Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The City of Winds hosted the Baku Grand Slam 2022, one of the highest levels of international judo competition, Azernews reports.

Baku Grand Slam 2022 brought together over 300 world-class judokas from 61 countries.

The judo competition was held under the auspices of the Azerbaijani Judo Federation, which marks its 50th anniversary.

The Azerbaijani judo team started the fight with powerful performances, which led to a series of victories.

The national team enriched the country's medal haul with 4 gold and 2 bronze medals, becoming the first in the overall standings.

Balabay Agayev (60 kg), Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg), Saeid Mollaei(81 kg), and Zelim Kotsoyev (100 kg) won gold medals for the national team. Karamat Huseynov (60 kg) and Orhan Safarov (66 kg) captured bronze medals, leaving behind the Netherlands, Serbia, Italy, Uzbekistan, and Canada.

The opening ceremony of the Baku Grand Slam was no less spectacular.

The audience enjoyed a vibrant performance called "50th anniversary of judo in Azerbaijan", which captured the audience's attention.

Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov greeted the athletes and delegations visiting the country. He named judo one of the most popular sports in Azerbaijan.

"Judo is a popular sport in the country. Azerbaijan has hosted major international tournaments many times. The World Judo Championship was held in our country, and the Grand Slam is traditionally organized every year. We have Olympic and European champions. As a result of President Ilham Aliyev's special attention, judo is developing rapidly in Azerbaijan," the minister said.

Vice-president of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation Rovshan Rustamov said that he was very pleased to greet the participants in the tournament.

"Over the past years, Azerbaijani judo fighters have won multiple medals at large-scale tournaments in different countries and have always done their best to hold the flag of our country high. Thanks to President Ilham Aliyev's special attention and care, Azerbaijan has turned into one of the world's leading judo countries," said Rustamov.

President of the European Judo Union (EJU) Laszlo Toth greeted all the participants on behalf of the head of the International Judo Federation and thanked the EJU for their contribution to the organization of the event.

After the Baku Grand Slam, the country is hosting another major judo competition-The 2022 IBSA Judo World Championships with up to 250 para judokas from 41 countries.

The championships feature individual and team events.

Xanim Huseynova (70 kg) defeated the Japanese para judoka and finished the championship third.

Two-time Paralympic champion Ilham Zakiyev (over 90 kg) also finished the championship among the prize winners with a silver medal.

At the same time, Shahana Hajiyeva (48 kg) and Namig Abbasli (73 kg) secured bronze medals for the national team.

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