"Baku Flames team, especially the youth, performed very strongly in the tournament."
Zaur Mammadaliyev, coach of Azerbaijan's Baku Flames hockey team, told Idman.biz.
He commented on the performance of our representative at the second international tournament ADIHIC Cup held among Islamic countries in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. According to Mammadaliyev, the young people in the team showed themselves very well: "This is their first international tournament. They showed themselves at a high level in every respect. This is a great honor for Azerbaijan. A new team, a new sport did not mislead us. The team made us happy with a good result."
Mammadaliyev also announced the latest status of the newly created hockey national team in Azerbaijan: "This sport is new in our country. It's not a cheap sport either. Because all the equipment - clothing, protectors, hockey sticks, etc. it is expensive. Not everyone can afford it. But something can be done with sponsor support. We should have a national team in the future. For now, it is too early to talk about the national team in 1-2 years. After a certain period of time, the accumulation will begin to form. It will take at least 4-5 years for this team to participate in the international tournament."
He said that his main goals are to hold competitions in this sport in Baku and to participate in international tournaments: "This year we planned to hold cup competitions in the capital. However, Baku was not fully ready for this, so we postponed it. We are thinking of holding this race in April 2025. Later, we plan to hold it traditionally in our country. We want more local children in the national team. In my opinion, it would be better if not one, but several hockey teams operate in Azerbaijan. Because competition is necessary. It is not enough for the children to train with each other and have a meeting. Another way is to compete with other teams by sending the team to tournaments often."
It should be noted that Baku Flames team won all matches in group B within the tournament and qualified for group A.
Banuchichek Huseynli
Idman.biz
