Azerbaijan's Gunay Gurbanova has advanced to the final of the U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, United States, while Greco-Roman wrestler Ruslan Nurullayev has secured a bronze medal.
As reported by İdman.Biz, Gurbanova, competing in the women's 59 kg category, defeated Argentina's Camila Amarilla by fall in the fourth minute of their semifinal bout.
In the gold medal match, the Azerbaijani wrestler will face Ukraine's Alina Filipovych, who secured a dominant 13-1 technical superiority victory over India's Komal in the semifinals.
Gurbanova is the reigning U23 European champion. She also won bronze at last year's U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, and now has an opportunity to improve on that result.
Meanwhile, Ruslan Nurullayev added another medal to Azerbaijan's tally in the Greco-Roman competition. Competing in the 77 kg category, he defeated Ukraine's Irfan Mirzoyev 3-1 in the bronze medal match.
Remarkably, Nurullayev has now claimed bronze at the U23 World Championships for the second consecutive year. In 2025, he achieved the same result in the 72 kg division.
Earlier, Elmir Aliyev (60 kg) secured a silver medal after losing 13-4 to Kazakhstan's Aibek Aitbekov in the final. Aliyev entered the tournament as the defending U23 world champion, having won gold in the 55 kg category last year.
Azerbaijan's Greco-Roman wrestling team has therefore concluded its campaign in Las Vegas with two medals — one silver and one bronze. Meanwhile, the women's team has already guaranteed at least a silver medal following Gurbanova's qualification for the final.
The U23 World Wrestling Championships, featuring 23 Azerbaijani athletes, will conclude on October 18.
