Ziya Babashov reaches the world championship final

The U23 World championships have kicked off today in Novi Sad, Serbia.

On the opening day, finalists in four Greco-Roman weight categories were determined.

In the 63 kg category, Ziya Babashov advanced to the semifinals after defeating Japan’s Miruto Tokuhika (7:1), Iran’s Mohammad Navi (3:1), and Russia’s Dordzhi Shungurtsikov based on the last-point criteria (1:1). In the semifinal, Babashov overcame Turkey’s Servet Angi with a close 2:1 victory. The Azerbaijani wrestler will face Moldova’s Vitali Ieryomenko in the final tomorrow.

In the 77 kg category, Davud Mammadov suffered a 0:5 defeat in his debut match against Hungary’s Levente Leva.

At 87 kg, Lachin Valiyev lost to Iran’s Gholamreza Farukhisanjani 0:8 in the qualification round. Since his opponent advanced to the final, Valiyev will compete in the repechage round tomorrow.

In the 130 kg category, Aykhan Mardanov eliminated China’s Shuangyu Chen by fall, but later lost 0:9 to Russia’s Aleksandr Melekhov in the quarterfinals.