Azerbaijan opens four new wrestling halls as Federation expands regional infrastructure

The Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation (AWF) continues to expand its infrastructure and strengthen its material and technical base across the regions, Azernews reports.

As part of this ongoing development plan, four new wrestling halls have recently been inaugurated.

The openings were attended by Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov, AWF Vice Presidents Namig Aliyev, Namig Abdullayev, Farid Mansurov, and the Federation's Secretary General Parvin Piriyev.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the new facilities include wrestling halls at Qarabaggal Village Secondary School and Schools No. 1, 3, and 6 in Goychay city.

These halls, designed to train athletes in all wrestling disciplines, offer free training sessions and are fully equipped to accommodate over 600 athletes.

The AWF has emphasised that the expansion of wrestling infrastructure is an ongoing effort, with plans to open additional halls throughout the year, further supporting the growth of the sport nationwide.

Wrestling continues to be the most popular sport in Azerbaijan and is overseen by the National Wrestling Federation, which was founded in 1993.

The Rio Olympic Games marked a significant milestone in Azerbaijan's wrestling history, as the country became one of only two nations to increase its medal count in five consecutive Olympics.

In 2020, Azerbaijani freestyle wrestlers secured third place in the overall medal standings at the Individual World Cup held in Serbia, winning two medals, a silver and a bronze, behind Russia, which led the table, and Turkiye.

In 2022, Osman Nurmagomedov (92 kg) claimed the World Championship title in Belgrade, defeating a Russian opponent in the final match.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Azerbaijan earned three bronze medals in wrestling: Hasrat Jafarov (67 kg) in Greco-Roman, and Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125 kg) and Magomedkhan Magomedov (97 kg) in freestyle.