Haji Karimov reaches the European championship final

July 10, 2026

The U20 European Wrestling Championships are continuing in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.

On the fifth day of the competition, freestyle wrestlers in the 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg and 97 kg weight categories took to the mat.

Muhammad Ismayilov (57 kg) defeated Great Britain’s Darius Jovkar (10-0) and Moldova’s Georgi Gaidarji (11-0), both by technical superiority, to reach the semifinals. However, Muhammad lost 2-4 to Russia’s Magomed Ozdemirov one step away from the final and will compete for the bronze medal tomorrow.

Bashir Verdiyev (65 kg) defeated Greece’s Pavlos Ntiantiadis by technical superiority (10-0) and eliminated Russia’s Said Gergokov on the last-points criterion (2-2). However, he lost 5-6 to Armenia’s Aren Hayrapetyan in the semifinal. Bashir will compete for third place tomorrow.

Haji Karimov (70 kg) defeated Bulgaria’s Vladislav Seyzov and Slovakia’s Dominik Zavatsky by identical 10-0 scores to reach the semifinals. Our compatriot defeated Russia’s Ramazan Abdulkadyrov 7-0 on his way to the final. Haji will face France’s Bayssangur Bitmurzayev in tomorrow’s decisive bout.

Eljan Ismayilzade (79 kg) lost 0-4 to Magomed Alibakharchiyev in the qualification round. As his opponent advanced to the final, Eljan will face Spain’s David Kodakov in the repechage.

Farhad Suleymanli (97 kg) defeated Romania’s Balas Lorinc 12-5 and Germany’s Tom Ulamets by technical superiority (11-0) to reach the semifinals. The national team member lost 2-4 to France’s Askhab Dadaev one step away from the final and will now fight for a bronze medal.