BUCHAREST (June 22) – Islam ABBASOV (AZE) on Wednesday avenged a loss last summer to junior world champ Ali CENGIZ (TUR) and claimed the European junior championships crown for the third year in a row.

“I knew he was going to be tough because I lost to him last year,” said Abbasov said after his win in the gold medal final at 84kg. “So I just wanted to be competitive throughout the match and wrestle my style.”

The 20-year-old student shook off an early penalty point in the final and rallied with a go-behind to bearhug takedown and then a gut wrench to secure a 6-1 victory over Cengiz.

“I never felt like I was in trouble during the bout – even when I was down a point.  I knew I would have a chance to score some points some place and I was happy to see the referee raise his hand with the points for me.”

The three-time continental champion also indicated that he would not sit on his laurels for long.

“I need more and more hard training, and harder training” Abbasov said, as he looks ahead to the junior world championships in September – and, perhaps, even a trip to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, reigning junior world champs Ramaz ZOIDZE (66kg) and Zviadi PATARIDZE (120kg) came through with gold medals as defending champion Georgia ran away with a repeat title in the classic style.

Zoidze started slow but opened up against 2015 European runner-up Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) in the second period with his trademark snap and go-behind and then back exposure for a sudden 5-0 lead on his way to a technical fall and his first continental crown as a junior.

Pataridze, who the Georgian coaches call their “Young Lion,” pounced on Nikolai IZMAILOV (RUS) early in their final and dragged his opponent to the mat with a headlock and then stalked his prey the remainder of the bout for his sixth straight age-group championship title.

In Wednesday evening’s first gold medal final, Nofal BABAEV (AZE) took advantage of a second chance to wrestle in the 55kg final and fashioned a 4-2 victory over Zhora ABOVYAN (UKR) for his second European junior crown.

In the 55kg semifinals, Babaev appeared to have lost to Teodor HORATAO (ROU) on criteria at the final whistle. Matside officials, however, noticed that two points for the local favorite had been tallied incorrectly, meaning the win belonged to Babaev instead.

Results of Wednesday’s Finals & Final Team Rankings

Greco-Roman

55kg (19 entries)
Gold – Nofal BABAEV (AZE) df. Zhora ABOVYAN (UKR), 4-2 
Bronze – Artur PETROSYAN (RUS) df. Ararat MANUCHARYAN (ARM), 2-1
Bronze – Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) df. Teodor HORATAO (ROU) by TF, 9-1, 2:24

Semifinal – Zhora ABOVYAN (UKR) df. Ararat MANUCHARYAN (ARM), 2-1 
Semifinal – Nofal BABAEV (AZE) df. Teodor HORATAO (ROU), 6-6

66kg (26 entries)
Gold – Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) by TF, 10-0, 4:21 
Bronze – Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) df. Valeriu TODEREANU (MDA) by TF, 10-0, 4:25 
Bronze – Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL) df. Murat FIRAT (TUR), 2-1

Semifinal – Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 7-7
Semifinal – Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL) by TF, 8-0, 0:26

84kg (22 entries)
Gold – Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Ali CENGIZ (TUR), 6-1
Bronze – Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) df. Arian GUENEY (GER), 4-3
Bronze – Vladislav KULPA (RUS) df. Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) by Fall, 4:29 (4-0)

Semifinal – Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) by TF, 11-2, 3:21
Semifinal – Ali CENGIZ (TUR) df. Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO), 5-2

120kg (13 entries)
Gold – Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) df. Nikolai IZMAILOV (RUS), 5-0 
Bronze – Pavel RUDAKOV (BLR) df. Artur VITITIN (EST), 6-0 
Bronze – Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) df. Leonard BEREI (ROU) by TF, 9-0, 1:48

Semifinal – Nikolai IZMAILOV (RUS) df. Pavel RUDAKOV (BLR), 9-2
Semifinal – Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) df. Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 5-0

Final Team Scores (Top Six)
1. Georgia, 62 points (3 gold medals, 2 silver, 1 bronze) 
2. Russia, 50 (1-1-2)
3. Azerbaijan, 48 (3-1-1)
4. Ukraine, 47 (0-3-1)
5. Turkey, 43 (0-1-3)
6. Armenia, 32 (0-0-1