Idman.biz
Azerbaijani judokas, who won gold medals at the Grand Slam series tournament in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), have significantly improved their positions in the world ranking.
Idman.Biz reports that the International Judo Federation (IJF) has announced the updated ranking based on the results of the Tashkent Grand Slam. At the competition, Azerbaijani representatives won four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. The winners of the tournament were Ahmad Yusifov (60 kg), Omar Rajabli (81 kg), Murad Fatiyev (90 kg), and Kenan Nasibov (over 100 kg). The silver medal was won by Balabay Aghayev (60 kg). Olympic champion Zelim Kotsoiev (100 kg) and Jamal Gamzatkhanov (over 100 kg) won bronze awards.
Thus, Ahmad Yusifov (60 kg, 3305 points), one of the Tashkent's triumphant, rose eight places and climbed to the eighth place in the world ranking. Balabay Aghayev (60 kg, 4365 points), who lost to Yusifov in the final, rose from fourth to second place. The leader in this weight category remains Brazilian Michael Augusto, who is only seven points ahead of Aghayev.
In turn, Omar Rajabli (81 kg, 2178 points) advanced 17 places and settled in 15th place. Zelim Tckaev, who is in sixth place with 3,365 points, retained the highest position among Azerbaijanis in this weight category.
Murad Fatiyev (90 kg, 2976 points) defeated two-time Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri in the final of the Tashkent tournament, advanced ten places, and rose to sixth place. Eljan Hajiyev (3246 points), who did not compete in Uzbekistan in the same weight category, dropped from third to fourth place.
Young Azerbaijani heavyweight Kenan Nasibov (over 100 kg, 3,000 points) continues his rise. After his victory in Tashkent, he advanced 11 places and rose to ninth place. Although our other representative in this weight category, Ushangi Kokaori (3,751 points), remains in seventh place, his position does not seem as strong as before, and if Nasibov maintains this pace, he may become the main heavyweight of the national team.
The bronze medalist of the Grand Slam, Jamal Gamzatkhanov (2063 points), rose five places to 21st place. Zelim Kotsoiev (5238 points), another bronze medalist from Tashkent, retained his second place in the world ranking, losing 112 points to Japanese leader Dota Arai.
Finally, Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg, 3336 points) rose from eighth to seventh place, although he was not allowed to participate in the Tashkent tournament because he did not make weight. His progress was due to the weakening of the positions of a number of rivals who were previously ahead of him in the ranking.
