Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-20 17:34:42

(BEIJING, August 20) — India’s Sushil Kumar claimed bronze in the Men’s Freestyle Wrestling 66 kilogram class on Wednesday, August 20.

Kumar took three periods to beat Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan 2-1, 0-1 and 1-0.

Spiridonov finished fourth in the 66kg weight class in Athens, while Kumar took 14th place.

Updated: 2008-08-20 17:29:33

(BEIJING, August 20) — Otar Tushishvili of Georgia defeated Geandry Garzón of Cuba 3-0, 1-1 to clinch a bronze medal in the Men’s Freestyle 66 kilogram Wrestling weight category on August 20.

Tushishvili finished third at last year’s World Championships.

Garzón was a pre-competition favorite due to his consistent performance. He has been a medalist in three consecutive World Championships (2005, 2006 and 2007), including a silver medal in 2007.

Updated: 2008-08-20 12:08:14

(BEIJING, August 20) — Uzbekistan’s Soslan Tigiev and Russia’s Buvaysa Saytiev advanced into the final after beating their rivals in the semifinal of Men’s Freestyle 74kg Wrestling on Wednesday, August 20.

Tigiev beat opponent Murad Gaidarov of Belarus 1-0 and 1-0.

Saytiev defeated Bulgaria’s Kiril Terziev 8-0 in one period.

Updated: 2008-08-20 12:07:22

(BEIJING, August 20) — Turkey’s Ramazan Sahin and Ukraine’s Andriy Stadnik advanced into final after beating their rivals in the semifinal of the Men’s Freestyle Wrestling 66kg class on Wednesday, August 20.

Sahin beat his rival Otar Tushishvili of Georgia 1-0 and 3-1.

Stadnik defeated Kazakhstan’s Leonid Spiridonov 1-0 and 2-0.

Updated: 2008-08-19 21:01:17

(BEIJING, August 19) — Men’s Freestyle Wrestling will continue on Wednesday, August 20 and produce one gold medal each in the 66 kilogram and 74 kilogram weight classes.

Men’s Freestyle 66kg

2008 European champion Ramazan Shahin of Turkey is one of the possible winners. The 25-year-old did fairly well in past two years, taking a bronze medal in the 2007 European Championship and a gold medal in the World Championship the same year.

Athens eighth place Serafim Barzakov of Bulgaria could fulfill his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal this time. The 33-year old veteran has been wrestling well internationally, taking one bronze each in the 2006 and 2007 European Championships. He also won the 2005 World Championship.

Geandry Garzón of Cuba also has a shot at the gold medal. He has been a medalist in three consecutive World Championships (2005, 2006 and 2007), including a silver medal in 2007.

Other medal candidates include 2007 World Championship bronze medalist Irbek Farniev of Russia, 2006 World Championship bronze medalist Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine and 2007 World Championships bronze medalist Otar Tushishvili of Georgia.

The qualification round will start at 9:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT 8), followed by a repechage round at 4:00 p.m. The bronze medal match will begin at 5:00 p.m., and the gold medal bout will kick off 20 minutes later.

Men’s Freestyle 74kg

The Beijing Olympic Games will be Russian legend Buvaysa Saytiev’s fourth Olympic journey. The 33-year-old won his first Olympic gold medal in this category in Atlanta and won his second in Athens. His recent major success was a gold medal in the 2006 European Championship.

Ibragim Aldatov of Ukraine is a raising star in this category. The 24-year-old won the 2006 World Championship and took a silver medal the following year.

Another possible winner is Athens bronze medalist Iván Fundora of Cuba. The 32-year-old veteran took another bronze medal in the 2007 World Championship. If he and Saytiev meet in the final, it will be one of the most exciting bouts in this tournament.

Other possible medalists are Athens silver medalist Arsen Gitinov of Kyrgyzstan, 2007 World Championships bronze medalist Chamsulvara Chamsulvarayev of Azerbaijan and 2006 World Championships bronze medalist Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan.

The qualification round will start at 9:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT 8), followed by a repechage round at 4:00 p.m. The bronze medal match will begin at 5:55 p.m., and the gold medal bout will begin 20 minutes later.

Updated: 2008-08-19 20:57:15

(BEIJING, August 19) — Wrestling powerhouse the United States had a gold drought in Beijing, taking only two bronze medals after Greco-Roman and Women’s Freestyle. This drought was ended on Tuesday, the first day of Men’s Freestyle Wrestling, thanks to young talent Henry Cejudo.

Henry Cejudo on the podium (Photo credit: Getty Images)

The 55 kilogram competitor Cejudo, 20, has won three Pan American Championships in a row (2006, 2007 and 2008). However, he hadn’t had much success in the more important international events, until Tuesday. After defeating Japan’s Matsunaga Tomohiro in the 55 kilogram final, Henry could not contain his joy.

“I feel like I am living the American dream,” he said after the final. “The US is the land of opportunities, and I am glad to represent it. Coming out of a Mexican-American background, it feels so good because not many Americans get to do something like this.”

Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria and Besik Kudukhov of Russia both took bronze in the 55kg class.

The 60kg final was a head to head clash between Athens 55kg champion Mavlet Batirov of Russia and reigning European champion Vasyl Fedoryshyn of Ukraine. Batirov converted to 60kg after Athens Triumph and found instant success in this new category. Twenty-seven-year-old Fedoryshyn is in his prime. He has won three European Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

(L-R): Vasyl Fedoryshyn, Mavlet Batirov, Yumoto Kenichi and Seyedmorad Mohammadi (Photo credit: Xinhua)

The final was close, but Batirov won it eventually two periods to no. “This is my second Olympic Gold medal. I won in Athens in the 55kg but I felt better in the 60kg here. It felt easier,” said Batirov after the medal ceremony. “When I said in Athens after winning that I dedicate my medal to my father, my mother joked that I have to dedicate my next one to her. So of course, I dedicate this Gold medal to her.”

Iran’s Seyedmorad Mohammadi and Japan’s Yumoto Kenichi took the bronze medals.

Updated: 2008-08-19 19:00:20

Mavlet Batirov of Russia (in blue) wrestles with Vasvl Fedoryshyn of Ukraine (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 19) — Favorite Mavlet Batirov of Russia claimed his second Olympic gold after defeating Vasyl Fedoryshyn of Ukraine for the Men’s Freestyle 60 kilogram Wrestling title on Tuesday, August 19.

Batirov finished on top in the 55kg category at Athens and then moved up to the 60kg weight class, winning the 2006 European Championship and 2007 World Championship in his new division.

Fedoryshyn, who finished a respectable fourth place at the 2004 Olympics, settled for silver this time.

Earlier the same day, the repechage round determined two bronze winners. Kenichi Yumoto of Japan beat Bazar Bazarguruev of Kyrgyzstan 1-0, 2-0 and Seyedmorad Mohammadi of Iran prevailed over Azerbaijan’s Zelimkhan Huseynov 2-0, 3-1.