Rafiq Huseynov: I expected at least two gold medals at the Islamic Games, the team was tired;

The performance of Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestlers at the 6th Islamic Games caused quite controversial reactions. Our team, represented by almost the most combative squad, finished the tournament with only two silver medals.

Idman.Biz approached two-time world and three-time European champion Rafiq Huseynov to comment on the results of our team.

"I wouldn't make a tragedy out of this performance. It's just the end of the year, the team was tired, because during the year the athletes participated in many major tournaments and fought with maximum strength! Yes, however, I expected at least two of our wrestlers - Nihad Mammadov and Hasrat Jafarov - to win gold medals. But the first one has not fully recovered from a serious injury, and the second one was, let's say, a little unlucky in the final, and he lost the victory in the last seconds. This is sport - there are both great victories and unexpected defeats here.

As for the others, for example, it would be too optimistic to expect Murad Ahmadiev to win in the final - his opponent was an Olympic champion. Ulvu Ganizade competed in the 77 kg weight category, which is foreign to him, and the competition is very high here. Therefore, it would not be right to expect high results from him," said Rafiq Huseynov.

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