He is one of those rare people…

My jubilee notes about my Teacher with the Order of Glory

It is the anniversary of the living legend of Azerbaijani judo, Tarlan Hasanov. In my opinion, the fact that its 80th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Azerbaijani judo fall at the same time is quite significant for those who love this sport. Tarlan Hasanov occupies a unique place among the creators and developers of the judo school in our country, and among those who popularized this sport. Bringing Azerbaijani judo to the current level of development was the main goal of his life and an integral part of his sports activities.

Teacher Tarlan’s coaching and professional experience is a good school for anyone passionate about judo like me. Today, I try to keep the traditions of this school alive within my capabilities, I do my best to make our young people benefit from it, and to pass on interest and love for judo from generation to generation.

His coaching activity and experience are a great school. It is important to keep the traditions of this school alive, to pass them on to successive generations, and to benefit from them constantly.

Azerbaijan is already known all over the world as a sports country. This is the result of the incomparable attention and care given to sports and athletes by the Honorable President, the head of the National Olympic Committee, Mr. Ilham Aliyev. The head of our state also highly appreciated the services of teacher Tarlan: he was awarded the honorary title of “Honored physical education and sportsman” in 2019, and the order of “Fame” in 2022 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation.

In Eastern martial arts, a teacher is a holy personality, an ideal, a peak. The student can never repay the debt to his teacher, this debt is not measured by any material. The relationship between the student and the teacher is based only on the feeling of gratitude… That is, the student is grateful to his teacher throughout his life. From this point of view, Tarlan Hasanov is a teacher of judo teacher in Azerbaijan. He has exceptional services in the development of judo in our country. In my opinion, there is no Azerbaijani athlete who has won a name in this type of fighting, and Tarlan’s teacher did not have a share in his success to some extent. Rasim Agamirov, Ilgar Mushkiyev, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Hidayat Heydarov, who is the coach of our Olympic champions – Nazim Huseynov (coach Aghayar Akhundzade), Elnur Mammadli (coach Yashar Allahverdi) and Tarlan teacher, who is his students, took high places in the most prestigious international competitions and gave great victories to Azerbaijani judo. they did. I believe that many talented and hopeful judokas will grow up among the children and teenagers currently taking lessons from him.

For me, the value of Tarlan Hasanov as both a teacher and a person is unparalleled.

I first met him when I was a teenager. Even now, I think that if I had started practicing judo with him, I would have achieved high achievements very early. Of course, I cannot lose my first coach Ruslan Abdullayev, who taught me the alphabet of judo at the Olympic reserve sports school (now the Olympic Sports High School). At that time, he was very young, he trained enthusiastically and took us to school competitions. But when there was an opportunity for us to participate in more prestigious tournaments, Ruslan Ahmadovich left the school…

We did not have a coach for a while. At that time, we used to go to the “Burevestnik” sports club under the Azerbaijan State Institute of Physical Education for training. It was as if no one needed us there. I mainly performed the function of sparring partner of Rasim Agamirov (now the honored coach of Russia), who is the “number one” of the national team in his weight class. In other words, I was considered someone who had no competitive prospects. However, the coach of the national team, Mr. Tarlan, was observing me… Before that, I had communicated with him only once in the junior tournament. So, during the weighing, he looked at my birth certificate and said: “Are you the son of Zalimkhan Askerov?” Say hello to your father, I am his friend,” he said. My father was a highly educated boxing specialist and was well-known in the sports world. Tarlan was in military service in Belarus together with the teacher…

Soon, my training at “Burevestnik” took on a new character. Mr. Tarlan started working with me as a personal trainer. In a short time, I became a serious competitor, even defeating Rasim in the next national championship, I managed to become “number one”. I won two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal in the national championships. As part of the national team, I became a participant and even a prize-winner in all-Union and international competitions. My achievements in judo increased year by year. In 1994, I participated in the European Championship in Gdansk, Poland, in the international tournament in Germany, and the Kodokan tournament in Tokyo, Japan. I trained intensively under the guidance of teacher Tarlan. In 1995, we even planned to open a judo school in Baku together with Mr. Tarlan… I also contacted Turkey to buy judo equipment for this school…

But unexpectedly, all my plans were ruined. I experienced short-term difficulties in my personal life. Again, teacher Tarlan was always with me. He did not let me down, he stood up for me at the highest levels. He spared me the attention and care that a real teacher can give to his student… The difficulties were over and we continued our training again… I even went to the European Championship in 1997, but I couldn’t compete because of a problem with my weight. Still, I did not stop training, and when I got into shape, I had already reached the age of a veteran. In 2006, I took part in the World Championship among veteran masters for the first time and won a gold medal. Later, I became the winner and prize-winner of the European and world championships among veterans many times. Let me also say that the veterans’ movement unites all well-known judo athletes. They do not want to leave the tatami and the competitions are very interesting.

Teacher Tarlan occupies an important place in the activities of the Azerbaijan Judo Veterans Association. It plays an indispensable role in the preparation of veteran judokas for competitions.

Teacher Tarlan has so much energy and so much nobility! He is one of the rare personalities… Even now, when I practice on the tatami, I gather myself as soon as I hear Mr. Tarlan’s voice. I am a father, and a grandfather, but I still feel like a teenager in front of him…

… In the nineties of the last century, we were not lucky enough to create our judo school with Mr. Tarlan. However, in 2012, this dream came true. We created the sports club “Judo Club-2012” in the center of Baku, which has a material and technical base according to the most modern standards. Teacher Tarlan has made a worthy contribution to training a new generation of judokas in our club, which has gained prestige in the sports environment of Azerbaijan. Among them, there are winners of various international competitions.

When the World Judo Championship was held in Baku in 2018, the fact that the Japanese national team chose our club to prepare for the competition and trained here for two weeks was a very significant event for Mr. Tarlan and me. After showing high results in the championship, the Japanese held a master class for young Azerbaijani judokas in our club. During this event, the famous athletes of the country, which is considered the founder of judo, were amazed that Mr. Tarlan said the names of all the tricks in Japanese and explained their essence. Perhaps Japanese judo masters did not expect to have such a specialist in Azerbaijan. Since he knew all Japanese judo terms by heart, Mr. Tarlan was able to freely communicate with Japanese judokas… After that memorable event, his fame reached Japan. In 2019, he was awarded the “Order of Silver Ray Gundogar”, which is considered one of the most prestigious awards in this country and was presented personally on behalf of the Emperor. 115 people have been nominated for this award in the world, and only 7 of them are Japanese.

…I can remember hundreds of episodes from our joint training and tournament trips, but the main thing is that I still have an immense love and fanatical attachment to judo thanks to teacher Tarlan. It is his service that I and hundreds of Azerbaijanis like me cannot imagine their lives without judo. We, all students of Mr. Tarlan, are grateful to him for our success in sports and life because he instilled in us a love for the Motherland, the flag of Azerbaijan, and the anthem…

I believe that Tarlan Hasanov will always be an irreplaceable example for us judo veterans, as well as the future generation of judokas, with his life, personal human qualities, sportsman’s character, God-given coaching talent, and rich experience.

Azer ASGAROV,

Member of the Executive Committee of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation,

President of Azerbaijan Judo Veterans Association,

winner of world and European championships among masters and veterans,

Founder of “Judo Club 2012” sports club.