2024-07-31 06:14:39
Yesterday, Azerbaijani judoka Hidayat Heydarov won the Summer Olympic Games held in Paris, the capital of France. The athlete in the 73 kg weight category won the gold medal of the Olympics by beating the Frenchman John Benjamin Gaba in the final.
Hidayat, who started the fight from the 1/8 finals, defeated Tohar Butbul (Israel) at this stage. He was stronger than Arthur Margelidon (Canada) in the 1/4 finals, and Akil Gjakova (Kosovo) in the semi-finals. This was the first Olympiad in Hidayat Heydarov’s career.
Day.Az presents the biography of Hidayat Heydarov, who won the first medal of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games on behalf of Azerbaijan:
Hidayat Heydarov was born on July 27, 1997 in Karaganda, Republic of Kazakhstan. His family is originally from Alkhasava village of Goychay. When Hidayat was 3 years old, his family moved to Baku. When Hidayat was 6 years old, his father, on the advice of his friends, enrolled him in a judo school located near the “Neftchiler” metro station. In this way, his father wanted his son to be more stable and to protect himself from attacks. Hidayat’s first teacher was Tarlan Hasanov. He still works with his first coach. The national coach is Mehman Azizov.
In 2012, he won a bronze medal in the Azerbaijan championship among cadets. In 2013, he was the champion of Europe among cadets and the champion of Azerbaijan among adults. In 2014, Hidayat Heydarov, who fought in the 66-kilogram weight class at the cadet European Championship in Athens, Greece, defeated David Reis from Portugal, Oran Giner from Israel, Beka Udesiani from Georgia, and Naim Matt from Switzerland, and reached the finals. Heydarov, who was superior to Russian judoka Ismail Chasigov in the decisive match, again climbed to the top step of the podium, as he did a year ago. In 2015, he won a bronze medal at the world championship among young judokas in Abu Dhabi, UAE, losing only one match. In 2017, Hidayat Heydarov, who participated in the European Championship held in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, started the fight from the 1/16 final stage. He reached the finals after defeating Javier Ramirez from Spain, Hasan Vanlioglu from Turkey, Tommy Masyak from Sweden and Miklos Ungvari from Hungary. In the decisive match, he won the Russian Musa Mogushkov with a golden point and became the European champion.
On April 23, 2017, he was awarded the “Best Young Judoka” award in Europe. On May 13, 2017, at the IV Islamic Solidarity Games held in Baku, Hidayat Heydarov, who competed in the 73 kg weight category, won the gold medal by beating Azerbaijani Rustam Orujov in the final. In February 2022, he won the Tel Aviv Grand Slam. In April of the same year, after a five-year absence, he won the gold medal of the European Championship for the second time in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
Hidayat Heydarov has been interested in football as well as combat sports since his childhood. He is a big fan of “Manchester United” football club since his childhood. Hidayat likes to play football and basketball in his spare time.
He is married, his wife Leyla Sahin is a well-known blogger.