Azernews.Az

The World Wrestling Championships have commenced in Zagreb, Croatia's capital.

Azernews reports that on the first day of competition, freestyle wrestlers in four weight categories took to the mat.

Nuraddin Novruzov (61 kg) lost 2:5 in the 1/8 final against Iranian Ahmad Mohammadnejad Javan. Since his opponent advanced to the final, our athlete will compete in the repechage tomorrow.

Kenan Heybatov (70 kg) scored convincing wins against Iran’s two-time World Championship silver medallist Amirmohammad Yazdanicherati (15:4) and Shannon Hanna of the Bahamas (10:0). In the quarterfinal, he faced Armenia’s European champion Arman Andreasyan in a tense bout. Although Heybatov initially led 6:3, he ultimately lost 6:8.

Arseniy Djioyev (86 kg) defeated Puerto Rico’s Ethan Ramos 5:2 in his debut, but lost 8:13 in the quarterfinal to Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro. Since Ishiguro reached the final, our wrestler will also enter the repechage tomorrow.

Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125 kg) defeated Uzbekistan’s Khasanboy Rakhimov and Hungary’s Vladislav Baitsaev with identical 7:0 scores, advancing to the World Championship semifinals for the first time in his career. Facing Poland’s Robert Baran, he secured a 2:0 victory to book his spot in the final. For the first time in his career, Meshvildishvili will wrestle in a World Championship final, where he will meet Iran’s decorated wrestler Amir Zare in the decisive bout.