Greco-Roman wrestler wins Azerbaijan's 11th Olympic place

Greco-Roman wrestler Saman Tahmasebi has qualified for the 2012 Olympics.

At the World Championships in Istanbul, Tahmasebi beat India's Manoj Kumar in the first round in the category up to 84 kg. He went on to beat Tunisia's Haikel Achouri, but in his third match lost to the eventual gold medal winner, Alim Selimov of Belarus.

This qualified Tahmasebi for the repechage where he beat Janarbek Kenjeev of Kyrgyzstan and Nenad Zugaja of Croatia. This was enough to grant Tahmasebi his Olympic place.

In the final round of the repechage, injury forced Tahmasebi to withdraw from his fight with Finland’s Rami Hietaniemi, leaving Hietaniemi to claim one of the two bronze medals. Saman finished the championship in fifth place.

Iranian-born Tahmasebi joins fellow Greco-Roman wrestler Rovshan Bayramov in Azerbaijan's Olympic wrestling team. Bayramov became world champion in the category below 55 kg on Monday.

Other Azerbaijani wrestlers were not so successful in Istanbul on Tuesday. Last year's world champion in the 60 kg category Hasan Aliyev beat Albert Baghumyan Aghazaryan of Spain, Edward Barsegjan of Poland and Mexican Manuel Lopez Salcero in the first three rounds. He then lost to Venezuelan Luis Ygnacio Liendo and was knocked out of the competition.

Another Azerbaijani contestant, Mesut Hashimzade (120 kg), beat Finland’s Taisto Lalli, but lost to Armenia's Yuri Patrikeev.

Azerbaijan now has 11 Olympic places. The two wrestlers join hammer thrower Dmitriy Marshin, taekwondo fighter Farida Azizova (67 kg), taekwondo fighter Ramin Azizov (80 kg), boxer Soltan Migitinov (75 kg), shooter Irada Ashumova (low caliber gun), canoeing pair Sergey Bezugliy and Maxim Prokopenko (1,000 m), canoeist Valentin Demyanenko (200 m), rowers Alexander Alexandrov (2,000 m sculls) and Natalya Mustafayeva (2,000 m sculls).


/News.az/