The two judokas celebrated this victory as brothers

"I was very happy to win the title of European champion in 2017, but this victory is more valuable to me because it is a proof of my steady development." Two-time European champion Hidayat Heydarov said this in an interview for the latest article of the European Judo Union (EJU). On the second day of the European Championship held in Sofia, our athlete Hidayat Heydarov, who competed in the -73 kg weight category, left behind all his competitors and faced his Italian opponent Giovanni Esposito in the final stage. By defeating his opponent in the "golden score" section with a "vaza-ari" in 24 seconds, Heydarov became a double European champion. On the official website of EJU, Heydarov commented on his victory: "I am very happy to return to competitions with -73 kg after -81 kg, I feel that I have more control over myself in this weight class and I am very happy to participate in this tournament again." According to the author, the Azerbaijani athlete's career has a very interesting history. He already holds the junior, youth and senior titles. At the same time, the article states that many people in the field of judo are aware of the age-old rivalry between Rustam Orujov and Hidayat Heydarov, but after Hidayat's victory, the two judokas celebrated this victory as brothers. Rustam Orujov, who competes in the same weight category, won the bronze medal match after beating Romania's Alexandru Raycu in the consolation stage. Later, he defeated the Romanian athlete Adrian Sulka and won the bronze medal for our national team. It should be noted that Rustam Orujov has already won the award for the 5th time at the European Championship. He already has 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals from the continental championship. Watching our athletes, the head coach Richard Tarutman looked excited and tense at the same time during the competitions. In an interview with the European Judo Union, the coach said that judo is one of the 3 main sports in which an Olympic medal is expected in Azerbaijan. Although he felt the pressure, it was a good call for him, said Trautman. Thus, on the second day of the tournament, which was attended by 363 athletes from 40 countries, the national team of Azerbaijan, consisting of men, took second place.