The competition for qualification for the Paris-2024 Summer Olympic Games continues.
Idman.biz reports that Azerbaijani athletes will try to qualify for the most prestigious multi-sport event of the four-year period in license-type competitions to be held this year.
Wrestling
Two license tournaments await the wrestlers. One of them will be held in Baku. Currently, three of our athletes have won licenses to Paris. Freestyle wrestler Magomedkhan Magomedov (97 kg), "classic" wrestlers Sanan Suleymanov (77 kg) and Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg) won a license for the Olympics at the World Championship held in Belgrade last year. Of course, the main hopes are related to the European qualifying tournament in Baku (April 4-7). Here the finalists will get a license to the games. The last vacant places will find their owners at the World Classification Tournament in Istanbul (May 9-12). There, three wrestlers in each weight class will be able to get a qualifications to Paris.
Boxing
In boxing, the selection for the Olympics also takes place in a multi-stage way consisting of several tournaments. Last year, the athletes qualified for Paris from continental tournaments. Murad Allahverdiyev (80 kg) and Mahammad Abdullayev (+92 kg) coped with this task at the European Games. There are two license tournaments coming up. From February 29 to March 12, license tickets will be available in Busto-Arsizio. In the competition in Italy, the number of licenses for the weights will be different. In some categories, 4, in some 3, in others 2 places will give rights. A similar scenario will be experienced in the final qualifying tournament. This competition will take place in Bangkok from May 23 to June 5.
Judo
In judo, our national team, consisting of men, has coped with their work in almost all weights. It remains to collect the continuation of the rating points in the decisive part so that the positions in the table are not missed. In some weights, several of our representatives cope with this task. This increases the competition even more. Currently, there are 9 contenders for 7 places in the men's national team. These are Balabey Agayev, Turan Bayramov (both 60 kg), Yashar Najafov (66 kg), Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg), Saeid Mollaeı, Zelim Tskayev (both 81 kg), Murad Fatiyev (90 kg), Zelim Kotsoyev (100 kg), Ushangi Kokauri (+100 kg). It seems that the leaders of the team, Heydarov and Kotsoyev, can start preparing for the Olympics.
Leyla Aliyeva (48 kg), Gultac Mammadaliyeva (52 kg) and Acelya Toprak (57 kg) are fighting for licenses in women's judo. The first test of the year will be the Portuguese Grand Prix on January 26-28.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Last year, Zohra Aghamirova completed the task at the World Championship in Valencia. She is preparing for the second Olympics in her career. Now it's the team's turn in group actions. They will participate in the European Championship in Budapest (April 24-28) which is the capital of Hungary that is the final license test. Only one place in this race will qualify for Paris, but most of the leading teams of the continent have already got a license to the Olympics thanks to the last two World Championships. Our team is in some sense the favorite in the fight for the last qualification.
Taekwondo
Our team currently has only one ticket. This was also achieved by Gashim Magomedov (58 kg) in the Grand Slam. Other vacant places must be won in the tournament to be held on March 8-10. We can hope for at least three places there. One of them is possible for men and two for women. Qualifying for the finals of the tournament is required for the minimum position.
Sports gymnastics
In this type of sport, the holders of the qualifications will meet their owners at the World Cup and the European Championship. The license fight in the Cup will be held in separate training sessions. Two athletes in each category will win a qualification to France. This will be determined based on the results of three of the four stages. The last chance will be at the European Championship, which will be held in Rimini from the end of April to the beginning of May. The winner of two places in each of the men's and women's all-around will be determined.
Shooting
Azerbaijani shooters will participate in several licensing tournaments this year. The first such competition will be the European Championship in Györ, Hungary (February 24 - March 3). Here, the owner of 8 tickets to Paris will be determined. The calendar includes the Doha license tournament (April 22-30), the European Championship in Lonato (May 15-27), and the qualification competition in Osijek (June 20-28). In short, athletes will have several chances to cope with the task. Currently, only our shooter Ruslan Lunev's participation in the Olympics has been confirmed.
Weightlifting
Here the selection is made according to the rating. The first Olympic schedule will be based on the standings on April 28. In this way, 10 athletes in each weight will formalize the right to participate in Paris. It is also possible to go to the Olympics with the continental ranking on that date. For this, it is necessary to show results in continental tournaments. The first such competition will be the European Championship in Antalya (February 17-28).
Fencing
Classification in this type will continue until April 1. The main focus is on the female sabre. Here athletes collect points in World and Continental Championships, World Cup and Grand Prix. Depending on the type, 34-37 athletes will compete in France. Currently, Anna Basta is on the 16th place in the ranking. The first tournament of sabre players is the Grand Prix in Tunisia. After that, participation in the World Cup will take place.
Besides, there is also a fight for the team license. The main opponent of our team is the Italians. Passing them in the ranking is required for the qualification to Paris. For this, there are three World Cups ahead. Those competitions will take place in Lima (February 12), Athens (March 3) and Saint Nicholas (March 17).
Trampoline gymnastics
Flying gymnasts have two more chances to qualify for the Olympics. The first such opportunity will be in the World Cup series. The first tournament of the series will traditionally be hosted by Baku (February 23-25). At the end of the series, the three best results will be counted. From 2 to 12 participants in both men's and women's competition can qualify for Paris. Seljan Mahsudova has the opportunity to cope with this task in the coming months. A successful performance in Baku will almost ensure her entry into the Games. The European Championship in Guimaraes, Portugal (April 3-7) will also be licensed.
Triathlon
Rostislav Pevtsov has every chance to participate in the third Olympics. Athletes who take the first 55 places in the ranking get this license. He is currently 45th. Last year, Pevtsov won bronze at the World Cup in Chengdu. He has also collected points in several other tournaments. Pevtsov will continue to compete in competitions this year. The next launch will be in Hong Kong at the end of March.
Basketball 3x3
Our basketball players from team sports keep the chance of Paris-2024. Our national women's 3x3 team will try its strength in the 1st qualification tournament to be held in Hong Kong. Our national team will compete with Hong Kong, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Egypt, Mongolia and Chile for the only qualification. In the 2nd tournament to be held during the year, other teams will compete for the Olympic qualification.
Idman.biz
