Azerbaijan's youth weightlifting team returned home on Thursday morning after a successful campaign at the European Championships in Pristina, Kosovo.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the Azerbaijani athletes, who won a total of 15 medals at the competition, received a ceremonial welcome at Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
Azerbaijan Weightlifting Federation (AWF) Vice-President Firdovsi Umudov, national team head coach Sardar Hasanov and the medal winners later spoke to the media.
Umudov stressed that the team's main objective is to represent Azerbaijan with distinction at international competitions.
"We returned from the European Championships with 15 medals after competing with 11 athletes. Last year, we won seven medals at the competition in Spain. This time, Nuray Abilova, Mahammad Rustamli and Kamran Khappayev also returned home with medals. Musab Mammadtagiyev became champion once again, winning by a margin of 17 kg.
"We believe in every one of our athletes and provide equal conditions for all of them. When it comes to representing our country at an international competition, it does not matter which region an athlete comes from. These victories are for our state, our flag and our national anthem.
"For our federation, discipline comes before all results. We are focused not on occasional success but on systematic work," Umudov said.
Head coach Sardar Hasanov highlighted the team's thorough preparation for the championships.
"Together with our senior coach Asif Mammadov and coach Afgan Bayramov, we worked individually with the athletes. Last year in Madrid, we won seven medals with 15 athletes. This time, we competed with 11 athletes and claimed 15 medals. Our main goal is to continue the development of these athletes. For them, everything is only just beginning," Hasanov said.
European champion Musab Mammadtagiyev, who competed in the 70 kg weight category, was pleased with his performance.
"I changed my weight category compared with the previous European Championships. This time I competed at 70 kg, and the tournament was successful for me. I will continue to step onto the platform aiming for victory at future competitions," he said.
Medallist Nuray Abilova admitted that there were some mistakes in her performance but remained satisfied with the result.
"This is sport, and sometimes everything does not go according to plan. Even though it was an international competition, I wasn't nervous. I simply made some mistakes. We will work on them and correct them," Abilova said.
Another medallist, Isa Huseynov, believes he is capable of producing an even stronger performance.
"The result was what I wanted, but I don't consider it my maximum. I could have performed better. Now I want to put these results behind me and prepare for the next competitions. I am grateful to our coaches," he said.
Fakhraddin Allahverdiyev, meanwhile, revealed that he made a technical error on his final clean and jerk attempt.
"I made a small technical mistake. However, this was my first international competition, and I gained a lot of experience. The most important thing is that we returned home with medals," Allahverdiyev concluded.
