"We are facing serious competition at the Islamiada."

Offsideplus.az reports that this was stated by the head coach of the Greco-Roman wrestling team, Alexander Tarakanov.

He made statements to the website of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation:

"After the World Championship, the team was given a rest. During this period, those who were injured underwent a recovery process. Then, a general physical training process took place. On November 1, we began two weeks of tactical and technical training. Since the national team members participate in training processes throughout the year, there are no problems with the level of preparation. True, there is fatigue because it is the end of the year. Therefore, we have already switched to light and short-term training so that there is no overload."

The experienced specialist also revealed the main rivals in the Islamic Games:

"Our main rival in this competition will be Iran. They will participate with the main squad. Wrestlers from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkey can also be added to this list. In my opinion, serious competition awaits us at the Islamiada. Of course, we analyze all our rivals by watching the footage of their matches. We are working on our mistakes. Of course, our rivals also analyze us and are especially focused on us. Therefore, we must be maximally prepared."

It should be noted that the wrestling competitions at the Islamiada will be held from November 18 to 21.