Artur Aleksanyan celebrates his win after defeating Cenk Ildem
Armenia’s Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion Artur Aleksanyan, a Greco-Roman wrestler, lived up to his reputation at the 2020 European Wrestling Championships, where he was once again victorious.
In the 1/8 final of the 214 lbs category, the Olympic champion beat Turkish wrestler Cenk Ildem 7 to 1. During the match, Ilden was seen, more than once, provoking Aleksanyan by hitting him with his head. The Turkish wrestler’s provocations caused a frenzy, leading to an intervention by a referee. As a result of his actions, Ildem was reprimanded for being rude and two points were added to Aleksanyan’s score.
In the quarter final, Aleksanyan beat world and European vice-champion, Bulgarian wrestler Kiril Milov 9 to 0.
In the semi-final for the 214 lbs category, Aleksanyan beat European bronze medalist, Finland’s representative Mati Elias Kuosmanen 8 to 1.
Artur Aleksanyan beat Mati Elias Kuosmanen in the 2020 European Wrestling Championships semi-finals
On February 12, the Olympic champion will attempt to gain the 5th European gold medal in his career. During the final, Aleksanyan’s opponent will be Italy’s representative Nikolos Kakhelashvili.
Armenia’s representative in the 132 lbs category, Gevorg Gharibyan, has also made it to the final of the European Wrestling Championships. During the semi-final, he beat Estonian wrestler Hillary Maygisalu 8 to 0 and will be competing for gold with Turkish wrestler Kerem Kamal.
The finals of the first day of the competitions will take place on February 11. Vice-champion of the European Games, European bronze medalist Karapet Chalyan will compete for the bronze medal in the 170 lbs category. On February 10, the Armenian wrestler was defeated by Azerbaijani wrestler Sanan Suleymanov 0 to 3 during the semi-final. In the fight for the bronze medal, Chalyan will compete with two-time Olympic champion Armen Nazaryan’s student, Bulgaria’s representative Hayk Mnatsakanyan.