Three Azerbaijani wrestlers keep bronze medal hopes alive

October 17, 2026

The U23 World Wrestling Championships are continuing in Las Vegas, USA.

Freestyle wrestling events in the 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg and 125 kg weight categories got underway on the fifth day of competition.

Jeyhun Allahverdiyev (61 kg) lost to Türkiye’s Tolga Ozbeg in the round of 16, with the bout ending 7–7 and his opponent advancing on criteria. Aganazar Novruzov (74 kg) also saw his campaign come to an end after losing 6–8 to India’s Adarsh Patil in the qualification round.

Sabukhi Amiraslanov (86 kg) opened his campaign with an 8–3 victory over Kyrgyzstan’s Viskhan Adayev but then lost 1–9 to Russia’s Arsen Balayan in the round of 16. As Balayan advanced to the final, Amiraslanov will face Georgia’s Tornike Samkharadze in the repechage.

Anar Jafarli (92 kg) lost 0–10 to Russia’s Arslan Bagayev in the round of 16. Since Bagayev progressed to the final, Jafarli will meet Armenia’s Mushegh Mkrtchyan in the repechage.

Khetag Karsanov (125 kg) made a strong start to the championships, defeating Japan’s Toyoki Hamada 10–0 and India’s Ronak Ronak 12–1 by technical superiority to reach the semifinals. However, he was unable to overcome Iran’s Abolfazl Nejad, losing 0–5. Karsanov will compete for the bronze medal tomorrow against the winner of the bout between Volodymyr Kochanov (Ukraine) and Andrey Bestayev (Russia).