TIRANA – Armenia’s Greco-Roman wrestler Hayk Khloyan, who had never previously placed on the podium, won the gold medal in the 97kg class at the U23 World Championship by defeating Paris Olympian Abubakar Khaslakhanau (AIN) 11-6 in the final.
Before the World Championships, Khloyan had finished 14th and fifth in previous competitions. However, on Tuesday, none of that mattered as he built an impressive 7-0 lead over Khaslakhanau. Khloyan secured the first par terre advantage and, to everyone’s surprise, managed to turn Khaslakhanau three times, extending his lead. Khaslakhanau had his opportunity in the second period but failed to score a single turn.
Earlier, Shant Khachatryan won the silver medal in the 72kg class after losing 3-1 to Giorgi Chkhikvadze of Georgia in the gold medal bout.
97kg Class
GOLD: Hayk Khloyan (ARM) def. Abubakar Khaslakhanau (AIN), 11-6
BRONZE: Shayan Habibzare (IRI) def. Richard Karelson (EST), 8-5
BRONZE: Magomed Murtazaliev (AIN) def. Anton Vieweg (GER), 11-0
72kg Class
GOLD: Giorgi Chkhikvadze (GEO) def. Shant Khachatryan (ARM), 3-1
BRONZE: Imran Aliev (AIN) def. Adilkhan Nurlanbekov (KGZ), 11-1
BRONZE: Danial Sohrabi (IRI) def. Georgios Barbanos (SWE), 9-0
