Azerbaijani karate athletes opened a new page in the history of karate, winning medals at the First European Games.
On the first day of competition Firdovsi Farzaliyev (-60 kg) and Rafael Agayev (-75 kg) became the winners of the tournament, we would like to note that on this day 4 of our sportsmen raised the podium. Niyazi Aliyev (-67 kg) and Ilaha Gasimova (-55 kg) were awarded with bronze medals of the prestigious competition.
Firdovsi Aliyev, went down into history as the Azerbaijan athlete of the First European Games, prematurely guaranteed himself a medal, too, will be remembered as the first winner of the gold.
He also, according to the format of the competition, twice defeated the current Champion of Europe, the Italian Luca Maresca. Bronze medalist Niyazi Aliyev was considered one of the favorites of the competition, but he failed to beat the Turk athlete Burak Uygur, whom he defeated in the finals of the European Championships in Istanbul in March of this year.
Four-time World Champion and twelve-time European Champion, winner of the World Martial Arts Games and holder of many other titles, Rafael Aghayev easily added to his collection of trophies. The bronze medal of Ilakha Gasimova was the greatest achievement of the athletes in the adult group.
This success of our karatekas played a significant role in the fact that on the first day of competitions our team rose to second place in the overall standings and first place among men.
Following over developments in the final battles the Head of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev and his spouse, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Games Mehriban Aliyeva participated in the ceremony.
