Gunel Badalova, secretary general of the Azerbaijan Winter Sports Federation, has assessed figure skater Alexander Plushenko’s debut representing the Azerbaijani national team.
Speaking to Report, the federation official commented on the athlete’s performance at the Junior Grand Prix in Ankara, Türkiye, emphasising that it was the figure skater’s first competitive appearance.
“This was his first performance in his career. In addition, our representative was the youngest participant in the competition. We think this is a decent result for a debut. Of course, he will improve his technique at upcoming tournaments, and we expect better results from him,” she said.
Making his first international appearance for Azerbaijan, the 13-year-old skater performed both the short and free programs, scoring 171.65 points to finish 13th among 33 competitors.
Born on 6 January 2013, he is the son of two-time Olympic figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko and producer and TV host Yana Rudkovskaya. From an early age, he has been publicly known by the nickname “Gnom Gnomych” and has trained at his father’s Plushenko Angels Academy.
In May 2026, Russia’s Figure Skating Federation cleared him to receive five-year Azerbaijani sporting citizenship, allowing him to compete internationally.
By Jeyhun Aghazada
