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AzerNEWS Staff

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The U15 European Wrestling Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria, have drawn to a dramatic close, with Azerbaijan’s freestyle wrestling team securing an impressive haul of six medals over the course of the continental tournament.

The final day of competition proved to be a sensational showcase for Azerbaijan, as five freestyle wrestlers successfully fought their way onto the podium, highlighted by a masterclass performance from newly crowned European Champion Yusif Abdullayev.

In the 38kg weight category, Yusif Abdullayev extended his flawless tournament streak in spectacular fashion. Having won every single one of his bouts leading up to the final ahead of time, Abdullayev maintained his clinical form in the gold-medal match. He secured a commanding 10-0 victory by technical superiority over Georgia's Rezi Yobidze to claim the European title.

Abdullayev’s gold follows a stellar performance from teammate Elvin Najafzade, who had already climbed the highest step of the podium in the 85kg category on the previous day of competition.

Azerbaijan's young athletes added four more medals to the tally on the final day, showcasing fierce competition across multiple weight classes:

Elman Ismayilov (41kg): Fought valiantly in the final but fell to a 4-15 defeat against local favourite Simeon Velikov of Bulgaria, earning a well-deserved silver medal.

Adəm Quliyev (52kg): Pushed his opponent to the absolute limit in a tense gold-medal thriller, narrowly missing out on the top spot after a tight 7-9 defeat against Russia’s Badruddin Magomedov to take home silver.

Mahammad Karimov (44kg): Demonstrated immense power in his podium bout, defeating Belarus's Aleksandr Khamov via technical superiority with a 16-6 scoreline to claim bronze.

Yusif Huseynov (62kg): Delivered a tactical masterclass in his bronze-medal match, shutting out Russia’s Zaur Nazhmudinov with a clean 5-0 victory.

With two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals in total, the Azerbaijani freestyle national team concludes its European campaign as one of the standout forces of the tournament.