The quality of competition at the inaugural European Games and the way the event has been received in the Azeri capital of Baku have exceeded all expectations, organisers said yesterday.
With many of Europe’s top athletes not attending the Games and many events being contested by youngsters and lesser-known competitors, critics had suggested there would be little action to generate interest.
Of approximately 6,000 athletes competing only 59 had won an Olympic gold medal while for many it was their first experience of an international multi-event competition.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting the level would be so high, the level of the sport, the level of all the people smiling, the level of the big celebrations, the happiness on people’s faces,” Azad Rahimov, Minister of Youth and Sport and the CEO of the Baku 2015 Games, told a news conference yesterday.
“I’m very satisfied with all that is going on. I am also very happy with the atmosphere on all the sports venues.”
Just days before Friday’s lavish $95 million opening ceremony the Netherlands announced it had withdrawn as host for the 2019 Games with the Dutch government refusing to support an event it said would be too big a “burden” on resources.
The Dutch withdrawal further strengthened claims there was little future for the continental event in an already saturated sporting calendar.
Baku has invested heavily in the Games, building many stunning state-of-the-art venues from scratch, and Rahimov said it was crucial to do so to increase the profile of the event while it remains in an embryonic stage.
“It’s very important to deliver a new project to the world and we were absolutely right to hold it at a high level to encourage interest,” he added.
“Maybe other countries will have other issues and do it at an average level.
“Our goal is to increase the interest of athletes who are denied their own chance of having their own continental games.”
Ronaldo message
For most athletes, winning the gold would be the pinnacle of their campaign but for the paddlers from Portugal it means something extra – a congratulatory message from compatriot and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
A three-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo is an avid table tennis supporter and said in his autobiography, “Moments”, he turned down the chance to join the table tennis team in his native Madeira, instead pursuing a career in football.
The 30-year-old, who appeared in a table tennis-themed commercial in 2010, still follows the sport closely, and sends congratulatory messages to Portuguese players whenever they achieve success.
In the men’s team event in Baku, Marcos Freitas, Joao Geraldo and Tiago Apolonia claimed gold in the final against France and said that, though they had not heard from Ronaldo yet, a message would not be far away.
“This time he (Ronaldo) hasn’t sent us anything yet, but I’m sure he will do so,” Freitas, who also hails from Madeira, said.