DORTMUND, Germany (July 1) – Georgia’s quartet of Greco-Roman entries went 4-0 on the first evening of medal finals, bagging a pair of gold and bronze medals each at the Junior European Wrestling Championships on Saturday.
Ramaz SILAVAGA (GEO) scored a quick arm throw in the 50kg final for one gold medal and Leri ABULADZE (GEO) recorded a pair of gut wrenches in the 60kg final to snare the second gold of the evening at Helmut Kornig Halle.
Meanwhile, Narek OGANIAN (RUS) grabbed the gold medal in the 74kg final and Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) ended a dry spell for Finland at the championships by winning the gold medal in the finale at 96kg.
Savolainen’s triumph was the first for Finland in Greco-Roman at the European junior championships since 2009, when Sasu KAASINEN (FIN) won the gold medal at 66kg in Tbilisi.
Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE), also seeking a historic gold medal for Sweden in the finals at 60kg, could not find the key to unlocking the tight defense of cadet world champion Abuladze and had to settle for a silver. Sweden’s last gold medal at the European juniors was won by Eddy BENGTSSON (SWE) in Budapest in 1999.
Russia, which also advanced four wrestlers into the medal round, was nearly perfect until Vladen KOZLIUK (UKR) caught Artur SARGSYAN (RUS) in a bear-hug and flattened the former cadet world champion for a fall in their bronze medal final at 96kg. The bronze medal was Kozliuk’s second in his third trip to the European junior meet.
In the 50kg final, Silavaga hit an arm throw right off the whistle to start the second period for four points and managed the remainder of the bout with Zulfigar ALIYEV (AZE) for the title.
For the bronze medals, Atmir KOTCHEV (RUS) dragged behind for a takedown and added a pair of gut wrenches to complete a technical fall at 1:05. Cemal MUTLU (TUR) erupted with an arm throw to start the second period and followed with a gut wrench to stop the clock at 3:31 with a 10-2 technical advantage.
At 60kg, Abuladze, also Georgia’s entry at the senior European meet in May, got behind for a takedown and added a pair of gut wrenches against Fazljija for a 6-3 lead at the break. Fazljija, who notched three technical falls in the morning session, could not break through Abuladze’s tight defense in the second period of the final.
The first bronze medal at 60kg went to cadet world bronze medal winner Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) who nursed a passivity point and a step-out for a 2-0 win over Teodor HORATAU (ROU). Fadis VALITOV (RUS) grabbed the second on a pair passivity calls against Aleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), adding a takedown for a 4-1 win.
At 74kg, Ivan Poddubny bronze medalist Oganian and Elmar NURALIEV (UKR) dueled near-evenly throughout their welterweight final with neither being able to gain the advantage, leaving the 2-1 decision on passivity calls in Oganian’s favor.
For the bronze medals, Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO) slipped behind for a pair of takedowns and then managed the second period for a 5-1 win over Dominik GEGENY (HUN). Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) dropped in for a bodylock takedown and a gut wrench in the final minute for a 7-4 win over Krasimir KRUMOV (BUL).
Savolainen kept Suleyman ERBAY (TUR) on his heals throughout the 96kg final as he picked up three passivity points for a 3-0 victory.
For the other bronze medal bout at 96kg, Giorgi BARBAKADZE (GEO) forced a passivity point on Damian VON EUW (SUI) in each period of the final to claim a 2-0 win.
Results of the Medal Finals and Semifinals
Greco-Roman
50kg (16 entries)
Gold – Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO) df. Zulfigar ALIYEV (AZE), 5-1
Bronze – Atmir KOTCHEV (RUS) df. Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN) by TF, 8-0, 1:05
Bronze – Cemal MUTLU (TUR) df. Ashot MKHITARYAN (ARM) by TF, 10-2, 3:31
Semifinal – Zulfigar ALIYEV (AZE) df. Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN), 10-6
Semifinal – Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO) df. Cemal MUTLU (TUR), 14-11
60kg (19 entries)
Gold – Leri ABULADZE (GEO) df. Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE), 6-4
Bronze – Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) df. Teodor HORATAU (ROU), 2-0
Bronze – Fadis VALITOV (RUS) df. Aleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), 4-1
Semifinal – Leri ABULADZE (GEO) df. Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM), 1-1
Semifinal – Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE) df. Aleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) by TF, 10-1, 4:01
74kg (22 entries)
Gold – Narek OGANIAN (RUS) df. Elmar NURALIEV (UKR), 2-1
Bronze – Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO) df. Dominik GEGENY (HUN), 5-1
Bronze – Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Krasimir KRUMOV (BUL), 7-4
Semifinal – Narek OGANIAN (RUS) df. Dominik GEGENY (HUN) by TF, 9-0, 2:54
Semifinal – Elmar NURALIEV (UKR) df. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), 4-1
96kg (19 entries)
Gold – Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Suleyman ERBAY (TUR), 3-0
Bronze – Giorgi BARBAKADZE (GEO) df. Damian VON EUW (SUI), 2-0
Bronze – Vladen KOZLIUK (UKR) df. Artur SARGSYAN (RUS) by Fall, 2:28 (4-4)
Semifinal – Suleyman ERBAY (TUR) df. Giorgi BARBAKADZE (GEO), 6-2
Semifinal – Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Vladen KOZLIUK (UKR), 2-1
