Four azerbaijani wrestlers keep bronze medal Hopes alive at World Championships

October 31, 2026

The Wrestling World Championships are underway in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

On the eighth day of the competition, men’s freestyle wrestling in the 57kg, 74kg, 79kg and 92kg weight categories got underway.

Islam Bazarqanov (57kg) won all his bouts on the way to the semifinals by technical superiority. He defeated India’s Rahul Rahul (10-0), Switzerland’s Thomas Epp (10-0) and Japan’s Yamato Ogawa (12-2). In the semifinal, Bazarqanov faced USA’s Olympic medallist Spencer Lee. Our wrestler took a 10-3 lead in the second period but was caught in a counterattack and lost by fall. Islam will compete for the bronze medal tomorrow.

Turan Bayramov (74kg) edged Georgia’s Giorgi Elbakidze 2-1 but suffered a 0-4 defeat to Kazakhstan’s Nurkozha Kaipanov in the Round of 16. As his opponent advanced to the final, Bayramov will compete in the repechage tomorrow.

Jabrayil Hajiyev (79kg), who began his campaign in the Round of 16, defeated Jordan’s Erzo Isakov (11-0) and Türkiye’s Okan Tahtaci (9-3) to reach the semifinals. In the semifinal, Hajiyev faced Iran’s Mohammad Nokhodilarimi, an Asian Games champion and World Championship medallist. Losing 5-9, Jabrayil will compete for the bronze medal tomorrow.

Ali Tsokayev (92kg) made a dominant start to his campaign, defeating North Macedonia’s Recep Haydari 10-0. However, he lost 1-5 to USA’s world champion Trent Hidlay in the quarterfinals. As his opponent advanced to the final, Ali will continue his campaign in the repechage tomorrow.