RECORD-BREAKING YEAR

It is time to sum up the sporting results. Region plus presents the most striking achievements of Azerbaijani athletes over the past year. It should be noted that this was a record-breaking year for domestic sport: 2113 medals were won, about 30% of which were gold.

Gymnastics: A salto of records

The year 2025 was historic for Azerbaijani gymnastics. Our athletes performed successfully both domestically and internationally. The main highlights include Seljan Mahsudova’s world record at the World Cup in trampoline jumping in Cottbus, Germany, and Tofig Aliyev’s successful execution of the highly complex combination—a triple salto with a triple twist—at the World Games in Chengdu, China.

Throughout the year, gymnasts won 65 gold, 85 silver, and 80 bronze medals at World and European Championships, international tournaments, and competitions. Among these were 10 medals at European Cups, 9 at European Championships, 3 at the World Games, 24 at World Cups, 3 at the 32nd Summer World Games, and 14 at the Third CIS Games.

Moreover, Azerbaijani athletes won series of World Cup titles in various gymnastics disciplines: Nikita Simonov in artistic gymnastics; the men’s pair Murad Rafiev and Daniel Abbasov in acrobatics; and Tofig Aliyev in tumbling.

Taekwondo as striking power

In 2025, Azerbaijani taekwondo athletes competed in several prestigious competitions. National teams across all age groups successfully represented the country at European and World Championships, youth championships, and various international tournaments.

Young athletes won 13 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals at the International School Sports Federation (ISF) U15 Gymnasiade in Serbia. At the III CIS Games held in Azerbaijan, the national team received 4 gold, 2 silver, and 16 bronze medals. It is worth noting that the first gold medal in taekwondo was awarded precisely at these Games.

Azerbaijani teams of younger juniors, juniors, and youth also performed well at European Championships. Juniors won 1 silver and 1 bronze medal at the European Championship in Athens. Younger juniors secured 5 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze medals at the continental championship, which earned them first place overall.

At the European Championship among youth in Eglisau, Switzerland, Azerbaijani team members won 2 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals and received the cup for first place in the overall team standings among juniors. The World Championships among juniors and the XVIII European Youth Olympic Festival brought bronze medals. At the senior World Championships, team member and Olympic silver medallist as well as European champion Hashim Magomedov won a bronze medal. At one of the key events of the year—the VI Islamic Solidarity Games—Minaya Akberova took silver, and Hashim Magomedov earned bronze.

Overall in 2025, taekwondo athletes won 156 medals: 53 gold, 30 silver, and 73 bronze. These results demonstrate stable development of taekwondo in our country and a growing interest in this sport.

The power of judo

The Azerbaijani judo team achieved high results internationally in 2025. Over the year, judokas won 253 medals in individual and team competitions across various age categories: 76 gold, 61 silver, and 116 bronze.

In 2025, Azerbaijan hosted the Grand Slam event in Baku and the European Cup in Guba. At the Grand Slam, local athletes won 1 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze medals; at the European Cup they secured 3 gold, 6 silver, and 9 bronze medals. Azerbaijan also hosted the Third CIS Games in Göygöl. In individual competitions at this event, judo team members won 5 gold, 7 silver, and 9 bronze medals; they became champions in the mixed team relay.

At the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in North Macedonia, young judokas took first place both by medal count and medal quality in individual competitions. At the European Championship for juniors and girls in the same country, the team placed second by medal weight in the team standings and first among boys with 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. At the junior World Championships in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan brought home two bronze medals.

At the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, judokas earned 2 gold, 2 silver, and 5 bronze medals individually and became champions in the mixed team relay. This was Azerbaijan’s first-ever senior mixed team world title.

At the European Under-23 Championship in Moldova, the team won 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal, finishing first overall and among men. The result from the European Championship among youth was 2 gold and 1 bronze medal; at the World Championship —1 bronze medal. At the senior World Championships in Hungary, Azerbaijan ended with three bronze medals; at the European Championship in Montenegro —1 silver and four bronzes.

For the first time in judo history at the World Championship in Hungary, Nazim Umbayev from Azerbaijan’s Judo Federation served as an international Category A referee. On the last day of the championship, the International Judo Federation handed over a flag to Azerbaijan to host the World Championships in 2026.

Traditional wrestling

In 2025 Azerbaijani wrestlers won at European Championships across all categories: 22 gold, 21 silver, and 30 bronze medals. At World Championships among juniors, youth, and adults our athletes won 11 gold, 6 silver, and 18 bronze medals. In total at various championships and tournaments Azerbaijani wrestlers earned 65 gold, 75 silver, and 112 bronze awards. In 2025 Azerbaijani national teams became European champions six times across different age groups. Overall at European and World Championships our teams were among top three finishers fourteen times.

Effective boxing

The year 2025 will go down as one of Azerbaijani boxing’s most successful years. National teams across all age categories won a total of 231 medals. These were earned at 47 international competitions involving domestic teams: including 69 gold, 60 silver, and 102 bronze medals. Compared to the previous year, this marks a growth of 44%.

Of these medals, five were won at World Championships and fifty-five at European Championships. Teams also stood on podiums at various events: Gymnasiade sports games—21 times (9-8-4), World Cup—3 times (0-0-3), III CIS Games—24 times (6-5-13), and VI Islamic Solidarity Games—6 times (1-3-2).

Among team members Bilalhabashi Nazarov (50 kg) won a gold medal at the European Championship for juniors under nineteen years old and became a two-time continental youth champion—the first such achievement in Azerbaijani boxing history. Abbasali Mammadli (48 kg), Nurlan Museyibli (66 kg), Ziraddin Rustamli (70 kg), Mehran Rasulov (80 kg), Khumar Jafarli (75 kg) were top performers among school-age boxers; Amina Taghi (50 kg), Gular Huseynova (48 kg), and Gardash Rahimov (46 kg) were leading juniors.

Nineteen-year-old Subhan Mammadov (50 kg) became European champion among U-23s and senior world champion. In total during 2025 our teams improved their results by more than seventy-two percent compared to last year’s World and European Championships.

Chess: a game of minds

The Azerbaijani men’s chess team finished second at the European Championship. The women’s team achieved a historic result by winning a silver medal at the World Team Championship.

Fourteen-year-old Khagan Ahmed won at the European Championship among juniors. At the continental junior championship Mehriban Ahmedli took silver while Maryam Aghaverdiyeva earned bronze.

At the end of 2025 Azerbaijan ranked first among Turkic-speaking countries in the U16 category.

Football: Garabagh crushes

Following long-standing tradition, Azerbaijan’s national football team again disappointed fans. The expensive Portuguese coach Fernando Santos was dismissed from his post with a large compensation payout; Aykhan Abbasov—coach of Shamakhi FC—took over as head coach of the national team. In World Cup qualifying rounds, the national team scored only one point and finished last.

However, national champion Garabagh pleased fans by reaching the group stage of the Champions League for only the second time in their history under manager Gurban Gurbanov. With seven points after six matches Garabagh has excellent chances to advance to playoffs.

Basketball: 3x3 attacks

The women’s 3x3 basketball team won silver at the European Cup. At the Third CIS Games they also took silver; at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia they became champions.

In 2026, Baku will become a global sports capital hosting numerous international competitions as well as World and European Championships. The year promises to be a serious test for athletes and the entire sporting system of our country.