The fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games get underway today, October 31, in Dakar, Senegal, marking the first time an Olympic event has been held on the African continent. Azerbaijan will be represented by 13 athletes competing across eight sports.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the Games will run until November 13, bringing together approximately 2,700 young athletes who will compete for 153 sets of medals across 25 sports. Events will take place in Dakar, Diamniadio and the coastal resort town of Saly.
The Games were originally scheduled for 2022 but were postponed by four years due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Azerbaijan's squad for Dakar 2026 consists of the following athletes:
Beach wrestling: Gunel Karimli (55kg), Tunar Guliyev (70kg), Nihad Suleymanli (80kg), Elgun Karimli (90kg).
Swimming: Suleyman Ismailzade, Maryam Javadova.
Taekwondo: Zahra Isayeva (44kg), Adil Kazimli (73kg).
Boxing: Gular Huseynova (51kg).
Fencing: Abbas Huseynov.
Road cycling: Nihad Khudoyev.
Judo: Ibrahim Talibov (55kg).
Athletics: Daniil Shuvayev.
One of the distinctive features of this year's Games is the absence of traditional freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, disciplines that have historically brought Azerbaijan considerable Olympic success. Instead, beach wrestling will feature on the programme in Dakar.
However, this change could still work in Azerbaijan's favour, given the country's recent achievements in the discipline.
At the U17 Beach Wrestling World Championships held in Baku in August, Nihad Suleymanli claimed gold in the 80kg category, Elgun Karimli secured silver at 90kg, while Tunar Guliyev earned bronze at 70kg.
As a result, three members of Azerbaijan's Olympic squad have already reached the podium at a world championship in beach wrestling, making the discipline one of the country's strongest medal prospects.
Another promising contender is judoka Ibrahim Talibov.
Earlier this year, Talibov won the Cadet European Cup in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, and collected silver medals at similar tournaments in Ganja and Berlin. His Olympic campaign is scheduled to begin on November 1.
Azerbaijan's swimmers also arrive in Dakar with notable international experience.
Suleyman Ismailzade won gold at the third CIS Games and bronze at the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games, while Maryam Javadova also secured a bronze medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games.
In taekwondo, particular attention will be focused on Adil Kazimli, a two-time Azerbaijani champion and bronze medallist at the 2026 Kazakhstan Open international tournament.
Nevertheless, competition at the Youth Olympic Games is expected to be intense, and previous achievements alone offer no guarantee of further success.
For comparison, Azerbaijan sent 17 athletes to the previous Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, where the national team secured six medals – two gold, one silver and three bronze.
Judoka Vugar Talibov (66kg) and freestyle wrestler Turan Bayramov (65kg) became Youth Olympic champions.
Weightlifter Tarmenhan Babayev (85kg) claimed silver, while taekwondo athlete Javad Aghayev (63kg), boxer Nurlan Safarov (60kg) and women's wrestler Shahana Nazarova (43kg) earned bronze medals.
Notably, two of Azerbaijan's six medals came in wrestling, making the changes to the competition programme in Dakar particularly significant for the country's medal ambitions.
Across the three previous editions of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, Azerbaijani athletes have won a total of 26 medals – 12 gold, 10 silver and four bronze.
Meanwhile, the opening ceremony will take place today at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, near Dakar, beginning at 22:30 Baku time.
Swimmers Suleyman Ismailzade and Maryam Javadova have been selected as Azerbaijan's flag bearers for the ceremony.
Azerbaijan's delegation is considerably smaller than it was eight years ago, while the sporting programme has undergone significant changes.
Nevertheless, the presence of a reigning beach wrestling world champion, other world championship medallists and athletes with proven international experience provides genuine reasons for optimism.
Whether Azerbaijan can translate that potential into Olympic medals will become clear over the next two weeks.
