President Ilham Aliyev congratulated Azerbaijani athletes who returned to their homeland from Konya with a great victory

“You returned to your homeland from Konya a few days ago, and you have returned with a great victory. You have once again raised the sporting glory of our country. I would like to congratulate you on this occasion from the bottom of my heart and express my gratitude for the achievements you have made. I am sure that the people of Azerbaijan are proud of you because you have once again shown the whole world that Azerbaijan is a sports nation and Azerbaijani athletes are distinguished for their strength,” said President Ilham Aliyev as he met with the country’s athletes who succeeded in the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games.

Emphasizing that becoming fourth in the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games is a tremendous achievement, the head of state said: “This achievement shows that our previous successes were not accidental. As you know, our team won the first place in the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku five years ago. And that was also natural because home soil always provides extra support to athletes. This time, as a result of a very close competition, we finished the Games in fourth place. Let me also say that the countries were represented by the strongest athletes in the Games. Our athletes have once again shown the strength of our country by winning 99 medals, 29 of which are gold medals.”