"Nikita Simonov seemed almost ideal. It was probably the best performance of his career."
Idman.biz reports that Ruslan Irgashev, the head coach of the Azerbaijan national team in sports gymnastics, said this.
He evaluated the historic achievement of Nikita Simonov, who won a silver medal at the European Championship held in Rimini, at the welcoming ceremony of the national team at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport: "He worked hard and fulfilled the entire program. We were not lucky enough to get a license for the Olympics in Doha. This is what happens in sports. So we didn't do something properly. We will continue to work. At the European Championship, Simonov looked very good, he deserved the gold. But we were fighting against the Olympic champion Eleftherios Petrunias, who won the European gold for the 7th time. The human factor also plays a role here. Nikita got silver. But I am sure that in the future he will fight for a higher medal at the European Championship."
Irgashev said that the athlete is in top form: "We had special preparations for the Olympics. He is in his prime and if he had won a license, he would have increased it even more to win an Olympic medal."
The head coach also touched on the state of the national team: "There are young people like Mansur Safarov and Rasul Ahmadzada. They gradually approach the leaders. But they still have to perform a lot and gain experience. I hope that over time they will rise to a good level."
The expert clarified the upcoming plans: "Nikita Simonov and Ivan Tikhonov will probably rest now. They have already participated in 7 competitions. It's too much and athletes need to recover. The young people will probably go to the World Cup in May."
Zaki Feyzullayev
Idman.biz
