POOR PERFORMANCE

The licensed qualifying tournament was held in Budapest just before the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. Unfortunately, the performance of Azerbaijani wrestlers cannot be called satisfactory. The national team was represented by 16 wrestlers but returned home with only 3 licenses. Although we had great hopes for this tournament after the failure at the 2019 world championship, we had another failure in Hungary as well.

Free-stylers without maximum

Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers trained by the head coach of the national team Namig Abdullayev could not adequately perform at the European qualifying tournament during the pandemic. They could not get the maximum scores. To win a license for the Tokyo Olympics, athletes had to reach the final stage of the tournament. Abubakr Abakarov (86 kg) was our first athlete to drop out of the competition after losing in the quarterfinals. Islam Bagirov (57 kg) also tasted the bitterness of defeat in the semifinals. Heavyweight Jamaleddin Magomedov (125 kg) was also left without a license.

Only Haji Aliyev (65 kg) and Hajimurad Hajiyev (74 kg) were able to reach the main goal. Although the three-time world and European champion Haji Aliyev was far from being in his best shape, he could reach the final stage of the tournament and qualified for a license to the Tokyo Olympic Games. Although the license is awarded not to the athlete, but to the country, it is expected that Haji Aliyev will represent Azerbaijan in his weight category. Therefore, in the coming months, our award-winning athlete will have to focus only on training. Otherwise, his trip to Japan will be only touristic.

We can also praise Hajimurad Hajiyev. Having improved his skills in the shortest possible time, he won a license in Hungary and was included in the main national team.

Thus, Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers Haji Aliyev and Hajimurad Hajiyev won silver medals, while Islam Bazarganov (57 kg) and Jamaleddin Magomedov won bronze medals.

Weak performance of women athletes

Results of our women's team do not need any special comments. Having visited Budapest without the leaders of the team, they could not actually please the fans. As a result, they have only one bronze medal won by Tatyana Omelchenko (62 kg). This result cannot be considered satisfactory. None of the five athletes representing Azerbaijan were able to win a license for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Demonstrating weak performance in all stages of the tournament, they could satisfy neither their coaches nor fans. With the current status quo, Maria Stadnik seems to be the only representative of Azerbaijan in Tokyo.

The only gold medal

Greco-Roman athletes were the last to join the competition in Budapest. Only 5 of 6 wrestlers of the national team took part in the tournament, as the injured Beka Kandelaki could not compete in the heavy weight. Thus, only Islam Abbasov (87 kg) became the winner of the tournament and won a license to Tokyo. With no equal in Budapest and declared the winner in the final stage without competing (the opponent refused to fight), Islam Abbasov demonstrated a worthy performance. However, he still will not be able go to Tokyo in this status. Unlike Budapest, the strongest athletes of the planet will gather there. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for the Olympics according to a special program.

We need reforms

So, only 3 of 16 members of the national team received licences. It turned out that the rest of the team was not ready for the competition. It would be wrong to justify their weak performance with a pandemic and lockdown, as not only Azerbaijan but the whole world is suffering from the lockdown. We have to admit that wrestling is Azerbaijan has weakened. The head coach of freestyle wrestling Namig Abdullayev, the coach of the Greco-Roman style team Alexander Tarakanov and the head coach of the women's team Aslan Aghayev have to correctly assess the real state of affairs. There is very little time left before the Tokyo Olympics, so they must make every effort to change the situation. A team that fails to win a license in the European qualification round will not be able to get medals in Japan. Wrestlers have always been considered the pride of Azerbaijan. Therefore, we need urgent reforms in this area, the only one that has brought medals to Azerbaijan at all Olympiads.

Another problem is the presence of numerous naturalized legionnaires in the national team. Of the 16 athletes going to Budapest 11 were naturalised athletes. We do not mind naturalization at all. But if a naturalized wrestler loses in the second bout of a qualification tournament, taking him to the Olympics means just extra expenses.

The last chance

Currently, Azerbaijani wrestlers have only 5 licenses. Maria Stadnik and Sharif Sharifov became the license holders before Haji Aliyev, Hajimurad Hajiyev and Jamaleddin Magomedov,. The last chance for our athletes will be the upcoming world qualification tournament on May 6-9 in Bulgaria. This tournament will be attended by the athletes from all over the world. This means it will be even harder. Nevertheless, in Bulgaria, the Azerbaijani national team needs to increase the number of licenses.

Back in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Azerbaijan was represented by 14 wrestlers, who won 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. In Tokyo, Azerbaijan will be represented by less number of athletes. With these facts in mind, there is definitely something to think about.