National judoka wins silver in Mexico

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani judoka Tural Safguliyev won a silver medal at Cancun Grand Prix in Mexico.

The Azerbaijani judoka, 90 kg, defeated Chilean, Romanian, American athletes and qualified for finals, Report.az reported.

In the crucial match of the international tournament, Safguliyev lost to Spanish judoka Nikoloz Sherazadishvili and took the 2nd place.

The other two fighters - Rufat Ismayilov and Jalil Shukurov lost to their rivals in the first matches.

Some 650 junior and cadets’ athletes from a number of countries competed for top honors in Mexico.

Judo is one of the most developed kinds of sport in Azerbaijan, where the National Judo Federation was established in 1972.

The adult judo team of Azerbaijan made considerable progress in 2016. The team led by the Autsrian coach Peter Seisenbacher won 51 awards in competitions of various levels.

The Azerbaijani judo fighter, silver medalist of Rio-2016 Summer Olympic Games, Rustam Orujov was named the best in Azerbaijan's male team. Moreover, he is the strongest in the world in his weight class of 73kg, as well as among all weight classes.

The Azerbaijani judokas also showed good performance at the Rio-2016, bringing home two silver medals.