Three medals on the first day of the ranking tournament

February 25, 2026

Today, the “Muhamet Malo” tournament kicked off in Tirana, the capital of Albania.

On the first day of the ranking tournament, five members of the national freestyle wrestling team competed, and three of them reached the podium.

Islam Bazarqanov (57 kg) defeated Germany’s Niklas Stechele (3:2), USA’s Liam Smith Cronin (5:0), and Puerto Rico’s Daryan Cruz (6:1) to advance to the semifinals. Although the national team member lost in the semifinals to Russia’s Ramiz Gamzatov (1:3), he secured the bronze medal by defeating India’s Akshay Tanaji Dhere (9:2).

Rashid Babazada (65 kg) beat Germany’s Niko Megerle (12:2), Bulgaria’s Mikyay Salim Nayim (8:7), and Ecuador’s Joshua Alexander Kramer (10:0) to reach the semifinals. In a tough semifinal, he faced Azerbaijani-American world champion Vitali Orucov. Showing determination, Rashid executed a 4-point move in the final seconds to win 18:15 and advance to the final. In the final, he faced India’s Suchet Suchet, losing 0:10, and finished the tournament with a silver medal.

Kenan Heybatov (74 kg) lost in the round of 16 to Kyrgyzstan’s Orozbek Toktomambetov (1:3), while Turan Bayramov, competing in the same weight, was defeated by USA’s Quincy Miles Monde (1:5) at the same stage.

Arseniy Djioyev (86 kg) defeated Russia’s world and two-time European champion Akhmed Usmanov (3:1) and Georgia’s world and European medalist Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (6:4). He then lost 2:3 to Russia’s Ibragim Kadiyev one step away from the final. Arseniy secured the bronze medal by defeating USA’s two-time Olympic medalist and four-time world champion Kyle Dake (4:1).