Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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Azerbaijani Senior Wrestling Championship will take place on January 7-11, Azernews reports. The names of the national champions in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling will be determined at the Baku Sports Palace.

Wrestlers who place in the top three will be included in the national team. Matches will be officiated not only by local referees but also by invited experienced referees of the I-S category from abroad.

Preliminary matches will begin at 10:00, while the decisive bouts will start at 18:00. The opening ceremony of the championship will take place on January 7.

Wrestling continues to be the most popular sport in Azerbaijan and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, which was founded in 1993.

The Rio Olympic Games marked a significant milestone in Azerbaijan's wrestling history, as the country became one of only two nations to increase its medal count in five consecutive Olympics.

In 2020, Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers secured third place in the overall medal standings at the Individual World Cup held in Serbia, winning two medals—a silver and a bronze—behind Russia, which led the table, and Turkiye.

In 2022, Osman Nurmagomedov (92 kg) claimed the World Championship title in Belgrade, defeating a Russian opponent in the final match.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Azerbaijan earned three bronze medals in wrestling: Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg) in Greco-Roman, and Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125 kg) and Magomedkhan Magomedov (97 kg) in freestyle.