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Azerbaijani judo team has claimed 13 medals at ISF Gymnasiade 2024 held in Manama, Bahrain, Azernews reports.

On the final day of the competitions, Azerbaijani judokas won six medals. In the girls' category, Diana Eldarova (57 kg) secured a bronze medal. In the boys' category, Muhammad Aghakishiyev and Said Sharifov (73 kg) competed in the final for the gold medal.

At the end of the match, Muhammad Aghakishiyev took gold, while Said Sharifov took home silver. Amin Mehdiyev (81 kg) and Said Huseynov (90 kg) finished in second place, while Subkhan Akhundov (90 kg) secured third place.

On the first day of the games, the Azerbaijani team won 1 gold, 1 silver, and 5 bronze medals. In total, the national team completed the judo competitions with 2 gold, 4 silver, and 7 bronze medals, totaling 13 awards. As a result, the Azerbaijani delegation ranked second overall in terms of medal count, first among boys, and ninth among girls.

ISF Gymnasiade 2024 featured 3,687 athletes from 71 countries competing in 26 sports.

Azerbaijan was represented at the Gymnasium by 160 athletes in 16 sports - aerobics, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, badminton, boxing, archery, wrestling, tennis, taekwondo, table tennis, fencing, chess, judo, parajudo, swimming and para swimming.

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 the 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 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 73 kg division.

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

At the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, judokas Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) and Zelym Kotsoiev (100 kg) earned gold medals for Azerbaijan.

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

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