Wrestling and zorkhana (pahlavanlig)

Wrestling has long been part of Azerbaijani holidays and weddings. Pahlavans — strongmen — wrestled at Nowruz and village festivities, and the winner earned the people's respect.

The zorkhana ("house of strength") is a traditional training ground where pahlavans exercise with wooden clubs, heavy bows and stones and wrestle to the sound of the drum and the bard's verses. "Pahlavanlig culture: traditional zorkhana games, sports and wrestling" was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2022.

Today freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling have brought Azerbaijan more Olympic medals than any other sport, with Namig Abdullayev, Farid Mansurov, Toghrul Asgarov and Sharif Sharifov among its Olympic champions.