National judo team ranks first in Romania

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani judokas have brought home six medals from Romania, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

The Azerbaijani team took first place in the overall standings at Cluj-Napoca European Open 2022.

Nazir Talibov (60 kg), Telman Valiyev (73 kg) and Murad Fatiyev (90 kg) secured gold medals for the team.

Rashad Yelkiyev (60 kg), Ruslan Pashayev (66 kg) and Nariman Mirzayev (73 kg) won bronze medals.

Around 62 women and 150 men judokas from 33 countries took part in the judo competition.

Azerbaijan was represented by 17 judokas, including 14 men and 3 women.

Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation actively promotes this martial art across the country. Since 2015, the federation has been led by Rovnag Abdullayev.

The country's modern judo history was laid by Mehman Azizov, who won a silver medal at the Old World Championship in 1998.

However, the achievements of Azerbaijani judo fighters did not stop there. Elnur Mammadli was named best at the Beijing Olympics 2008 in the 73 kg division. In the final, he beat Wang Ki-Chun and brought home a gold medal.

In Beijing, Movlud Miraliyev enriched the country's medal haul with a bronze medal.

The list of the country's top judo fighters includes Rustam Orujov, ?rina Kindzerskaya, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Elmar Gasimov, Hidayat Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoev, Ushangi Kokauri, and Nijat Shikhalizadeh.

Azerbaijani judokas continue to achieve global successes enriching the country's medal haul with new victories.