"At the recent European Championship in Bulgaria, our young wrestlers represented Azerbaijan with dignity and achieved great success, winning 16 medals, including seven gold medals," President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said while receiving participants of the 7th European Under-23 Wrestling Championship in Bulgaria, Report informs.
"This is an outstanding achievement. In particular, we must consider that our team was awarded first place in the team standings. On this occasion, I congratulate the athletes and their coaches, the Wrestling Federation. It again shows that sport is successfully developing in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a state of sports, and our athletes demonstrate their strength and power in international competitions among both adults and youth," the head of state said.
"Wrestling has a special place in Azerbaijan among all sports. Wrestling is our national sport. We have always had strong wrestlers, both during the Soviet era and especially during independence. Our wrestlers have worthily represented Azerbaijan in various competitions. We have many Olympic, world, and European champions. Of course, wrestling traditions are strong enough in Azerbaijan, and I am glad that the younger generation continues these traditions now," the head of state added.