National judokas compete at World Judo Cadets Championships
Laman Ismayilova
Read moreThe 2025 World Judo Cadets Championships are currently taking place in Sofia, Bulgaria, Azernews reports.
In the girls' categories, Leyla Alakbarova (48 kg) defeated Khongorzul Ariunzorig (Mongolia) and Konstantina Chaidou (Greece), but was eliminated in the round of 16 by Clarice Ribeiro (Brazil).
Narmin Aghamirzazade (48 kg) lost in the round of 32 to Celine Iddir (France). In the 52 kg category, Aysun Mammadova eliminated Giulia Bonzano (Italy) in the round of 64 but was later defeated by Yali Yahav (Israel).
In the boys' categories, Royal Gayibov (60 kg) was unable to get past Raffaele Sodano (Italy) in the round of 64. Zeyd Alasgarov (60 kg) won matches against Alexandros Polychronidis (Greece) and Lucas Yamamoto (Brazil). In the quarterfinals, he faced Yernur Batyrgali (Kazakhstan).
Since his opponent advanced, Alasgarov entered the repechage. After defeating Botond Kunyik (Hungary), he will compete against Toai Hashima for the third-place medal.
On the first day of the championships, Azerbaijani judoka Anar Guliyev (50 kg) earned a bronze medal.
A total of 551 judokas from 71 countries are competing in the 2025 World Judo Cadets Championships, which runs until August 31.
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, Irina 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.
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