Azerbaijan’s freestyle wrestling team topped the medal table at the European Championships in Tirana, underlining the country’s continued strength in one of its flagship sports, Idman.Biz reports.
The team amassed 152 points to finish first overall, securing their sixth European team title. The haul of three gold, two silver and one bronze medal marks Azerbaijan’s strongest medal performance at the tournament in 17 years. Georgia placed second with 94 points, while Armenia finished third on 73.
The result continues a remarkable run for Azerbaijan, who had previously won the team standings in 2009, 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2025. Wrestling remains a cornerstone of the nation’s sporting identity, with sustained investment in youth development and elite programmes paying dividends on the continental stage.
On the final day in Tirana, champions were decided across five freestyle weight categories. Ali Tsokayev (92kg) claimed gold after defeating Bulgaria’s Ahmed Bataev, while Giorgi Meshvildishvili (125kg) also took top honours with victory over Hungary’s Vladislav Baitsaev.
Turan Bayramov (74kg) and Arseniy Djioyev (86kg) secured silver medals, losing their respective finals to Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia and Ibrahim Kadiev, competing under the United World Wrestling banner. Nuraddin Novruzov (61kg) narrowly missed out on bronze after defeat to Italy’s Simone Piroddu.
Across all disciplines, Azerbaijan collected a total of 13 medals in Tirana. The Greco-Roman team had earlier mirrored the freestyle side by also winning the overall standings, with Hasrat Jafarov (67kg) and Qurban Qurbanov (82kg) taking gold, and Rashad Mammadov (55kg), Nihat Mammadli (60kg) and Islam Abbasov (87kg) earning bronze.
In freestyle, Islam Bazarqanov (57kg) added another gold, while Jabrayil Hajiyev (79kg) took bronze. The women’s team contributed two bronze medals through Zhala Aliyeva (57kg) and Gunay Gurbanova (59kg), rounding off a comprehensive showing for Azerbaijan in Tirana.
