Azerbaijani Wrestling Federation Official Comments On Olympic Qualifying Tournament (PHOTO)

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 10. The member of theExecutive Committee of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation, NamigAbdullayev gave an interview to the local media, Trend reports via Idman

- The Azerbaijani national team in freestyle wrestling won fivelicenses at the European Olympic Qualifying tournament held inBaku. Did you expect this before the race?

- This was a task put forward by the management. Our wrestlershad already participated in many competitions. Each of themdeserved a license. Aliabbas Rzazade (57 kg) won in the semi-finalsagainst North Macedonian Vladimir Yegorov, whom he lost in theEuropean Championship. The opponents of Haji Aliyev (65 kg), TuranBayramov (74 kg), Osman Nurmagomedov (86 kg), and GiorgiMeshvildishvili (125 kg) were not easy. But our wrestlers foughtwell until the end and finished the tournament with a goodresult.

- Then you have full confidence even before the tournament.

- They had potential. Such a victory was achieved as a result ofthe attention and care shown to them by the coaching staff and themanagement. From feeding the team to training camps, everything washeld at a high level. That's why we believed them all. Each of ourwrestlers was able to secure this license. We were expectingresults, but I didn't expect so many licenses. Because the athletecan get injured and sick.

- Which of the five obtained licenses would you distinguish themost?

- Three of our 5 wrestlers, Aliabbas Rzazade, Turan Bayramov,and Osman Nurmagomedov, are young. Haji Aliyev is our leader. Wealways had expectations of him. Every time Haji stepped on the mat,he fought with well-known and powerful wrestlers. Its sportshistory is very rich. We were waiting for a license from Aliyev. Ofcourse, there is also the age factor. Also, Haji had injuries goinginto this tournament. It is also difficult to recover from thisinjury. Haji himself mentioned that he could not wrestle as much ashe wanted. I hope that Aliyev will prepare for the Olympic Gameswithout injury.

- What do you expect from the team at the Paris 2024 SummerOlympic Games?

- It is difficult to predict. Like sports fans, I expect a goldmedal from all of them. Because everyone goes to the Olympic Gamesfor the grand prize. But keep in mind that the Olympics are full ofsurprises. There are many sensations here. For example, MariyaStadnik missed the gold medal in Tokyo 2020 with 3 seconds left. Itcan be said that the same happened in the license tournament inBaku. All this means that it is not easy to make predictions aboutthe Olympics.

- You were replaced by Khetag Gazyumov in the post of headcoach. What do you think has changed in the team after thisappointment?

- The team has the same wrestlers. Khetag himself knows this are currently working with foreign experts from a physicalpoint of view. A year is not a long time. Khetag is an athlete whomade a certain contribution to the sports history of Azerbaijan a new coach also needs time. He also coached the national teamof Ossetia for many years. He is very experienced and a goodspecialist. He had to make a statement about the changes. Americanspecialist Mark Alan Philip also works with our wrestlersconstantly. At one time, he came and went, but now he regularlyworks with the team. This is a change in itself; it will affect theteam's performance and fitness. We want our athletes to progress ina good way, both in terms of speed and physicality.

- Our Greco-Roman and female wrestlers did not get a license atthe European Olympic Qualifying Tournament. What would youassociate it with?

- Necessary conditions have been created for them. HasratJafarov (67 kg) and Sanan Suleymanov (77 kg) qualified forParis-2024 at the licensed world championship held in Serbia. Wehad high hopes for our wrestlers in this tournament. We believedthat our number of licenses would increase during the competitionwe hosted. But this is not the end. I am sure that they will showtheir strength at the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament to beheld in Istanbul on May 9–12. I believe that Maria Stadnik willprovide the license.

- Our freestyle wrestlers will go to the French capital with afull team. How many licenses are planned for Paris 2024, includingour Greco-Roman and women's wrestling teams?

- We already have 8 licenses. I would like them to provide alicense at every weight in our Greco-Roman and women's teams. Iexpect a license from them with a full team, as in freestylewrestling. I believe that certain loopholes will be eliminatedsoon.

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