Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The Freestyle Wrestling World Cup has started in the Iranian city of Kermanshah.

The world's eight top wrestling nations, including Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, US, Georgia, Turkey, Mongolia and India compete for the medals of the two-day international event, Azertac reported.

Azerbaijani wrestlers are placed in Pool A together with Russia, Georgia and the US, while Iran competes against Mongolia, Turkey and India in Group B.

Group matches will be held today, while final matches on February 17.

Azerbaijani national team had its first match against Russian team in Group A. The sides tied - 4:4.

Among Azerbaijani wrestlers Ali Rahimzade, Haji Aliyev, Jabrayil Hasanov and Jamaladdin Mahammadov ended their matches with victory.

Notably, Azerbaijani wrestlers won World Cup twice, in 2004 and 2009.

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.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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