Azerbaijani wrestler becomes two-time world champion

By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijani female wrestler Maria Stadnik (50 kg) has been crowned as the world champion in Kazakhstan.

In the final, Stadnik left no chances to her rival Emilia Vuc (13:0) and became the world champion for the second time in her career. 

The leader of the women's wrestling team of Azerbaijan entered the history of Azerbaijani sports, becoming the first female wrestler from Azerbaijan, who won the World Cup twice. 

Stadnik repeated the success of the Greco-Roman style fighter Farid Mansurov, who recorded two similar victories. 

Recall that the freestyle wrestler Haji Aliyev is the three-time world champion.

Note that Azerbaijani wrestler Mariya Stadnik (50 kg) won a license for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

In the quarter-final, Stadnik defeated Russian Ekaterina Polishchuk, securing a place in the top six, and fulfilling the license norm.

Stadnik met with Mercy Genesis (Nigeria) in the classification round and won ahead of time with a score of 10:0.

Stadnik’s next rival was Seema Seema (India). The match ended with a score of 9:2 in favor of the Stadnik.

The World Wrestling Championship in Nur-Sultan is underway in Kazakhstan. The tournament which serves as qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held until September 22.

The women's wrestling events in the weight categories of 50, 53, 55 and 72 kilograms started on the fourth day of the competitions.

Wrestling remains the most popular sport in the country 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. Nine of these medals were distributed to the Azerbaijani team in wrestling.

The Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling have rich history and unique traditions. The elements of national wrestling can be encountered on the Gobustan rocks, in folk and classical literature, and sagas.

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