Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg) has slipped to third place in the overall International Judo Federation (IJF) rankings, which include athletes from all weight categories.
The updated IJF list features the highest-ranked male and female judokas worldwide. Heydarov, who hasn’t returned to competition since his Paris 2024 Olympic victory, has seen his ranking points decrease due to the gradual expiry of previous results' value, Idman.biz reports.
He currently holds 5,400 points, down from 6,544 at the beginning of the month. Despite this drop, Heydarov remains the highest-ranked male judoka globally, trailing only behind France’s top female judokas — Amandine Buchard (5,700 points) and Romane Dicko (5,650 points).
Another Azerbaijani Olympic champion, Zelym Kotsoiev (100 kg), is currently ranked ninth with 4,920 points.
