Kotsoiev follows Heydarov’s path to Olympic victory Double gold for Azerbaijan

As the Olympic Games gather momentum, the talents of some of Azerbaijani athletes are shining brighter, while others are causing disappointment. But let's start with the good news.

On the first day of August, judoka Zelym Kotsoiev (100 kg) won a gold medal, adding to the Azerbaijani "Olympic contingent" that initially included 48 athletes (with 41 Olympic licenses) but has since thinned out, with 17 already having completed their events. Zelym, who has followed in the footsteps of his friend and teammate Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) throughout his career, continued this positive tradition here in Paris.

Both of them became world champions this year and now Olympic champions as well. Zelym only faltered at the European Championships, but otherwise, they have almost simultaneously become medalists at the World and European Championships, earning a combined total of seven World Championship medals and nine European Championship medals. Now, they celebrate a simultaneous triumph at the Olympic Games!

What's interesting is that while Heydarov became Olympic champion two days before his birthday, Kotsoiev achieved this feat exactly one week before his own. Kotsoiev will turn 26 on August 9, while Heydarov is already 27. Moreover, this is Kotsoiev's second Olympic Games—at Tokyo, where he competed without his friend (Heydarov lost to Rustam Orujov in his weight class), Zelym couldn't even make it to the quarter-finals…There's an intriguing, almost mystical race for medals between two close friends.

Now, with his "main motivator" having become an Olympic champion by winning four matches in a row, Kotsoiev had no choice but to follow the same path with the same confidence. He confidently defeated Piotr Kuczera (Poland) in the Round of 16, then beat Peter Palchik (Israel) in the quarterfinals and  Muzaffarbek Turoboyev (Uzbekistan) in the semifinals. In the final, despite being injured, Kotsoiev stayed true to his friend's path and left no chance for Ilia Sulamanidze of Georgia. So far, we have two gold medals in judo and hope for this excellent tradition to continue in the near future.

One athlete still in contention for the gold medal is our boxer, Alfonso Dominguez. After his impressive victory over two-time Olympic champion Julio La Cruz, Dominguez went on to defeat Aibek Oralbay from Kazakhstan, securing his place in the semifinals and guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. However, something tells me that the semifinal against Belgian Emmanuel Reyes might not be the end for our "Cuban Azerbaijani," and he has a good chance of aiming for a more valuable medal than bronze (which he already has from Tokyo).

Another of our boxers, Murad Allahverdiyev (80 kg), also has a chance to secure at least a bronze medal. Today, he will face Nurbek Oralbay, the twin brother of Aibek, whom Dominguez defeated. We hope Murad can deny the Kazakh boxer his "chance for revenge." The outcome will be revealed later this evening. Admittedly, Murad faces an uphill battle, as Nurbek is the reigning world champion in this weight class.

Unfortunately, our swimmer Ramil Valizada has lost all chances for a medal. He didn't even make it to the semifinals of the 200-meter butterfly. Triathlete Rostislav Pevtsov is also out of contention, following in the footsteps of shooter Ruslan Lunev and repeatedly delivering disappointing results in this sport at the Olympics. And now Pevtsov finished in the fifth ten (!), ending up in 43rd place. To be honest, even the seven-month pregnant Yaylagul Ramazanova (archery) left a more favourable impression (at least from a publicity standpoint for the sport in Azerbaijan), despite losing in the 1/16 finals.

Azerbaijani female basketball players, making their Olympic debut for the first time in history, have already achieved a landmark victory by defeating the American team (20-17). Despite losing the other three matches, the fact that they have made history for domestic basketball is a significant achievement.

Currently, there’s still hope for rewriting the history books with our wrestlers, taekwondo athletes, gymnasts, and one remaining judoka. They have yet to begin their competitions. We are all eagerly awaiting a breakthrough performance from Ushangi Kokauri, who competes in the prestigious over-100 kg weight class in judo. Perhaps Kokauri will deliver a memorable performance in his final Olympics, just as we hope Ruslan Lunev might do—though that’s a different story…

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.