Mehman Akif oglu Azizov ( azerb. Mehman Akif Əzizov ; January 1, 1976 , Baku ) is an Azerbaijani welterweight judoka and coach, played for the Azerbaijani team in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s. Participant of the three summer Olympic Games, winner of the European Championship silver medal, silver medalist at the Summer Universiade in Beijing , winner of many tournaments of national and international importance. Assistant to the head coach of the Azerbaijan judo team.
| Mehman Azizov | ||||||||||||||
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| Citizenship |  Azerbaijan | |||||||||||||
| Date of Birth | January 1, 1976 (aged 43) | |||||||||||||
| Place of Birth | Baku , USSR | |||||||||||||
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| Growth | 182 cm | |||||||||||||
| Weight category | welterweight (up to 81 kg) | |||||||||||||
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Biography
Mehman Azizov was born on January 1, 1976 in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan SSR . He graduated from secondary school No. 242 of the Nizami district. When Azizov was in 4th grade, judo coach Adil Aliyev from the Lokomotiv sports club came to their class and suggested that they do judo. Soon, Azizov became the only one of their class who continued to engage in this sport even after graduating from school in the Lokomotiv sports club [1] . After leaving school, Azizov entered the Institute of Physical Culture (now the Azerbaijan State Academy of Physical Culture and Sports) [1] .
First announced itself in the 1996 season, becoming the bronze medalist of the European Junior Championship in Monte Carlo. A year later, he received bronze at the international tournament in Tbilisi, performed at the European championship in the Belgian Ostend and at the world championship in Paris, where he managed to reach only the 1/16 final stage.
He achieved his first serious success at the adult international level in 1998, when he joined the main team of the Azerbaijani national team and attended the European Championship in Oviedo, from where he brought the silver dignity prize won in the welterweight category - he was defeated by the Hungarian Bertalan Khaitosh in the decisive match. The following season, he took third place in the international “A” tournament in Minsk, performed at the European championship in Bratislava and at the world championship in Birmingham, but did not get into the number of winners in these tournaments. In 2000, he won three stages of the World Cup and, thanks to a series of successful performances, was awarded the right to defend the country's honor at the Sydney Summer Olympics - he was already defeated by the Argentinean Dario Garcia in the opening match and thus dropped out of the fight for medals.
As a student, in 2001, Azizov went to represent the country at the Universiade in Beijing, where he subsequently became a silver medalist, losing only to Korean Kwon Young Wu in the final. He also fought at the European Championships, reached the quarter finals, where he lost to the Russian Lasha Pipia . A year later, he received bronze at the international “A” tournament in Minsk and took seventh place in the Jigoro Kano Cup in Tokyo. In 2003, he won the silver medal at the World Cup in Tallinn and performed at the European Championships in Dusseldorf, where he lost to the Italian Roberto Meloni in the 1/8 finals. He later won the World Cup in Rotterdam, took fifth place at the European Championships in Bucharest and the Athens Olympics - he defeated the first two rivals here, but was defeated by the Polish Robert Kravchik in the quarterfinal (he lost in a consolation match for third place Russian judoka Dmitry Nosov , who came to this fight with a badly injured arm, and Azizov - with a displaced spine) [2] [3] .
After the Athens Olympics, Azizov remained in the main team of the Azerbaijani national team and continued to take part in major international tournaments. So, in 2005 he became the champion of Azerbaijan in welterweight, and in 2006 he added to the track record the gold medals received at the World Cup in Rotterdam and Baku, while at the European Championship in Finnish Tampere he reached only the 1/8 finals . In 2007, at the European Championship in Belgrade and at the World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, he stopped at the stages 1/4 and 1/8 finals respectively, while at the World Cup in Rome he prevailed over all opponents and thereby won a gold award . He represented the country at the Beijing Olympics , however, lost both of his fights here, in the opening meeting he lost to the German Ole Bischof , who eventually became the winner of the Olympic tournament, while the American Travis Stevens could not qualify for the third place. Soon after the end of these competitions he decided to end his career as a professional athlete.
Mehman Azizov became a student of the Police Academy, and then - a major of the police of the city department. Soon, Azizov was appointed coach of the judo team of Azerbaijan [1] . So, in 2013, he officially became the coach of the Azerbaijani junior judo team [4] , and at the beginning of 2015 - the coach of the country's adult team [5] . At the beginning of 2018, he was an assistant to the head coach of the Azerbaijani judo team [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Bagirzade B. Mehman Azizov: “We have a chance to make ourselves known to the world” // vesti.az. - 2018 .-- January 1. Archived February 27, 2018.
- ↑ Dmitry Nosov: Let people not think that Mehman Azizov is a cruel person . azerisport.com (August 6, 2008). Date of treatment November 28, 2015.
- ↑ Vyugar Vyugarly. Nosov's rival in the bronze battle Mehman Azizov: Did his arm hurt? And I have the whole body! . Soviet sport . Date of treatment November 28, 2015.
- ↑ Azərbaycanın bütün yığmalarının baş məşqçiləri təsdiqləndi unopened (link not available) . Date of treatment February 27, 2018. Archived on February 28, 2018.
- ↑ Azərbaycan yığmalarının məşqçiləri təsdiqlənib
Links
- Mehman Azizov - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Mehman Azizov - profile on judoinside.com