Davor Štefanek: Hasan Aliyev was my toughest opponent

The most challenging Azerbaijani opponent in the career of Serbian Sports Association President and Olympic champion Davor Štefanek was Hasan Aliyev.

The athlete stated this in an interview with a "Report" correspondent who was dispatched to the U-23 European Championship held in Zrenjanin, Serbia.

D.Štefanek recalled his meetings with Azerbaijani representatives during his career:

"I had many matches with Azerbaijani wrestlers in my career. I would single out Hasan Aliyev among them. He was the toughest opponent for me. I couldn't beat him until the competition where I became world champion. Hasan and I also trained a lot together and remained good friends. Another athlete I know and respect is Rasul Chunayev. We were together on the podium at the Olympic Games. It was a pleasure for me to share the same carpet with such opponents."

He said that there is close cooperation between Azerbaijan and Serbia:

"There has always been very good cooperation between the Serbian Wrestling Federation and the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation. We have repeatedly participated in training camps in Baku. Azerbaijan has truly magnificent wrestlers. We used to go to Baku to spar with them whenever we had the opportunity. As a sports leader, I can say that there are excellent relations between the two countries not only in wrestling but also in other sports."

The Olympic champion also shared his medal expectations for the tournament:

"Serbia has a relatively young team, and we hope to win at least one medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. If we win one award, it will be satisfactory for us. There is no need to talk about Azerbaijan. They always show great results in freestyle, women's, and Greco-Roman wrestling. I believe that Azerbaijan will win more than 10 medals overall in this tournament."