How will Azerbaijani athletes perform at the Universiade in Germany?

Today, the 32nd Summer World University Games, also known as the Summer Universiade, kick off in Germany.

The first official Games took place in 1959 in the Italian city of Turin, where 965 young student-athletes from 45 countries competed. This year’s tournament will gather a record number of participants in the history of the Universiade — over 9,200 athletes and coaches from 150 countries.

The Games will be held in Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region, located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as in Berlin. Other host cities include Essen, Duisburg, Bochum, Hagen, and Mülheim. The opening ceremony will take place at the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena, also known as the MSV Arena, in Duisburg.

Azerbaijan is represented at the Universiade by 71 athletes competing in 12 sports — judo, taekwondo, athletics, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, rowing, badminton, table tennis, fencing, archery, beach volleyball, and tennis.

What are the chances of a successful performance by our athletes — and are there any, considering that Azerbaijan is participating in this year’s Games with a much smaller delegation compared to the previous Universiade in China in 2023?

It is worth recalling that in China, the Azerbaijani team won three silver and six bronze medals, placing only 38th in the overall medal standings, despite being represented by 88 athletes across 16 sports.

This time, it seems that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has focused on quality rather than quantity — a strategy that deserves support. Sending athletes to international competitions merely for the sake of participation is an unjustifiable luxury, especially under current economic conditions.

As for medal hopes, particularly for gold, which Azerbaijan failed to secure at the 31st Universiade, there is cautious optimism — especially in judo and taekwondo. Azerbaijan currently boasts a talented generation of young judokas, and if they can maintain their composure on the tatami, they could well bring home at least two gold medals. Notably, the team includes Eljan Hajiyev, the 2023 European champion and 2024 bronze medallist in the 90 kg category.

From the "devilish dozen" taekwondo fighters, Fuad Tahmazov (63 kg) and Taleh Suleymanov (80 kg) have real chances of returning from Baku as champions. Given the brilliant coaching duo leading the team — Mammad Abdullayev and Elnur Amanov — we might even expect a few pleasant surprises beyond that.

Unfortunately, that’s where our optimism runs out. In other sports, medal hopes are limited — perhaps only in rhythmic gymnastics and fencing can we realistically expect podium finishes.

Let us recall that Azerbaijan’s best-ever performance at a Universiade was in 2019, when the Games were held in Naples, Italy. Back then, the national team claimed 2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals, placing 18th overall.

This year, we sincerely hope that Azerbaijan will at least match — if not surpass — that success and secure a place in the top 20, allowing us to put the “Beijing disappointment” behind us. 

By Vugar Vugarli, exclusively for Caliber.Az