Baku in running to host 2026 Junior World Wrestling Championships

The United World Wrestling (UWW) organization has yet to decide on the host city for the Junior World Wrestling Championships in 2026.

Four cities are vying for the event, including Baku. The other contenders are Sofia (Bulgaria), Amman (Jordan), and Casablanca (Morocco), Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The championship is scheduled to begin on July 27 and conclude on August 2. If Baku is selected as the host, the world's best young wrestlers will compete at the National Gymnastics Arena.

It is worth noting that in 2024 Baku hosted two major wrestling events – the Olympic qualification tournament and the U-23 European Championships.

To recall, the first International Federation for the development of wrestling and weightlifting was founded in Duisburg in 1905 by the Deutsche Athleten-Verband (DAV). A committee was subsequently formed, consisting of Monticelli (Italy), the van Elst brothers (Netherlands), Koettgen (Germany), and Stolz (Germany). The Federation’s objective was to organize the World Championships.

The first International Wrestlers' Union (Internationaler Ring Verband) was established on the eve of the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912. The organizing committee of the Olympic Games entrusted the Swedish Athletics Federation with hosting a congress to create the statutes and rules for an international governing body.

Two Hungarians were temporarily elected: Dr. Péter Tatits as President and Mor Csanádi as Secretary General. It was decided that the first congress of the International Wrestlers’ Union would be held in Berlin in 1913. The title "First Congress" was a formality, as the constituent congress of the Wrestlers' Union had already taken place in Stockholm.

The congress in Berlin took place from 5th to 9th June 1913, with delegates from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Hungary, Austria, Bohemia, and Great Britain. The International Wrestlers’ Union became the International Union of Heavy Athletics (Internationaler Amateur Verband für Schwerathletik), responsible for the development of wrestling (Greco-Roman style), boxing, weightlifting, rope wrestling, and weight throwing.

German was adopted as the official language. The duration of wrestling matches was set at twenty minutes, with a one-minute break. A board was established, with the following appointments: President, Dr. Péter Tatits (Hungary); Vice-presidents, R. Preuss (Germany) and Mor Csanádi (Hungary); Secretaries, James Borg (Sweden) and F. Koller (Austria); Members, J. Lindstedt (Finland), A.R. Nielsen (Denmark), P. Longhurst (Great Britain), R. Schwindler (Bohemia), and L. Zsaplinsky (Russia).

By Aghakazim Guliyev