Hasrat Mammadyarov: “As the number of female wrestlers increases, the quality will also increase”

Interview with Hasrat Mammadyarov, Head Coach of the U17 Women’s Wrestling National Team

-What are your impressions of the U15 and U17 Women’s Wrestling National Championship held in Astara for the first time?

-Without a doubt, this competition could greatly benefit our athletes in the future. Previously, we could only find one or two girls here and there, but now the number of girls engaged in wrestling is significant. The continuous increase in their numbers and their development depends on us coaches.

-After the national championship, you participated in the annual “Victory Cup” tournament in Turkey, but no medals were won…

-Regarding the tournament in Turkey, I took the winners of the national championship there. There was no competition in the 40 kg category in Astara, so I brought our only athlete in that weight class, Gunel Guliyeva, to test her. We had high hopes for Nazrin Ahmadli, Esra Mammadli, and Fatima Bayramova, but all three were injured. I used the tournament to gauge how they would perform at the European Championship after recovery. I can evaluate their performance as satisfactory. Some competed in a higher weight class than their own, and we had girls making their international debut. Participating in this tournament was crucial for gaining experience. We must admit that in some weight classes, we were weaker compared to our opponents. In my opinion, as the number of female wrestlers in the country grows, the quality will also improve.

-How is the preparation going for the U17 and U15 European Championships in June?

-I’m grateful to the federation’s leadership for providing all the necessary conditions for high-level preparation. We are currently at a training camp at the Absheron Olympic Sports Complex. Our training sessions are going well, with three practices a day. Maria Stadnik, the women’s wrestling coordinator, is also with us. She’s practically one of our coaches, helping with everything, giving advice, and working together with us. The team’s morale is excellent. If we have more camps like this, I’m confident that women’s wrestling will see significant progress in the future.

-What results do you hope for at the European Championship?

-Our senior and youth teams are currently training in Guba. As a coaching staff, we’ll come together to finalize the roster for the European Championship. We aim to return home with medals. The transition of some of our strong wrestlers to the U20 age group has slightly weakened our squad. Only 2-3 athletes remain from last year’s team, with new faces joining them. I believe that in the future, we can achieve even greater success than before.

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