Hidayet Heydarov leaves the junior ranks as a world champion

World number five and European champion Hidayet Heydarov of Azerbaijan delivered on the world stage as the senior star signed off from the junior age group with U73kg gold. Heydarov pinned 19-year-old former Cadet European Championships winner Bilal Ciloglu (TUR) with a tate-shiho-gatame before turning to apply a juji-gatame which forced his overmatched opponent to submit.

In the first semi-final, the 20-year-old Paris Grand Slam bronze medallist, finished fifth at the senior Worlds in August, bested 17-year-old Junior European Championships bronze medallist Tato Grigalashvili (GEO) after almost a minute of golden score. The Azeri countered his Georgian opponent with an o-uchi-gari for a waza-ari score to advance to the gold medal contest. In the second semi-final Ciloglu defeated former EYOF silver medallist Hievorh Manukian (UKR) in golden score. The contest was tied at a waza-ari apiece after four minutes and golden score proved too much for Manukian who received a second shido which ended the semi-final and sent his opponent into the final.

Heydarov also claimed 700 points, comparable to a Grand Prix victory, for the IJF Senior World Ranking, a new rule that delivers Heydarov the 3rd place now in the IJF World Ranking.

The first bronze medal was claimed by Rio 2016 Olympian and former Almaty Grand Prix bronze medallist Didar Khamza (KAZ) who submitted Manukian after three minutes of golden score. Khamza was as sharp in golden score as he was in regulation time and seized the opportunity for the shime-waza to Kazakhstan’s third medal in Zagreb.

The second bronze medal was captured by Grigalashvili who produced a second and match-winning waza-ari in golden score against double Junior European Cup silver medallist David Lima (BRA). 

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