Babalaryan Confident: Artur Aleksanyan Is Not Retiring

At the 2025 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, four-time world champion, seven-time European champion, and Olympic gold medalist Artur Aleksanyan failed to reach the semifinals, losing in the quarterfinals to Azerbaijani wrestler Murad Ahmadiev.

Armenia’s head coach Armen Babalaryan commented on the performance of the 33-year-old team leader.

“Age has nothing to do with it. Artur was in great shape, fully recovered from his injuries. Sometimes a single moment decides the outcome of a match. Artur’s hand slipped, and he found himself in a disadvantaged position. This is a common situation, even for great athletes. Remember Lopez, who competed successfully until the age of 42,” the coach noted.

The coach urged fans to show respect toward the decorated wrestler.

“I see he is often criticized. But since 2009, Artur has delighted us with his victories and for 16 consecutive years has brought medals to Armenia. If you put all his medals on one person, that person could hardly stand upright. This time it didn’t work out — but defeats happen to everyone.”

Babalaryan also emphasized that attention should be paid to other members of the national team.

“Take Slavik Galstyan: after the Olympics, he struggled with unfair refereeing and even had to work with a psychologist. But he overcame it and came back, winning bronze at the World Championships. The team helped, as did Malkhas Amoyan, who always supports the guys.”

In conclusion, the coach expressed confidence that the team leader will continue his career:

“Nothing critical has happened. This was just one unlucky episode in Artur’s brilliant career. I believe he will keep competing and will bring us more victories.”