Fourth stage of World Cup in Baku - best one, says Albanian gymnast

By Trend

The fourth stage of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Baku is the best, Matvei Petrov, Albanian athlete taking part in the competition, told Trend.

"At the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Baku, I perform only on one apparatus - a pommel horse. Today, during the qualification, I made a good combination,” Petrov said. “Despite the fact that the competitions in Baku are the fourth stage of the World Cup, I don’t feel tired here at all. On the contrary, among all stages, my performance in Baku was the best.”

The athlete stressed that he came to the city for the first time to take part in the competitions.

"In Azerbaijan, the organization of competitions is at the highest level. The gymnastics arena is warm, the atmosphere is friendly," he added.

Petrov also commented on the changes in the rules in artistic gymnastics in the new Olympic cycle.

“Unfortunately, the changes in the rules affected the program. For the combination performed by me at the Olympics, the base score was higher than now. However, all athletes are in equal conditions,” he concluded.

FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup is being held from March 31 through April 3 in the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku. Some 145 gymnasts from 34 countries are competing.