The Azerbaijani judo team has finished the Guadalajara Grand Prix 2025 with six gold and three bronze medals, Azernews reports.
Balabay Aghayev (60 kg), Ruslan Pashayev (66 kilograms), Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg), Vusal Galanderzade (81 kg), Zelym Kotsoiev (81 kg) and Ushangi Kokauri (+100 kg) rose to the highest step of the podium.
Ahmad Yusifov (60 kg), Rashid Mammadaliyev (73 kg) and Murad Fatiyev (90 kilograms) were awarded bronze medals.
The Azerbaijani national team took first place in the overall medal standings with nine medals.
The Guadalajara Grand Prix 2025 took place in Mexico, bringing together 231 judokas from 33 countries.
Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation actively promotes this martial art across the country. President of Azerbaijan Judo Federation is Rashad Nabiyev.
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, Zelym Kotsoiev, 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.
