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Laman Ismayilova

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The development of Judo in Azerbaijan has been a topic of interest, with special attention given to the sport.

Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF) actively promotes this martial art across the country through various events.

Azerbaijan Judo Federation, in partnership with the National Olympic Committee, has presented a coaching and certification program of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Academy, Azernews reports.

IJF Academy director Envic Galea welcomed the guests of the event.

In his speech, Envic Galea stressed that Azerbaijani judokas are lucky to train in a training centre with such conditions:

"We had such a gathering in Hungary a few weeks ago. I also said there that judo coaches should get a licence to compete properly in the international arena. Our main goal is to develop judo in Azerbaijan as well as in other countries," he said.

The director of the IJF Academy also hailed the development of judo in Azerbaijan.

"The newly established training centre is ideal. You can see for yourself that not only adults but also junior judokas are achieving successful results. Currently, 63 judo coaches are taking exams here," he told local media.

Envic Galea underlined that Azerbaijani judo will achieve greater success in the future.

"We support this step of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation. We will do our best so that Azerbaijani judo achieves high achievements in international arenas," he added.

Head of the International Program Department at the National Olympic Committee, Mehman Karimov, hailed the conditions created.

Mehman Karimov expressed his confidence that Azerbaijani judokas will achieve successful results at the Paris-2024 Summer Olympic Games.

The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.

Paris will become the second city after London to host the Summer Olympics three times.

The Games will feature football, tennis, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, volleyball, weightlifting, basketball, fencing, taekwondo, athletics, wrestling, and other sports, as well as the debut of breakdancing as an Olympic event.

General Secretary of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation, Rashad Rasullu, emphasised that the federation aims to prepare coaches for international competitions at a high level. He stressed that they will implement bigger projects in the future.

Those who succeed in the exam organised for judo coaches will be presented with a certificate on February 10.

The AJF General Secretary praised the results obtained at the Grand Prix Portugal 2024 and the Paris Grand Slam 2024.

"The most important thing for us is that the athletes prepare at a high level. If we look at the Grand Prix Portugal and the Paris Grand Slam, we can see that there are good results. Many national sportsmen have started to show the performance we have expected from them for a long time. Now the main goal is to participate in the next tournament without injuries. We have a lot of work to do," said Rashad Rasullu.

He emphasised the importance of the 2024 Judo Grand Slam Baku, scheduled for February 16-18.

The 2024 Judo Grand Slam Baku is a Judo Grand Slam tournament that will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku as part of the IJF World Tour and during the 2024 Summer Olympics qualification period.

"This tournament will serve as a kind of preparation for the world championship to be held in May. The main plan is to conduct the meeting properly," he added.

Reminding that there are selection documents for the Paris-2024 Summer Olympic Games, Rashad Rasullu stressed the importance of the ranking.

"Whoever is in shape at that time will be given preference. This will depend on the decisions of the federation and the coaching staff. Currently, at 73, 100, and +100 kilogrammes, there is strong competition. We will make a final decision about other weights after the World Championship," he said.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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