Turkish medalist: "Our heart beats with Azerbaijan"

“Our heart beats with Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan's heart beats with us. We feel it during the competition,” said Yusuf Dikec, a member of the Turkish team who won a silver medal at the World Shooting Championship in Baku.

The athlete explained the reason why they were defeated in the final. He emphasized that they also felt strong fan support at the Baku Shooting Center: “We went to the final to be the number one. Yesterday was not good for me. I was disappointed. Today was good, but we couldn't be first. We felt the fan support. There are 20 of us in the Turkish national team. When we hear the cheers from the stands during the competition, we feel as if we have an army behind us.”

He spoke about the inability of his 23-year-old teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan who was inaccurate during shooting: “Ilayda is still young. She will gain experience over time. Over the course of time, she will also be successful and we will be good teammates with her.”

The experienced sport shooter emphasized that Azerbaijan held the world championship at a high level and few countries in the world managed to organize it at such a high level: "Azerbaijan is a successful place for us. Whenever we come to the brotherly country, we return with a medal. We have never returned empty-handed. The tournament is very well organized. Everything is at a high level. This is one of the few countries in the world that can do this.”

Indian male sport shooter Shiva Narwal said that they won the gold medal with difficulty: “The competition is going very well. I learn a lot from my colleagues here. I update my knowledge about technical issues and procedural rules. Also, I feel confident. Of course, there will be more. I want to repeat this result at the Olympic Games.”

He said good things about Baku, which hosted the World Cup: "Your capital is very beautiful. People were also warm, kind and hospitable. I am happy to be here."