Azerbaijan enjoyed a strong start to the U-17 Wrestling World Championships in Baku, with three Greco-Roman wrestlers advancing to the semifinals on the opening day of competition.
According to İdman.Biz, Omar Salmanov (48 kg), Orkhan Habibli (65 kg) and Isfahan Hasanov (80 kg) all secured places in the final four after impressive performances at the National Gymnastics Arena.
Salmanov opened his campaign with a 6-1 victory over India's Avinash Chetake before defeating Iran's Esmaeili Leivesi by the same score in the quarterfinals.
Habibli produced one of the day's most dominant performances. After beating Czech wrestler Gaspar Sanchez 8-0 in the qualification round, he outscored Romania's Gabriel Lungu 18-9 in the Round of 16 before cruising past Uzbekistan's Sardor Mahmudov 9-0 in the quarterfinals.
Hasanov also remained unbeaten. He began with a convincing 6-0 win over Croatia's Toma Jelenč before edging Poland's Szymon Treder 1-1 on criteria to reach the quarterfinals. He then booked his place in the semifinals to remain in contention for a medal.
The opening day also brought mixed results for the other Azerbaijani wrestlers. Qurban Majnunov (55 kg) defeated Kyrgyzstan's Alikhan Minazarov 9-1 in his opening bout but was eliminated in the Round of 16 after a 3-3 criteria loss to India's Hariom Hariom. Meanwhile, heavyweight Emin Bakhshaliyev (110 kg) exited the tournament after suffering a narrow 4-3 defeat to Serbia's Andrey Simic in the qualification round.
The U-17 World Championships have brought together nearly 700 wrestlers from more than 60 countries, with Azerbaijan represented by a 29-member squad. The tournament will continue in Baku until August 2.
