BULGARIAN TRIUMPH

Since the Tokyo Summer Olympics, there has been a demand for new faces in wrestling, like in most sports. They usually find their way to the national team thanks to successful performances as part of youth teams. Thus, the participation of Greco-Roman wrestlers from Azerbaijan in the first major competition of 2022 has provided the coaches with enough information to think about.

Optimistic results

At the European U23 Championship held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the national Greco-Roman team claimed two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. In the bout for gold, Hasay Hasanli (77 kg) competed against a Georgian athlete David Sologashvili and defeated him right in the first round. Having scored 10-0 points, Hasanli became a European champion.

Ziya Babashov (63 kg) also competed with a Georgian athlete in the finals. But he lost to Georgi Shotadze (0:3) and became a silver medalist of the tournament. And in the bout for the third place Lachin Veliyev’s (87 kg) rival was an Armenian athlete Gevorg Tadevosyan. The bout ended with Veliyev’s victory (6:5), who became a bronze medalist of the European Championship.

Heavyweight Sarkhan Mammadov (130kg) also finished the competition with a bronze medal after defeating Nikolaos Ntounias from Greece (6-1).

Nihad Mammadli (60kg) has met his coaches' expectations. He has demonstrated his superiority in the quarter-finals. In the first bout, Nihad’s opponent was Hungarian Krisztian Keckemeti, whom the Azerbaijani title-holder defeated (5:1) to reach the semi-finals. In the final bout, Mammadli did not leave a chance for the Armenian athlete Tigran Minasyan either (9:0). In the final round of the competition, Mammadli showed his great skills and defeated a Georgian athlete Irakli Jimistarishvili, hence becoming a European champion in the very first round (10:0).

Azerbaijan's junior national team competed at the continental championship under the leadership of head coach Rovshan Bayramov and coaches Akif Aliyev and Hasan Aliyev. Five of our wrestlers rose to the podium of this prestigious tournament. National anthem of Azerbaijan has been played in Plovdiv to honour the victories of Nihad Mammadli (60kg) and Hasay Hasanli (77kg). Ziya Babashov (63kg) became the second, while Lachin Veliyev (87kg) and Sarkhan Mammadov (130kg) became the third strongest athletes of the championship. With two gold, one silver and two bronze medals, the national team scored 102 points and became the third strongest. First and second places in the tournament went to the Georgian (138) and Turkish (133) teams, respectively.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani women's wrestling team were not left without medals either. Given that the team is going through difficult times, we can only praise the medals they won in Plovdiv. Elnura Mammadova (55 kg) has competed without defeat up until the final bout. Her victory in the quarterfinals over the injured Slovakian athlete Maria Martynchuk was especially memorable. As soon as the bout ended, Mammadova shouldered her opponent and carried her to the edge of the mat. But in the final, she failed to a Romanian athlete Andrea Beatrice Ana and took the silver medal of the continental championship.

Nigar Mirzazade (68kg) won bronze in Europe after defeating a Spaniard athlete Marta Navarra (6:3).

Nihad Mammadli looks like a young yet promising athlete. The 20-year-old athlete is a winner of world and European junior championships. We strongly believe in his successful career in the future.

Winning makes you feel great

In his interview with Region Plus, Nihad Mammadli mentioned a rather difficult period of preparation for the European Championship: “Many people do not know about my injury, which has really worn me out. Then I was able to regain my shape, but unfortunately, at that very moment I broke my rib. I have not trained for almost two months. It took me a long time to catch up. Just came to my senses but then I had a trouble again—injured my elbow. Again, I had to stop training for almost forty days and had to miss the U-23 European and world championships in 2021. I then promised myself be a champion of all the tournaments in 2022. Being a winner is a great feeling. But to win tomorrow as well, we have to work hard all the time. After 2-3 days rest, I will start training again. My dream is to win only top-class medals for our country as part of the national team.”

Performance at the European Championships of the national junior team led by renowned athlete Rovshan Bayramov deserves appreciation. Undoubtedly, the lack of ambitious wrestlers from Russia and Ukraine has had an impact on the final result achieved at the prestigious competition. Nevertheless, Azerbaijani wrestlers’ confidence and skills demonstrate their responsible approach to what they do. Gold medalists of the European Championship—Nihad Mammadli and Khasay Hasanli—can well represent the country in light weight categories in future. In wrestling, as in most sports, athletes who achieve success in junior years join the adult category late. And due to certain reasons, they often leave the sport early. We hope that athletes like Nihad Mammadli and Khasay Hasanli will soon be given a chance to show themselves in the adult national team.