The European Judo Hopes Tournament, organised by the European Judo Union (EJU), was hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the first time.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Secretary General and Sports Director of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation, Kamran TALIBOV, emphasised the importance of this tournament, which is being organised in Azerbaijan for the first time. He highlighted the significance of such competitions in enhancing the practical skills and experience of young judokas and expressed his gratitude to the European Judo Union for their trust.
Pavel VOLEK, EJU Senior Advisor of the Sports Commission, expressed his appreciation for the warm hospitality shown by Azerbaijan. He also noted his satisfaction with the presence of Kodokan specialists in Baku, who accepted the invitation to participate in technical sessions within the tournament framework, and wished success to all participants.
The two-day international competition brought together 436 athletes (364 boys, 72 girls) from 88 clubs representing 12 countries (Azerbaijan, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, and the United Arab Emirates), competing across 33 weight categories.
For three consecutive years, Azerbaijan has hosted the European Cup for cadets, listed on the European Judo Union’s calendar. For many years, the country has also hosted the “Grand Slam” tournament, part of the IJF World Tour series. Next year, the World Championship for seniors will be held in Baku — marking the second time in eight years that Azerbaijan hosts the global event. All this confirms that the country has become one of the key centers for judo in Europe and the world. The two gold medals won at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, earning Azerbaijan second place in the overall team ranking after judo’s birthplace Japan, is a striking example of this success.
The European Judo Hopes Tournament and the international training sessions held in its framework are significant contributions to the development and popularization of children’s and youth judo in Azerbaijan. The technical sessions at the Absheron Olympic Sports Complex were led by European Champion and World Championship silver medallist Aleksandar KUKOLJ from Serbia and Kodokan expert and World Championship medalist TOKUNO Kazuhiko from Japan. These experienced trainers provide unique skills and knowledge to the participants, greatly supporting their development.
Among the local contributors to the technical session were Azerbaijani national team coaches Slavko TEKIC and SASAKI Kotaro, as well as judo experts Orkhan SAFAROV, Asiman ALLAHVERDIYEV, and Rafiq NAJAFOV.
The session was fun and had a large number of participants,
said Kukolj, sharing his impressions of the Baku tournament.
This made it a bit challenging to find the right technique and difficulty level for everyone. But I believe judokas of every belt level learned some skills. I hope the children enjoyed the training.
The aim of such international training sessions varies depending on the age group. Children at this age are still learning and continue to love judo. They build new friendships and are constantly in a learning process. Over time, this will change, and the main focus will become doing as much randori (sparring) as possible.
Kodokan expert Tokuno stated:
Even at the beginner level, judo is a very complex sport for children. First, it’s more important to understand your body. After grasping the physical aspect, you can move on to the theoretical part.
This is not his first time in Azerbaijan:
But it is the first time I’ve watched the training of young children live. Seeing them so motivated is truly exciting.
The recent Olympic results of Azerbaijani judokas indicate that judo is developing at a very high level in this country. On the other hand, Japan’s young athletes are also highly motivated. We hope that the high results achieved by older athletes will serve as a strong source of motivation for younger generations.
Author: Azerbaijan Judo
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen