On March 9 in Tirana, the winners and medalists in the first five weight categories were determined at the U23 European Freestyle Wrestling Championship.
Russian wrestlers claimed four gold medals, while another champion represented Belarus. The Armenian team had no medalists today, but fans should not be discouraged: tomorrow, two Armenian wrestlers will compete in the finals, and two more will fight in the bronze medal matches. This means Armenia is guaranteed at least two medals, and with a favorable outcome, they could earn four. The finalists are Levik Mikaelyan (61 kg) and Knyaz Iboyan (92 kg), while Razmik Epremyan (86 kg) and Khachatur Khachatryan (125 kg) will compete for bronze.
Additionally, in the Russian team, the champion in the 79 kg category was Arsen Balayan from Kaliningrad. Narek Poghosyan, representing Ukraine, won the bronze medal in the 70 kg category.
Final Results of Day 2 of the U23 European Freestyle Wrestling Championship:
57 kg:
- Lev Pavlov (Russia)
- Nika Zangaladze (Georgia)
- Bekir Keser (Turkey), Rakhman Imanov (Azerbaijan)
- Norik Harutyunyan (Armenia) finished in 8th place.
65 kg:
- Amal Jandubaev (Russia)
- Abdullah Toprak (Turkey)
- Khamzat Arsamerzoev (France), Murad Gakhverdiyev (Azerbaijan)
- Hayk Abrahamyan (Armenia) finished in 5th place.
70 kg:
- Magomed-Emi Eltemirov (Russia)
- Kanan Geybatov (Azerbaijan)
- Umut Erdogan (Turkey), Narek Poghosyan (Ukraine)
- Vladimir Azaryan (Armenia) finished in 10th place.
79 kg:
- Arsen Balayan (Russia)
- Farid Jabbarov (Azerbaijan)
- Ibrahim Metehan Yaprak (Turkey), Umar Mavlayev (Switzerland)
97 kg:
- Vladislav Kozlov (Belarus)
- Bady-Maadyr Samdan (Russia)
- Resul Güneş (Turkey), David Mchedlidze (Ukraine)
- Sergey Sargsyan (Armenia) finished in 7th place.
Finalists in the Remaining Weight Categories:
61 kg: Levik Mikaelyan (Armenia) vs. Jeykhun Allahverdiyev (Azerbaijan)
74 kg: Aganazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan) vs. Ismail Khaniev (Russia)
- Narek Nikoghosyan (Armenia) was eliminated in the Round of 16.
86 kg: Arseniy Gioev (Azerbaijan) vs. Rahim Magamadov (France)
- Razmik Epremyan (Armenia) will compete for bronze through the repechage rounds.
92 kg: Knyaz Iboyan (Armenia) vs. Muhamed-Tagir Khaniev (Russia)
125 kg: Vladimir Kochanov (Ukraine) vs. Georgi Ivanov (Bulgaria)
- Khachatur Khachatryan (Armenia) lost in the semifinals to Kochanov and will fight for bronze.
The Day 2 finals will take place on March 10 at 18:30 local time in Albania.