Speech by Ilham Aliyev at meeting with the sportsmen who took part in the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London

- Dear friends!

Dear sportsmen!

Dear Olympians!

The short video we have just watched brought before our eyes the unforgettable moments of the Olympic Games. These are really unforgettable moments and this joy of victory was given to us by our athletes.

Azerbaijan is a sports nation in the true sense of the word. This has been confirmed by the Summer Olympic Games in London. Azerbaijan has achieved its greatest Olympic success at the London Games. These Games were joined by more than 200 countries. Azerbaijan has finished in 30th place in this competition. For the total number of medals we are in 24th place. We are 15th among European countries and 3rd among Muslim states. Azerbaijani sportsmen have won 10 medals: two gold, two silver and six bronze. This is really a great and historic achievement. This is a triumph of the Azerbaijan sport and the state of Azerbaijan. This victory had been expected. Seeing our athletes off to London, we had high hopes. Those hopes had a solid foundation because we had worked for many years to achieve this victory. We won our first medal as an independent state in Atlanta, then we won three in Sydney, five in Athens, seven in Beijing and, finally, 10 in London. We have overtaken the countries that have a much bigger population and territory than us.

I want to reiterate that this is a historic victory. It is the victory of our athletes. On behalf of the Azerbaijani state and people I would like to express my deep appreciation to all the athletes – all the athletes who have demonstrated professionalism and love of the motherland. I do hope that we will win more medals in the future. These victories will delight all our people. I want to highlight the athletes who have won medals today. I want to highlight the athletes who have won silver and bronze medals and, of course, our champions Togrul Asgarov and Sharif Sharifov. They have really given our people a lot of joy.

In general, the performance of our athletes at the Olympic Games was a great success. We won our first medal in the first days. So the first medal was won in the first days. In the subsequent days we won more medals. But, of course, the people of Azerbaijan awaited a gold medal. Finally, in the final days of the Games we were able to win two gold medals on the same day.

I want to reiterate that this is a victory for the people of Azerbaijan, the victory of our athletes. I want to stress that and congratulate the athletes. I congratulate their coaches. The coaches have put in tremendous effort. I congratulate all the sports professionals.

Azerbaijan deserves this victory. Azerbaijan is a strong state. And a strong state should have strong sports. As in any area of our life, our victories in sports are the logical result of the work we are doing.

Azerbaijan has a very strong and cohesive sports family. A prudent public policy is carried out in this direction. The implementation of our public policy in the right direction, the work of all agencies responsible for the development of sport as a team, the professionalism of our athletes and their love of the country have made these victories possible.
The National Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, federations, sports associations and clubs – we have all secured these victories. But, of course, the last word in sports arenas is spoken by sportsmen.

I am very pleased that the processes in sport are moving in a positive direction. The development of sport shows the overall development of our country. It is no secret that Olympic Games are the sole representative international event worldwide where countries compete with each other. Of course, there is competition in any other area in the world, and Azerbaijan is always on top in this competition. But in sports this competition manifests itself particularly clearly. This competition in sports manifests itself through the number of medals and rankings. It is no coincidence that each country strives to have its athletes win more medals and secure a higher place in the table. We have achieved that. For a country the size of Azerbaijan 30th place is a historic achievement.

I should also note that we could have won even more medals. Some of our athletes finished just one step short of medals. They too deserved medals. But all of us – both the athletes and the public – are well aware that in some cases the unfairness of the judges did not allow our athletes to win medals of a higher standard. All these events took place before our eyes. But the professional conduct and the dignity of our athletes deserve even more respect.

Even the fact that a victory already won was taken away from them could not break our sportsmen. As they say, this did not affect their feelings. They accepted these unjust decisions with dignity. I am sure that those watching the competition could see who the real winners were.

Most of our athletes are young, they have a great future. I am sure that the athletes who have failed to win medals of a higher standard because of the injustice of judges will remedy that in the next summer Olympics.

I think that the athletes who have failed to win a medal or show a good result should not be upset although we did expect them to win. But this is sport. There are victories and defeats in sport. The main thing is not to allow defeat break you.

The athletes who have not attained the desired result must draw the necessary conclusions, prepare for the next competition more confidently and demonstrate their strength. I am sure it will be so.

Azerbaijan was represented at the Summer Olympics in London by a large delegation. Globally, a national delegation that has over 50 athletes is considered large. Azerbaijan was represented by more than 50 athletes and won 10 medals.

Besides, a few of our athletes have won high places.

Thus, the Summer Olympic Games in London will go down in history as another success for Azerbaijan.

Our country is demonstrating excellent results in any field. We have achieved great victories in the international arena.

Last year, the international community supported the candidacy of Azerbaijan in a difficult competition again by electing us a member of the world’s most authoritative international organization. At present, Azerbaijan is a member of the UN Security Council. The competition was also very tough there. But Azerbaijan honorably defended its position and achieved a truly historic victory.

The successes Azerbaijan has achieved in the economic sphere are not only known in the world, our experience is also studied. What helped Azerbaijan achieve such major development? There is no other country in the world that has achieved such economic development in recent years! And indeed in all other spheres. Underlying all our victories and successes is the hard work and talent of the people of Azerbaijan, the right policies. These policies show themselves also in sport. The Azerbaijani public is in some way already used to the successes in sports and always expects our athletes to win. Our people used to be content with one, two or three medals before, but now they watching the competition with the hope of winning more. And we deserve these victories. Each time the number of our Olympic medals is increasing. I am confident that there will be even more medals next time.

A very strong young generation is growing up in Azerbaijan, including the field of sports. Over the last 10 years we have built 35 regional Olympic sports centers, and our children and teenagers are using them effectively. So by creating a sports infrastructure in each region, we have provided perfect conditions for sports. We have many talented athletes – kids, teenagers, youths. It is no coincidence that Azerbaijan finished in 11th place in the First Junior Olympics. This is a very good result globally. So the younger generation is growing up. In the coming years they will participate in competitions among adults. Most of our Olympians are also young. Our Olympic champion Togrul Asgarov is not even 20. That is, these people, these young people, these athletes grew up and developed in recent years and have won the world’s top sporting event. At the heart of all this work is a sound policy, consistent and purposeful activities.

I am very pleased that our young people are interested in sports. Respect, attention and support for sports in Azerbaijan, especially the support for our athletes, encourage children and young people to do sports. I believe that each region should provide even more attention and support for athletes, and this is already a reality. There are sportsmen from our districts among the Olympians. Our Olympic champion Togrul Asgarov comes from a district. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the people of Ganja on Togrul’s victory. We have talented young people in every district and village. We need to do the selection work properly. Trainings, of course, have to reach modern levels. I think this is the case in most sports today. Of course, the work of professional coaches will multiply our successes.

Our young generation is brought up in a patriotic spirit. One of the factors that increase patriotism, perhaps even the most important one, is sporting success. Sporting victories inspire people and fill their hearts with pride. Sometimes people can’t hold back the tears of joy. Whenever our national flag is raised and our anthem is played, every patriotic citizen of Azerbaijan feels proud. Our athletes have given us joy-filled days at the Olympic Games. Our flag was raised 10 times and national anthem played twice. This is a great and historic achievement. It is a great and historic victory. I am sure that more victories are to follow. There is enough evidence to say so. Our success at the London Games is just a logical result of the work done in the last four years. But, again, this is sport. There are defeats and injustices in sport. As I noted earlier, some of our athletes were faced with injustice, an unexpected event or an injury. But I think that two gold, two silver and six bronze medals are a good result both from a logical point of view and from the point of view of justice.

Because both our athletes and our state deserve this victory. I am confident that we will maintain this pace in the coming years. We will not be content with what we have achieved. Because we never are in any area. No success, no victory, no development should make us feel complacent. We must constantly look ahead to the future. We must know exactly what must be done at the next Olympic stage, in which sports there are shortcomings, which federations must be further strengthened, which sports need reform, where there are deficiencies. This is an ongoing process. Of course, we are proud of our success. But we have to see and find flaws. In order to make the right conclusions and not to make mistakes in the future, we should and will do proper analytical work. I believe that all the bodies responsible for the development of sports will analyze everything in calm conditions. We also need to take extra steps to make the next Olympic stage even more effective.

Dear friends, I want to reiterate that as President of the country, President of the National Olympic Committee and a citizen of Azerbaijan I feel very proud because our athletes have represented the country with dignity, have given us the joy of victory and raised the reputation of Azerbaijan globally. They have returned home with honor, dignity and victory.

I sincerely congratulate you again. The Azerbaijani state, the National Olympic Committee and all other sports agencies will continue to do everything necessary to facilitate the activities of athletes and resolve their everyday problems. The process of awarding the athletes has already been completed. Cash prizes have been handed out. But considering the successful performance of our athletes at the Olympic Games, the Azerbaijani state presents our Olympians with state awards – orders and medals. I signed an executive order today. We will now move to the awards ceremony.

I want to repeat that Azerbaijani sportsmen have elevated the sporting glory and the power of Azerbaijan. They have demonstrated to the world that the newly independent state of Azerbaijan is fully prepared to achieve great success. We have proved to the world that we are a strong country. We have strong sportsmen, strong youth. We have a strong desire to win.

Once again I congratulate the athletes, coaches and sports specialists on all the successes. I wish the Olympians and athletes every success. Thank you.