On the second day of the Baku Grand Slam 2022, the Heydar Aliyev Stadium was filled with deafening cheers from the fans.
A strong Inbal Shemesh was cleverly countered by the Dutchman Geke van den Berg, the Israeli won her second Grand Slam title in the under 63kg class.
Thanks to brilliant technique, local hero Hidayat Heydarov made his way into the final of the athletes up to 73 kg. All of Azerbaijan seemed to be waiting for his victory, the spectators rocked the stadium as Heydarov gave them what they wanted to see!
Under 70kg, Olympic champion and world champion Sanne Van Dijke from the Netherlands defeated Belgian Gabriella Willems – her third Grand Slam gold.
Olympic silver medalist Saied Mollaei claimed his first gold medal in three years under 81 kilos, now third in the tournament for Azerbaijan.
The other athletes on the Azerbaijani team also gave the adoring fans plenty to cheer about with some incredible ippons for both men and women.
For host Azerbaijan it is already one of the most successful Baku Grand Slam’s ever – and the appropriate way to celebrate 50 years of judo in Azerbaijan.
