Tweet
SPORTS IN 2014: WRESTLING JOY, SOCCER HOPES, CHESS STRUGGLES
NEWS | 26.12.14 | 10:31
http://armenianow.com/news/59639/armenia_sport_wrestling_soccer_chess_weightlifting _2014
RELATED NEWS
Sport: "Polar Bear" wrestler named Armenia's best athlete in 2014
Chess: Aronian drops to fifth place in FIDE rankings
>From signal successes on the wrestling mat to passions and
disappointments on the soccer pitch and the chess board - 2014 has
been another year of ups and downs for Armenian sports.
Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Alexanyan, affectionately called Polar
Bear by his numerous fans, has been recognized by media as Armenia's
best sportsperson of this year.
The 23-year-old athlete from Gyumri outwrestled all his opponents at
the championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in September, winning the
world title.
Alexanyan's gold was not the only one in those competitions as Arsen
Julfalakyan, another Gyumri-born Greco-Roman wrestler, became the
world champion too.
In soccer, the year began with expectations from new Swiss head coach
Bernard Challandes, who took over a national team that had finished
2013 at the highest-ever place on the FIFA rankings - 34th. At the
end of 2014, Armenia is 79th among 200 or so soccer-playing nations
after a mostly unsuccessful start of the Euro-2016 qualifying campaign.
On the bright side, Armenia's veteran goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky made
international headlines in September after becoming one of the few
players in world soccer ever to have been called for national duty
after turning 40. Berezovsky is likely to extend his record in 2015.
Armenia's former defender Sargis Hovsepyan made a similar achievement
in 2012 by earning a cap when he was 40 years and 12 days old.
In chess, top Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian dropped to fifth
place in FIDE rankings (as of December). Before 2014 the 32-year-old
chess ace stayed as number two in the list of top 100 FIDE players
for several years, only occasionally dropping to third place.
2014 has brought mostly disappointments in weightlifting, a sport in
which Armenian athletes traditionally excel. The sport's federation
changed the national team head coach in December after failed world
championships from which Armenian athletes returned without a single
medal.
At the end of the year it still remained unclear whether Armenian
athletes will participate in the first-ever European Olympic Games
to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 2015. In late November the
Armenian National Olympic Committee said it believes that Armenian
athletes should participate in the Games. "But given the sensitivity
and importance of the issue the final decision will be made only
after meetings with representatives of the sporting world," it added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
NEWS | 26.12.14 | 10:31
http://armenianow.com/news/59639/armenia_sport_wrestling_soccer_chess_weightlifting _2014
RELATED NEWS
Sport: "Polar Bear" wrestler named Armenia's best athlete in 2014
Chess: Aronian drops to fifth place in FIDE rankings
>From signal successes on the wrestling mat to passions and
disappointments on the soccer pitch and the chess board - 2014 has
been another year of ups and downs for Armenian sports.
Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Alexanyan, affectionately called Polar
Bear by his numerous fans, has been recognized by media as Armenia's
best sportsperson of this year.
The 23-year-old athlete from Gyumri outwrestled all his opponents at
the championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in September, winning the
world title.
Alexanyan's gold was not the only one in those competitions as Arsen
Julfalakyan, another Gyumri-born Greco-Roman wrestler, became the
world champion too.
In soccer, the year began with expectations from new Swiss head coach
Bernard Challandes, who took over a national team that had finished
2013 at the highest-ever place on the FIFA rankings - 34th. At the
end of 2014, Armenia is 79th among 200 or so soccer-playing nations
after a mostly unsuccessful start of the Euro-2016 qualifying campaign.
On the bright side, Armenia's veteran goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky made
international headlines in September after becoming one of the few
players in world soccer ever to have been called for national duty
after turning 40. Berezovsky is likely to extend his record in 2015.
Armenia's former defender Sargis Hovsepyan made a similar achievement
in 2012 by earning a cap when he was 40 years and 12 days old.
In chess, top Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian dropped to fifth
place in FIDE rankings (as of December). Before 2014 the 32-year-old
chess ace stayed as number two in the list of top 100 FIDE players
for several years, only occasionally dropping to third place.
2014 has brought mostly disappointments in weightlifting, a sport in
which Armenian athletes traditionally excel. The sport's federation
changed the national team head coach in December after failed world
championships from which Armenian athletes returned without a single
medal.
At the end of the year it still remained unclear whether Armenian
athletes will participate in the first-ever European Olympic Games
to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 2015. In late November the
Armenian National Olympic Committee said it believes that Armenian
athletes should participate in the Games. "But given the sensitivity
and importance of the issue the final decision will be made only
after meetings with representatives of the sporting world," it added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress