Hope for Tomorrow, Faith in Future – New Chapter Written at ISF U15 Gymnasiade

The ISF U15 Gymnasiade held in Serbia have marked a historic achievement for Azerbaijani athletes, with new records being set.

The national team, composed of students under 15, achieved its best-ever performance at a multi-sport event in Zlatibor city, Idman.biz reports.

While this age group participated with a smaller team compared to other nations, it is noteworthy that no representatives from Azerbaijan were present at the 2023 Gymnasiade in Brazil. Our best result until then was recorded at the U18 Gymnasiade Sports Games held in Bahrain last year. In Manama, our athletes won a total of 77 medals—23 gold, 26 silver, and 28 bronze—placing our team in 7th position.

Rise in medals and championships every day

Although the competition age group differs, Azerbaijan's performance in Zlatibor-2025 has significantly improved. There has been a notable increase in the number of countries participating as well. While 44 countries participated in the 2023 Gymnasiade in Rio de Janeiro, Serbia welcomed 56 countries this year. Azerbaijani athletes represented the country in 191 events across 19 sports, including archery, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, chess, tennis, gymnastics, badminton, para-badminton, swimming, para-swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, karate, judo, wrestling, fencing, and athletics. The team returned with 85 medals.

From the start of the 7-day event, our athletes secured a place in the top ranks, winning 11 medals on the first day. Over the following days, the medal count increased, with April 11 marking the peak of our performance, although no gold medals were won on April 10. Of the 85 medals, 35 were gold, 22 silver, and 28 bronze. Comparing this to Bahrain, there has been a notable increase in the number of gold medals, with 12 more than last year. While the number of silver medals decreased slightly (-2), the number of bronze medals remained unchanged, showcasing our athletes' increased confidence in the finals.

Medals by day

Date	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
April 6	2	3	6	11
April 7	6	3	5	14
April 8	3	5	7	15
April 9	12	1	0	13
April 10	0	0	2	2
April 11	6	7	7	20
April 12	6	3	1	10
Total	35	22	28	85

Taekwondo dominates in gold, boxing leads in percentage

Wrestling has contributed the most medals, with 25 of the 30 athletes from 3 teams earning podium finishes. Percentage-wise, boxing has outperformed, with 21 out of 22 boxers earning medals.

The most gold medals came from our taekwondo athletes, who secured 13 golds across both fighting and poomsae categories, proudly raising the Azerbaijani flag to the highest point. Our judokas, para-badminton players, and fencers also claimed gold. Additionally, our para-swimmers and karate athletes returned with medals from Zlatibor.

Sports	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Taekwondo (kyorugi)	10	3	3	16
Freestyle wrestling	2	3	5	10
Greco-Roman wrestling	3	2	4	9
Women's wrestling	1	3	2	6
Parabadminton	3	1	2	6
Taekwondo (poomse)	3	0	0	3
Fencing (sabre)	0	0	2	2
Paragliding	0	1	2	3
Fencing (epee)	1	0	0	1
Boxing	9	8	4	21
Karate	0	1	0	1
Judo	3	0	4	7
Total	35	22	28	85

Who didn’t stand out in Zlatibor and special award winners

Not every team won a medal. The archery team just missed out on bronze, losing to Turkey in the third-place match. Our table tennis team came close to earning a medal but was defeated by China in the final moments. In 3x3 basketball, our teams reached the quarterfinals, while our beach volleyball teams placed 10th in the girls’ event and 11th in the boys’. Our chess players also finished in the top 10, but no medals were earned. In swimming, gymnastics, and athletics, our representatives reached the finals but did not secure a medal. Badminton and tennis players were also among those who did not bring home medals.

However, in special categories, our para-swimmer Huseyn Babayev received the Fair Play award in the S1 category, and para-badminton player Ayan Aliyeva won the Fair Play award in the Heaviest Category nomination. Tennis player Seyhun Gasimzada was honored with the Fair Play award as the Youngest Male Athlete.

4th in the medal table, 1st among Muslim countries

With 85 medals, Azerbaijan achieved a historic milestone in the medal table, ranking 4th overall in the competition with 56 participating countries. This achievement surpassed major nations such as China, Ukraine, and Brazil, placing Azerbaijan ahead of countries like Iran, Turkey, the UK, and the USA. Azerbaijan secured 1st place among Muslim countries and 2nd place among CIS countries.

Top-10 medal table

#	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	61	21	16	98
2	Ukraine	43	43	61	147
3	Brazil	38	42	57	137
4	AZERBAIJAN	33	23	28	85
5	Romania	32	41	48	121
6	Iran	29	32	25	86
7	Chinese Taipei	24	26	24	74
8	Turkiye	16	22	26	64
9	England	11	10	11	32
10	Serbia	10	11	28	49