Report.az
Azerbaijani judokas performed brilliantly at the U-23 European Championship held in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.
This was stated by Elkhan Mammadov, the head coach of the men's national team, in his statement to "Report".
He said that the European Championship is a serious competition:
"Indeed, our judo team performed well at the European Championship. This is not an ordinary tournament, it is held once a year and all European countries are seriously preparing for it. We were represented in six weight categories - 60, 66, 81, 90, 100 and heavier. We won medals in four weight categories."
The expert singled out some judokas:
"The encouraging thing is about Kenan Nasibov. There are few judokas like Kenan in the history of Azerbaijani judo. He is a find for us. Because after Ushangi Kokauri, it was puzzling who would compete in the heavyweight category. Therefore, Kenan's arrival is a welcome development for us. He is young, has a future, his career is still ahead. In addition, we expected medals from Islam Rahimov in previous competitions, but there were failures. He could not participate in the European and world championships with full force due to his injuries, and he was not psychologically ready. Thank God, after three years he recovered, healed and showed character. Despite being in a losing position in the final, he recovered and won against his Dutch opponent. We were very happy with his success as well. Omar Rajabli was third in the European Championship last year, this time he won a silver medal. He has a future ahead, we have high expectations from him as well. As there is competition, we will also see development in judo. In the next championships, some judokas may be invited to the senior team based on the decision of head coach Richard Trautmann. Omar and Kenan are almost participating in the senior team. Islam Rahimov has also approached this level. I believe we will see him in big arenas."
It should be noted that the Azerbaijani national team finished the European Championship with a total of 4 medals, including 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, and also took first place among men in the overall team standings. Kenan Nasibov (+100 kg) and Islam Rahimov (66 kg) became European champions. Omar Rajabli (81 kg) won a silver medal, and Aslan Kotsoev (90 kg) won a bronze medal.
