Results in Ulaanbaatar are another success of Azerbaijani judo

The Grand Slam judo tournament held in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, once again demonstrated to the world the internal potential, rich traditions and international strength of the Azerbaijani judo school. In this prestigious competition, where 454 top judokas from 58 countries stepped onto the tatami, our national team won 1 gold and 3 bronze medals, while also finishing third in the men’s team standings. This success is by no means accidental. As I have repeatedly emphasized when commenting on the previous achievements of our judokas, these results are the logical outcome of the systematic, professional and purposeful work carried out by the Azerbaijan Judo Federation.

Every medal won in such a highly competitive environment, with leading judo nations such as Japan, South Korea, Russia, Georgia and Italy taking part, carries special value and deserves high appreciation.

I would particularly like to underline that Balabay Aghayev, who secured the gold medal for our team in Ulaanbaatar, holds a significant place in Azerbaijani judo. This is already his third medal at Grand Slam tournaments this year. With two gold medals and one silver medal, Balabay has once again proven that he belongs among the elite of world judo in the -60 kg weight category.

Members of our Judo Club 2012, Zelim Kotseyev (-100 kg) and Murad Fatiyev (-90 kg), also made a valuable contribution to the rising standing of our national team with the bronze medals they won in Ulaanbaatar. As the founder of the club, this personally fills me with great pride and joy. It is also highly commendable that another bronze medalist of the tournament, Nizami Imranov (-66 kg), represents the young generation developing within a healthy competitive environment in Azerbaijani judo.

The performances of Ahmad Yusifov and Kanan Nasibov, who both finished in 5th place, as well as Ruslan Pashayev, who finished 7th, are also worthy of note. Although they stopped just one step away from the medals, the important ranking points they earned in terms of Olympic qualification create a strong foundation for future major victories.

Another important aspect of the Ulaanbaatar tournament is that it was one of the first competitions of the new Olympic qualification cycle. The achievements gained here clearly demonstrate the ambition of the Azerbaijani national judo team to reach the highest goals at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic Games. Starting the new Olympic cycle with 4 medals and third place in the men’s team standings shows that our team is on the right path.

I also consider it important to mention one point: it is regrettable that our Olympic, world and four-time European champion Hidayat Heydarov was unable to step onto the tatami this time due to a minor weight-related issue. However, I personally know his professionalism, unwavering character and determination to win, and I firmly believe that Hidayat will return even stronger in the near future and make us proud once again.

The Ulaanbaatar tournament showed that our judokas are carrying the baton forward with dignity, and we have every reason to look to their future with great optimism. On behalf of the Azerbaijan Judo Veterans Association and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate all our medalists, the dedicated coaching staff, the leadership of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation and our entire great judo family on this magnificent success!

Azer Askerov