New coaching appointments made for Azerbaijani judo teams

The Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF) has made a decision regarding several changes in the coaching staff as part of its efforts to align the activities of national teams at all age categories with international standards and to ensure an effective transition of identified talents to elite athlete levels ahead of the new Olympic cycle.

Richard Trautman has been appointed as the performance director, responsible for overseeing the organization and coordination of the activities of the national teams across all age groups. He will also continue to serve as the head coach of the men’s national team.

Elkhan Mammadov has been appointed as the senior coach of the men’s national team. Prior to this, he worked as the head coach of the youth selection.

Robert Kravchik, who has previously served as the head and senior coach for national teams in Poland, Austria, and Belgium, will also take on the role of senior coach for the men’s national team. Since starting his coaching career in 2013, Kravchik's students have repeatedly become medalists in the Olympic Games, European Games, and various championships.

Rustam Alimli, who has been leading the youth boys' national team, has been assigned as the head coach of the young boys’ national team.

Emin Iskandarov, who has previously worked as a coach within the same team, will be the head coach of the youth boys’ national team.

To ensure the technical and tactical training of the young and youth boys' national teams meet modern standards, Kotaro Sasaki will serve as a coach for these teams. A graduate of the prestigious "Tokai" University in Japan, Sasaki has worked as a coach for several clubs in his country and Europe since 2016, as well as serving as the main coach of the youth team in the Polish Judo Federation and as an assistant coach for the Olympic team and youth national team. His students have won medals in world championships at both adult and youth levels.

The head coach of the women’s national team, Rashad Mammadov, has ended his collaboration by mutual agreement. He has been replaced by Amina Abdullatif. Abdullatif has been coaching since 2006 and has previously served as the coach of France's youth and junior national teams. In recent years, she has worked as the head of the judo department at the French National Sports Institute. Her students have been multiple medalists in world and European championships at adult, youth, and junior levels.

Another German coach, Sasa Herkenrat-Wimar, has been appointed as the coach of the women's national team. Active in coaching since 2016, her students have also achieved multiple medals in international competitions, including the European Championship.

Executive Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation Rashad Rasullov commented on the new coaching appointments, stating that these changes are significant steps towards forming an elite judo team capable of competing on a global level:

"Each of the newly recruited foreign specialists represents a different judo school, expanding our opportunities to utilize the best practices. This also creates a favorable environment for local coaches to further their development. We are confident that our newly strengthened coaching staff will make a valuable contribution to achieving the goals set by the federation."

Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation actively promotes this martial art across the country. Since 2015, the Federation has been led by Rovnag Abdullayev.

The country's modern judo history was laid by Mehman Azizov, who won a silver medal at the Old World Championship in 1998.

A year later, the winner of the World Youth Games in Moscow, Rasul Salimov, grabbed the bronze medal at the European Championship in Slovakia. Another national judoka, Elchin Ismayilov, became the European champion in 2000 in Wroclaw.

However, the achievements of Azerbaijani judo fighters did not stop there. Elnur Mammadli was named the best at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 73 kg division.

The list of the country's top judo fighters includes Rustam Orujov, Irina Kindzerskaya, Mammadali Mehdiyev, Elmar Gasimov, Hidayat Heydarov, Zelim Kotsoev, Ushangi Kokauri, and Nijat Shikhalizada.

At the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, judokas Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) and Zelym Kotsoiev (100 kg) earned gold medals for Azerbaijan.