Greco-Roman wrestlers participate training camp in Croatia

The Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestling team has started a training camp in Croatia after the rating tournament.

The team, which left Zagreb for the city of Porec, will undergo a training process in this city until February 22.

Under the leadership of head coach Aleksandr Tarakanov, senior coach Rovshan Bayramov and coach Kamran Mammadov, twenty Azerbaijani wrestlers are participating in the training camp organized jointly with teams from different countries.

However, Hasrat Jafarov, who was injured in the rating tournament and underwent ear surgery, has returned home. The Olympic medalist must undergo at least 10 days of recovery. Only after that, based on the doctors' opinion, can he begin individual training.

The women's wrestling team has left Croatia for Hungary. Under the leadership of acting head coach Togrul Askerov and coach Agahuseyn Mustafayev, ten wrestlers were involved in the training process held in Tata. The training camp will last until February 22.

The national freestyle wrestling team has headed to Vladikavkaz. The training camp, which will be held in the capital of North Ossetia, will last until February 26. 24 wrestlers are taking part in the training camp under the leadership of head coach Khetag Gazyumov, senior coach Jabrayil Hasanov, and coaches Taymuraz Kokoyev and Sharif Sharifov.

The preparation process of all three national teams is mainly based on tactical and technical work. The training camps held abroad are in preparation for the U-23 European Championship to be held in Albania on March 8-14 and the European Championship for adults to be held in Slovakia on April 7-13.

Wrestling remains the most popular sport in the county and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, which was established in 1993.

The Rio Games opened a new page in wrestling for Azerbaijan. The country became one of only two nations ever to increase the number of medals achieved in five consecutive games.

In 2020, Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers finished third in the overall medal table of the Individual World Cup in Serbia.

National wrestlers won two medals, including silver and bronze. Russia topped the medal table, followed by Turkiye.

In 2022, Azerbaijani wrestler Osman Nurmagomedov (92 kg) was crowned the World Champion in Belgrade.

Nurmagomedov became the World Champion after defeating the Russian wrestler in the final.

At 2024 Summer Olympic, Greco-Roman wrestler Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg), freestyle wrestlers Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125 kg) and Magomedkhan Magomedov (97 kg) won bronze medals for Azerbaijan.