Former freestyle wrestler turned ISIS fighter killed in air strike

Add another individual to the list of combat athletes that have joined the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State (ISIS), and lost his life as a result.

According to Pravda.ru, Chamsulvara Chamsulvaraev, a former member of the Azerbaijani men’s freestyle wrestling team, was killed in an air strike in the northern region of Iraq on Wednesday, September 28th.

The 32-year-old was originally born in the Dagestani district of Sergokalinsky, where he began wrestling at an early age. Despite not being able to qualify for the Russian national team, he was able to become a naturalized Azerbaijani citizen to compete for that national team in the 74kg weight class. During his career he won a silver medal in the FILA wrestling world championships in 2009 and a bronze medal in 2007. He was also a gold medalist in the European championships in 2009, celebrated in Vilnius, Lithuania.

He even competed in a 2005 Super Cup event celebrated in Dagestan against Bellator talent Muhammed Lawal, as seen in the video below.

Chamsulvaraev retired from the sport of wrestling in 2014 and eventually joined the Islamic State as a key recruiter in the region. He is believed to have converted and radicalized a pregnant teenager who blew herself up in Istanbul last year.

*Special thanks to Karim Zidan for his assistance regarding this story.