At 2-2 going into the final few seconds of the match Poland’s coaches felt their girl had got herself into a position of superiority over the Azerbaijani, and had completed a wheeling motion which should have taken the score to 4-2 in her favour.

No extra points were given, however, and a subsequent Polish challenge was ruled against.

That, and the fact that Dorogan had been the last wrestler to score, having gone 2-0 down after two minutes, meant the first of four golds on the night was destined for Azerbaijan

Dorogan, who was born in Kishinev, Moldova, was understandably ebullient after a win which will earn her a $40,000 (£26,000/€36,000) bonus from her grateful nation.

After being carried in triumph round the mat on the shoulders of her coach, punching the air as she went, she said: "This is my first victory in a big tournament, in my home town, at the European Games.

"It's crazy,

"I can't believe it.

"I have won silver and bronze before, but only in smaller tournaments and Grand Prix.

"I never expected to win, and every fight was tough. The final was the hardest and I still can't believe I have won."

While that result may have been at least a topic of debate, the most surprising of the gold medallists was Russia’s Valeriia Lazinskaia, who earned a 5-4 win in the 63kg over Ukraine's world champion Yuliia Tkach, who had beaten her on the way to winning that title in Uzbekistan.

It was a disappointing night for Ukraine, who had begun the night with the possibility of two golds but had to settle for two silvers as Tetyana Lavrenchuk was beaten 3-2 by Emese Barka of Hungary in the 58kg category.

The big screen here showed a close up of Barka during her medal ceremony as the lilting Hungarian national anthem played.

There were red scrapes and scratches all over her face and forehead, tears brimming in her eyes...

Russia’s heavyweight Ekaterina Bukina had come back from 5-0 and 4-0 down in her previous rounds, and found herself in a familiar position in her 75kg final against Vasilisa Marzaliuk of Belarus as she went 5-0 down.

On this occasion, however, the deficit proved too much for her, although she got back to 5-4 before running out of time.

Grace Bullen took bronze for Norway in the 58kg category against the home athlete involved in medals matches on the night, taking just 47 seconds to defeat Irina Netreba.

"The match was quick and went really well even though it started very bad,” she said.

“And to be able to perform in this hall, having all the fans and everyone against me, means a lot to me.

"It was very hard. I spoke to [team-mate] Stig-Andre Berge after he had fought an Azerbaijani here and realised that I would have to win not just over the opponent, but over the audience and the referees here too."

The oldest women wrestler competing in Baku, 37-year-old Maider Unda Gonzalez de Audicana - she almost certainly has the distinction of also having the longest name at the European Games - won her bronze medal match in the 75kg category against Germany’s Maria Selmaier by 5-2.

Related stories
June 2015: Azerbaijan celebrate Baku 2015 gold medal as women’s wrestling events begin
June 2015: Russia earn two Greco-Roman wrestling golds at Baku 2015 as hosts win again
June 2015: Russia bag gold medal hat-trick on opening day of Baku 2015 Greco-Roman wrestling action