Judo news-MR VIZER Visits Baku

MR. VIZER VISITS BAKU

The IJF President, Mr. Marius Vizer, visited Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, where the IJF organizes one of its yearly Grand Slam and was welcomed by the President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF), Mr. Rovnag Abdullayev.   Mr. Abdullayev was particularly happy to welcome the IJF President, Mr. Marius Vizer, and declared: “Our President, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, takes great care of the development of the sport in our country and we have already achieved impressive results with our athletes at the Olympic Games as well as at the World or European Championships.“   The President of the federation underlined that judo has a rich tradition in Azerbaijan and athletes are regularly present on international podiums. If internationally speaking, judo is developing fast, this is also the case at the national level. Last December, the federation held the national championships and the level of participation reached a new record.   Mr. Vizer declared: “I am really grateful for what the Azerbaijan Judo Federation has done so far for the development of judo in the country and in the region. Your country is known for its very good achievements in sports around the world.“ The IJF President also emphasized the role of the Olympic movement and of the State which are very active in terms of sports developments: “Several world sports organizations and federations were confident enough to come to Azerbaijan to organize major international events with a lot of success.“     Mr. Vizer wished good luck to all Azerbaijani judoka in future international competitions and reaffirmed his support to the federation for the organization of the Baku Grand Slam, which will be held from May 6-8, 2016: “Working together with the Azerbaijan Judo Federation is an honor. The Baku Grand Slam is a prestigious event and with the Rio Olympic Games to come, the level will be particularly high this year.     In 2017, an international refereeing seminar will be organized in Baku. It will be an important gathering of the best experts, as the new set of rules that will be applied during the next Olympic cycle, will then be detailed and presented. Before leaving, Mr. Vizer explained that a strong cooperation between the AJF and the IJF will start concerning the IJF Academy and he offered the Jigoro Kano statue to the AJF President, Mr. Rovnag Abdullayev.