Two Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestlers have reached the finals at the U-17 World Championship held in Athens, Greece.
Hikmet Haqverdiyev, competing in the 51 kg category, started his tournament with a confident 7-0 victory over Romania’s Andrei Peleana. He then defeated Norway’s Abu Bakar Saga 9-2. In the semifinals, Haqverdiyev clinched a tough 4-3 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Islam Kurbanov. His opponent in the final will be Uzbekistan’s Otabek Tursunov.
Ali Nazarov, competing in the 60 kg category, defeated Croatia’s Roko Kuriči 5-1 in the first round. He then triumphed 10-1 over Georgia’s Lazare Gogotişvili and 9-0 over Uzbekistan’s Humoyun Erkinov, winning both matches by technical superiority. In the semifinals, Nəzarov beat Iran’s Abulfazl Eshagi 1-1 on the first-point principle. He will face Kyrgyzstan’s Amangeldi Ysakbayev in the final.
In the 45 kg category, Abdurrahman Hüseynli initially defeated American Tales Silva 6-3 and Georgia’s Saba Abashidze 9-6 to reach the semifinals. However, he lost 0-7 to Kyrgyzstan’s Nurkerim Kumarbekov. Hüseynli will compete for the bronze medal against the winner of the match between Turkey’s Mustafa Güven and Ukraine’s Timur Mehremov.
Yusif Ahmadli, competing in the 71 kg category, defeated Turkey’s Emirhan Çakır 8-0, Georgia’s Giorgi Gogelashvili 7-2, and Tajikistan’s Alisher Ruzimadov 9-5. In the semifinals, despite holding a 5-point lead over Uzbekistan’s Behruzbek Valiyev, Əhmədli lost 5-9. He will fight for bronze against Iran’s Mohammad Kazimi, Finland’s Matias Onnenlehto, or Bulgaria’s Radoslav Peryanski.
In the 92 kg category, Said Paşayev lost 1-6 to Iran’s Amirsam Mohammadi in the Round of 16. However, since his opponent advanced to the final, Paşayev earned the chance to compete in the consolation match against Moldova’s Vladislav Vasilevski.
