WITH AN EYE TO THE OLYMPICS

The World Wrestling Championship held in Las Vegas was an important competition since it served as a qualifying event for the 2016 Olympic Games. Having won two gold, three silver and three bronze medals at the Championship, Azerbaijani wrestlers finished fifth in the team event. The top four teams were Russia (4-2-8), the United States (4-0-3), Turkey (3-1-2) and Japan (3-1-1).

Admittedly, the fifth place in the team event was not a bad result, given that all the strongest wrestlers of the globe came to Las Vegas. The fact that representatives of only 29 countries managed to win medals is the sign of intense competition that prevailed in the United States. Russia has always been famous for strong wrestlers, so its victory should be perceived as something normal. The US national team has also lived up to its expectations. While many were surprised at seeing the Turkish national team among the top three, the fourth place of Japan was a fairly expected result. It should be noted, however, that all medals for this team were bagged by female wrestlers.

In terms of the number of medals won, the national team of Azerbaijan has shown the result which trails only that of the 2009 World Championship, when the team finished second, winning 10 medals (3-4-3). This record figure still remains unbeaten.

On the other hand, Azerbaijan has never been able to secure 11 licenses to the Summer Olympic Games at any of the previous world championships. Given this, the performance of Azerbaijani wrestlers at the world championship is worthy of the highest praise.

Greco-Roman wrestling

Camsid Heyrabadi has once again proved himself as the head coach of the national team. Under his management, classic-style wrestlers have won the second place at the World Championship for the first time.

Rasul Cunayev (71 kg), the winner of the European Games, had no equal opponents at the World Championship. Having won all his bouts by technical superiority, he ultimately scored a victory in the final over Armenian wrestler Armen Vardanyan, a two-time European champion, who represented Ukraine.

Rovsan Bayramov (59 kg) proved the correctness of the choice of coaches, too. After winning all the bouts, he only lost to Cuban wrestler Ismael Borrero in the final, and had to be satisfied with the second place. However, the 28-year-old wrestler was able to please his fans, for the first time after the London Olympics. An experienced athlete has earned a spot in the Summer Olympics - for the third time in his competitive career. Furthermore, Bayramov has four world championship medals under his belt.

Former world and European champion Hasan Aliyev was the greatest disappointment for the fans. Hasan was forced to leave the World Championship after losing to Russian wrestler Artem Surukov already in the opening. In general, his performance has been very unstable in recent years, and his prospects for achieving success seem to be rather problematic. He lacks a strong will and is unable to reach his full potential, which are apparently the main reasons for his underperformance.

Salman Tahmasib (85 kg), a bronze medallist of this Champion-ship, has become the first Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler to win medals at three world championships in a row. Elvin Mursaliyev (75 kg) and Sabah Sariati (130 kg), which took the fifth place, have completed their minimum task, earning a spot in the Olympic Games.

Women's wrestling

There were no surprises here. As always, our expectations for medals have come true. Mariya Stadnik (48 kg) reached the final in one breath. In the decisive bout, she lost to Erie Tohsaka from Japan, letting the gold medal slip through her fingers just 10 seconds before the end of the match. Stadnik, who lost to Tohsaka before, apparently is still unable to overcome a psychological barrier. Mariya must by all means find a way out of this situation. Otherwise, she may face this problem at the Olympic Games, too.

Yulia Radkevich (58 kg) could have won at least a silver medal, too. However, having lost to a Finnish athlete in the semi-finals because of her carelessness, she was forced to settle for a bronze medal. Angela Dorogan (53 kg) and Irina Netreba (60 kg) finished the World Championship, earning an Olympic spot. By securing a total of four licences to the Olympic Games in Brazil, women wrestlers have set a new record. Prior to that, we were represented by three and two athletes at the Games in Beijing and London, respectively.

Freestyle wrestling

Haci Aliyev (61 kg), who was recognized the best sportsman of Azerbaijan last year, had no difficulty in winning the gold medal. Thus, he got into the history of independent Azerbaijan as the first two-time world champion in freestyle wrestling.

Meanwhile, fans were disappointed with the performance of Togrul Asgarov (65 kg), who was left without a medal. Our athlete was forced to accept defeat in the quarterfinals due to the injustice of the judges. However, should Togrul have shown character, he could have finished the Championship at least as a bronze medallist.

Experienced Cabrayil Hasanov (74 kg) showed an utterly unsuccessful performance, as he failed to win a licence. At the same time, a defeat of Mahir Amiraslanov (57 kg) in the round of 16, who have appeared in the championship among adults for the first time, is understandable and forgivable. Meanwhile, the defeat of team captain Xetaq Qazyumov (97 kg) at the hands of his principled opponent Abdulsalam Gadisov for the second time in a row is a disturbing sign. It should also be noted that Gazyumov is advanced in age and gradually losing his position as a leader. Although Xetaq has won a license for the Olympic Games, he might not go to Brazil, as we have another strong wrestler in this weight category - Olympic Champion Sarif Sarifov.

By making it to the final in the heaviest weight class, Camaladdin Mahammadov (125 kg) has entered his name in the history of Azerbaijani wrestling. However, Mahammadhaci Xatiyev (86 kg) was the victim of bad luck. While conducting a third-place bout and having a lead in the score, he was injured and had to leave the carpet.

Once again, the obtaining by wrestlers of 11 licences for the Olympic Games can be considered a success. Moreover, by successfully performing in the upcoming competition, they can get seven more licences. Thus, classic-style wrestlers should continue their efforts to be represented at the Olympic Games in weight categories 66 and 98 kg, freestyle wrestlers - in categories 57 and 74 kg, and female wrestlers - in categories 63, 69 and 74 kg.

FIRSTHAND

Rasul Cunayev (world champion): "I am very happy. My goal was to win the gold medal, and I realized it. Success accompanied me to the world and European championships. Now my main goal is the Olympic Games. I will strain all my sinews, and I hope to achieve this goal. I cannot say that the bouts at the World Cup were difficult. I was well prepared and believed in myself. It is most probable that I will conduct my future bouts in a different weight class, as I want to go to the Olympic Games. But the decision will be taken by the coaches anyway".

Haci Aliyev (two-time world champion): "Being a two-time world champion is a double pleasure. I am very glad that I have been able to write my name into the annals of history of this sport in Azerbaijan. I will strive to become a three-time, four-time world champion. Being a European and world champion, I will now set myself to become an Olympic champion".

Acdar Cafarov (WFA General Secretary): "Judges from 69 countries were represented at the world championship. It was the biased decisions of some of them that prevented us from winning even more medals. Togrul Asgarov scored a "clean" victory in the quarterfinals over his rival from Italy. However, judges were unfair to our Olympic champion. The head of our delegation immediately intervened and sent a letter to the Union of World Wrestling. An ad hoc committee was set up, which found that judges made a serious blunder. Though it would not change the outcome of the bout, it led to the punishment of the judges that committed this blunder. Most likely, they will be disqualified from judging at the Olympic Games".