Having recently become members, Azerbaijan hosted their first ever boccia National Championships on Saturday 6th December, in Baku.
Organised by the National Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan, the championships were attended by 22 athletes from four regions. Intigam Safarov took gold in the BC1 category and Chimnaz Abdullayeva became the first winner of the BC4 category. Andrew Parsons, Vice President of the International Paralympic Committee, took part in the competition and praised the creation and rapid development of boccia in the country.
Over the past seven months, Kamal Mammadov, boccia sport co-ordinator, has been working with the regions and boccia clubs in Azerbaijan to create a national team. Their ultimate goal is to secure qualification slots for the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016.
