Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg), a judoka from the “Neftchi” Sports Club representing the Azerbaijani national team, demonstrated perseverance and achieved great success at the Summer Olympic Games held in Paris, France. Our team’s leader began his competition from the round of 16. In his first match, he faced Israeli representative Tohar Butbul. In the golden score segment, Hidayat Heydarov defeated his opponent by penalty points, advancing to the quarterfinals. In this stage, our athlete competed against Canadian Arthur Margelidon. He won by ippon in the golden score segment, securing his place in the semifinals. On his way to the final, our judoka also defeated Kosovar Akil Gjakova by ippon, earning a spot in the decisive match. The world and European champion defeated Frenchman Joan-Benjamin Gaba by ippon in the golden score segment in the final, winning the gold medal at the Paris Summer Olympic Games and earning the title of Olympic champion.
He won the first medal for our team at the Paris Olympics.
With this, Hidayat Heydarov made history in Azerbaijani sports by becoming the European, World, and Olympic champion in the same year.