By  Trend

An opening ceremony of the 2018 World Judo Championships took place at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku Sept. 21.

President of the International Judo Federation Marius Vizer, President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation Rovnag Abdullayev, Azerbaijan’s state officials, representatives of international federations on various kinds of sports, heads of national federations on judo and other persons attended the ceremony.

The opening ceremony featured the performances of Azerbaijani art figures, and later Al Bano, the world-famous Italian singer, took the stage with a concert program.

The winners in individual competitions among women in the weight category up to 52 kg and among men in the weight category up to 66 kg will be announced on the second day of the championship.

The Azerbaijani national team in these weight categories is represented by Buyankishig Purevsuren and Nijat Shihalizade, who will participate in 1/32 finals.

On the first day of the competition Karamat Huseynov, Azerbaijani athlete (up to 60 kg), ranked fifth. Other Azerbaijani athletes in the same weight category - Orkhan Safarov and Aisha Gurbanly (up to 48 kg) lost in the 1/8 finals.