The WTT Youth Contender Tbilisi 2026 table tennis tournament in Georgia featured strong competition, with representatives from 25 countries taking part in the international ranking event, which concluded last week.
Azerbaijan national table tennis team head coach Mikhail Timofeyev told İdman.Biz that the coaching staff had expected different results but was generally satisfied with the performances of the Azerbaijani players.
"We expected better results in the semifinals. Now we will analyze all our mistakes and prepare for the next competitions. We hope to perform better in the future. Overall, however, we are satisfied," Timofeyev said.
The coach also spoke about promising national team member Onur Guluzade, whom he personally trains.
"Onur is 15 years old, but at this tournament he competed against players in the under-19 category. It was the first time he had participated in a tournament of this level in this age group, and he achieved this result. We had actually planned to win, but we will continue working on ourselves," he added.
Timofeyev also revealed the national teams' upcoming plans. According to him, Azerbaijan's senior team will travel to China for a training camp at the end of the month, while the youth team will compete in an international tournament in Latvia.
Azerbaijani table tennis players are also scheduled to participate in an Open Championship in Finland in December.
