Seyran Nikoghosyan: We will have medals, we are approaching the European Championships in good form

"The shooters are approaching the European Championships in very good form. We will have medals, but I don't know how many and of what color. I hope that the European Shooting Championships held in Yerevan will give a boost to the development of the sport in Armenia," said Seyran Nikoghosyan, the head coach of the Armenian national shooting team, during a meeting with journalists.

The European Shooting Championships will be held at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan from February 27 to March 5, in which Armenia will participate with 26 shooters.

"The preparatory phase of the European Championship is moving forward at a normal pace. All problems are solved, a lot of work has been done. I worried a bit regarding receiving and sending the weapons. I hope everything will go normally.
The national team is in training. Everyone is in very good form. We will have medals, but I don't know how many and of what color.

In the past, I always dreamed of participating in the European Championships or other major tournaments with even 5 representatives. Now we have 26 participants and it is being held in our country. We have a problem with training bases in Armenia; we are in a very difficult situation in this regard. We only have one normal, functioning sports school. Gyumri, Vanadzor, and Yerevan do not have sports schools. I expect that the European Shooting Championships held in Yerevan will give a boost to the development of the sport in the country.

I am sure that we will have a medal and I am sure that not just 1 medal, but many. I cannot say exactly of what color. It is shooting; maybe someone will fall behind by 0.1 points from the fight for a gold medal. For that reason, I don't want to make promises ahead of time; there is also a bit of a luck factor. Shooting has developed in many countries. European countries are among the favorites. I can say with confidence that the sport has started to develop in Armenia as well. We are also among the favorite countries. We will see the results after the shooting; it's going to be good.

We have prepared for the European Championship in several stages. We started the year with an international tournament held in Munich. We had 4 participants in Olympic disciplines. We did not win medals, but the results were high; we occupied good places. After the international tournament, we held a training camp in Yerevan; the training sessions are still ongoing at this moment. We will participate at a high level," said Seyran Nikoghosyan.

In the squad led by Seyran Nikoghosyan, the following will participate in the European Championship:

Rifle: Hrachik Babayan, Artyom Grigoryan, Mihran Gabrielyan

Pistol: Benik Khlghatyan, Zaven Igityan, Gevorg Melkonyan, Elmira Karapetyan

Running target: Hovhannes Margaryan, Gor Khachatryan, Hayk Minasyan, Tigran Manukyan, Lilit Mkrtchyan, Gohar Harutyunyan, Arusyak Grigoryan, Mari Ghazaryan, Mariam Mkrtchyan

Running target (youth): Hamlet Karenyan, Manvel Grigoryan, Gor Martirosyan, Arman Barseghyan, Vladimir Arakelyan, Anahit Sargsyan, Aida Azatyan, Lilit Mkrtchyan, Yana Hakobyan, Natali Isakhanyan

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