Davit Baleyan Reaches U17 World Wrestling Championships Semifinals

The preliminary bouts of the opening day of the U17 World Wrestling Championships in Baku have concluded. Three members of the Armenian national freestyle wrestling team took to the mat. Davit Baleyan advanced to the semifinals, Erik Papikyan remains in contention for a bronze medal, while Vache Aslanyan has been eliminated.

Competing in the 55 kg weight category, Davit Baleyan began his campaign with an 8-6 victory over Poland’s Przemyslaw Mrozek. His round-of-16 bout against Mexico’s Edgar Bocanegra did not take place, allowing the Armenian wrestler to advance to the quarterfinals.

Baleyan then defeated Georgia’s Saba Mindiashvili 4-1 to secure a place in the semifinals. The Armenian representative will face Uzbekistan’s Jakhongir Tulkunov for a spot in the final.

In the 65 kg category, Erik Papikyan made a strong start by defeating Azerbaijan’s Rashid Nazarov 9-1. In the round of 16, however, the Armenian wrestler lost 1-8 to Magomed Ibragimov of Russia.

Papikyan still has a chance to enter the repechage and compete for a bronze medal. To do so, Ibragimov must reach the final.

In the 80 kg category, Vache Aslanyan faced Russia’s Kantemir Elmesov in his opening bout. The Armenian narrowly lost the closely contested match 2-3. As Elmesov failed to reach the final, Aslanyan was eliminated from medal contention.

Results of the Armenian Wrestlers

55 kg

Round of 32: Davit Baleyan — Przemyslaw Mrozek (Poland), 8-6
Round of 16: Davit Baleyan — Edgar Bocanegra (Mexico), bout did not take place
Quarterfinal: Davit Baleyan — Saba Mindiashvili (Georgia), 4-1

Semifinal: Davit Baleyan — Jakhongir Tulkunov (Uzbekistan)

65 kg

Round of 32: Erik Papikyan — Rashid Nazarov (Azerbaijan), 9-1
Round of 16: Erik Papikyan — Magomed Ibragimov (Russia), 1-8

80 kg

Round of 32: Vache Aslanyan — Kantemir Elmesov (Russia), 2-3

Opening-Day Semifinal Pairings

48 kg

Volodymyr Boiko (Ukraine) — Aaryan Aaryan (India)
Farrukh Makhmudov (Uzbekistan) — Bagdaulet Agabek (Kazakhstan)

55 kg

Giovanni Tovar (Colombia) — Chase Karunbauer (United States)
Davit Baleyan (Armenia) — Jakhongir Tulkunov (Uzbekistan)

65 kg

Shohiddin Aliyev (Uzbekistan) — Sam Arshadhasabsaraei (Iran)
Jvani Solis (Puerto Rico) — Magomed Ibragimov (Russia)

80 kg

Volkan Bilgin (Türkiye) — Zheteni Tugyi (Hungary)
Amirali Ferasati (Iran) — Takahiro Hagino (Japan)

110 kg

Murtaz Bagdavadze (Georgia) — Mirhossein Yousefabad (Iran)
Magomed Omarov (Russia) — Sagyndyk Temirgali (Kazakhstan)

The semifinal bouts are scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. Yerevan time.