{{short description|Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler}} {{Infobox sport wrestler | name = Rustam Aghayev | image = | imagesize = | caption = | fullname = Rustam Aghayev | nationality = {{AZE}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|5|1|df=yes}} | birth_place = Moscow, Russian SFSR,<br>Soviet Union | death_date = | death_place = | height = {{height|m=1.86|abbr=on}} | weight = {{convert|96|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} | website = | country = | style = Freestyle | club = Neftçi Baku (AZE) | coach = Dyevanshir Kurbanov | medaltemplates= {{MedalSport | Men's freestyle wrestling}} {{MedalCountry|{{AZE}}}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championships}} {{MedalSilver|2004 Ankara|96 kg}} | show-medals = yes }}
'''Rustam Aghayev''' ({{langx|az|Rüstəm Ağayev}}; born 1 May 1982 in Moscow, Russian SFSR) is a retired amateur Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category.<ref>{{cite sports-reference|title = Rustam Aghayev|url = https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ag/rustm-agayev-1.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200418080355/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ag/rustm-agayev-1.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 18 April 2020|access-date = 8 June 2014}}</ref> He won a bronze medal in the 96-kg division at the 2004 European Wrestling Championships in Ankara, Turkey, and then represented his nation Azerbaijan at the Summer Olympics a few months later. Throughout his sporting career, Aghayev trained for Neftçi Sports Club in Baku, under his personal coach and mentor Dyevanshir Kurbanov.
Aghayev qualified for his adopted Azerbaijan squad in the men's heavyweight class (96 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by placing third and receiving a berth from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bratislava, Slovakia.<ref>{{cite news|last=Abbott|first=Gary|title=Olympic Games preview at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in men's freestyle|url=http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=10340|work=USA Wrestling|publisher=The Mat|date=18 July 2004|accessdate=29 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726012406/http://themat.com//section.php?section_id=3|archive-date=26 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Two Americans gain Olympic wrestling berth|url=http://siouxcityjournal.com/sports/two-americans-gain-olympic-wrestling-berth/article_f443d899-6520-50d4-a2bf-46c7cc1c5fe3.html|publisher=Sioux City Journal|date=1 February 2004|accessdate=8 June 2014}}</ref> In the prelim pool, Aghayev eclipsed Kazakhstan's Islam Bairamukov with a 7–2 division on his opening bout, and grappled Namibia's Nico Jacobs into the ring at the peak of the first minute by an eleven-point advantage, earning him a spot for the quarterfinals. Followed by the next day's session, Aghayev could not push Iranian wrestler Alireza Heidari off the mat with a 5–0 defeat in the quarterfinal match, but offered a chance to redeem himself as he pinned China's Wang Yuanyuan in nearly a full minute for a fifth-place finish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 96kg|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/wrestling/results/3532658.stm|work=Athens 2004|publisher=BBC Sport|date=15 August 2004|accessdate=30 September 2013}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/datenbanken/dbfoeldeak/daten.php?spid=BADD6AB0613247248F20DE6427E85A62 Profile – International Wrestling Database]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aghayev, Rustam}} Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Olympic wrestlers for Azerbaijan Category:Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Russian emigrants to Azerbaijan Category:Martial artists from Moscow Category:Sport wrestlers from Baku Category:Azerbaijani male sport wrestlers Category:European Wrestling Championships medalists Category:21st-century Azerbaijani sportsmen {{Azerbaijan-wrestling-bio-stub}}