Aliya Garayeva has become a three-time bronze medalist of the XXX Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Moscow on individual exercises with a hoop, a ball and a ribbon. Together with a team, she has four bronze medals on her credit side. She talked about these victories, what they meant for her, as well as about her feelings and experience in her interview with Trend.

“Did you expect before the finals that the Azerbaijani banner will rise over the arena of “Olympiysky” four times?”

“I wanted to demonstrate a good performance very much and I am very glad that I was able to rise to such a height. In the morning of the competition’s fourth day, I felt a worry as my performance would influence the whole team’s results. I was afraid of disappointing the team. And I am pleased that my performance turned out to be good and Azerbaijan rose to the third place in a team competition. In the evening, I could relax a little bit, as, in the finals, I was performing only for myself and it helped me to perform well. I did what I should do and I had a success. It is very pleasant to stand on the podium and see how your country’s banner is rising over the hall. Today, I had such a pleasant feeling three times.”

“What can you say about the World championships on the whole?”

“I like the way the championship goes, the way it is organized, Moscow itself. And everything turns out quite good for me here. I am very grateful to the organizers and coaches for their work which they do for us and for the championship.”

“How difficult is it to compete with the rivals taking into account that you train together and know each other quite well?”

“We don’t compete with each other. Mainly, we struggle with ourselves. We don’t have a face-to-face combat, and sometimes we even cannot see our colleagues’ performances. We maintain the warmest relations with the girls from Russia and Belarus, we worry about each other. And you win only when you take a grip on yourself. Our performances are estimated by the judges; we take the places according to the points received from the judges. As I have already said the main thing is to take a grip on yourself. If you can overcome yourself, you can overcome everybody.”

“You were able to relax on Thursday, and, as a result, two individual “bronzes” with a ball and a ribbon appeared on your credit side. What did prevent you from performing successfully on Tuesday as well when you won only one “bronze” with a hoop?”

“It was the finals’ first day, and I felt pressure of the team competitions. As I mentioned above, I wanted to perform well in the qualification since its scores had an effect on the team competitions. This worry did not leave me in the first final with a rope, where my performance wasn’t good. But then I understood that I cannot give up and there was nothing to fear. I managed to take a grip on myself having won “bronze” with a hoop.”

“You gave a brilliant result in your performance with a ribbon having received more than 28 points and it seemed to your fans that you were a step away from “silver”. What did you feel at that moment? Did you hope to win the second place?”

“While I appear on the floor I intend to be the first and win “gold”. There must be a winner’s spirit in any sports discipline. I was really content with my performance with a ribbon and I demonstrated everything I was able to do at that moment. Perhaps, this performance was my best performance in Moscow for the time being. There were elements’ difficulty, good mood and soul, as well as the fan’s incredible support in it – all these enabled me to perform successfully. But a Russian Darya Dmitriyeva performing the last, managed to surpass everyone with this apparatus having become the World Champion.”

“You mentioned the fans which supported you in the course