Azizjon Kamilov, President of the Judo Federation of Uzbekistan, visited the training center for national judo teams on 16 September.

Vice President of Azerbaijan Judo Federation Elnur Mammadli and Executive Vice President Rashad Rasullu informed the guest about modern conditions created for athletes at the training center, as well as the work and projects carried out by the Federation to develop judo sport in our country.

During the meeting, they discussed mutual exchange of experience, organization of joint training camps and opportunities for cooperation to strengthen the development of judo in both countries. The exchange of experience in modern coaching methods and athlete development programs were also highlighted as the main areas of cooperation.

It should be noted that according to the Memorandum of Cooperation between Azerbaijan Judo Federation and Uzbekistan Judo Federation, signed in October 2022, five mutual joint training camps have been organized so far, as well as participation of athletes in international competitions held in both countries has been ensured. In addition, there is an active exchange of mutual experience between the Federations.

Given the fact that the World Championship will be held in far away America and the venue is well above sea level, the delegation was sent to Lima eight days early in order to adapt to the environment.

Four members of the national team, consisting of only boys, participated in the World Championship with a team of seven people, eventually managed to make it to the podium.

Among them, having defeated all his opponents, Nihad Mamishov (55kg) and Jasur Ibadli (73kg) won gold medals, while Mahammadali Husiyev (50kg) and Mehdi Abbasov (81kg) won bronze medals. At the same time, Azerbaijan took the 2nd place among 48 countries in the team scoring, losing only to Japan, while in the men’s ranking it took the 1st place ahead of all countries, including Japan.

Nihad Mamishov, one of our champions, became world champion for the second time. Another remarkable thing about our 17-year-old athlete, who won all his five matches during the championships by ippon, was that he won all his victories on the ne-wasa position. Mamishov’s high performance in the Peruvian capital did not escape the attention of the International Judo Federation (IJF). Thus, a post on IJF’s official social media page with the headline “ne-waza-baijan” was met with interest.

In particular, our other champion, Jasur Ibadli, fought with great tenacity and determination, and  made history as the first world junior champion of Azerbaijan in the 73kg weight category. 

As for our other medalists, Mahamadali Husiyev won the bronze medal of the World Championship when he was only 15 years old.

In June this year, he finished third on the podium at the European Championships organized in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

The bronze medal of Mehdi Abbasov, who has won high places in several European Cup tournaments, is also a first. Thus, he became the first Azerbaijani teenager to win the World Championship award in the 81kg weight category.

We congratulate our athletes and wish them new victories!

On 31 August, a meeting was held between the Executive Committee of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF) with coach-instructors. The meeting was attended by AJF President Rashad Nabiyev, members of the Executive Committee and coach-instructors from different regions of the country. During the meeting, views were exchanged on the development and popularization of judo sport in the country, proposals and recommendations of the participants were heard.

In his speech, AJF President Rashad Nabiyev emphasized that coaches play an important role in the development of judo in Azerbaijan and in the successes achieved at international level. It was noted that in accordance with the sports policy of Mr. President Ilham Aliyev, the main goal of the Federation is not only to win medals, but also support the growth of future generations as healthy and worthy citizens. The AJF President stressed the great responsibility of coaches in this mission and said: “Our coaches should contribute to the education of citizens responsible for our country. A good coach completes the work of parents, contributes to the healthy growth of our children and good parenting.” 

It was stated that one of the main objectives is to attract girls to judo. The ongoing efforts in this direction are already yielding results and the activities in this direction will be continued.

As a result of discussions held during the meeting, it was noted that the AJF will constantly organize educational events for the professional development of coaches. In addition, the Federation will support the improvement of the material and technical base of judo halls. In order to further popularize judo throughout the country, activities will be carried out in the direction of increasing the number of clubs and opening new judo halls in regions where there are no judo divisions.

Besides, in order to ensure quality judo training and maintain the professional standards in judo coaching, it was emphasized that a process of certification and licensing of coaches will be implemented from 2025, and a unified teaching methodology designed for different age categories will be developed. 

The proposals put forward during the meeting will be added to the Federation’s work program after appropriate analysis by the Federation Secretariat and will be implemented as planned.

As a result, it was decided to hold such meetings with coach-instructors on a regular basis.

On August 30, a new Judo Training Center was opened in Gusar at the initiative of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF).

The opening ceremony was attended by Olympic champions Nazim Huseynov, Elnur Mammadli, Hidayat Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoyev, head of the Executive Power of  Gusar region Sahir Mammadkhanov, AJF Executive Vice President Rashad Rasullu, representatives of the Federation and other officials. They got acquainted with the conditions created in the Center.

The Center covers an area of  520 sq.m. and includes judo and physical training halls with an area of  250 sq.m. The main hall is equipped with tatami mats from German company Zebra, the official supplier of the International Judo Federation. The physical training hall is also equipped with all the necessary equipment.

The building also has a waiting room, gym hall and changing rooms. In addition, extensive landscaping work was carried out around the Center.

One of the main directions of the work of Azerbaijan Judo Federation is the development of judo in regions and improvement of infrastructure. In 2022–2024, the AJF opened judo halls in Ganja, Aghstafa, Zagatala, Goranboy, Aghali village of Zangilan region, Sabirabad, Zira settlement of Baku city and Sumgait.

Rashad Rasullu noted that improvement of material and technical base in regions and general development of judo in the country are very important for AJF.

“This is the main area of   our activity. Starting from 2022, the Federation provided about 6,500 tatami  mats to 90 gyms in Baku and  regions, and 1,300 young athletes were given the opportunity to train for free. Judo halls will also be opened in other regions in the near future. Work in this direction is carried out on the basis of the program adopted by the Federation. Special attention was paid to regions with great potential, but which do not yet have judo divisions.  New halls are planned to be built in Jalilabad, Shabran, Imishli and other regions in the near future.”

Azerbaijani judokas won one gold and one bronze medal on the third day of the World Junior Judo Championship held in Lima, the capital of Peru on 30 August.

Among the boys, Jasur Ibadli, competing in the 73kg weight category, defeated all his rivals and reached the final. In the final, Ibadli’s first attack was tsuri-goshi and with this attack he earned a waza-ari point. Ibadli continued his attacks, earned the second point with a great ko-soto-gake technique and eventually won the gold medal.

In the 81kg weight category, Mehdi Abbasov faced Kenzo Cremers  from Belgium for the bronze medal. Abbasov got advantage thanks to his nage-waza skills, defeated Cremers by ippon in the third minute of the match and won the bronze medal.

Azerbaijani judokas won one gold and one bronze medal on the first day of the World Junior Judo Championship held in Lima, the capital of Peru, on 28 August.

Competing in the 50kg weight category, Mahammadali Husiyev fought hard and won the bronze medal. Having defeated all his rivals, Nihad Mamishov, competing in the 55kg weight category, won the title of world champion for the second time. He proved once again that he deserved the title with his excellent performance throughout the day, especially in the final, defeating Batbileg of Mongolia by ippon. Mamishov’s success lifted Azerbaijan to second place in the medal table.

The Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF) was granted the status of a regional center of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Academy on August 16. The event held on this occasion was attended by Youth and Sports Minister Farid Gayibov, IJF Academy Chairman Envic Galea, Executive Vice President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation Rashad Rasullu, Olympic champions Zelim Kotsoyev and Hidayat Heydarov, representatives of the National Olympic Committee, experts and other officials.

In his speech, AJF Executive Vice President Rashad Rasullu expressed great satisfaction with the status of regional center given to the Azerbaijan Judo Federation by the International Judo Federation: “Our cooperation with the IJF Academy has been strong and mutually beneficial from the very beginning. To date, 130 judo coaches have successfully completed the Academy’s program. Education has always been a key part of our Federation’s mission and we will continue to do so. Our selection as a regional center of the International Judo Federation Academy confirms that the Azerbaijan Judo Federation plays a leading role in the development of the sport of judo in the region. This success will allow us to provide our country’s athletes and coaches with the highest level of training opportunities at international level.” At the end of his speech, he expressed gratitude to the country’s leadership, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the International Judo Federation for the support provided to the development of judo in Azerbaijan.

IJF Academy Chairman Envic Galea praised the Federation’s achievements and said: “I congratulate the Azerbaijan Judo Federation on the two gold medals won at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Our continued cooperation with the Federation has been very successful. IJF President Marius Wieser  is pleased to grant regional status to the Azerbaijan Judo Federation. Currently, only two other federations – Türkiye and Georgia – have this prestigious status. These achievements were made possible thanks to the support of the state, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Olympic Committee and the work of a strong team”. Envic  Galea also informed the participants of the event that Olympic medalist Rustam Orujov was accepted into the IJF Academy as an expert.

Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov congratulated the Federation on the occasion of high achievements at the Olympic Games. He emphasized that the support of President Ilham Aliyev played an important role in the development of judo in Azerbaijan. He highlighted the importance of the Academy and said it was important that judo coaches were recognized as professional specialists.

The event ended with the awarding of certificates of participation to another 50 coaches who had been trained at the IJF Academy. To date, 187 coaches have participated in the Academy’s educational programs, 130 of whom have already received coaching diplomas.

Gold medalists of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games Hidayat Heydarov and Zelim Kotsoyev visited the Alley of Honor and Alley of Martyrs on August 5. The champions noted that the Azerbaijani flag hoisted in international arenas is powerful thanks to Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, martyrs, and veterans. The medalists owed it to themselves to visit the Great Leader and the martyrs and bow before their souls.

Hidayat and Zelim laid flowers at the tomb of Great leader Heydar Aliyev and honored his memory. During the visit, they also honored the memory of Great Leader’s spouse, outstanding ophthalmologist-scientist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva and laid flowers at her tomb. 

Then the champions went to the Alley of Martyrs, honored the memory of the sons of the Motherland who gave their lives for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and laid flowers on their graves.

We did that too! Azerbaijan’s national judo team won a gold medal for the second time, winning a historic victory at the Olympic Games!

Following Hidayat Heydarov (73kg), Zelim Kotsoyev (100kg) became the winner of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Zelim Kotsoyev, who became European champion in Montpellier in France in November last year and World champion in May this year in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, was one of the main contenders to win the Olympic Games. Zelim, who tops the world rankings, showed great perseverance throughout the competition and the determination that characterizes a true top athlete in the end yielded a satisfactory outcome.

We would like to emphasize that during the competition, our athlete defeated all three other judokas on the podium.

After Hidayat Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoyev became the second Azerbaijani judoka to win European, World and Olympic titles.

It should be noted that President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva once again congratulated our athlete on the championship.

We, as the Azerbaijan Judo Federation, congratulate Zelim Kotsoyev and all our people on the brilliant victory!

Hidayat Heydarov (73kg), who became European champion for the fourth time in his career in Zagreb in April this year and world champion for the first time in Abu Dhabi in May this year, fought to the end to win at the Summer Olympic Games being held in Paris, the capital of France.

Thus, 16 years after Elnur Mammadli’s championship in Beijing 2008, Azerbaijan won another Olympic gold medal in judo. Thanks to this achievement, Hidayat went down in the history of Azerbaijan as the first athlete to win three major tournaments in one year and became the first Azerbaijani to win all three titles in his judo career.

Hidayat Heydarov, who has shown very high results in the competitions he has participated in since September 2023, went to Paris as the leader of the world ranking.

Our judoka fought with great persistence throughout the competition. He left no chances for his opponents. As stated in an article prepared by the International Judo Federation about Hidayat’s performance, he is strong enough, has sufficient technique and can find the resources to achieve his desire even when he suffers, as he did the other day.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva also congratulated Hidayat Heydarov on this victory.

We congratulate Hidayat Heydarov and all our people on this victory!