Azerbaijan's most successful Olympics came at Rio 2016, when the team of 56 returned home with 18 medals including gold in men's heavyweight taekwondo for Radik Isaev.

At the last Games in Tokyo, they fielded a reduced team because of COVID-19 restrictions and did not win gold for the first time since their Olympic debut as an independent nation at Atlanta 1996.

"There were several factors at play, the obvious ones were the limited time in preparations during the pandemic and the generational cycle of athletes changing from juniors to seniors," Sports Minister Farid Gayibov told insidethegames.

"However, we have strong partnerships with local sports federations to review and refine our overall preparations, our minds are now set on Paris 2024, we are determined to make improvements on our overall standings, as all conditions for training and preparations are provided, and our athletes are gaining experience in a lot of international competitions and I am certain that our united endeavour will yield improved results and showcase the true potential of our athletes on the grand stage of the upcoming Paris Olympics in 2024."

Apart from Zemfira Meftaxetdinova's women’s skeet shooting gold at Sydney 2000, the majority of Azerbaijan's Olympic success since has come in combat sports.

"Despite us trying to develop all sport disciplines in the country, we understand realistically that the sports where we will have the most chances of attaining medals in Paris will be wrestling, boxing and judo," Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee secretary general Azer Aliyev told insidethegames.

Although Azerbaijan won their three medals at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Championships in August in non-Olympic events, they also had double Olympian pistol shooter Ruslan Lunev amongst those qualified for Paris 2024.

Boxer Mahammad Abdullayev sealed his place with super heavyweight silver at the European Games in Kraków and Malopolska. 

Light heavyweight Murad Allahverdiyev, who took bronze at the same Games, also secured a quota spot.

They have some 10 quota places in judo and three in wrestling and are also hopeful of further places in taekwondo, gymnastics, fencing, athletics and badminton. 

Since 1996, Azeri wrestlers have won 12 medals of which eight have been gold.

"Azerbaijani athletes are always strongly motivated for the Olympics, therefore there is always a strong emphasis placed on the preparation of our athletes for the Olympic Games," Aliyev continued.

"We expect to have 50 plus athletes in Paris, possibly even reaching the 60s."

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach visited Baku during the World Taekwondo Championships earlier this year.

"We value our relationship with the IOC and we see the importance of our cooperation in further development of Azerbaijan’s sport," Gayibov insisted.

In July, Azerbaijan State President Ilham Aliyev, who is also the country's NOC President, was a leading supporter of the Non-Aligned Nations Movement statement which said "the participation of athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees in Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games would be a strong symbol of unity of humanity".