ZRENJANIN – Members of Armenia’s U23 freestyle wrestling team won one gold and three bronze medals at the U23 European Wrestling Championships currently taking place in Zrenjanin, Serbia.
Armenia finished third in the overall team standings.
Among Armenia’s representatives, Levik Mikayelyan (61 kg) claimed the gold medal, while Arman Harutyunyan (57 kg), Davit Margaryan (70 kg), and Khachatur Khachatryan (125 kg) each earned bronze medals.
In the 61 kg final, Mikayelyan faced Azerbaijan’s Jeyhun Allahverdiyev and secured a 2–1 victory, winning the U23 European championship title for the second time in his career. On his path to the final, Mikayelyan defeated Vasile Marcu of Moldova (4–1) and Bulgaria’s Erdal Galip (1–1), and then overcame Turkey’s Tolga Ozbek in the semifinals.
In the 125 kg category, Khachatur Khachatryan competed for bronze against Belarusian wrestler Stsiapan Mandryk and secured victory in just 40 seconds, earning the U23 European bronze medal for the second time in his career.
Another Armenian wrestler, Knyaz Iboyan (92 kg), also competed for bronze but lost to Russia’s Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov.
Nineteen-year-old Arman Harutyunyan initially lost his opening bout to Russia’s Ayandar Ondar. After Ondar advanced to the final, Harutyunyan gained a chance to compete in the repechage round, where he defeated Ukraine’s Mykola Bratov by 16–5. In the bronze-medal match, Harutyunyan secured a dominant 10–0 victory over Belarus’s Artyom Pavlyuchenko.
In the 70 kg division, Davit Margaryan defeated Germany’s Marcel Wagin 5–3 to claim bronze. Earlier in the tournament, Margaryan lost to Russia’s Magomed Yeltemirov, but later won his repechage bout against Italy’s Daniele Giubiotti 11–4.
In the 65 kg category, Armenia’s Arman Musikyan also fought for bronze but narrowly lost 6–4 to Azerbaijan’s Musa Agayev, conceding the decisive points just three seconds before the end of the match. Earlier in the competition, Musikyan pinned Hungary’s Zoltan Mizsei in the opening round and defeated Switzerland’s Sandro Hungerbühler in the quarterfinals before losing 9–6 in the semifinals to Belarus’s Magomedkhan Magomedkhanov.
