Two Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers have advanced to the finals of the U20 European Wrestling Championships, currently taking place in Caorle, Italy, according to the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation.
Vasif Baghirov (57 kg) delivered an impressive performance, defeating Turkey’s Nurettin Kapala by fall and Hungary’s Karoly Barata with a technical superiority score of 10:0 to secure a place in the semifinals. There, he faced Moldova’s Ion Bulgaru, overpowering him 8:1 to qualify for his second consecutive European final. Baghirov will compete tomorrow in the gold medal match against Nika Zangaladze of Georgia.
In the 65 kg weight class, Haji Karimov edged past Italy’s Alessandro Nini with a close 4:3 win in the opening round but was defeated by fall in the quarterfinals by Georgia’s Lazare Kucharaidze.
Ismayil Rahimli (70 kg) opened with a dominant 10:0 technical victory over Hungary’s Jozsef Toth, but fell short 0:4 against Turkey’s Remzi Temur in the Round of 16.
Muradxan Omarov (79 kg) had a strong run, overcoming Turkey’s Huseyin Kabaktas (5:2) and Armenia’s Narek Nikoghosyan (7:3) to reach the semifinals, where he cruised past Austria’s Muhammad Inshapiev with an 11:0 win. Omarov will face Davit Chechelashvili of Georgia in tomorrow’s final.
In the 97 kg division, Ravan Musayev beat Turkey’s Ibrahim Benekli (6:1), but lost 4:12 in the quarterfinals to Konstantin Petriashvili of Georgia. Since his Georgian opponent reached the final, Musayev remains in contention for bronze and will face Peter Sivnovski of Hungary in the repechage round tomorrow.
