Rafael Mahir Aghayev (; born March 4, 1985) is an Azerbaijani

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

ka. He won the silver medal in the men's kumite 75 kg division at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is a five-time world champion, and eleven-time European champion in his discipline. Aghayev is currently signed by Karate Combat and is the reigning welterweight champion in the promotion with a record of 5-0.

Early life

After graduating from

Sumgait Sumqayit (or Sumgait; ; , ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 427,000 at the beginning of 2024, making it the List of cities in Azerb ...

city school No. 21 in 2003, Aghayev entered the field of martial arts at the Azerbaijan Sport Academy graduating in 2007 as a specialty trainer-instructor in karate. From 2007 to 2008, he served in the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were ...

in the Aghjabadi District, before being transferred to the Central Sports Club of the

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due to his status as a promising sportsman. Aghayev's father encouraged a love for sports in his three sons, and thus, Aghayev always intended to pursue a career in athletics. His oldest brother Ruslan trained in

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

, and his second oldest brother Rustam is a boxer. At seven years old, Aghayev became involved in football, and at the same time, began training in

under the instruction of his first coach, Rafael Mammadov. He went on to train for several years. Participating in the first national competition, he was noticed and invited to train in one of the famous sports clubs of the Republic, Budokan, under the leadership of Fizuli Musayev.

Career

At the first championship of the Republic, Aghayev won an overwhelming victory over all his rivals and was noted by the President of the National Karate Federation, Yashar Bashirov, who saw great potential in him and his unusual fighting tactics. Aghayev was very diligent and had the will to win, but he lacked international experience. He first took part in the National Team in 1997, at the open World Cup in

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. His first performances were not successful at the international level competition, but the next year he won the Open Championship of England and performed very well from then on. At his first World Championship among Cadets and Juniors, which was held in 2001 in

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, he won 3rd place in the team event, and the following year became the European Champion. Thus, up to this day, he holds the lead in his weight class. Despite his young age, he managed to achieve all of the highest sporting victories in karate; he is a multiple European Champion and repeated as World Champion. At one World Championship he was able to win two gold medals. This happened in 2008 at the 18th World Championship in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, when he won in the 70 kg weight category and in the open category. The President of the World Karate Federation, Antonio Espinosa called him the "Diamond of the Karate World." Hidayat Shabanov, a senior team coach, played an important role in Aghayev's career. For more than eight years, Shabanov trained him and shared in his victories. For outstanding sports achievements at the international arena, Aghayev has repeatedly received awards from the National Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan Republic, and he ranked amongst the ten best sportsmen of the country for several consecutive years. From the official sponsor of the Federation, the International Bank of Azerbaijan, he received the keys for a new apartment in one of the elite areas of the city, as well as an Audi Q7. Currently, Aghayev is captain of the Azerbaijan team, and is continuing to train and perform under the guidance of new senior coach Rahman Hatamov. In June 2015,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

was the host country for the inaugural European Games. Competing in

, more specifically Kumite for 75 kilograms, he earned a gold medal. In August 2021, Aghayev competed in the inaugural Olympics Karate event, earning silver medal in the Men's kumite 75 kg division.

Championships and accomplishments

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Kumite -75 kg * World Games ** 2013 World Games Kumite -75 kg * World Combat Games ** 2013 World Combat Games Kumite -75 kg *

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from countries served by national Olympic committees within the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the regional association for such committ ...

** 2019 European Games Kumite -75 kg ** 2015 European Games Kumite -75 kg * Islamic Solidarity Games ** Islamic Solidarity Games Kumite -75 kg ** Islamic Solidarity Games Kumite -75 kg ** Islamic Solidarity Games Kumite -75 kg

Karate Combat record

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Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

References

External links