Azerbaijan's Ilham Zakiyev has revealed that he had promised his country's president that he would claim gold at the European Games in Baku.
The 35-year-old kept his word when he sealed victory in the +90kg visually impaired category against Ukraine's Oleksandr Pominov at the Heydar Aliyev Arena.
"All of Azerbaijan was waiting for me. I promised the president I would win, and I did it," Zakiyev told reporters.
Zakiyev, a former solider, lost his sight when he was shot by a sniper while on military patrol in 1999, leaving him in a coma for five days.
However, Zakiyev fought back from his injuries to become Paralympic champion in 2004 and 2008.
Written by
Joe Sharratt
Joe Sharratt
