"I have never had such conditions, as I have in Azerbaijan"

First of all, I feel big satisfaction. But I cannot say there were some big emotions. I think if there was an award, I will be filled with emotions. But so far it is the satisfaction because we are doing everything right, we are moving to tasks set step by step. It is a feeling of a fulfilled duty”, the sportswoman said. “As for the world championship, I have to note that it was held in a very picturesque place, which gave me more strength and positive emotions. As you know, I had four racings in the world championship, in two of them I performed at half-strength just to reach the next stage. I saved power for the decisive stages. The heaviest was the last racing, since it would have decided whether I will get the Olympic Games or not.

Nonetheless, in your recent racing you have seized leadership from the first meters and did not miss till the end…

Throughout the last race I was completely controlling the situation. The fact is that my sprint features are higher than of other athletes, but long-distance running is worse. And at the beginning of the decisive race I took my sprint qualities to go forward from the start and tried to hold the first place. For example, the Russian representative, who finished second at the first 500meters was losing by two seconds. As a result, this gap remained till the finish. So the tactics chosen for the racing has paid off handsomely.

By the way, the head coach of the Azerbaijani national team in boat racing Rudiger Hauffe said that you made your first step on the way to the Olympic license when you transferred to the national team of Azerbaijan…

I think so too. The fact is that I had played in two and four before, and did not have experience of playing in singles. In Azerbaijan, I was given this opportunity and had all the necessary conditions for this. So I am very happy that we managed to meet the expectations of leaders and admirers of Azerbaijani boat racing. During the season I felt that I have all things on the rise, I saw that I am advancing. I have reached the final of the World Cup, and now I have won the Olympic license. At the first stage of the World Cup, in which I performed among singles, I became 11th and with every regatta, I have added strength, since I gained competition experience in this class of boats. As a result, it all caused the license winning. I have to especially note that Azerbaijani Federation provided me with all necessary conditions to attain success in the international arena. I have never had such conditions in my previous boat racing experience.

So, have you always been striving to perform as singles?

I have been striving to reach this goal after I moved to Azerbaijan. I have always been eager to perform in this very category. I have been in track and fields for 11 years and I was used to play for myself. When I started boat racing, I felt difficulty in team work. When they set me to two or four, it was very difficult to me to cooperate with other sportswomen, because it always seems that your partner takes less efforts than you do, or  does something different. Therefore, I always wanted to perform in singles in order not to depend on anyone. If it is victory, it is my victory, if it is a defeat, it is my fault. Meanwhile, in crews, there are many subjective factors than hamper success.

Are there are plans on preparations for Olympic Games?

There are some ideas. In particular, together with the head coach of the Azerbaijani team, we are planning three training sessions in midlands, at the height of 2000 meters. It is scientifically proven that after trainings in mountains, you get more power in the plains. Therefore, it will be taken into account before Olympic Games during working out a training plan for the next year.


/News.az/