Japanese Olympic & World Champions to compete at Baku Grand Slam 2025

Japanese Olympic and World Champions will participate in Baku Grand Slam 2025.

Olympic and three-time world champions Natsumi Tsunoda (48 kg), Uta Abe (52 kg), as well as Olympic and world medalist Ryuju Nagayama (60 kg) will take to the tatami among women.

In the men's tournament, the following will perform in front of the Baku audience: Azerbaijani Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov and Tatsuki Ishihara (73 kg), who met in the final of the World Championship, as well as Olympic and world medalist Sanshiro Murao (90 kg).

Two-time Olympic and three-time world champion Shohei Ono is expected to be present as a coach in the Japanese team in Baku.

Baku Judo Grand Slam 2025 will take place at National Gymnastics Arena on February 14-16.

A total of 281 judokas from 39 countries, will participate in the tournament.

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.