NO MORE SILENCE DURING THE LOCKDOWN

The stagnation in the world of sports due to the coronavirus pandemic is gradually fading away. The first decision to resume international competitions was made by the International Judo Federation. After a seven-month break, Hungary hosted the licensed Grand Slam tournament.

The national team of Azerbaijan consisting of 17 judokas returned home with three medals. Given the suspension of any competition due to the lockdown, the result can be considered satisfactory with the favorites of the national team meeting the expectations of their fans.

Orkhan Safarov (66 kg) defeated the representative of the Netherlands Ivo Verhostert in the first round. Then he defeated Bagrati Niniashvili of Georgia. In the quarterfinals, O. Safarov won the match with the Mongolian wrestler Erkhembayar Battogtokh. The victorious march of the Azerbaijani judoka was interrupted in the semifinals by the Russian athlete Yakub Shamilov. Orkhan took the third place. He won the bronze medal by defeating Sardor Nurillayev of Uzbekistan. With a military salutation at the end of the fight, O. Safarov thus expressed solidarity with the Azerbaijani soldiers liberating the occupied lands in Karabakh.

In his interview, O. Safarov said that, despite the bans, Azerbaijani athletes saluted the soldiers of the Azerbaijani army. “All three of us did it. The judges of the International Judo Federation hinted us to refrain from doing this. They said there should be no politics on the tatami. But we had only one thought: to win and to show a military salute. This is what encouraged us,” Azerbaijani judokas said.

O. Safarov said that after winning the bronze medal, he had more licensed points sharing 17th-18th places in the Olympic ranking. “This is enough to qualify for the Games. Nijat Shikhalizade competes in the same weight category. He is ahead of me by 2-3 positions. A country can be represented by one athlete in each weight category. There are several competitions ahead, and I will try to accomplish even higher results. Nijat is my friend, but everyone wants to compete in the Olympic Games. The stronger of us will go to Tokyo,” Safarov said.

Rustam Orujev (73 kg) achieved the highest result of the prestigious competition–the gold medal. After defeating the representatives of Mongolia, Bulgaria, Russia and Sweden, the Azerbaijani judoka defeated the Swiss athlete Niels Stump in the final bout.

By saluting in a military manner, R. Orujev dedicated his victory to the fallen heroes of Azerbaijan. “This medal is for our martyrs. I will transfer the money I earned here to my fellow soldiers and officers fighting in Karabakh. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!" A gold medalist of the Grand Slam competition is awarded a cash prize of $5,000, of which $1,000 is the share of the coach.

The Azerbaijani national team received another medal on the last day of the competition thanks to the performance of Mammadali Mehdiyev (90 kg), who joined the competition from the 1/16 finals by defeating Farrukh Bulekulov of Kyrgyzstan. Then he knocked out the Dutch athlete Jesper Sminky. In the quarterfinals, Mehdiyev had to defeat the Russian judoka Mikhail Igolnikov but failed. Having defeated Davlat Bobonov in a consolation bracket, Mehdiyev defeated another representative of the Netherlands, Noel Van Andy, in the fight for the third place and won a bronze medal. Like his teammates, Mammadali Mehdiyev also left the tatami by saluting his fans in a military manner.

Thus, the performance of Azerbaijani judokas at the Grand Slam tournament (409 judokas from 61 countries) can be considered satisfactory. Along with one gold and two bronze medals, thw national team also increased the number of licenses. It is normal that 14 judokas of the team did not get medals. After all, the Grand Slam tournament is considered a ‘small European championship’. Due to high level of competition, most countries are left without medals at all.

The following athletes of the national team did not meet the expectations: Keramet Huseynov and Davud Mammadsoy (60 kg), Nijat Shikhalizade and Telman Veliyev (73 kg), Hidayet Heydarov and Murad Fatiyev (81 kg), Rufat Ismayilov (90 kg), Elmar Gasimov and Zelim Kotsoev (100 kg), Usangi Kokauri and Jamal Feyziyev (+100 kg). Women judokas of the national team – Aisha Gurbanly and Leyla Aliyeva (48 kg), as well as Gultaj Mammadaliyeva (52 kg) also returned home without medals.

Our judokas are preparing for yet another serious test. On 19-21 November, Prague will host the European judo championship to be attended by the strongest athletes from 50 countries of the world.