Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

Read more

The judo competitions have begun as part of the 18th European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Skopje, North Macedonia, Azernews reports.

On the first day of the competition, Azerbaijani judokas competed in three weight categories.

Gulshan Huseynova (44 kg), Rza Khalili (50 kg), and Rasul Alizade (55 kg) all defeated their opponents and were awarded gold medals.

As a result, with three gold medals, the national team is ranked first in the overall team standings based on medal count.

In the upcoming days of the tournament, an additional nine members of the national team (4 boys and 5 girls) will compete.

It should be noted that, unlike previous editions, this year's festival, taking place from July 20 to 26, is being held in two countries – in the cities of Skopje and Kumanovo in North Macedonia, as well as in Osijek, Croatia.

More than 4,000 athletes from 50 European countries compete at Skopje 2025 in 15 sports for youth aged 14–18.

The Azerbaijani team participates in the festival with 52 athletes (28 boys and 24 girls) across 10 sports.

The national athletes compete in the following disciplines: judo, athletics,taekwondo, road cycling, mountain biking, swimming, artistic gymnastics, badminton, shooting and table tennis.

Winners of the individual badminton and shooting events at the festival will earn a direct qualification for the 4th European Games to be held in 2027.

Established in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation has been actively promoting the sport throughout the country. Since 2015, it has been under the leadership of Rovnag Abdullayev.

The foundation of modern judo in Azerbaijan was set by Mehman Azizov, who earned a silver medal at the 1998 World Championships.

The following year, Rasul Salimov, who won the World Youth Games in Moscow, secured a bronze medal at the European Championships in Slovakia. Another notable Azerbaijani judoka, Elchin Ismayilov, became the European champion in 2000 in Wroclaw.

Azerbaijan's judo success continued with Elnur Mammadli, who clinched the gold in the 73 kg division at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Other top Azerbaijani judokas include Rustam Orujov, İrina Kindzerskaya, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Elmar Gasimov, Hidayat Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoev, Ushangi Kokauri, and Nijat Shikhalizada.

At the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) and Zelim Kotsoev (100 kg) won gold medals for Azerbaijan.