"Before the final against Frenchman Joan-Benjamin Gaba, we talked about everything again with Hidayat. We both agreed that there is no place for a silver medal in this story."
Idman.biz reports that Beijing Olympic champion Elnur Mammadli said this in a statement to the website of the European Judo Union.
EJU prepared an article about the title won by Hidayat Heydarov at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games: “That day indeed was a special day from the beginning, because it was the first Olympic Games for Hidayat. We had really strong preparation, and we agreed the goal together with Hidayat, to become European, World and Olympic Champion this year. Now we can say that we have achieved our goal. It was a difficult path but at the same time, an honorable journey. On the 29th of July, the day of competition, we woke up early in the morning as always. He said ‘I will become the Champion’ with determination in his face. I gave him great motivation, reminded him that we do not have any athlete who has won three titles, European, World and Olympic Games in a row, I told him his name will be written in the history of Azerbaijan after completing this treble. Before the final with the French athlete we spoke again, about the whole year and we both agreed there is no space inside this story for a silver medal. A lot of people are behind this achievement who have given their support. Especially the President of our country Ilham Aliyev, our Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, the sports ministry, National Olympic Committee, our National Federation, medical team, coaching team, everybody did their best for this outstanding result. After 16 years in the -73 kg category, in my category, we have a Champion again. For me, it feels as if my Olympic gold medal has been refreshed, but honestly, I can even say that the gold medal of Hidayat is more precious to me than my own gold medal as an athlete.”
Idman.biz
