Sport24.az
"Maybe I spent the last eight months working towards this moment." Sport24.az reports that these words were said by Azerbaijani judoka (90 kg) Eljan Hajiyev, who won a bronze medal at the World Championship in Budapest.
The European champion of the previous year, who defeated Estonian Kristofer Kalyulaid in the match for the bronze medal, spoke about the importance of the result: "I am very happy, although I came here for the gold medal. But I can also be satisfied with the bronze medal. The fight with Goki Tajima in the semi-final was very difficult. I wanted to win with ippon, not waza-ari. But my opponent - the world champion of the previous year - caught me in a trick. I had seen him try to do this trick several times, but this time I couldn't prevent it. After the match, I probably cried for two hours. I felt that this meeting could have ended in my favor. But thanks to my coaches, I came to my senses and went to the match for the bronze medal."
Hajiyev, who said that he had two operations on his shoulder and knee after the Olympics, also talked about the rehabilitation period: "I was not allowed to train for eight or nine months, I was only allowed to work on my shoulder and knee. Then very hard training started. It wasn't like before, because I didn't have normal training, my weight had risen to 105 kilograms! Therefore, after winning the gold medal at the "Grand Slam" held in Dushanbe, today's result is very good."
He also emphasized that his teammates gave him motivation: "Hidayat Heydarov became the European, world and Olympic champion in one year, and he always gives me great motivation. Today, our other Olympic and world champion Zelim Kotsoyev will perform, I hope he will win the gold medal."
