Azerbaijan Judo Federation will hold ACF tournament for the
second time on July 19.
Over 200 male judokas from 50 clubs, societies and sports
organizations will compete for medals in the competition, Azernews reports.
Winners of 7 weight classes will be announced in the competition
to be held at the Sports and Health Center of the Ministry of
Emergency Situations.
It should be noted that three such tournaments are planned to be
held this year. The judokas, who take the first place in the
ranking list formed as a result of these competitions will qualify
for the "Grand Slam" tournament to be held in Baku on September
22-24.
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 Beijing
Olympics 2008 in the 73 kg division.
The Beijing Olympics 2008 gave a fresh impetus to judo in
Azerbaijan.
The list of the country's top judo fighters includes Rustam
Orujov, İrina Kindzerskaya, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Elmar Gasimov,
Hidayet Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoev, Ushangi Kokauri, and Nijat
Shikhalizada.
Rustam Orujov is the silver medalist of the 2016 Summer Olympics
in the men's 73 kg event. Last year, he climbed the podium six
times in various competitions. The silver medal at the World
Championships in Tokyo is of particular attention.
İrina Kindzerskaya also showed her best at judo championships.
The final of the Grand Slam in Dusseldorf 2020 also added extra
points to Irina in the judo ranking.
Mammadali Mehdiyev is a bronze medalist at the European Games in
Minsk. He also finished fifth at the Grand Slam in Osaka, Paris,
and Dusseldorf.
Elmar Gasimov competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a
silver medal in 2016.
The judo fighter won a gold medal at the 2009 European Youth
Championship, after defeating Lukas Krpalek in the final. He also
grabbed bronze at the 2017 World Championships.
Hidayat Heydarov enriched the country's medal haul with a gold
medal at the 2017 European Judo Championships. He defeated his
teammate Rustam Orujov at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games
final.
Zelim Kotsoev became Junior World Champion in Zagreb in 2017 and
was also European Junior champion in 2017 in Maribor.
He won the Grand Prix Antalya in 2018 and became European Cadet
Champion U18 in 2014 in Athens and in 2015 in Sofia. The judoka
took silver at the World Cadet Championships in Sarajevo in
2015.
He also won the European Championships bronze in 2018 in Tel
Aviv. Later, he took two bronze medals at the Grand Slam in
Düsseldorf and silver in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
Ushangi Kokauri represented Azerbaijan at the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He won bronze at the Grand Slam in
Paris and Abu Dhabi. He took fifth place at the European Games, the
Grand Prix in Antalya and Tel Aviv.
Nijat Shikhalizadeh took second place at the Oceania Open Cup in
Perth. He also grabbed a silver medal at the Grand Slam in
Baku.
Azerbaijani judokas continue to achieve global successes
enriching the country's medal haul with new victories.
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