Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The Azerbaijani men's national judo team is preparing for their first ranking tournament following the World Championships, Azernews reports.

They will participate in a stage of the World Judo Tour hosted in Ulaanbaatar.

The Grand Slam event in Mongolia's capital will feature judokas including Balabay Aghayev and Turan Bayramov in the 60 kg weight class, along with Elshan Asadov in the 66 kg category.

Scheduled from July 25 to 27, the competition is set to gather athletes from 27 countries, with a total of 188 participants expected to compete.

Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation actively promotes this martial art across the country. Since 2015, the Federation has been led by Rovnag Abdullayev.

The country's modern judo history was laid by Mehman Azizov, who won a silver medal at the Old World Championship in 1998.

A year later, the winner of the World Youth Games in Moscow, Rasul Salimov, grabbed the bronze medal at the European Championship in Slovakia. Another national judoka, Elchin Ismayilov, became the European champion in 2000 in Wroclaw.

However, the achievements of Azerbaijani judo fighters did not stop there. Elnur Mammadli was named the best at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 73 kg division.

The list of the country's top judo fighters includes Rustam Orujov, İrina Kindzerskaya, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Elmar Gasimov, Hidayat Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoev, Ushangi Kokauri, and Nijat Shikhalizada.

At the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, judokas Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) and Zelym Kotsoiev (100 kg) earned gold medals for Azerbaijan.