Elkhan Mammadov: We expect success in at least three weight categories at the "Paris Grand Slam"

Tonight, the judokas of the Azerbaijani national team are leaving for Paris to participate in the prestigious "Paris Grand Slam" tournament of the "Grand Slam" series.

Before the team's departure, Idman.Biz spoke with Elkhan Mammadov, the head coach of the Azerbaijani national team, European and world champion, and learned about his expectations from the performance of our eight judokas.

"As you know, the "Paris Grand Slam" is the most prestigious tournament in the "Grand Slam" series in terms of the strength of its participants. It is no coincidence that it is called the "small world championship." This time, our team is going to France without its leaders - Olympic champions Hidayat Heydarov and Zelim Kotsoev, as well as European champion Eljan Hajiyev. They are skipping this start for various reasons.

Nevertheless, we have good chances for a successful performance in at least three weight categories - 60 kg, 81 kg and +100 kg. Balabay Aghayev (60 kg) has already won this tournament twice, so why not do it a third time? Although it will be very difficult to win now - not only for him, but for the others as well. Japanese and Russian judokas will perform with almost the strongest teams, and the French always have extra motivation at home," said Elkhan Mammadov.