2024-05-02 06:24:45
The opening ceremony of the international regatta “President’s Cup 2024” in rowing, kayaking and canoeing took place.
The İdman.biz correspondent reports that the event held in Sugovushan was attended by the President of the Azerbaijan Canoeing and Rowing Federation (AKAF) Vugar Akhmedov, Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee Chingiz Huseynzade, Secretary General Azer Aliyev, Head of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Elnur Mamedov and President of the Azerbaijan Cycling Federation Madat Guliyev.
At the opening ceremony of the competition dedicated to the 101st anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev, the National Anthem was performed. Then the participants were introduced to the teams that would take part in the competition.
The head of the sports department of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Elnur Mamedov, who opened the ceremony, wished the participants good luck:
“About 30 teams from 21 countries are participating in the 2024 President’s Cup. This is a record figure in the history of this competition. First, we presented licenses for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games in rowing. This is a great result for us. The last rowing license was obtained in 2016. Therefore, the license received this year is a great success. In this regard, we express our deep gratitude to every employee of the Azerbaijan Canoeing and Rowing Federation.”
AKAF Secretary General Farhad Aliyev emphasized that this year the “President’s Cup 2024” will start in Sugovushan:
“Our competitions will continue on May 2-3 in Mingachevir. A large number of teams are participating in the regatta, dedicated to the blessed memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev. We believe that in 3 days we will see an interesting fight.”
Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee Chingiz Huseynzade recalled that Sugovushan was one of the first liberated areas in the 44-day Patriotic War, and that the first competitions were held here:
“In a regatta where only a few countries participated two years ago, today a large number of teams will compete. I hope that this competition, dedicated to the blessed memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev, will be successful in the coming years and the number of participants will increase. In two and a half months the Summer Olympic Games will begin in Paris. Congratulations to everyone on receiving their license.”
Afterwards he declared the competition open.
More than 20 countries besides Azerbaijan are participating in the 4-day regatta: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
It should be noted that kayak-canoe competitions will be held at the Sugovushansky Reservoir at distances of 200 and 500 m. The regatta will continue on May 2-3 at the Mingachevir Olympic Sports Center “Kur”. Here teams will compete in kayaking, canoeing and rowing.
Banucicek Huseynli
İdman.biz