Mkhitaryan and Ter-Matevosyan Reach U20 Greco-Roman Wrestling World Championship Semifinals

Two Armenian representatives — Yurik Mkhitaryan (67 kg) and Erik Ter-Matevosyan (97 kg) — have advanced to the semifinals of the U20 Greco-Roman Wrestling World Championships in Bratislava.

On the second day of competition, preliminary bouts were held in the 55 kg, 67 kg, 72 kg and 97 kg weight categories.

Yurik Mkhitaryan (67 kg) produced a particularly impressive run to the semifinals. In his opening bout, the Armenian wrestler defeated Moldova’s Maxim Damaschin 3-1.

In the round of 16, Mkhitaryan faced Azerbaijan’s Murad Aliyev. During a tense bout, the Armenian trailed 0-6 but managed to turn the match around and claim a remarkable comeback victory, 11-6.

In the quarterfinals, Mkhitaryan needed just 50 seconds to secure a technical superiority victory over Romania’s Iosif Zlotar, 10-0. He will face Mikhail Markovski of Belarus for a place in the 67 kg final.

Erik Ter-Matevosyan has also been in convincing form. His opponent in the round of 32, Dorian Trejo of Mexico, did not take to the mat. The Armenian then defeated Bulgaria’s Radostin Vasilev 7-0, before beating Kazakhstan’s Maxim Ukraintsev 4-0 in the quarterfinals.

In the 97 kg semifinal, Ter-Matevosyan will face Yehor Yakushenko of Ukraine.

Two other Armenian representatives ended their campaigns in the preliminary rounds. In the 55 kg category, Edgar Petrosyan lost 1-10 to Azerbaijan’s Emin Javadli, while Gor Khachatryan was beaten by Russia’s Mingiyan Goryaev by the same score, 1-10, in the 72 kg division.

As a reminder, Samvel Terteryan (77 kg) and Yurik Petrosyan (87 kg) will compete in their respective finals this evening.