A WORTHY RESULT

The European Games in Baku next year will act as a fillip for the development of a number of different sports on the continent. Among these is sambo wrestling, which was included in the games programme at the very last moment. Many countries have already become interested in this sport, which is quite widespread and very popular in the CIS countries.

Sambo wrestling is regarded as one of the most modern of combat sports. Comprising many of the skills and types of wrestling in Europe and Asia, sambo combines to a considerable extent judo, ju-jitsu and various other types of wrestling, including the Azerbaijani gulas. This sport first emerged in the Soviet Union in the 1930s when soldiers were taught the skills of hand-to-hand combat. Now it continues to develop, has federations in all five continents and is growing in popularity.

The world sambo wrestling championships, which were held in Japan recently, drew a record number of countries - 614 athletes from 82 countries competed for medals. A congress of the International Sambo Wrestling Federation also took place during the championships. Vasiliy Shestakov, the head of the organization, who spoke at the congress, announced that sambo wrestling had been included in the European Games programme and that the rules of selection had already been decided. He also said that in order to promote sambo worldwide the number of competitions had been increased and the European Games would thereby help to develop this sport.

Azerbaijan's sambo wrestlers, who have been consistently successful at major competitions, also impressed at the World Championships. Amil Gasimov (74 kg) won a gold, Agasif Samadov (52 kg) a silver and Emil Hasanov (68 kg) a bronze medal. Amil Qasimov's victory is particularly worthy of note. After winning a gold medal at the European Championships at the beginning of the year, he was outstanding in the 74-kg category at the World Championships, too. Victory in the final bout over the Russian Ilya Lebedev was achieved after an outstanding battle of wills. As the match neared its conclusion Lebedev was ahead on points, but by attacking his opponent in the final seconds Amil triumphed after brilliantly executing a move.

Just a whisker away from the championship was Agasif Samadov in the 52 kg category. He had to be content with second place after losing in the final to the Georgian wrestler, Gennadiy Chirgadze. The two had already met in another tournament in May, when it was Samadov who triumphed.

In the 68-kg category Emil Hasanov, despite first beating Fuad Anass Husein from Djibouti, and then Alexander Bishop from New Zealand, lost in the quarter-final to the Mongolian, Tumurhuleg Davadorzhu. By beating the Argentine Fernando Gonzalez and then Eldiar Ulu Zharkinbay from Kyrgyzstan in consolation bouts, Hasanov took the bronze.

In an interview for R+ world champion Amil Qasimov said he was determined to win at the European Games in Baku: "This year has been a successful one for me. I shall start training in January. We shall be preparing as a team for the European Games. Our aim is to win as many medals as we can. Each competition in Baku is a real festival for us. So the result is very important."

In an interview for R+ Ceyhun Mammadov, President of the Azerbaijani Sambo Wrestling Federation and several times world and European champion, praised the national team's performance. He said that winning three medals at a competition featuring the world's top athletes was a good result. "I am happy with the team's performance. Three medals is a good result. This is the first time so many countries have been represented at the world sambo wrestling championships. As far as our wrestlers are concerned, Amil Qasimov's victory was anticipated. He had been performing steadily in recent months and has already been successful at the two biggest tournaments this year - first he became European champion and now world champion.

Agasif Samadov's 'silver' was equal to a 'gold'. Showing great skill in all his matches, the 25-year old was let down in the final by his own mistakes. Emil Hasanov's bronze medal will help him to prepare even harder for the next tournaments."

Talking of the European Games, Mammadov said our team was ready for this important competition. "When sambo was included in the European Games programme we set about choosing our young athletes. We are in charge of teams in all age groups. We shall complete the team before spring. All our top athletes will be taking part in the European Games. Representing sambo at such a major competition was a joyous event for us. Our federation officials, whom I spoke to during the championship, also said they would be coming to Baku for the European Games. Although sambo wrestling is not an Olympic sport, it is still highly respected worldwide. So it was not at all by chance that it is included in the European Games programme."

Athletes from 30 countries are due to be taking part in the European Games and Azerbaijan will be represented in all weight categories. Mammadov said that Azerbaijan will be holding two training sessions before the European Games. Only then will the final make-up of the team that will take part in the games be known.