Arsen Balayan Wins Bronze at Russian Freestyle Wrestling Championships
- Author: Vahe Hakobyan
- Sportaran
Kaliningrad freestyle wrestler Arsen Balayan won a bronze medal in the 86 kg weight category at the Russian Championships.
In the bronze-medal bout, the 23-year-old wrestler claimed a dominant 10-0 victory over Magomednabi Magomedov of Dagestan.
Balayan won three matches on his way to the semifinals. In the round of 32, he defeated Abdul Nazir Ustarov of Stavropol Krai 9-2 before beating Dagestan’s Muslim Shamsudin 4-0 in the round of 16.
In the quarterfinals, the Kaliningrad wrestler recorded a 5-1 victory over another Dagestani competitor, Magomed Dibir.
In the semifinals, Arsen Balayan lost 0-2 to three-time European champion Artur Naifonov, representing the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The defeat denied Balayan a place in the final and the opportunity to compete for a spot on the Russian national team for the 2026 World Championships.
In the 86 kg final, Artur Naifonov faced Ibragim Kadiev of Dagestan.