The World Championships in tumbling among the juniors held in Saint-Petersburg was successfully completed for an Azerbaijani gymnast.

According to the press service of Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, the 13-year-old gymnast, Mikhail Malkin from Baku Gymnastics School, performing at the world forum for the first time, reached the final from the 5th place among the 27 competitors.

He received 61.5 points (31.1 – for the somersault exercise and 30.4 – for the twist) in the qualification, having lost only to three representatives of Russia and one representative from Britain.

Final jumps on the acrobatic track brought the 6th place to Malkin, having taken the lead over the gymnasts from Denmark and Kazakhstan. This time, he received from the judges 30.9 points and lost to the same gymnasts from Russia and Britain. It should be mentioned that the arbiter, Adil Huseynzada, representing Azerbaijan, was included into the board of judges of the qualification round for the first time.

“Thus, in fact, Azerbaijan won the 3rd place among the countries participated.” Such a comment was given to Malkin’s performance by a highly experienced specialist, an honored coach of Russia, Vasiliy Skakun, who trained 7 World Champions in tumbling.

“I have already noticed him at the training camp in Stavropol in the composition of Azerbaijani tumblers. He is very persistent. He will not leave the track unless he properly makes this or that element and will work himself to the bone. And this is a difference between a lazy and a real sportsman. Why he did not repeat the result achieved in the qualification in the final?”

“Because it is necessary to work, to increase jumps’ complexity gradually but not at once. He is just 13, isn’t it? I think he will grow up in all the senses by the European and World Championships of the next year, and, believe my experience, he will give quite different results,” V.Skakun summed up.