"These wrestlers are the athletes training with the national team, and I know them all personally. Some of our strong athletes couldn't participate in the championship due to injuries, while others had just returned from competitions."
Rafig Huseynov, a 77 kg Greco-Roman wrestler of the Azerbaijan national team, gave an interview to Idman.biz.
He shared his thoughts on the ongoing Azerbaijani Wrestling Championship, emphasizing that the young and junior wrestlers who stood out in the competition will make their mark in the future. "Our young and junior wrestlers made their presence felt in this championship. They proved that they can compete and win medals in the Azerbaijani championship. I believe in the continuation of their success. The wrestlers we see among the winners today will eventually take the place of title-winning athletes and will not remain in their shadow."
Huseynov also expressed that 2024 can be considered a successful year for Azerbaijani wrestling. "We are one of the countries that have made a name for ourselves in the world of wrestling. It would not be fair to evaluate the current state of Azerbaijani wrestling just by looking at the Olympic Games results. Our freestyle and Greco-Roman teams performed well at the European Championship this year. At the same time, the Greco-Roman team was crowned world champions for the second time in history. This is quite a successful outcome. Of course, we athletes know that fans always expect top results, but sometimes those expectations may not be met. Winning medals at the Olympic Games, becoming world champions as a team, and securing podium positions at the European Championship are significant achievements. If we consider that we became world champions as a team and produced three individual world champions at the same world championship, it’s a record for Azerbaijani sports. Moreover, Eldaniz Azizli became the only athlete in Azerbaijan's independent history to win the world championship title four times."
The experienced athlete also highlighted the promising future of younger wrestlers. "There are many talented wrestlers among the younger generation, especially Nihat Mammadli, who really surprised me. Nihat, who became the European champion in the 60 kg weight category earlier this year, also won the world championship in the 63 kg category by the end of the year. Rising to the top in two weight categories within a year is not a common example of character for every athlete."
The Azerbaijani Wrestling Championship will conclude tomorrow. Today, the competition for freestyle wrestlers has begun.
Aytaj Sahed
Idman.biz
