Astana, 30 October. Kazakh freestyle wrestler Asyl Aitakyn lost his semi-final at the home world championships in the 61 kg class to Iran’s Ahmad Javan, number two in the United World Wrestling ranking, 1:3, and will fight for bronze on 31 October, Airpress reports.
Before the semi-final Aitakyn won three bouts: against Kyrgyzstan’s Omurbek Asan uulu 4:0, Azerbaijan’s Nuraddin Novruzov 5:4 with winning points seconds from the end, and Germany’s Horst Lehr 8:1. The same day Kazakhstan’s Dastanbek went out without a medal, while in women’s wrestling Zeinep Bayanova won bronze. Medal bouts at 61 kg start on 31 October at 18:00 Astana time.
The evening’s main bout was won by American Kyle Snyder: at 97 kg he became a five-time world champion, coming back from 0:4 against Japan’s Arash Yoshida with 41 seconds left. Two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia, who lost to Snyder in the quarter-final, took bronze; his defeat ended Kazakhstan’s Rizabek Aitmukhan’s chances of repechage.
What it means: On the seventh day of the home championships Kazakhstan has a real chance of a freestyle medal, but gold in this weight is already out of reach.
Who benefits: The Kazakh team gains a chance of a medal in front of home fans. Astana hosts a world-class tournament with almost 900 participants from around 100 countries.
Background: The World Championships in all wrestling styles are being held at Barys Arena from 24 October to 1 November; Kazakhstan is hosting the senior world championships for the second time after 2019. In wrestling two bronze medals are awarded: wrestlers who lost to the finalists enter the repechage.
