Azerbaijani wrestlers to compete in Turkey
By Laman Ismayilova
Azerbaijan’s national Greco-Roman wrestling team will take part in international tournament in Istanbul, the Wrestling Federation reported.
The tournament is organized in memory of Turkish wrestlers Vehbi Emre and Hamit Kaplan.
Currently, 20 members of national team are in training camp in Istanbul under leadership of head coach Akif Aliyev, coaches Nuraddin Rajabov and Shaban Donat.
The national teams of Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria and Switzerland also attend the training camp along with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The training camp that started on February 11 will last until March 3.
Wrestling remains the most popular sport in the county and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, which was established in 1993.
The Rio Games opened a new page in wrestling for Azerbaijan. The country became one of only two nations ever to increase the number of medals achieved in five consecutive Games.
Azerbaijan left Rio de Janeiro with a total of 18 medals, signifying the nation's most successful Olympic outcome in its independent history. Nine of these medals were distributed to the Azerbaijani team in wrestling, three in taekwondo for the first time, and two each in boxing, sprint canoeing, and judo.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
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