National athletes awarded

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The traditional meeting with the Azerbaijani medalists of the 1st Baku European Games was held in the National Olympic Committee on June 18.

The winners including gold medalists wrestlers Togrul Askerov at 65kg and Khetag Gazyumov at 97 kg, as well as bronze medalist Jabrayil Hasanov at 74 kg and gold medalist teakwondo fighter Aykhan Tagizada at 68 kg were awarded valuable gifts.

Chingiz Huseynzada, the vice president of NOC, Olympic champions Nazim Huseynov and Rafiga Shabanova as well as Niyameddin Pashayev, the vice president of the Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation attended the ceremony.

Azerbaijan joined the struggle for supremacy in the largest sporting event in Europe with 291 athletes. Azerbaijani athletes are participating in all sports, giving them an opportunity to win medals in all of the competitions.

The team stands at the second place, following Russia with a total of 23 medals, including 11 gold, three silver and nine bronze medals.

Azerbaijani gold medal winners receive 100,000 manats (over $95.300), silver winners are awarded 50,000 manats (over $47,600), and bronze medal winners receive 30,000 manats (over $28,600).

The whole world is following the competition, featuring over 6,000 athletes from 50 European countries who gathered in Azerbaijan on June 12-28. Sixteen of 20 sports at Baku 2015 are Olympic. Twelve of the sports offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which makes these games more attractive for both athletes and fans.