Azerbaijan’s Greco-Roman wrestling team has been declared world champion 10 years after the event.
Idman.Biz, citing prosport.az, reports that this decision comes after doping was found in the blood of Russian heavyweight, Olympic, three-time world, and European champion Bilyal Makhov.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) has handed him a five-year ban. As a result, his achievements from January 10, 2015, to January 27, 2020, have been annulled. During this period, the Kabardin-Balkarian wrestler had won two bronze medals. At the World Championships held in Las Vegas, USA, Makhov earned bronze in both freestyle (125 kg) and Greco-Roman (130 kg) categories. These bronze medals will now be awarded to Levan Berianidze (Armenia) and Robby Smith (USA), respectively.
In Greco-Roman wrestling, the revocation of Makhov’s bronze medal moved Russia to second place in the team standings. Azerbaijan, ahead of Russia by just one point (with 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze, totaling 39 points), has been declared the champion. Russia must now hand over the championship trophy to Azerbaijan, while our federation will give the silver cup to Russia.
It is worth noting that at the 2015 World Championships, Rasul Chunayev (71 kg) became champion, Rovshan Bayramov (59 kg) finished second, and Saman Tahmasibi (85 kg) won bronze.
