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Laman Ismayilova

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Azerbaijani judoka Hidayat Heydarov has finished fifth in the 2023 World Judo Championships held in Doha, Qatar.

The judoka defeated his rivals from USA and Moldova in the the 73 kg weight class, but lost to the Italian and Japanese judokas, Azernews reports.

Nearly 657 judokas from 99 countries are taking part in the 2023 World Judo Championships. The judo competition in Doha will last until May 14.

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.

A year later, the winner of the World Youth Games in Moscow, Rasul Salimov, grabbed the bronze medal at European Championship in Slovakia. Another national judoka Elchin Ismayilov became the European champion in 2000 in Wroclaw.

However, the achievements of Azerbaijani judo fighters did not stop there. Elnur Mammadli was named the best at the Beijing Olympics 2008 in the 73 kg division.

The Beijing Olympics 2008 gave a fresh impetus to judo in Azerbaijan. The list of the country's top judo fighters includes Rustam Orujov, İrina Kindzerskaya, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Elmar Gasimov, Hidayet Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoev, Ushangi Kokauri, and Nijat Shikhalizada.

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.

At the 2019 pre-Olympic World Championships, which was held in Tokyo, he won a bronze medal, defeating an opponent from Tajikistan Behruz Khojazoda in a duel for third place. He also captured a gold medal at 2022 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv held in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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