2014 Senior European Taekwondo Championships open in Baku

Baku, April 30 (AzerTAc). The Azerbaijani capital of Baku has hosted the opening ceremony of the 2014 Senior European Taekwondo Championships. Speaking to the ceremony, president of Azerbaijan Taekwondo Federation, vice-president of the World Taekwondo Federation Kamaladdin Heydarov highlighted the Azerbaijani government`s attention to developing sports in the country. “Founded by national leader Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan`s sports policy is today being successfully continued by the head of state, president of the National Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev.” He said the fact that Baku would host the inaugural European Games in 2015 was a strong signal of the success of this policy. President of the European Taekwondo Union Athanasios Pragalos said Azerbaijan would host a series of taekwondo tournaments. He hailed the organization of the European championship as excellent. President of the World Taekwondo Federation praised the Azerbaijani government`s policy to develop sport. He also hailed Azerbaijan`s achievements in international taekwondo tournaments. Azerbaijani youth and sport minister Azad Rahimov said the country would play host to high-profile tournaments this year, including judo, gymnastics and athletics competitions. Following the speeches, Kamaladdin Heydarov, Azad Rahimov and Choue Chungwon were presented with awards of the European Taekwondo Union. The ceremony featured a promotional video on Azerbaijan`s tourism potential and Baku-2015 European Games.