A media tour was organized to the Gymnasium named after Suleyman Rustam

A media tour was organized today to the Suleyman Rustam Gymnasium for Foreign Languages, located in the Mardakan settlement.

During the event, initiated by the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation, media representatives were introduced to the conditions created for young and junior wrestlers who are both studying and enhancing their athletic skills at the Gymnasium.

The director of the Gymnasium, Tural Mirzaliyev, provided general information about the institution:

“This educational institution has been functioning since 1960, but initially it had a different status. Since 2014, it has been operating as a Foreign Languages Gymnasium. After undergoing major renovations by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, it has been back in use since 2021. For the past five years, students have been admitted through centralized exams organized by the Ministry of Education. A total of 813 students from various regions of the country study at our Gymnasium. Of them, 77 are wrestlers. Wrestlers from grades 5 to 11 study in various class groups, and they have been recruited from different regions of the country to the Gymnasium.”

After watching the freestyle wrestlers’ training, U-17 national team’s head coach Əsgərxan Novruzov stated during a briefing that the Gymnasium would significantly contribute to the development of wrestling in the country:

“Since the second half of the 2023/24 academic year, wrestlers have been studying here. In August, we held another round of selections. Currently, 44 freestyle wrestlers are placed in the Gymnasium. This can even be called a wrestling academy. This project is one of the best steps taken by our Federation for development, and we will see its benefits in the future. This year, we mainly selected students from grades 5-7, specifically choosing children who show promise. The food and accommodation facilities here are organized at a very high level. The same diet that is provided for our senior team is used here as well.”

Later, media representatives were introduced to the dormitory where the wrestlers are accommodated. It was noted that the dormitory has sleeping rooms, classrooms, rest areas, a laundry, sanitary facilities, a dining hall, and a medical station. In the wrestling section of the Gymnasium, there are 4 coaches, 3 supervisors, 5 tutors, a psychologist, a doctor, and a nurse. The wrestling hall is fully equipped with the necessary equipment. In general, all the necessary conditions for the development of wrestling have been created here.

After the freestyle wrestlers, the Greco-Roman wrestlers trained. U-17 national team’s head coach for Greco-Roman wrestling, Taleh Israfilov, shared the following with the journalists:

“The Gymnasium is taking its first steps in wrestling. One of the students of the Gymnasium has already achieved success in Greco-Roman wrestling. Hüseyn Vəlizadə, who started studying here, became the U-15 Azerbaijan champion and won a bronze medal at the European Championship. Everything here is organized at a high level, and it will make a great contribution to the development of Azerbaijani wrestling. If things continue like this, the Gymnasium will produce future Olympic medalists. Since the Gymnasium specializes in foreign languages, the wrestlers who study here also have the opportunity to improve their foreign language skills. This is helpful during competitions, whether in interviews or communication with referees, as foreign language knowledge is important.”