Author: Tatjana Flade
He has won it all but he feels motivated for more: Olympic Champion Hidayat Heydarov of Azerbaijan will compete again at the World Judo Championships in Budapest. Heydarov comes off a golden year. In 2024, he not only won the biggest prize, Olympic gold in Paris, in the -73kg but he also struck gold at the World and European Judo Championships.
After that he needed a break.
“Our two Olympic Champions had a lot of celebrations and obligations for the federation, and needed time for themselves as well. We started again in February and obviously we are not yet at a 100 percent, but that is not a problem,” national team coach Richard Trautmann said at the European Championships in Podgorica. “We need to be at a 100 percent when the really big medals are at stake. I am hoping for a good World Championship this year but your next big goal for us as a federation are the World Championships next year that will be held in Baku, in Azerbaijan.“
That is a big motivation for Heydarov as well.
Heydarov wanted to start his comeback at the European Championships in April but he fell sick and was not fully recovered so that he was unable to participate. Nevertheless, he came to Podgorica to receive the EJU Award as the “Male Judoka of the Year 2024” and he stayed to support his teammates.
“I just lost weight and I came back after 10 months”, the 27-year-old said. “It’s quite difficult to come back and to train again, but I want to win in the next championships.” The motivation remains high. “I already got all these titles but I want to double the stats”.
Winning Olympic gold and becoming judo’s poster boy in Azerbaijan has changed Heydarov’s life quite a bit. “Many things changed but the most essential point is that I became famous, a kind of celebrity”, he shared. “I like it quite a lot because I am setting the best example for the new generation.” When the judoka walks the street at home or goes to a restaurant, people approach him to get his autograph or to take a picture with him. Heydarov does not feel disturbed by the attention of his fans.
The Olympic Champion’s focus now is fully on judo again. “Judo is not just a sport for me.
It’s my life path, and on this path, there’s no looking back, only moving forward”, he wrote on his Instagram account recently.
And even though it was tough to get back to the daily grind of training, the love for judo was stronger than the temptation of a different life. “Compared to other sports, judo is the one which is the clearest. I love it because we are like a family. We all respect each other and everyone’s culture,” Heydarov shared.
He has worked hard to be ready when the moment comes to step on the tatami at the World Judo Championships in Budapest in the -73kg as the reigning Olympic and World Champion.
Author: EJU Media