“Our emotions are very high, but we are trying to stay calm because the swimming competitions will continue for another four days,” Azerbaijani swimmer Fatima Alkaramova said in an interview with journalists after winning the bronze medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Idman.biz reports citing AZERTAC.
She added that the team will continue striving to bring more medals to Azerbaijan: “We did our best in the relay. I believe we will achieve better results in other relays and win medals individually as well.”
Alkaramova emphasized the challenges faced during preparation for the Islamic Solidarity Games: “Our training was tough. The national team has new coaches, and Rashad Abdurahmanov helped us a lot. During the preparation period, we already identified the distances where we could win medals.”
Another team member, Mehri Abdurrahmanli, said that securing third place was very important for the team: “We worked hard for this result. I want to thank everyone who contributed to our success. We have a few more competitions ahead. I am confident our team will perform excellently and increase our medal count, as we have trained seriously for this.”
It should be noted that Azerbaijan is represented by 179 athletes in 20 sports at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games, while 57 countries compete for medals in 23 sports. The closing ceremony of the Games will be held on November 21.
