Returning to the European Youth Olympic Festival at the Cadet European Champion, all eyes were on Rasul ALIZADA of Azerbaijan, and given his previous success, it was clear that his opponents had done their homework and prepared well to come up against him. No one gave him an easy ride, and even in the final, he was forced in to a golden score contest by Croatia’s Kristian BUTUCI. After a gruelling four minutes, both athletes were looking for any tiny mistake, and Alizada found it, and attacked with a tidy ko uchi gake to claim his second major gold medal.
I know my final opponent very well, we fought before in Czechia, and here he prepared very well so it made it a very difficult contest and it was close, but in the end I was able to come out with the win and the gold medal.
Alizada performed in the very same arena to claim his cadet title, but did he feel any difference this time around on his mission for gold?
I really must admit, both competitions have been so tough, really, the competition was very hard, but my ultimate goal this year is the World Championships and now I feel ready, and inshallah, I will win it.
The steely focus and determination was clear, and with sights set on a world title now, it was time to find out if he plans on following in the footsteps of some very recent champions, but his surprise took us back some years,
I have to say, my favourite judoka is actually my personal coach, Nijat SHIKHALIZADA, he was an incredible judoka and he is really my favourite.
Shikhalizada won the Junior World Championships in 2006, but impressively, the year before he took a bronze medal in the Senior World Championships in Cairo. He also went on to win 14 IJF World Judo Tour medals and a senior Continental Championships medal, it is easy to see why his students aspire to follow in his footsteps.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen