Rashid Mammadbeyov

1952 Summer Olympics

Azerbaijani athletes began participating in the Olympic Games in 1952, at the same time as all other Soviet athletes, as part of a single team. The wrestling events took place between 20 and 23 July at the Töölö Sports Hall. In his weight category of under 57 kg, Mammadbeyov beat Mohammad Mehdi Yaghoubi of Iran, bronze medal winner of the 1951 World Wrestling Championships, in just 32 seconds. Mammadbeyov was declared the winner of the round of 32, as his Swiss opponent Paul Hänni did not show up on the ring due to an injury. Mammadbeyov's next match with Bill Borders of the United States ended in 10 minutes and 40 seconds with Mammadbeyov's flawless victory. By the end of the round of 16, Mammadbeyov was the only athlete in this category without any penalty points. In the quarterfinals, however, he lost to the Hungarian Lajos Bence 2–1, however due to the fact that Bence had five penalty points, he was disqualified and Mammadbeyov advanced to the semifinals. He beat Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav from India, but lost to Shohachi Ishii from Japan in the final, thus earning a silver medal.