“You must aim to win against any opponent. However, an integral part of sports is that you can also lose. For us, the feeling of regret we experience during a defeat is the same regardless of the country.”
“Elchi” reports that this was stated by the Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation, Parvin Piriyev, during a briefing while answering a question about whether Armenian athletes are considered special opponents for Azerbaijani wrestlers.
The federation official stated that they do not single out any country in particular:
“Defeat is an opportunity to learn and draw conclusions from our mistakes. Therefore, we have no intention or approach to single out any country.”
Parvin Piriyev also commented on Rafiq Huseynov, Mariya Stadnik, and Haji Aliyev participating in their first major competition as coaches:
“Rafiq Huseynov, Mariya Stadnik, and Haji Aliyev are specialists with great athletic experience. They realize how great and important the responsibility they have taken on is. However, this is their first coaching experience.
We can evaluate their participation in this competition and their appointment as coaches as an investment in the future. We have taken a step towards our local and titled athletes becoming coaches. We will only know what results they will achieve at the end. But in any result, we will win. Because we have taken a step towards training our local coaches and specialists.”