Armenia skips U17 World Wrestling Championships in Baku

Armenia's national team will not compete at the U17 World Wrestling Championships, scheduled to take place in Baku from July 27 to August 2, after failing to register before the deadline, the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation said.

Speaking to Idman.Biz, the federation's Head of Press Service, Sarkhan Musali, said registration had been open to all eligible participants and that equal conditions had been provided for every national delegation.

"Registration for the tournament was open to everyone, and equal conditions were provided for all potential participants. The Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation offered the highest level of security guarantees. However, the Armenian national team did not complete the registration process, which closed yesterday. This means it will not participate in the World Championships," Musali said.

He also responded to the decision by Galoust Torosian, an American wrestler of Armenian descent, to withdraw from the tournament in Baku over security concerns.

"There are absolutely no grounds for this. It appears he did it for self-promotion, making a public display of it under the guise of security concerns. However, the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation has always provided all the necessary security guarantees. To date, no provocations or negative incidents involving Armenian athletes have occurred at any tournament held in Baku. Therefore, we view this as a cheap populist show. But it is his personal decision," Musali said.

At the same time, he noted that wrestlers of Armenian descent representing other national teams, including Russia, are expected to participate in the championships.

According to Musali, delegations from participating countries will begin arriving in Baku on July 20, while the majority of athletes and officials are expected to reach the Azerbaijani capital on July 25 ahead of the start of the competition.

By Vafa Guliyeva