Azerbaijan is 9.8 million inhabitants, 14,000 Karate practitioners, 70 clubs and is the country of Rafael Aghayev, the five world titles’ man. It also represents 13 medals at the Worlds and 32 at the European championships.
Baku, its capital, hosted last weekend its 9th International Open, thought to become a Karate 1 in the future. The head construction manager is Yashar Bashirov, the president of the Karate National Federation, in office since 2002.
By Ludovic Mauchien / Pictures: Sanan Maharramov (NKF)
Azerbaijan is a small country by size, but huge its international records. First, it is the mother earth of Rafael Aghayev, the most successful karateka in history with his 5 titles of world champion and his 10 ones of European champion. It helps to build a reputation. He was the one who opened the ball in 2004 with his success over Alex Biamonti at the European championships in Moscow.
But he is not alone. It is also the home of the Tagiyev, Aliyev, Mamayev, Atamov, Farzaliyev, Zaretska, Aliyeva ... All medalists at the international level. The Azerbaijanis, silver World medalists by team in 2010, were also crowned European champions in 2014; their female counterparts were European champions in 2016. Since 2017, Heydarov has allowed his country to appear even on podiums in Kata (twice 3rd).
President since 2002, Yashar Bashirov is the architect of the advent of the Azerbaijanese Karate around the world.
What is Karate’s face in Azerbaijan ?
The federation has 14,000 members. There are clubs all over the country, not only in Baku but also in Sumgayit, where Rafael Aghayev is born, Ganjah, Naktuan... There are competitions in each region to develop the practice. We would like people everywhere to be involved because Karate has become Olympic.
Has karate developed strongly in recent years ?
First, we must not forget that our federation was created in 1994 and that we only joined the WKF in 1997. We are still young. For the last fifteen years, Karate has experienced a great development in our country. Rafael (Aghayev) is very popular. We have a lot of good fighters. And we are supported by our President, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who is also the President of the National Olympic Committee, and our sports minister, Azad Rahimov. We are evolving step by step.
The 9th Baku Open was held last weekend. Would you like this tournament to grow ?
Of course. I met Antonio Espinos (the WKF’s president) at the Berlin Karate 1 last September. We talked for 1 hour. He will be in Baku for the 10th edition next year, which will take place from March 15th to 17th.
We will also host the 2020 European championships at the « Gymnastics stadium » (where the Judo Worlds have just ended). This will be the last competition that will count for the Olympic qualification since they will be organized at the end of March-beginning of April.
Antonio Espinos told me that if everything is well, the Baku Open could become a Premier League.
The Baku Open is already a success...
It is known around the world. This year, 850 Karatekas from 14 countries participated, from children to veterans. It was a special year since we celebrated 40 years of Karate in the USSR, so in Azerbaijan. It was in 1978 that the Karate Federation was officially established in the Soviet Union.
