Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The date for the 2026 Senior World Judo Championships has been changed, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijan Judo Federation.

According to the new decision, the championship will take place from October 4 to 11 next year.

The change in the tournament's dates aims to prevent the prestigious event from coinciding with other international sports events and to ensure broader television coverage of the world championship to a larger audience.

Individual competitions will be held from October 4 to 10, and the mixed team event will take place on October 11.

Baku will host this prestigious event for the second time. The city first hosted the Judo World Championship in 2018.

Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation actively promotes this martial art across the country. The President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation is Rashad Nabiyev.

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, Zelym Kotsoiev, 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.