The draw ceremony for Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2024 has taken place,
Azernews reports.
The results of the draw revealed the first opponents of the
Azerbaijani athletes. The national team will be represented by 12
male and 2 female judokas across 8 weight categories in the
competition.
In the women's category, Leyla Aliyeva (48 kilograms) will face
Germany's Sarah Ischt, and Acelya Toprak (57 kilograms) will
compete against Cyprus's Marina Azinou.
In the men's category, Balabey Agayev (60 kilograms) will
compete against the winner of the match between Alexandru Tirsin
(Moldova) and Dauren Syukenov (Kazakhstan), while Huseyn Allahyarov
(60 kilograms) will face Georgian Nika Khuzuraashvili. Ruslan
Pashayev (66 kilograms) will take on Teo Raoul Ebrar (France) or
Rashid Obaid (United Arab Emirates), and Rashad Yelkiyev (66
kilograms) will compete against Uzbekistan's Ismoil Nishonboev.
Rashid Mammadaliyev (73 kilograms) will go against Ecuador's Bruno
Bermeo, Nəriman Mirzayev (73 kilograms) will face Japan's Tatsuki
Ishihara, Zelim Tchkaiev (81 kilograms) will compete against
Hungary's Botond Tot, and Omar Rajabli (81 kilograms) will take on
the winner of the match between Vincenzo Pelligria (Italy) and
Ruslan Musayev (Kazakhstan). Murad Fatiyev (90 kilograms) will face
Rhyan Zarche Qaray (Philippines) or Luka Babutsidze (Georgia), Musa
Huseynli (90 kilograms) will compete against Netherlands' Mark van
Deyk, Imran Yusifov (+100 kilograms) will face Netherlands' Yur
Speykers, and Ushangi Kokauri (+100 kilograms) will challenge the
Philippines' Esleken Kedonu.
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2024 will take place in the United Arab
Emirates on October 11-13. Around 232 judokas from 30 countries
will compete for medals.
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, İrina 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.
----
Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr