Our national team crowned winner of the ranking tournament

March 2, 2026

The “Muhamet Malo” wrestling tournament, held in Tirana, the capital of Albania, has concluded.

On the final day of the ranking competition, matches were held in the Greco-Roman categories of 55, 60, 72, 82, 97, and 130 kg. Our national team members won 1 gold and 2 silver medals on the last day.

55 kg
Rashad Mammadov defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Ulan Muratbek Ulu (5–1), Kazakhstan’s Arsen Jumay (9–3), and India’s Lalit Lalit (6–5) to reach the final. In the decisive match, he lost 1–3 to Russia’s world medalist and two-time European champion Emin Sefershayev, earning the silver medal.

60 kg
Nihat Mammadli defeated USA’s Maxwell Hopper Black (8–0), Kazakhstan’s Yerbol Kamaliev (6–0), and Russia’s Suner Konunov (3–1) to reach the final.
Nihad Quluzade defeated Kazakhstan’s Akjol Tuyakov (8–2), Turkmenistan’s Azatjan Achilov (10–0), and Russia’s world and European medalist Sadik Lalayev (8–0) to reach the final. In the decisive match, Mammadli defeated his teammate Nihad on criteria and claimed the top spot on the podium, leaving Nihad with the silver medal.

72 kg
Ruslan Nurullayev defeated India’s Saurav Rana (9–0) and Hungary’s Kristyan Istvan Vantsa (5–1), but lost in the semifinals to Iran’s Hojjat Hasan Rezaei (3–7) and in the bronze medal match to Georgia’s European medalist Yuri Lomadze (4–7).

82 kg
Tuncay Vezirzade defeated Kazakhstan’s Almir Tolebayev (4–0) and Kyrgyzstan’s two-time Olympic medalist, two-time world champion, and three-time Asian champion Akjol Mahmudov (5–2), but lost to Russia’s Adlet Tulubayev (1–6) in the semifinals and to Russia’s Irakli Kalandia (1–11) in the bronze medal match.

97 kg
Murad Ahmadiev lost in the round of 16 to Georgia’s Giorgi Melia on criteria (2–2).
Mahammad Ahmadiev lost in the classification round to Russia’s Artur Sargsyan (2–7). He defeated USA’s Michael Foy (6–2) in the first repechage match but lost 2–8 to Kyrgyzstan’s Uzur Juzupbekov in the second.

130 kg
Serkhan Mammadov lost 1–3 to Russia’s Ali Ilyasov in the round of 16.
Beka Kandelaki defeated Kazakhstan’s Alimkhan Sızdıkov and Ali Ilyasov (7–3). In the semifinals, he lost on criteria (1–1) to Russia’s Marat Kamparov and was defeated 0–3 by Finland’s Elias Kuosmanen in the bronze medal match.

Thus, our national team won 2 gold and 3 silver medals at its first international competition of the year. With a total of 128 points, our team secured first place in the team standings. Kazakhstan (95) finished second, and Iran (89) took third place.