Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler Olzhas Syrlybay has kept his chances of winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Astana. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In the 130 kg weight category, Olzhas Syrlybay lost to Iran's Fardin Hedayat by technical superiority – 0:8 in the 1/8 finals. However, Hedayat continued his winning streak and reached the final, thanks to which the Kazakhstani earned the right to compete in the consolation bracket.
Tomorrow, on October 26, Syrlybay will first face Lithuania's Romas Fridrikas. If he wins, his next opponent will be China's Jiang Wenhao. The winner of this bout will earn the right to fight for bronze against Finland's Elias Kuosmanen, who lost to Hedayat in the semifinals.
Islam Evloev (97 kg) started the home World Championships successfully. In his first match, he defeated Egypt's Mohamed Gabr – 5:1, and then in the 1/8 finals he overcame Lithuania's Mindaugas Venckaitis – 4:0.
In the quarterfinals, the Kazakhstani lost to two-time world vice-champion and three-time European champion Kiril Milov of Bulgaria. Milov won early, finishing the bout after 1 minute 49 seconds.
For Evloev to continue wrestling, the Bulgarian needed to reach the final. However, in the semifinals, Milov, leading 5:0, lost to Belarus's Kiryl Maskevich – 5:7. As a result, the Kazakhstani ended his performance.
In the 72 kg category, Almatbek Amanbek defeated Croatia's Pavel Puklavec early in the 1/8 finals. In the quarterfinals, the Kazakhstani lost to Georgia's Iuri Lomadze – 3:6.
Lomadze then lost his semifinal to Hungary's István Váncza at 3:3 on additional criteria. Since the Georgian did not reach the final, Amanbek did not get a place in the consolation bracket and finished the World Championships.
Thus, out of the three Kazakhstanis who started today, October 25, in the new weight categories, only Syrlybay continues the fight for a medal.
The first two medals of the home World Championships for our team were won by Iskhar Kurbaev (55 kg) and Aidos Sultangali (60 kg). They won bronze medals.
The World Wrestling Championships are being held in Astana at the Barys Arena from October 24 to November 1, with the participation of almost 900 athletes from about 100 countries. Kazakhstan is hosting the adult world championship for the first time since 2019. Our team is represented by a full roster of 30 athletes.