Last week, our women's national wrestling team represented Azerbaijan at a ranking tournament held in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

According to Offsideplus.az, one of the standout performances of the competition came from 18-year-old Zahra Karimzade. After winning world and European youth bronze medals in 2024, the young athlete secured her first major podium at the senior level by winning a bronze medal in the 72 kg weight category.

Although Zahra lost to the experienced Turkish Olympic medalist and world/European champion Buse Tosun (0-2) in the quarterfinals, she displayed great resilience in the consolation matches. In the bronze medal bout, she defeated the Japanese Asian champion Mahiro Yoshitake with a score of 4-1.

The young wrestler shared her impressions of the tournament:

"I am very happy and proud to have won a bronze medal in such a prestigious senior-level ranking tournament. In my first match, I faced the Turkish Olympic medalist Buse Tosun. Despite the loss, I didn't lose heart; on the contrary, it motivated me further. I knew I would be facing a highly titled Japanese opponent for the bronze medal. My coaches prepared me both tactically and psychologically at a high level. Thanks to their motivation and the tactics they provided, I was fully ready for the match. It was a tense struggle, but I fought until the end and emerged victorious. I want to thank our head coach, our federation, and my personal coach for all their hard work. God willing, I will replace this bronze medal with gold in future competitions."