"GOLDEN" HOPE FROM "THE GOLDEN GRAND PRIX"

The final tournament of the Golden Grand Prix international wrestling series in memory of the national leader Heydar Aliyev has come to an end in Baku. Strong competition did not prevent Azerbaijani sportsmen from demonstrating good results and supplementing their collection of medals. It should be noted that the coaches attached particular importance to the results of the Golden Grand Prix - this tournament was the final test for the athletes before the World Cup to be held in September. The results of the Grand Prix will be taken as a basis for the formation of a team for licensing championship. Now, after the Golden Grand Prix, it's safe to say that its winners have secured a place in the national team that will travel to Turkey for Olympic licences.

Freestyle wrestlers were the first to show their worth in the Baku tournament. Seven of the 19 Azerbaijani wrestlers managed to get through to the final. And five of them managed to climb to the highest step of the podium. In the most lightweight class, Mahmud Mahammadov lived up to expectations. Becoming a favourite of all his fights, Mahmud eventually won the "gold" of the tournament. And in the category of 60 kg, Zalimxan Huseynov had his weighty say, leaving no chance to his opponent in the final match. The European champion Cabrayil Hasanov also secured the gold trophy of the tournament in the weight class of 66 kg. Cabrayil experienced some difficulty - it was felt that he was not in the best shape. But winning the Golden Grand Prix, he established himself as a stable wrestler. In the weight classes of 84 and 96 kg, Sarif Sarifov and Khetag Gazyumov made Azerbaijani fans happy.

Besides the "gold", the Azerbaijani wrestlers also won two silver and three bronze medals. The results indicate that the national team of Azerbaijan will undergo some changes in the weight classes of 60 and 74 kg. The runners-up in these classes, Agaguseyn Mustafayev and Asraf Aliyev, failed to meet coaches' expectations to some extent. Therefore, we can now predict that other wrestlers will go to the World Cup instead of them.

As for the team event, our wrestlers took first place in the tournament. They are followed by the Georgian team while Turkey closes the top three.

Azerbaijani women wrestlers made the fans happy with two more gold medals. Having won the gold trophy of the tournament, the three-time European champion and bronze medallist of the Beijing Olympics, Maria Stadnik, once again retained the position of team leader in the lightest weight class (48 kg).

Sona Ahmadli (59 kg) brought one more "gold" for the Azerbaijani national team. She had not competed for a long time because of an injury.

The coaches pinned great expectations on Guzel Zutova who did not give her opponents the slightest chance before the final. However, the only mistake she made in the decisive showdown left Zutova without the gold medal, and she had to be content with the silver.

Yuliya Radkevich (55 kg) also failed to live up to the "golden expectations" - she got only a bronze after a consolation match with a Kazakh athlete. In the women's national team of Azerbaijan, Olesya Zamula (59 kg), Natalya Palamarchuk and Zumruc Qurbanhaciyeva in the 67 kg weight class also won bronze medals. The heavyweight Dina Ivanova, unfortunately, was not destined to climb the podium.

Having won two gold, one silver and four bronze medals, the Azerbaijani women's team took second place in the team event after the Russians. The Japanese team took third place.

The Greco-Roman wrestling team led by Farid Mansurov also won two gold medals for Azerbaijan. Of the 18 "classics" on the carpet, only five were able to fight a decisive battle. Rovsan Bayramov (55 kg) particularly distinguished himself. Having won the "gold" in yet another prestigious event, the double European champion and silver medallist of the World Championship reiterated his ambitions for the leadership role in the team. The focus was again the winner of the world and continental championship, Hasan Aliyev (60 kg), who also won the best result. In the overall standings, Greco-Roman wrestlers were included on the list of the best teams in the "Golden Grand Prix", winning two gold, three silver and four bronze medals.

So, if we do not take into account a number of minor failures, the performance of Azerbaijani wrestlers in the Golden Grand Prix can be evaluated positively as a whole.

Ahead of us is the World Cup, and we can already say that in the world championship, competition will be much stronger - at stake are 70 places in the London Olympics. Some countries were not represented in the Baku Golden Grand Prix, deciding to save their athletes for the championship, which will have a licensing nature.