National judoka tops world ranking

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani judoka Mammadali Mehdiyev (90 kg) has regained his lead in the world ranking, Azernews reports, citing Azerisport.

The judoka scored 160 points thanks to his performance in Tel Aviv, Paris, and Budapest.

The ranking depends not only on the results but also on the timing of tournaments. New results are of the greatest value and are a kind of guarantee that judokas will hold on to leading positions for as long as possible.

This happened with regard to Mehdiyev, who, despite the failures in recent tournaments, has a certain rating reserve.

As a result, he overtook Uzbek Davlat Bobonov, who dropped to the third position. Beka Gviniashvili (Georgia) took second place in the ranking.

Mammadali Mehdiyev is a bronze medalist in the European Games in Minsk. He also finished fifth at the Grand Slam in Osaka, Paris, and Dusseldorf.

Elmar Gasimov competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a silver medal in 2016.

The judo fighter won a gold medal at the 2009 European Youth Championship, after defeating Lukáš Krpálek in the final. He also grabbed bronze at the 2017 World Championships.

Hidayat Heydarov enriched the country's medal haul with a gold medal at the 2017 European Judo Championships. He defeated his teammate Rustam Orujov at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games final.