Azerbaijanis feel double edge of support in Table Tennis

The first athlete for the women was Rufat Guliyeva, playing against Bernadette Szocs of Romania.

Young spectators supported Guliyeva with a chant that went: "Stretch your arms, stretch your legs, get all the medals! The star is shining in the sky, this is our Rufa performing!"

Amongst the youngest supporters were table tennis players Dilara, nine, and Nigar, seven, who said they wanted to compete at the European Games when they grew up.

"I am feeling very excited", Guliyeva said afterwards, despite losing 4-0 to the European under-21 no.3. "I managed to do only half of what I have been doing during training, but sometimes I gave her a contest."

Teammate Maryam Imanova got similar support as she gave Galia Dvorak of Spain a tough time despite losing 4-0, with two games ending 11-9 and 12-10.

"This support means so much to me", she said. "But it also puts an enormous pressure on my shoulders. I feel that people expect good results from me, so whenever I lose a point or a game, I am thinking of what all these people should think of me, and it distracts a lot."

 

For the men, Ramil Jafarov lost in straight games to Poland's Wang Zengyi.

"One of the problems I have faced while playing with him was that the racket he is using is not familiar to Azerbaijani table tennis players. It has spikes on it, and mine is a plain one. We are not used to them", said Jafarov.

The last to represent Azerbaijan was Farhad Ismayilov who met with Mihai Bobocica of Italy.

For Ismayilov, the 4-0 loss was probably his last international match, as he is planning to retire as an athlete and start coaching.

"We have a potential young generation of players," he said. "And if raised properly they can have a bright future in the world of Table Tennis."