Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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Moldovan judoka, Denis Vieru, who won an Olympic bronze medal, will compete in Baku Judo Grand Slam 2025, Azernews reports.

The 28-year-old athlete, who is also a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships and the 2023 European Champion, has a notable past performance at the Baku event with four appearances on the podium, two of which were gold medals.

Vieru will be competing in the 73 kg division at this event, despite achieving his previous successes in the 66 kg category.

He will join other Moldovan team members including Victor Sterpu (73 kg), Petru Pelivan (81 kg), and Mihail Latisev (90 kg).

Baku Judo Grand Slam 2025 will take place on February 14-16.

A total of 233 judokas from 37, including 138 male and 95 female judokas will participate in the tournament.

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, Irina 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.