Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani judo fighters have significantly improved their positions as the International Judo Federation announced updated world rankings, Azertac reported.

National fighters Ushangi Kokauri (100kg) jumped two spots to rank 20th, while Nijat Shikhalizade (66kg) climbed to 7th place.

Rustam Orujov (73kg) and Elmar Gasimov (100kg) topped their categories to gain best results among Azerbaijani judo fighters.

Azerbaijan Judo Federation was established in 1972.

Since 1993, Azerbaijani fighters were among the winners at Junior European Judo Championships. In 2000, national team won five medals and took the first place in the team standings at European Judo Championships held in Romania.

A few glorious pages in the history of the Azerbaijani judo were also written in 2002.

The turning point in the history of Azerbaijan judo sport was Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Azerbaijan was presented by six judokas, among which was the silver medalist of the 2007 World Championship Elnur Mammadli (73 kg), who won the title of Olympic champion in Beijing.

Bronze medal was awarded and Movlud Miraliyev (100 kg), while national team took the third place in the men's team competition.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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