Zahra Karimzade: “Our coaches prepared me mentally and tactically at a high level for the match”

February 10, 2026

Last week, our national women’s wrestling team represented the country at the ranking tournament held in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

Zahra Karimzade, who won bronze at the youth world and European championships in 2024, reached the podium among seniors for the first time. The 18-year-old wrestler claimed the bronze medal in the 72 kg category. After losing 0:2 in the quarterfinals to Olympic medalist and world and European champion Buse Tosun, Karimzade defeated Mahiro Yoshitake — youth world champion and senior Asian champion — 4:1 in the bronze medal match.

The young wrestler shared her impressions of the tournament:

“I am very happy and proud to have won a bronze medal at a senior ranking tournament. In my first match, I faced Turkish Olympic medalist Buse Tosun. Even though I lost, I did not get discouraged. I wrestled for the bronze against a Japanese opponent. I knew I would face a highly titled competitor. Our coaches prepared me mentally and tactically at a high level for the match. Thanks to their motivation, I went into the bout fully ready. The match was intense. I wrestled until the end and won. I am grateful to our head coach, our federation, and my personal coach for their hard work. God willing, in the next tournaments, I will turn the bronze medal into gold.”