Omar Rajabli's story has become one of the most symbolic at the World Judo Championships currently taking place in Baku.
As reported by İdman.Biz, on October 7, the 22-year-old Azerbaijani claimed bronze in the men's 81 kg category, matching the achievement of his father, Elkhan Rajabli, who finished third at the 2001 World Championships in Munich exactly 25 years earlier, competing in the same weight division.
Much has already been said about this remarkable coincidence. However, behind the two identical medals lies an even more unusual story connecting not only father and son but also their former opponents.
One of the central figures in this story is Polish judo specialist Robert Krawczyk, who currently serves on the coaching staff of Azerbaijan's men's national team. His connection with the Rajabli family goes far beyond his present professional responsibilities and dates back to his own competitive career.
In November 2009, Krawczyk faced Elkhan Rajabli in the semifinals of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and emerged victorious. The Azerbaijani eventually finished the tournament with a bronze medal.
More than 15 years later, the father's former opponent became the son's coach.
In February 2025, Omar Rajabli won bronze at the Paris Grand Slam under Krawczyk's guidance. The Polish specialist himself shared this extraordinary coincidence with the European Judo Union (EJU), admitting that coaching the son of a former rival had come as a pleasant surprise.
Krawczyk continues to work with Azerbaijan's national team at the home World Championships in Baku, where Omar has now repeated his father's achievement from a quarter of a century ago.
It is almost a ready-made storyline for a sports movie: a man who once prevented the father from reaching a final later helps his son climb onto the podium. Remarkably, all three athletes are connected through the same 81 kg weight category.
But the Rajabli family's judo legacy began long before that encounter.
Omar's grandfather, renowned coach Ahmadaddin Rajabli, was Elkhan's personal trainer. Judo has therefore been a family tradition for several generations, with Omar now continuing a journey his father began long before he was born.
That journey was far from easy.
Elkhan claimed his World Championships bronze at the age of 21. He later won the World Cup in Baku in 2009, earned silver at the home Grand Prix in 2011 and finished fifth at the World Championships in Paris that same year.
In interviews, he also recalled the disappointment of missing the 2004 Olympic Games. Although he had hoped to compete in Athens, he was left out of the team at the last moment.
Omar's career already suggests that the son is not merely following in his father's footsteps but has surpassed him in certain achievements.
Their best results at the senior World Championships are currently identical: bronze medals. However, the 22-year-old has already won the Tashkent Grand Slam in 2026, along with silver in Baku in 2024 and bronze medals in Paris in 2025 and Lausanne in 2026.
Elkhan never won a medal at a Grand Slam event.
Omar has also built an impressive record in junior and under-23 judo. He claimed bronze at the 2023 European Junior Championships, bronze at the 2024 European U23 Championships and silver at the same competition a year later. He also finished fifth at the 2023 World Junior Championships.
Interestingly, his European bronze created another family connection. Forty-five years earlier, in 1978, Omar's great-uncle Farhad Rajabli had won a bronze medal at the European Championships.
Behind these achievements were not only years of training but also serious physical challenges.
Elkhan has previously revealed that his son's participation in major competitions was repeatedly threatened by injuries. During preparations for the European Junior Championships, Omar suffered a leg injury so severe that he sometimes had to practise techniques while sitting down.
Comparing the technical styles of father and son is difficult today, as very little footage of Elkhan's competitive performances is available in public archives.
Omar's fighting style, however, is well documented through his matches and personal explanations.
His technical arsenal includes makikomi, a wrapping throw involving the opponent's body; tai-otoshi, a body-drop technique performed over an extended leg; and ko-uchi-gari, an inside minor reap.
One of his greatest strengths, however, is groundwork, where he makes particularly effective use of holding techniques.
Omar explained this preference following his victory in Tashkent in February. According to the judoka, he had enjoyed using holds since childhood and learned them from coach Zaur Rajabli.
He even described groundwork as his "secret weapon".
And it was precisely this weapon that proved decisive at the World Championships in Baku.
In the bronze-medal contest against Kazakhstan's Abylaikhan Zhubanazar, the Azerbaijani initially fell behind by a yuko score.
However, he managed to level the contest with ko-uchi-gari before taking the fight to the ground and securing victory with a hold-down.
That decisive moment added a second World Championships bronze medal to the family's history, this time in front of home supporters.
After the victory, Omar admitted that he had originally aimed for gold. Nevertheless, winning his first medal at the senior World Championships represented a major milestone, particularly as Baku 2026 marked his debut at this level.
He dedicated the bronze medal to his father, stressing that Elkhan had always supported him through both victories and defeats.
Father and son share the same surname, weight category and position on the World Championships podium. Through Polish coach Krawczyk, even their sporting circles have become unexpectedly intertwined.
Yet the story is about more than simply repeating the past.
Omar still has many competitive years ahead of him and an Olympic ambition that his father was never able to fulfil.
That is why the story of the two Rajablis deserves particular attention at the World Championships in Baku.
It is not merely about a son winning the same medal as his father 25 years later. It is a rare example of how rivalry between one generation can turn into support for the next, allowing a family sporting tradition to continue in an extraordinary way.
