Azerbaijani athletes' results at Paris Olympics Disappointments and hopes

The Paris Olympics is approaching the final stretch. It's gratifying to see Azerbaijani judokas, Hidayat Heydarov and Zelym Kotsoiev, among Olympic heroes alongside global sports legends such as tennis star Novak Djokovic, pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, and Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López. Even though Azerbaijani wrestler of Ukrainian origin Mariya Stadnik failed to win a medal in her fifth consecutive Olympics, she has made immense contributions to Azerbaijani sports. For Azerbaijan, she remains a brilliant representative of Azerbaijani women's wrestling.

Stadnik faced a disappointing defeat in the quarterfinals against Mongolia's wrestler Otgonjargal Dolgorjav, losing in a match (4:4) where the final decisive action was attributed to the Mongolian wrestler. Despite this setback, Stadnik has been a source of joy for Azerbaijan for 17 years, grabbing four Olympic medals in four Games—an achievement unlikely to be matched by any other Azerbaijani athlete in an individual kind of sports. Additionally, she has grabbed 12 European Championship gold medals (while Azerbaijani male wrestlers have a maximum of four) and two World Championship gold medals (the only female wrestler from Azerbaijan who achieved this).

We can only say one thing—an enormous heartfelt "thank you!" for everything Stadnik has done! This is especially relevant for those who criticized a living legend of Azerbaijani sports. Stadnik was also the only Azerbaijani legionnaire who regularly supported Azerbaijan on social media during the second Karabakh war, while other prominent figures, including Ukrainian legionnaires, were silent.

On the other hand, one defeat that remains particularly perplexing is that of Greco-Roman wrestler Murad Mammadov (60 kg), who lost in the first match. Although I wasn’t highly optimistic about his medal prospects, this was a situation where I would have liked to be proven wrong.

The same can be said for Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler of Iranian origin Sabah Shariati (130 kg). Honestly, his final fifth place, despite being a bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics, reflects the level of a 35-year-old wrestler who is on the team mainly due to a lack of internal competition. It was absurdly to expect Shariati's victories against the now five-time Olympic champion Mijaín López or World Champion Amin Mirzazadeh.

I believed that Azerbaijani hammer thrower of Ukrainian origin Hanna Skydan could grab a hammer throw medal, right up to her final, sixth throw. However, despite her ambitious statements and reaching the finals for the first time in four Olympics, she was unable to surpass her previous results. Nonetheless, her result can't be labeled as a failure.

It was also disappointing to see Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler Sanan Suleymanov's result (77 kg) despite competing through an injury, only losing to Kazakh wrestler Demeu Zhadrayev (1:6) and now competing for a bronze medal. I hope Suleymanov will grab bronze, which would be equivalent to gold for him.

Two more Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestlers Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg) and Rafig Huseynov (87 kg), will compete on August 7. For each of them, failing to win a medal would be considered a failure.

Additionally, with Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers, artistic gymnasts, and taekwondo athlete Gashim Magomedov yet to compete, the possibility that this Olympics could become the most successful in Azerbaijani sports history still remains.

Let's not forget Azerbaijani boxer of Cuban origin, Alfonso Dominguez, who is once again making a significant contribution to Azerbaijani boxing. We should keep our fingers crossed for all Azerbaijani athletes, support them wholeheartedly, and maintain maximum objectivity amid any setbacks.

By Vugar Vugarli

The views and opinions expressed by guest columnists in their op-eds may differ from and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff.