Islamic Solidarity Games: Azerbaijan Ranks Four As Games Nearing Completion

The team of Azerbaijan currently ranks four among 56 countries in the team standings of the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games taking place in the Turkish city of Konya.

In the second week of competitions, Azerbaijani athletes increased the overall prize count to 72 medals, including 22 gold, 28 silver, and 22 bronze prizes, according to local media.

The Azerbaijani athletes have won medals in 16 sports: wrestling (8 gold, 8 silver, 7 bronze), rhythmic gymnastics (5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), aerobics (2 gold, 3 silver), judo (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze), fencing (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), taekwondo (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), gymnastics (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), athletics (1 gold, 2 silver), shooting (1 gold, 1 silver), swimming (1 gold, 1 silver), weightlifting (1 silver, 3 bronze), handball (1 silver), para archery (2 bronze), para table tennis (1 bronze), volleyball (1 bronze), and football (1 bronze).

Meanwhile, the first three places in the team standings are shared by Türkiye with 265 medals (106 gold, 89 silver, 70 bronze), Uzbekistan with 121 medals (43 gold, 30 silver, 48 bronze), and Iran with 116 medals (37 gold, 35 silver, 44 bronze).

Athletes from 42 countries out of 56 participant nations have managed to win medals in the pan-Islamic sports festival so far. 

The 5th Islamic Solidarity Games are currently underway in the Konya city of Türkiye. The event started on August 9 and will wrap up on August 18. A total of nearly 2,000 athletes are participating in the Islamic world’s largest sports event. Sixteen sports venues of various designations are hosting the tournaments in 21 different sports.

The first edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games was held in Mecca city of Saudi Arabia in 2005, with 4,248 athletes from 54 countries among attendees. The second event was originally scheduled to take place in October 2009 in Iran and was later rescheduled for April 2010. However, it was canceled after Iran and the Arab World disputed over the use of the “Persian Gulf” term in logos of the Games, as some countries in the Arab world preferred “Arabian Gulf” instead.

The third Islamic Solidarity Games were held in Palembang, on the island of Sumatera in Indonesia in 2013. In 2017, the fourth edition of the pan-Islamic sports event was held in Azerbaijan.