Rakov won the 2009 World Championships in the men's half-heavyweight (‍–‍100 kg) division, beating Henk Grol in the final.

[4] Rakov won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, losing to Tagir Khaybulaev in the final.

[5] Previously, he had competed in the middleweight (‍–‍90 kg) category, winning a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games.

As a result, he missed the 2008 Olympics and considered to retire from sport.

[1] At the 2016 Rio Olympics he lost in the second bout to the eventual winner Lukáš Krpálek.