routines and identifying potential issues before competitions.
Another planned feature is automated preliminary scoring of routines. The project is not intended to replace judges or coaches but to provide additional analytical support, helping identify potential risks in a routine and optimise performances before athletes take to the competition floor.
The project's Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is expected to be ready for pilot testing by the end of 2026. During the initial phase, the platform will be tested in real training environments, with feedback from coaches used to further refine the AI model.
Although Yasmin lives in the United States, she hopes to introduce the platform in Azerbaijan first. As part of the project, opportunities for cooperation with the Azerbaijani gymnastics community and the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation are being explored.
"I want to turn everything I've learned at school and in gymnastics in the United States into a project that will benefit Azerbaijan. I am Azerbaijani, and I feel it is my duty to contribute to my homeland," Yasmin told tech.az.
According to Yasmin, artificial intelligence is not designed to replace coaches but to enhance their capabilities. While AI can process vast amounts of data in a short time, coaches remain uniquely equipped to assess a gymnast's emotional state, motivation and individual characteristics. Combining these strengths, she believes, could make the training process more effective.
The long-term goal is to adapt the platform to the regulations and coaching systems of different countries, allowing it to enter the global market.
Yasmin Yusifli's initiative highlights how a new generation of young people is moving beyond simply using technology to creating innovative solutions to real-world problems. At just nine years old, the Azerbaijani gymnast is already working to turn a challenge she has observed in elite sport into an AI-powered solution.
