If there was a World Wrestling Day highlight reel to be made, Artur SARGSIAN (RUS) slamming Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO) for four points on Sunday would undoubtedly be part of it.
If Musa EVLOEV (RUS) is the best 97kg wrestler around the world, Sargsian is not far behind. The below video is a sneak peak of his show.
The Russian let out a loud roar as he prepared to lift the Georgian for the second time in their 97kg final. It could be heard around the Sansadski Jane Arena. The roar was not meant to disrespect his opponent but a metaphor of the strength and power he expresses when executing those soul-crushing throws. He was doing this with ease over the last two days at the U23 European Championships in Skopje, North Macedonia.
A quick glance at his wins on Saturday and Sunday show the gulf in class between him and his opponents. His first bout ended 9-0. The quarterfinal was won 8-0. The all-important semifinal was again a 9-0 win.
Katsanashvili was avoiding it in the 97kg final until he was warned for passivity. The par terre position for Sagsian meant his show was about to begin.
Katsanashvili used his skills to remain grounded, assembling all his core strength to convince the referee that Sargsian won't be able to throw him.
12 seconds is what took the Russian to score the first four – a beautiful throw inside the danger zone. He did not loosen his grip, worked some strength and boom. Another four.
After his celebrations, Sargsian embraced his opponent, like he did throughout the competition.
His gold at 97kg was the final of the three Russia won on Sunday. Shamil OZHAEV (RUS) at 82kg and Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) at 60kg also captured the top medal to propel their country to the team title. Russia had won three gold medals on Saturday as well.
Ozhaev's final against Tamas LEVAI (HUN) went the full six minutes. He got the first point for Levai's inactivity from which Ozhaev scored two points to lead 3-0.
He was also warned for inactivity in the second period but his strong defence meant Levai had to be contend with just the one point. Ozhaev was also happy to stroll to a 3-1 win.
At 60kg, Allakhiarov also had a dominant win against Igor KUROCHKIN (UKR). The opening score was the passivity warning to Kurochkin and Allakhiarov almost got the exposure but a successful challenge from Ukraine reversed his lead to 1-0. He then went for a arm throw and managed to land the Ukrainian in danger to secure four points. He led 5-0 at the break.
Around 25 seconds in the seconds period, Allakhiarov went for a duck under and performed a bodylock throw against Kurochkin who seemed to be on his heels. The four points secured his 9-0 win.
He was the second Ukrainian to finish with a silver medal. Andrii KULIK (UKR) had a fantastic tournament before he ran into Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) in the 72kg final.
Amoyan is quickly becoming Armenia's top wrestler having risen through the age-group level with junior World and European titles. A silver at the Individual World Cup and senior Euros confirmed his ascend. So at his first U23 event, Amoyan made sure he goes home with gold medal.
Awarded the par terre position after Kulik was passive, Amoyan scored via a gut wrench and led 3-0 at the break. While Greco-Roman generally sees alternative inactivity being called, Amoyan made sure he continues to be the attacking wrestler. As a result, Kulik was again warned for inactivity.
A out-of-bounds throw was enough to give him a 6-0 lead which he maintained as he captured the second gold medal for Armenia in Skopje.
The fifth weight category was 67kg in which Hungary captured the gold medal, thanks to Krisztian VANCZA (HUN). In the final against Kadir KAMAL (TUR), he pulled off a close 2-2 win.
All four points scored in the bout were inactivity and stepout points with Vancza scoring in the second period which gave him the win.
GR Medal Results
60kg
GOLD: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) df Igor KUROCHKIN (UKR), 9-0
BRONZE: Tigran MINASYAN (ARM) df Andy JUAN SUCH (ESP), 10-0
BRONZE: Uladzislau PRYBYLSKI (BLR) df Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN), 3-3
67kg
GOLD: Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) df Kadir KAMAL (TUR), 2-2
BRONZE: Oleksii MASYK (UKR) df Ivo Krasimirov ILIEV (BUL), 8-0
BRONZE: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
72kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df Andrii KULIK (UKR), 6-0
BRONZE: Idris IBAEV (GER) df Martun BADALIAN (BLR), 4-0
BRONZE: Sergei KUTUZOV (RUS) df Otar ABULADZE (GEO), 9-0
82kg
GOLD: Shamil OZHAEV (RUS) df Tamas LEVAI (HUN), 3-1
BRONZE: Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df Dimitrios TSOMPANOUDIS (GRE), 11-2
BRONZE: Yauheni YUROU (BLR) df Arminas LYGNUGARIS (LTU), 1-1
97kg
GOLD: Artur SARGSIAN (RUS) df Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO), 9-0
BRONZE: Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE) df Valentyn SHKLIARENKO (UKR), 3-1
BRONZE: Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) df Ondrej DADAK (CZE), 1-1
