Eljan Hajiyev Talks About His Bronze Medal at the World Championships

"Perhaps I spent the last eight months working precisely for this moment."

İdman.biz reports that these words were said by Azerbaijani judoka (90 kg) Eljan Hajiyev, who won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Budapest.

The European champion of last year, who defeated Estonian Kristofer Kalyulaid in the bronze medal match, spoke about the importance of the result: "I am very happy, even though I came here for a gold medal. But I can be satisfied with the bronze medal as well. The fight against 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 last year - caught me in a trick. I had seen him trying 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 match could have turned out in my favor. But thanks to my coaches, I recovered and went out for the bronze medal match."

Hajiyev, who said that he had two surgeries on his shoulder and knee after the Olympics, also spoke about the rehabilitation period: "I was not allowed to train for eight to nine months, I was only allowed to work on my shoulder and knee. Then very hard training began. It was not like before, because without normal preparation my weight had risen to 105 kilograms! Therefore, after winning a gold medal at the "Grand Slam" held in Dushanbe, today's result is very good."

He also emphasized that his teammates motivated him: "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 Kotsoev will compete, I hope he will win a gold medal."

İdman.biz