Idman.biz
"The results achieved by our young wrestlers in Serbia are promising for the future."
These words were said by Nuredin Rajabov, the senior coach of the Azerbaijani national Greco-Roman wrestling team, while evaluating the results of the team at the U-23 European Championship held in Zrenjanin, Serbia.
The expert considered the five medals won in total, including one gold, one silver, and three bronze, and the fourth place in the team score to be satisfactory.
"The course of the competition personally satisfied me at a high level. In fact, athletes could have performed even better. From the first day, we stated that we did not bring our world champions and medalists from last year to this competition. It turned out that we replaced them with young people," he said in a statement to AZERTAC.
He stated that the participation of young athletes in such tournaments is of great importance in terms of gaining experience:
"Our youth have high potential. Although there were some difficulties, especially in the heavy weights, the wrestlers showed determination. It can be said that 90 percent of the analyzes we conducted before the competition were justified. However, some athletes we expected to win medals remained outside the podium. Some of our athletes faced older and more experienced opponents. For example, there are promising young people in our team, such as Aykhan Javadov (60 kilograms), who lost his chance of winning the championship due to lack of experience and finished fifth, losing in the bronze medal match. This championship was his debut. Our goal is precisely to bring these young people to a professional level."
N.Rajabov noted that the team works on a tight schedule even on rest days:
"We work every day, we work continuously. Even our Sundays are spent with training. Although some of our athletes may not give the desired results today, we believe in their bright future. The results achieved stem from our unity and faith. Currently, our main focus is on the European Championship among adults to be held in Albania. Our goal is to finish the tournament in the top "three". As you know, some of our athletes in the main squad have undergone surgery due to injuries and are currently unable to participate in competitions. The recovery process of our injured wrestlers is ongoing and we hope that they will return to the ranks soon."
