TO LEADERSHIP IN EUROPE

The European Judo Championship held in Montpellier, France on November 3-5 confirmed that the success of the Azerbaijani national team was not accidental. Our judokas proved that they were one of the best athletes of the continent.

Two leaders

Hidayat Heydarov (73kg) and Zelim Kotsoyev (100kg), main favourites of Azerbaijan, defeated all their rivals and became the strongest in Europe. Thanks to their gold medals, the Azerbaijani national team became the second in the team standings after France, the organiser of the competition. In total, athletes of eight countries became champions in 14 weight categories. Of these, only the anthems of Azerbaijan and France were played more than once. The Azerbaijani team, which finished fourth in the medal standings in 2020, broke this record and showed the best result in its history.

Statistics show that this is the second win, or gold medal, of Azerbaijani judokas at European championships. First time it happened in 2017 in Wroclaw, when two representatives of the national team won the gold medal of the most prestigious championship. Interestingly, this time Hidayat Heydarov (73kg) and Elkhan Mammadov (100kg) guaranteed success in the same weight categories as well.

Now considered the leader of the national team, Heydarov became a three-time medallist thanks to his victory in Montpellier, with Elchin Ismayilov being the only Azerbaijani judoka with the same status. Heydarov actually repeated the record of Ismayilov, who is currently working as a coach.

Zelim Kotsoyev's gold medal proves that Azerbaijani athletes are capable of winning in the heavyweight category as well. He thus partially solved the issue with this category in Azerbaijani judo. His victory in the finals over Ilya Sulamanidze, one of the strongest judokas of Georgia, gives hope that he will be able to perform successfully at the upcoming Olympic Games as well.

Azerbaijani judokas returned with 54 medals from two championships in Montpellier. In 30 years, we have managed to take only 13 gold medals.  Sixteen times we missed this chance, losing in the final. Though we have received 25 bronze medals.

All for Olympic gold

Three-time European champion Hidayat Heydarov shared his impressions with us after winning the continental championship and said that the next goal was the Olympic Games: "It is nice to become a champion once again. This is my third time in this status. I will try to maintain this title. In all competitions, I try to become a champion. I don't think about anything else. Following a strict programme and necessary discipline increase the chances for a gold medal. My main goal now is to prepare for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. I will prepare for the most important competition on the planet with a special programme. The goal is the same – to get the gold. I know that the competition will be difficult. But I really want to bring home a gold medal.

Kotsoyev believes his first European championship is a great result, especially after the bronze medals he has consistently received at the world and European championships before: "I am very happy with my gold medal. Before the competition, I was inspired by Hidayat Heydarov. He had already become a champion and said: "I did it, and you will do the same". All the bouts were difficult, but the final one was particularly stressful. Ilya Sulamanidze is a strong opponent. We had met twice before, and both times he won. Now I became the European champion and took revenge for my previous defeat".

New transfer from Toprak

By the way, there is a new athlete in the Azerbaijan national judo team. The International Judo Federation (IJF) has officially authorised British judoka Acelya Toprak to compete for the Azerbaijan national team. The 25-year-old athlete will compete in the 57kg weight category. She is currently ranked 27th in the world rankings and is a silver medallist of the 2022 Oceania Open in Perth. In 2017, she won a silver medal at the European Youth Championships.

Acelya Toprak commented on her performance for Azerbaijan: "I'm excited and happy to join the Azerbaijani judo team, which is considered one of the most successful in the world. I am happy that I will be able to continue to compete for the national team at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. I look forward to representing Azerbaijan at the Olympic Games in both individual and team events."

The Azerbaijan Judo Federation explained Toprak's transfer by the need to strengthen competition within the team, as well as support in the development of promising young and junior athletes.

The 73rd European Championship will be held in Zagreb, Croatia on April 25-28, 2024.