Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers have won a bunch of medals in Croatia, Azernews reports Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation.

The wrestlers brought home four gold, one silver, and three bronze medals thus taking second place at U-15 European Wrestling Championship.

The national team scored 136 points. Georgian wrestlers took first place with 153 points while Ukraine ranked third with 133 points.

At the same time, Maharram Rzayev (38 kg), Jafar Jafarov (41 kg), Ravan Rahimli (48 kg), and Said Pashayev (85 kg) became European champions, defeating all their rivals.

Hasan Hasanov (41 kg) took second place, Huseyn Huseynov (52 kg), Mahammad Abbaszadeh (62 kg), and Farhad Suleymanli (85 kg) took third place.

Wrestling remains the most popular sport in the county and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, which was established in 1993.

The Rio Games opened a new page in wrestling for Azerbaijan.

The country became one of only two nations ever to increase the number of medals achieved in five consecutive Games.

In 2020, Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers finished third in the overall medal table of the Individual World Cup in Serbia.

National wrestlers won two medals, including silver and bronze. Russia topped the medal table followed by Turkey.

The national team also won five medals at the Grand Prix Moscow held in Russia. The national team won one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals in the tournament.

At the same time, Osman Nurmagomedov (92 kg) was crowned the World Champion in Belgrade last year.

In 2022, Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestlers achieved historical victory in the continental championship.

The wrestlers won seven medals which is the best result for the national team in the under-23 freestyle wrestling both in terms of the number of medals and the team standings.

Azerbaijani team was represented at the European Under-23 Wrestling Championship in nine weight categories out of ten.

The wrestling team led by coaches Arif Abdullayev, Jabrail Hasanov, and Rovshan Hajiyev captured four gold and three bronze medals. Moreover, it also scored 159 points and became the European champion in the team standings.

Ziraddin Bayramov (65 kg), Jabrail Hajiyev (74 kg), Abubakr Abakarov (86 kg), and Islam Ilyasov (97 kg) defeated all their rivals and became European champions. Bronze medals came from Tofig Aliyev (57 kg), Ashraf Ashirov (79 kg), and Aydin Ahmedov (125 kg).

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lamiva993