Sambo, another forte of Azerbaijani sport

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijani sambo fighters have showcased their unique skills at the 1st European Games, taking four medals out of the total 24 medals (8 gold, 8 silver, and 8 bronze) earned for the sport.

The country was represented at the Games by eight sambo athletes, including four female.

Islam Gasumov (weighing 57kg), Amil Gasimov (74kg), Vasif Safarbayov (100kg), and Nazakat Khalilova (52kg) all took silver medals on the 11th day of the competition, thus increasing the total number of silver medals held by Azerbaijan to 11.

Azerbaijan’s coin box now enjoys 39 medals, 14 of which are gold, 11 are silver and 14 are bronze.

Sambo was included in the list of sports for the European Games in August 2014. Both the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents advocated for the inclusion of the sport in the Games.

“The opportunity to include such a highly popular sport here in Azerbaijan will further increase the excitement about the event and potentially leave the European Olympic Committees with the legacy of including popular local sports within future sport programs,” Simon Clegg, the chief operating officer of Baku 2015 said earlier.

Sambo includes a synthesis of the best techniques used in sports such as Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, and British fight methods, Japanese jiu-jitsu, karate, aikido, judo, and kendo.

Sambo began to develop in Azerbaijan in the late 1930. Honored coach, the late Ismail Ahmedov, played a major role in the development of the sport in the country.

The first official competition in sambo, which went down in history under the title "Tournament of Five Cities," was held in Baku in 1938.

Azerbaijan is renowned throughout the world for its strong sambo fighters. National athlete Jeyhun Mammadov left his mark in sambo history as the Sambo "star" of the 20th century.

Showing brilliant results, the record-holder Mammadov is a seven-time World and six-time European champion.

At the World Teen Sambo Championships held in France in 1982, Faig Agayev (52kg) earned Azerbaijan its first gold medal in the sport.

Sambo schools in Baku, Sumgait, Ganja, Aghdam, Shabran and Mingachevir take a special place in the history of the sport in Azerbaijan.

The National Sambo Federation organizes many competitions annually, such as the national championships and championships among youth and juniors, the Cup of Azerbaijan etc.

Baku hosts Europe’s first Olympic-style continental Games from June 12 to 28 in the Azerbaijani capital along the Caspian Sea.

More than 6,000 athletes have come to Baku to participate in the historic event.

Awarded the Games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012, Baku 2015 presents a total of 20 sporting events. Some 16 of these sports are Olympic, while the other four including karate, basketball 3x3, beach soccer and sambo are new sports to this format.