Azerbaijani wrestler Elvin Najafzade, who recently became U15 European champion in Bulgaria, comes from a family deeply connected to wrestling, according to his personal coach Aliisa Jabbarov.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the young athlete’s father first brought him to wrestling training as a child, while his older brother Emin also competed successfully and became an Azerbaijan national champion.
Jabbarov revealed that Najafzade has spent the last eight years training under his guidance at the Republican Specialised Children and Youth Sports School No. 1. The coach said the wrestler’s talent was visible from an early age.
“Elvin comes from the well-known village of Afshar in the Aghjabadi region. People from there are naturally very strong. His older brother also became Azerbaijan champion in wrestling and now works in a state institution. Wrestling is literally in their blood,” Jabbarov said to İdman.Biz.
The coach added that the teenager’s success was the result of years of disciplined work, proper preparation and dedication to training.
Najafzade captured the gold medal at the U15 European Wrestling Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria, on 23 May in the 85kg weight category. In a dramatic final, the Azerbaijani wrestler defeated Russia’s Ibrahim Magomedov 5-4.
Following the victory, footage of Najafzade’s emotional celebration quickly spread across social media and attracted widespread attention from wrestling fans in Azerbaijan and beyond.
The result is seen as another promising sign for the future of Azerbaijani wrestling, a sport in which the country has traditionally been one of Europe’s strongest nations across several age categories.
