TASHKENT (September 14) – Hamid SORYAN (IRI) won his sixth world title and led Iran to the team title in Greco-Roman on the final evening of title bouts at the wrestling world championships.
Soryan defeated London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medalist Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS), 1-2, in the 59kg final at the Gymnastics Palace to move into second place on the all-time Greco-Roman titles list with seven.
Soryan is tied at seven with Valery REZANTSEV (URS) and Mijain LOPEZ NUNEZ (CUB), who reached seven with the 130kg title on Saturday.
Soryan’s sixth world championships are second only to the nine won by Greco-Roman great Alexander KARELIN (RUS). In total, Karelin has won 12 world titles – including three Olympic Games gold medals – between 1988 and 1999.
Soryan’s triumph along with bronze medals from teammates Afshin BYABANGARD (IRI) at 71kg and Ghasem REZAEI (IRI) at 98kg lifted Iran to team title with 42 points from one gold medal, a silver and two bronze.
Russia (1-2-1) was second with 36 points, followed by Turkey (0-2-2) with 34 points.
Two-time Asian champion and hometown hero Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) won a bronze medal for host Uzbekistan with a 10-0 technical fall over Pan American champ Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB).
Tasmuradov’s bronze medal was Uzbekistan’s second medal of the championships after Bekzod ABDURAKHMANOV (UZB) won a bronze medal in freestyle at 70kg.
Meanwhile, London 2012 bronze medalist and 2013 world runner-up Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) made the final step up the medals podium with a 56-second technical fall over Oliver HASSLER (GER) in the 98kg final.
Alekasanyan’s win made Armenia the only country with two gold medalists in this year’s championships.
Chingiz LABAZANOV, winner of the prestigious Poddubny tourney in January, held on for a 3-1 win over European bronze medal winner Yunus OZEL (TUR) in the 71kg to become Russia’s only Greco-Roman champion of this year’s tourney.
Summaries of the medal finals:
59kg
Hamid SORYAN (IRI) scored with a one-point gut wrench in the first period and needed a force-out at 5:12 to secure a 2-1 victory over Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS).
In the bronze medal matches, Stig Andre BERGE (NOR) earned a second passivity call at 4:15 and made the penalty point stand for a 1-0 win over Spencer MANGO (USA).
Asia champion Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) opened with a quick bodylock to lift and drop, then added another lift from the mat for a 10-0 technical fall over Pan American champion Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) in just 22 seconds.
GOLD: Hamid Mohammad SORYAN (IRI) df. Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS), 2-1
BRONZE: Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) df. Ismael BORRERO (CUB) by TF, 10-0
BRONZE: Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) df. Spenser Thomas MANGO (USA), 1-0
Semifinal: Hamid Mohammad SORYAN (IRI) df. Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB), 2-1
Semifinal: Mingiyan SEMENOV (RUS) df. Spenser Thomas MANGO (USA) by TF, 9-1
71kg
Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS) scored a gut wrench for two points and received a penalty point when Yunus OZEL (TUR) used his legs to defend against a lift, and the held on for a 3-1 win.
For the bronze medals, Afshin BYABANGARD (IRI) won a first period scramble with a whip-over and a force-out and then fought off two par terre chances from European bronze medalist Aleksander DZEMYANOVICH (BLR) for a 5-3 victory.
Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) threw a headlock off the whistle, added quick gut wrench, followed by a lift and somersault for 11 points and the technical fall over Varsham BORANYAN (ARM) in 23 seconds.
GOLD: Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS) df. Yunus OZEL (TUR), 3-1
BRONZE: Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) df. Varsham BORANYAN (ARM) by TF, 10-0
BRONZE: Afshim BYABANGARD (IRI) df. Aliaksandr DZEMYANOVICH (BLR), 5-3
Semifinal: Yunus OZEL (TUR) df. Varsham BORANYAN (ARM) by forfeit, 5-0
Semifinal: Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr DZEMYANOVICH (BLR) by TF, 8-0
98kg
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) wasted little time with a pair of takedowns and gut wrenches for an 8-0 technical fall over Oliver HASSLER (GER) in 56 seconds.
Hassler was Germany’s first world championships finalist in Greco-Roman since 2003, when Konstantin SCHNEIDER (GER) took a silver medal at 74kg in Creteil, France.
In the bronze medal bouts, Ghasemi REZAEI (IRI) scored a second-period gut wrench and added a force-out for good measure for a 4-1 win over Aleksander HRABOVIK (BLR). And, Cenk ILDEM (TUR) forced a penalty point on Alin ALEXUC-CIURARIU (ROU) in the second period for a 1-0 win.
GOLD: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Oliver Adrian HASSLER (GER) by TF, 8-0
BRONZE: Cenk ILDEM (TUR) df. Alin ALEXUC-CIURARIU (ROU), 1-0
BRONZE: Ghasem Gholamreza REZAEI (IRI) df. Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR), 4-1
Semifinal: Oliver Adrian HASSLER (GER) df. Cenk ILDEM (TUR), 5-0
Semifinal: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Ghasem Gholamreza REZAEI (IRI), 3-1
