Azerbaijani Wrestler Powers Into World Championship Final in Croatia

The eighth day of the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb saw the start of Greco-Roman competitions in the 60 kg, 67 kg, and 87 kg weight classes, with Azerbaijani wrestlers delivering strong performances on the international stage.

In the 63 kg category, Murad Mammadov got off to a promising start, defeating Bayaman Kerimov of Kyrgyzstan in a competitive 8-5 bout. He followed up with another impressive victory, narrowly overcoming Turkey’s Kerem Kamal 5-3 to reach the quarterfinals. However, Mammadov’s progress was halted by a dominant display from Iran’s Mohammad Keshtkar, who defeated him 8-0, The Caspian Post reports via local media.

Azerbaijan’s standout of the day was Hasrat Jafarov in the 67 kg division. Jafarov stormed through the early rounds, claiming two consecutive 9-0 technical superiority wins over Neiser Hidalgo of Venezuela and Tsuchika Shimoyama of Australia. In the quarterfinals, he edged out Armenia’s Slavik Galstyan in a tense 4-3 contest, before defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Razzak Beishekeev 3-1 in the semifinals. With this victory, Jafarov secured a place in the World Championship final, where he will face Iran’s Olympic gold medalist Saeid Esmaeili in the title match scheduled for tomorrow.

In the 87 kg category, Islam Abbasov made a powerful start by defeating Belarusian representative Stanislav Shafarenko (UWW) with an 8-0 technical superiority. Despite the strong opening, Abbasov was narrowly beaten 4-3 in the Round of 16 by Kyrgyz wrestler Asan Zhanishov, bringing his campaign to an early close.

The Azerbaijani team remains in contention for gold through Jafarov, whose final bout will be one of the most anticipated matches of the championship.