Gulay and Elvin also advance to the European championship final

May 22, 2026

The U15 European Wrestling Championships continue in Samokov, Bulgaria.

On the third day of competition, two of our wrestlers advanced to the final of the European Championships.

Women’s Wrestling

Gulay Khasmammadova (36 kg) secured victories over Turkish wrestler Damla Beyan (12:5), Poland’s Nikola Przybylin (by fall), and Ukraine’s Oleksandra Sozinova (by fall) to qualify for the final. Our representative will face Russia’s Elizaveta Kirillova in tomorrow’s decisive bout.

Leyla Asgarova (42 kg) lost to Russia’s Kseniya Sitenkova 2:6 in the qualification round.

Gunel Karimli (50 kg) pinned the Netherlands’ Yuna Wallenburg, but was defeated by Ukraine’s Ivanna Maidanska in the quarterfinals – 3:13.

Zarifa Aliyeva (58 kg) lost to Belarus’ Arina Dudko (1:3) in her debut match, while Fatima Gaygiyeva (65 kg) was beaten by Hungary’s Zsofia Junga (0:10).

Freestyle Wrestling

Yusif Badalov (68 kg) lost to Belarus’ Kiril Pryza (4:8) in the round of 16, while Khayal Shukurlu (75 kg) was defeated by Greece’s Christos Tahmazidis (4:5) in the qualification round.

Meanwhile, Elvin Najafzada (85 kg) gave no chance to any of his opponents. He claimed early victories over Belarus’ Yagor Staskevich (10:0) and Ukraine’s Borymyr Kotlyar (by fall). Najafzada booked his place in the final after defeating Turkish wrestler Poyraz Bilgin 6:0 in the semifinals. Elvin will face Russia’s Ibragim Magomedov in tomorrow’s decisive match.