Armenia to miss U17 Wrestling World Championships in Baku

The Armenian national team will not participate in the 2026 U17 Wrestling World Championships, which will take place in Baku from July 27 to August 2.

At the same time, two wrestlers of Armenian descent will compete at the tournament for other countries.

Sergei Karmrian will travel to Azerbaijan as part of the Russian national team and will compete in the 60 kg freestyle wrestling category. Ruslana Karapetiants will represent Moldova in the women’s 53 kg category.

Earlier, Armenian-American wrestler Galust Gregory Torosyan also withdrew from the World Championships in Baku.

The United States national team member and 2026 U17 U.S. Open champion was expected to compete in Greco-Roman wrestling but decided to pull out of the tournament. The athlete announced his decision in a statement published by the World Team Training Center.

Explaining his decision, Torosyan said that, as an Armenian-American and a Christian, he could not ignore the potential risks associated with travelling to Baku. In his statement, he mentioned the destruction of Armenian Christian churches and historical monuments, the continued detention of Armenian prisoners and hostile rhetoric towards people of Armenian descent.

The wrestler also pointed to a lack of proper communication from the leadership of United World Wrestling. According to Torosyan, he sent several letters asking about the safety of the participants and the protection measures that would be provided.

One of the letters was addressed to Arsen Julfalakyan, chairman of the UWW Athletes’ Commission. Torosyan said that he did not receive a response to his questions.

UPDATED: Armenia confirms participation in U17 World Championships in Baku and names full Greco-Roman squad