Ilham Azizaga oglu Zakiyev ( az, İlham Zəkiyev, born 3 March 1980,

Sumgayit Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Ba ...

) is an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i blind

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

. He began studying judo when he was 11 years of age. In 1998, when he was 18, he went to serve in Azerbaijani army in the Aşağı Əbdürrəhmanlı village of Fizuli Rayon. He served on the frontline of the

conflict zone War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. On 4 February 1999, he was wounded by a bullet to the head by an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

sniper, while on a combat mission. The bullet passed through the entire head, entering from the left and exiting via the right temple. As a result, Zakiyev has completely lost his eyesight. After a long rehabilitation he returned to the sport but as a paralympian. He is the holder of a 7-dan black belt. He won a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Paralympics and the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in the +100 kg division. Zakiyev has been European champion eight times, and has twice been the World champion.

Personal life

In 2008, Zakiyev received the

Shohrat Order Shohrat Order ( az, Şöhrət ordeni), translated as ''Order of Glory'', is an award presented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History and status The order was created by the Decree No. 757 of the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar ...

for his services in the development of Azerbaijani sport. He is an avid supporter of Neftchi Baku.

References

External links

* Nicolas Messner
Ilham Zakiyev: An Exemplary Colossus
// IJF, 13. Aug 2018. 1980 births Living people Azerbaijani male judoka Judoka at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Azerbaijan Paralympic judoka of Azerbaijan Sportspeople with a vision impairment Paralympic bronze medalists for Azerbaijan Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics People from Sumgait Judoka at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in judo European Games gold medalists for Azerbaijan Paralympic medalists in judo {{Azerbaijan-Paralympic-medalist-stub