Azerbaijani Freestyle Wrestlers Win 5 Medals at Ranking Tournament

July 18, 2025

The ranking tournament in Budapest, Hungary continues with strong performances from Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers, who wrapped up the second day of the event with five medals.

In the 74 kg weight class, Turan Bayramov suffered a 3:5 defeat against American wrestler David Carr in the 1/8 final. Meanwhile, his teammate Magomed-Bashir Khaniev was awarded victory after Kazakhstan’s Alibek Abdikassimov did not appear on the mat. Khaniev then dominated another Kazakh opponent, Yeldos Kuanishbayev, with a technical superiority victory (13:2). In the semifinal, Khaniev overcame Bahrain’s Magomedrasul Asluev 4:2 but fell short in the final, losing 0:4 to Japan’s Kota Takahashi to claim the silver medal.

In the 86 kg category, Arseniy Djioev advanced to the quarterfinals without a fight due to an injury sustained by Georgia’s Tornike Samkharadze. He went on to defeat Slovakia’s Boris Makoev (3:0) and Turkey’s Osman Göçen (10:0) to reach the final. Olympic medalist Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov of Belarus was unable to compete in the final due to injury, awarding Djioev the gold medal.

At 92 kg, Osman Nurmagomedov secured a 6:1 victory over Bahrain’s Magomed Sharipov but was defeated 1:5 in the quarterfinal by Greece’s Dauren Kurugliev, the reigning European champion. In the same weight class, Abubakr Abakarov lost 2:7 in the qualification round against American wrestler Trent Hidlay. After Hidlay advanced to the final, Abakarov entered the repechage round and dominated Hungary’s Krisztián Angyal with an 11:0 victory. The bronze medal match did not take place as Kurugliev was injured, resulting in a third-place finish for Abakarov.