Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler Kanan Heybatov (70 kg) has been crowned a title of world champion, Azernews reports.

The wrestler defeated his opponent Mitchell Mesenbrink (US) at the U-20 World Championship in Bulgaria.

Having finished the first half of the competition with a score of 7:2, Heybatov maintained his advantage in the second half and won with a score of 13:7.

Kanan Heybatov became the world champion for the first time in his sporting career.

Another national wrestler Ziraddin Bayramov (65 kg) won a silver medal for Azerbaijan.

The U20 World Championship is a yearly event that brings together the best wrestlers from each category (Greco-Roman, freestyle, and women), aged between 18 and 20 years old.

Wrestling remains the most popular sport in the county and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, 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 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 a world champion title in Belgrade last year.

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

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

The Azerbaijani team was represented at the European Under-23 Wrestling Championship in nine weight categories out of 10.

The wrestling team, led by coaches Arif Abdullayev, Jabrayil 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 Ahmadov (125 kg).

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