Azernews.Az

Freestyle wrestler Haji Aliyev has entered into Azerbaijan's wrestling history.

He has become a four-time champion in the 70 kg weight category after winning a gold medal at the European Wrestling Championship held in Zagreb, Croatia, Azernews reports.

Earlier Azerbaijani wrestlers Namig Abdullayev, Khetag Gazyumov and Jabrayil Hasanov won the title of European champion three times. Currently, they have finished their sports careers.

Meanwhile, Aliabbas Rzazade secured the gold medal for Azerbaijan after beating German Horst Lehr and Italian Simone Piroddu on his way to the final. Rzazade also faced Turkish Suleyman Atli in a decisive encounter and defeated his opponent with a score 12:2.

At the same time, Muhammadkhan Magomedov (97 kg) captured the silver medal after winning over the Italian wrestler (12:1).

The European Championship held in Zagreb will last until April 23.

The national team includes Aliabbas Rzazade (57 kg), Ali Rahimzade (65 kg), Haji Aliyev (70 kg), Sabuhi Amiraslanov (79 kg) and Muhammadkhan Magomedov (97 kg).

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 Turkiye.

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

In 2022, Azerbaijani wrestler Osman Nurmagomedov (92 kg) was crowned the World Champion in Belgrade.

Nurmagomedov became the World Champion after defeating the Russian wrestler in the final.

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