BEST IN EUROPE

Elnur Mammadov, judo champion (73 kg) at the Beijing Olympics, won another title at the end of the year. The European Judo Union declared him the best sportsman of the year at their congress in Athens. Elnur's triumph at the Olympics, where he outplayed all his rivals, was truly impressive so it was logical that the Azerbaijani athlete should win this title too.

Title collector 

Even though it's already three months since the end of the Olympics, Elnur Mammadli's performance at the Games remains one of the biggest talking points in judo. And with good reason, since the sportsman completed all his bouts before time and it took him just 30 seconds to beat Korean world champion Wang in the final. So Elnur's bouts in Beijing have already become classics of the genre and his victories on the mat in China are text book fodder. The judo fighter himself does not intend to rest on his laurels and could compete in at least three more Olympic Games. He was 20 when he won his first Olympic medal and now Elnur wants to test the well-known maxim that it is easier to win a title than defend one. 

With less than four years to go to the next Olympics in London the time will fly by. It's quite possible that Elnur Mammadli will change his category and compete at 81 kg. With every competition it is more difficult for him to shed the kilograms in order to come in under 73 kg, so he will probably up his weight. Elnur competed quite successfully in the 81 kg category in the Super World Cup in Moscow in May, coming third. However, this is all for the future. The judo fighter has resumed training after a short break and begun preparations for next season. He is managing not only to train, but also to give master classes.

At the initiative of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, Elnur Mammadli made a demonstration appearance at School No 6 in Sabayil District, showing the moves that brought him Olympic victory. The pupils were very interested in the master class and then besieged the Beijing hero in search of the coveted autograph. Elnur is already a national hero and this should give him a further stimulus to achieve the next high targets. 

"The heights that I reached are already history, including the Beijing Olympics," Elnur Mammadli said. "Every new season must begin with a clean sheet. You must not live on your past achievements in sport, whatever they may have been. You have constantly to show that you are the best. That's why I see every new tournament as the next test."

At just 20 years of age, he has almost equalled the achievements of Nazim Huseynov, who won Azerbaijan's first Olympic gold in judo. Nazim performed brilliantly at the 92 Games in Barcelona, twice won the European championships, won silver at the world championships and the title of best judo fighter in Europe. So Elnur does have something to aim for. He has not yet won a world championship and would really like to win gold at two Olympics. But of course it won't be easy.

Innovations from the IJF

Next year, major competitions will be held under new rules, passed at the recent International Judo Federation congress in Bangkok. The score "koka" has been eliminated and now "yoko" is the lowest throw. The result of the first "shido" (warning) has also gone and now the first caution for breaking the rules will not give the opponent a points advantage. It will just be a verbal "encouragement" to fight properly and not break the rules. The first "shido" will not be significant in golden score either (extra time), which now lasts just three minutes instead of five.

The new rules were tried out at the junior world championships in Thailand and it has to be said that the Azerbaijani athletes quickly adapted to the innovations. In any event, Ramin Qurbanov (81 kg) and Sarxan Axmadov (66 kg) won bronze medals, although they had hoped for more. "It is to be expected that the rule changes will finally come into force in all official competitions in the new year," the Azerbaijan team's chief coach, Agayar Axundzada, said. "There are subtleties here. For example, if an average judo fighter lost to one of the favourites in the first bout, he used to have the chance to compete for bronze, since his opponent might reach the semi-final at least. Now this won't be possible - you have to reach the quarter-final and only then can a defeated athlete take part in the compensatory bouts." 

The calendar will be quite busy, as the IJF has included commercial Grand Slam and Grand Prix tournaments. Of course, only the best judo fighters will be invited to take part and one of them will probably be Elnur Mammadli, since he is Olympic champion. Competing in these championships will allow the judo fighter to show his class once more and to earn some money too. Though it will now be tougher for Elnur as every rival will see a fight against him as special. The increase in the number of tournaments is part of a major programme to develop judo worldwide, introduced by IJF President Marius Vizer. The idea is to make judo more of a spectator sport, with a more comprehensible rating and selection system. All these plans are being carried out now, because it was impossible to begin changes before the Olympics.

Into the future

Practically all Azerbaijan's leading judo fighters have already finished their holidays and started training. Bronze medallist in Beijing Movlud Miraliyev has finally decided his future and at the age of 34 is continuing his career. "I feel strong enough to carry on competing at a high level. I am keeping in shape now and preparing for the new season," the sportsman said. Although Movlud has no real competitors in the 100 kg category in Azerbaijan, this isn't the case with other weights. Food for thought came from the junior world championships, in which Ramin Qurbanov (81 kg) and Sarxan Ahmadov (66 kg) performed very well, winning bronze. Since they had earlier come third in the European championships, they can now be considered ready for inclusion in the national team. This applies to Sarxan in particular, since in the 66 kg category we have only World Universiad winner Ramil Qasimov, who did not compete well in Beijing. Competition from Sarxan can only be good for Ramil, needless to say.

Ramin Qurbanov's case is rather more difficult, as Olympic champion Elnur Mammadli seems to have fallen in love with the 81 kg category. However, it's important to have a No 2 in the national team who can replace the leader when necessary and produce a result. This is especially relevant as Mehman Azizov, a veteran of three Olympics, is winding down his career, although he is continuing to train. He now spends more time teaching - he teaches judo at School No 277, which has a sports orientation - so he has not given up the sport. "Of course not! My heart would give out without judo, I cannot do without it," Mehman Azizov said.

The trainers have two years in which to decide on the sportsmen who will compete in Olympic qualifying. Promising young people have to be broken in now so that the most talented can be chosen. The coming season may provide answers to many questions and determine the potential of the new team, in which several weight categories need to be strengthened. Not to mention women's judo, where our only suitable competitor is three time medal winner at the European championships Kifayat Qasimova (57 kg).