Armenian wrestler Gevorg Harutyunyan wins U17 World Championship bronze in Baku despite fractured arm

Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Gevorg Harutyunyan won a bronze medal at the U17 World Championships in Baku despite suffering a fractured arm at the beginning of the tournament.

According to representatives of the Armenian team, Harutyunyan fractured his ulna during his first bout. Despite being in severe pain, the athlete continued competing.

The Armenian wrestler was defeated in his bout against an Azerbaijani opponent, a result his team attributed to controversial refereeing decisions. However, neither the injury nor the defeat stopped Harutyunyan. He went on to beat a decorated wrestler from Kazakhstan before defeating his Georgian opponent in the bronze-medal bout.

“I was injured in my very first bout, and it affected me to some extent. I think I could have progressed further otherwise. It was difficult, but when I realized that I still had a chance to win a bronze medal, I tried to ignore the pain in my arm and fought until the end,” Harutyunyan said at a press conference after returning to Yerevan from Baku.

Representatives of the Armenian team said that the wrestler “wanted to raise the Armenian tricolor in Baku at any cost.”