Papikyan defeats Azerbaijani wrestler in opening bout at World Championships in Baku

The 2026 U17 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships began in Baku on July 31. Wrestlers in the 48 kg, 55 kg, 65 kg, 80 kg and 110 kg weight categories took to the mat on the opening day of the freestyle competition.

Five Armenian wrestlers were scheduled to compete on the first day, and two of them have already made a successful start to the tournament.

Competing in the 65 kg weight category, Erik Papikyan earned a convincing 9-1 victory over Azerbaijan’s Rashid Nazarov in his opening bout.

Papikyan trailed 1-0 after the first period but completely took control of the match in the second, scoring several consecutive actions to secure a dominant victory.

Papikyan previously won the U15 European Championships but had not competed at a major international U17 tournament before. His opponent, meanwhile, is a U17 European Championships silver medalist.

Davit Baleyan also opened his campaign with a victory. In the 55 kg category, the Armenian wrestler defeated Poland’s Przemyslaw Mozek 8-6.