Serbia’s Viktor Nemes earned revenge for his European Games final defeat ©UWW

Serbia’s Viktor Nemes avenged his defeat to Elvin Mursaliev in last year’s European Games final as he beat the Azeri wrestler on the final day of the United World Wrestling (UWW) Golden Grand Prix Final in Baku.

Nemes would make the early breakthrough in the 75 kilogram Greco-Roman final, after a successful video review saw the Serbian earn two points.

He would preserve the advantage throughout the duration of the contest to secure a 3-1 victory and silence the home crowd.

Kyrgyzstan’s Ruslan Tsarev beat Jalgasbay Berdimuratov of Uzbekistan 4-2 to claim the first bronze medal, before Georgia’s Zurabi Datunashvili overcame Azerbaijan’s Mehraj Kerimov 2-1.

Despite Mursaliev' defeat, Azerbaijan would emerge as the dominant nation in the Greco-Roman classes as the hosts secured four golds.

Hasan Aliyev triumphed in the 71kg competition having scored the final point of the final against Balint Korpasi of Hungary, with the event having ended 1-1.

Aleksandar Maksimovic of Serbia won 5-1 against Colombia’s Jair Cuero Munoz to earn a podium spot, with China’s Zhang Ridong then also securing bronze by defeating Azerbaijan’s Jahid Najafov 3-2.

There was another tight final in the 80kg division as Azerbaijan’s Rafik Huseynov edged out Turkey’s Aslan Atem 2-1.

Colombia’s Carlos Munoz Jaramillo and Daulet Zhaxylykov of Kazakhstan earned bronze medals, with the pair having earned victories over Roni Sosa of Argentina and Kyrgyzstan’s Samat Shirdakov respectively.

Azerbaijan celebrated claiming four golds on the final day of the event ©UWW
Azerbaijan celebrated claiming four golds on the final day of the event ©UWW

A third Azeri gold was earned by Islam Abbasov, courtesy of a 5-1 win over Poland’s Tadeusz Michalik in the 85kg competition.

Russia’s Evgeny Saleev won 2-0 against Ukraine’s Zhan Belenyuk to win the first bronze medal in the division, before Azerbaijan’s Sultan Ismayilov beat Cuba’s Daniel Hechavarria 2-1.

A fourth and final gold for the host nation was claimed by Oyan Nazariani, with the 130kg wrestler securing a 3-1 win against Kiril Grishchenko of Belarus.

Cuba’s Oscar Pino Hinds and Ukraine’s Aleksander Chernetski sealed technical fall and fall wins respectively against Kazakhstan’s Damir Kuzembayev and Russia’s Vasily Parshin to win bronze.

European Games champion Artem Surkov would claim the first of two Russian gold medals by earning a victory by fall over Georgia’s Olympic bronze medallist Shmagi Bolkvadze in the 66kg event.

Azerbaijan’s Rovshan Taghiyev beat Kazakhstan’s Nurtay Nurgaliev 3-1 to clinch the first bronze, before South Korea’s Choi Gi-Uk overcame Iran’s Mohammad Morad Elyasi 4-1.

A last point victory would see Musa Evloev win Russia’s second gold, with the 98kg competitor defeating Aliaksandr Hrabovik of Belarus.

Turkey’s Cenk Ildem won 3-1 against Azerbaijan’s Orkhan Nuriyev, while Amirhossein Hosseini of Iran beat Cuba’s Reinier Romero 5-3 for the second bronze.

The final gold medal of the event was claimed by Japan’s Kenichiro Fumita, as he earned a victory by fall against Firuz Tukhtaev of Uzbekistan in the 59kg class.

Kyrgyzstan’s Kanybek Zholchubekov and Russia’s Mingiyan Semenov beat the Azeri duo of Taleh Mammadov and Karim Jafarov in the bronze medal matches.