Ali Rahimzade, one of Azerbaijan freestyle wrestlers, won over all his rivals in 65 kg and rose to the highest step of the podium. Our compatriot, who won a bronze medal at the European Championship in Rome, Italy last year, was able to perform successfully in the next competition he participated in after a one-year break.

Rahimzadeh told the website of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation about the preparations for the Kiev tournament and his performance in the competition:

"In fact, I had to take part in the Grand Prix tournament in France at the beginning of the year. But I could not go to Nice because of injuries. Then we had a good training camp in Baku. We started gathering in Makhachkala on February 8. We had a high-level gathering with the strongest wrestlers of Dagestan. It was very good for us to train there. We worked with strong competitors. We trained with strong wrestlers in 61 and 65 kg. They were also preparing for the Russian championship. I am grateful to the leadership of the AWF, our head coach Namig Abdullayev and our head coach Zalimkhan Huseynov, who made it possible for us to hold a training camp there. As for the tournament, I went to my first competition this year. Of course, there was some excitement. But after the first meeting, this excitement passed. It was difficult to meet only with Ukrainian Vasily Shuptar. This was because I was invited to the carpet only 15 minutes after the meeting with the Kyrgyz Alibek Osmanov. Shuptar is an experienced wrestler. But in the last seconds I was able to get the victory point. Although the match with Shota Partenadze ended 3: 3, I had a comfortable match. Because I believed I would win. The Kyrgyz wrestler I defeated in the final was also strong. Frankly, I thought I would face Turan Bayramov in the final. Unfortunately, in the meeting with Ernazar Akhmataliyev, he gave points to the opponent due to some mistakes. Or we could have an interesting meeting with Turan in the final. " Although 3 ended, I had a comfortable match. Because I believed I would win. The Kyrgyz wrestler I defeated in the final was also strong. Frankly, I thought I would face Turan Bayramov in the final. Unfortunately, in the meeting with Ernazar Akhmataliyev, he gave points to the opponent due to some mistakes. Or we could have an interesting meeting with Turan in the final. " Although 3 ended, I had a comfortable match. Because I believed I would win. The Kyrgyz wrestler I defeated in the final was also strong. Frankly, I thought I would face Turan Bayramov in the final. Unfortunately, in the meeting with Ernazar Akhmataliyev, he gave points to the opponent due to some mistakes. Or we could have an interesting meeting with Turan in the final. "