AZE.US
Azerbaijan’s U-17 beach wrestling team has won the European team title at the continental championship held in Poreč, Croatia.
According to the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation, four members of the national team reached the podium, winning two gold and two silver medals.
Eljan Hasanov became European champion in the 60 kg category. He won all of his bouts, defeating fellow Azerbaijani Alirza Heybatli, Serbia’s Nikola Petrovic and Greece’s Ioannis Kesidis in the group stage before beating Moldova’s Viktor Vdovii in the quarterfinals and Ukraine’s Denys Vitko in the semifinals. Hasanov then defeated another Ukrainian wrestler, Kiril Nahirnyi, 4-0 in the final.
Azerbaijan’s second gold came in the 80 kg category, where Ruslan Valiyev beat his teammate Elvin Hajiguliyev 3-0 in the final. Hajiguliyev took the silver medal after a strong run that included victories over opponents from Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.
Rashad Aliyev also won silver for Azerbaijan in the 70 kg category. He defeated wrestlers from Serbia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine on his way to the final, where he lost to Georgia’s Ioane Skhiladze.
Azerbaijan finished first in the team standings with 80 points. Georgia also scored 80 points, but Azerbaijan took the title because of the higher value of its medals. Ukraine placed third with 64 points.
The result marks another strong showing for Azerbaijan’s youth wrestling program, with the national team not only winning the overall title but also placing two wrestlers in the same final in the 80 kg division.
AZE.US