World Championships: Karen Aslanyan world champion, silver for Vazgen Tevanyan, bronze for Alexandra Grigoryan
- Published
- Place
- Astana (Kazakhstan) and China
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
A rich week for Armenian sport. At the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, Karen Aslanyan became Greco-Roman world champion at 63 kg on 27 October, beating Azerbaijan’s Nihat Mammadli 8–4 in the final. The same day, Gevorg Tadevosyan won bronze at 87 kg against Ukraine’s Yaroslav Filchakov. In freestyle, 27-year-old Vazgen Tevanyan took silver at 65 kg on 30 October: he lost the final 9–1 to 20-year-old American Bo Bassett after fracturing his little finger in the semi-final. In the quarter-final he had beaten Iran’s Rahman Amouzad, the reigning world champion. In weightlifting, at the World Championships in China, Alexandra Grigoryan won bronze in the clean and jerk (120 kg) at 57 kg, Armenia’s first medal of the event.
Analysis
Greco-Roman head coach Armen Babalaryan praised Aslanyan’s title, after his move down from 67 to 63 kg, but acknowledged the team had hoped for more: favourite Slavik Galstyan (67 kg) left without a medal. For Tevanyan, it was the first world final of his career. In the overall total, Alexandra Grigoryan finished fourth with 205 kg: her medal comes from the separate clean-and-jerk ranking.
Possible consequences
Aslanyan’s title in his new category makes him a serious contender for upcoming international events. Three Armenian freestyle wrestlers were still due to compete on 31 October, which could add to the tally.
What remains uncertain
Results for Manvel Khndzrtsyan (57 kg), Narek Harutyunyan (74 kg) and Hrayr Alikhanyan (79 kg), competing on 31 October, are not yet known. The severity of Vazgen Tevanyan’s injury has not been specified. The final team ranking has not been verified.