Challenging names and internal battles in Baku

The IJF World Judo Tour is running at its end, Baku, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo are all that’s left of this year’s Tour. Baku is full of excitement. Home athlete Hidayat Heydarov tops not only the Baku Grand Slam seedings but also the world rankings at U73kg.

Heydarov first fought his home World Judo Tour event in 2015 while still a junior and placed 5th that year, and at his next Baku outing in 2017. His first medal in the city came at the 2018 World Championships, a bronze, and it was followed by gold, bronze and gold at his next 3 Baku Grand Slam appearances. Home is a great place to be for Heydarov and everyone will struggle against him, the statistics don’t lie. However, Olympic, world and European champion, Georgia’s Lasha Shavdatuashvili loves a challenge and he’ll be snapping at his heels.

Also the men’s U60kg category is exciting for Azerbaijan. Azeri judo fans are likely to see proof that number one seed Balabay Aghayev (AZE) may want to challenge the world champion Fran Garrigos (ESP) who is also in Baku, keen to show why he deserved the world title back in May and likely separated in the sheets from Aghayev. There are some internal battles such as the one between Mkheidze and Valadier Picard of France, sitting at positions 14 and 15 in the rankings respectively and both seeded in Baku. Neither will relinquish victory without a fight and they’ll bring that added layer of determination with them to Azerbaijan.

Perhaps the most anticipated of the men’s categories is the U100kg, with the world one, two and three all on the starting line. Ilia Sulamanidze (GEO) is a formidable opponent for anyone but his number 2 is Kotsoiev, competing in front of his crowd and with a lot to prove after being disqualified for head-diving at the Masters in August.