Started off strong, ended in disappointment Azerbaijani athletes’ performance at the Universiade

The 32nd Summer World University Games – commonly referred to as the Universiade – have wrapped up in Germany. Azerbaijan was represented by a 71-strong delegation of athletes competing in 12 disciplines: judo, taekwondo, athletics, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, badminton, table tennis, fencing, archery, beach volleyball, and tennis. However, the word "competed" doesn’t quite apply to all the sports where Azerbaijan had participants.

Looking at the overall performance, it’s fair to say that only the rhythmic gymnasts (specifically the group event team) and, to some extent, the judokas (three out of thirteen athletes) truly competed. The rest – about sixty athletes – were merely present in name. As harsh and bitter as it may sound, that is simply the reality.

Azerbaijan won four medals in total – two gold and two silver. Three of those – two gold and one silver – were earned by our rhythmic gymnastics group, made up of Yelizaveta Luzan, Darya Sorokina, Kamilla Aliyeva, Laman Alimuradova, and Gullu Aghalarzade. It was the first time Azerbaijan had competed in the group event at the Universiade, and right from the start, the girls made history. Standing ovation, indeed! But what about the rest?

Judo – which is being positioned as the flagship of Azerbaijani sports following the Paris Olympics – clearly failed to live up to that status, at least at the Universiade.

Excluding the clear favourite of the competition, Eljan Hadjiev (90 kg), who lost only in the final (it happens — that’s sport), and two athletes who finished fifth (Nariman Mirzayev and Aydan Velieva), the reason why the other 10 “tatami masters” were sent to Germany remains unknown to me. Although before the flight, their confidence seemed to weigh more than Hajiyev’s kilograms!

It was also unclear what our representatives in table tennis, swimming, athletics, tennis, badminton, and beach volleyball were doing in Germany. Where were our archers aiming? In which direction were our rowers paddling? After all, the federations of these sports usually bring their athletes to various competitions, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports always supports them, promptly resolving all issues, including everyday matters… So what was the outcome? In the end, they stood as far from the podium as the football club “Neftchi” is from “Barcelona.”

I can somewhat understand the situation in taekwondo and fencing, where the gap between the team’s top players and the rest is very noticeable. But the fact that in the previously mentioned sports we have been stagnating for years (and often at the very bottom) — I simply don’t understand.

Yes, according to the results of this Universiade, Azerbaijan ranked 24th in the overall team standings, which is much better than the previous Games in China, where our country finished 38th. But considering that medals were won in only two sports, this hardly inspires any optimism.

And yet, just eight years ago, Azerbaijan performed excellently at the Universiade in Taiwan, winning 3 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals. That also brought the team to 24th place—but what a difference in efficiency between those results.

Therefore, Azerbaijan’s final outcome evokes mixed feelings. On one hand, the team climbed an impressive 14 positions; on the other hand… on the other hand, where would we have finished without our gymnasts?

By Vugar Vugarli, exclusively for Caliber.Az