Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler Rashid Babazadeh (65 kg), who won a silver medal at the international competition held in Tirana, the capital of Albania, was hindered by a rib injury and lack of experience in the final match.
Medianews.az reports that the athlete stated this in an interview with "Report".
The national team member, who won the silver medal at "Muhamet Malo", recalled that it was his first time participating in a ranking tournament:
"I almost have no experience in senior-level competitions. Despite this, I believed in myself. There were strong athletes at the competition. The world's strongest wrestlers had come to this tournament. There were well-known figures in the 65 kg category. In the group I was in, the Azerbaijani wrestler Vitali Orucov, representing the USA, was also competing. I defeated him in the semifinals. My opponent in the final was very strong. Nevertheless, I believed in myself. But for certain reasons, I was unable to show my proper wrestling. My rib was bruised, and a bit of inexperience played a role."
R. Babazadeh said he wants to eliminate the mistakes made in the final:
"I will work on these mistakes. I want to go to the European Championship with maximum readiness."