Azerbaijani judoka Balabay Aghayev has further strengthened his position at the top of the IJF world rankings following his gold-medal performance at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam in Mongolia.
According to İdman.Biz, the International Judo Federation (IJF) has published its updated world rankings after the tournament, where Azerbaijani athletes won one gold and three bronze medals.
Aghayev claimed the title in the men's 60kg category, while Nizami Imranov (66kg), Murad Fatiyev (90kg) and Olympic champion Zelim Kotsoiev (100kg) secured bronze medals.
The victory increased Aghayev's total to 4,638 ranking points, allowing him to extend his lead at the top of the 60kg division. Another Azerbaijani judoka, Ahmad Yusifov, climbed to second place in the same weight category with 3,670 points, underlining the country's strength in the division.
In the 66kg category, Ruslan Pashayev dropped one place to fourth with 3,513 points. Meanwhile, Ulaanbaatar bronze medallist Imranov surged 17 positions and now ranks 36th in the world with 1,772 points.
One of the biggest changes involved Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov in the 73kg division. The Azerbaijani star slipped from fourth to sixth place with 3,036 points after missing the Grand Slam. Heydarov was unable to compete in Ulaanbaatar after failing to make weight during the official weigh-in. In the same category, Rashid Mammadaliyev dropped from seventh to ninth place with 2,652 points.
In the 81kg division, Zelim Tckaev retained fifth place in the world rankings with 3,062 points. Murad Fatiyev's bronze medal in Mongolia lifted him from seventh to fifth in the 90kg category, where he now has 3,156 points.
Olympic champion Zelim Kotsoiev also improved his standing thanks to his bronze medal performance. The 100kg judoka climbed two places to world No. 2 with 4,120 points, trailing leader Leonardo Goncalves of Brazil by 350 points.
The heavyweight rankings also saw a significant change. Ushangi Kokauri, who did not compete in Ulaanbaatar, lost his world No. 1 position and now sits second with 4,017 points. Russia's Inal Tasoev moved to the top of the rankings with 4,400 points. Azerbaijan's Kanan Nasibov, who narrowly missed the podium in Mongolia, remained seventh with 3,190 points.
The Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam was particularly significant as it was the first tournament of the new Olympic cycle to award qualification points towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
