Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The Azerbaijani national team has brought its medal tally to three at the Paris World Championships Veterans 2025, Azernews reports.

Vugar Babayev (66 kg) in the M3 age category and Zaur Baghirov (+100 kg) in the M4 category each won bronze medals.

In their third-place bouts, the Azerbaijani judokas defeated French competitors Eric Schillewaert and Cedric Degez, respectively.

On the first day of the tournament, Gurban Mammadli (M2, +100 kg) also earned a bronze medal.

Around 2, 366 judokas from 66 countries participate in the Paris World Championships Veterans 2025.

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.