Kim Hyeon-Woo (KOR) and Roman Vaslov (RUS) battle during the 74kg finals of the World Championship Sunday night in Budapest. Kim outlasted fellow 2012 Olympic Champion Vaslov to earn the narrow 2-1 victory and the world title. Photo: T.R. Foley

Korea Dominates Last Day

Though they came up short in the team scoring the Korean Greco-Roman team made a statement on Sunday in Budapest, earning two gold medals in head-to-head matchups at 66kg and 74kg. Korea’s Ryu Han-Su(66kg) and Kim Hyeon-Woo(74kg) each wrestle Olympic Champions in their title bouts and came away victorious.

Facing a finals opponent is never easy, but for Korea's Ryu Han-Su the task was even more difficult. The young Korean wrestler was tasked with facing 2008 Olympic Champion Islambeka Albiev, a heavy-favorite coming into the finals.

The back-and-forth match saw Ryu pushing the pace on Albiev for much of the first period, with the duo eventually exchanging par-terre position. However, late int eh second periods, with the score 5-3 in favor of Ryu, Albiev was unable to take the correct starting position from top in par-terre and was disqualified.

“I am extremely happy,” said Ryu. “My enthusiasm lasted until the last second of the match, but I think that I won it on my mentality.

Ryu ended the match with a Gangnam Style dance on the mat with his coach, a move that inspired several in the crowd to join in the fun.

In an unexpected twist 2012 Olympic Champion Kim (66kg) faced 2012 Olympic Champion Roman Vlasov (74kg) in the finals at 74kg. Kim used constant pressure throughout the match to force Vaslov to pushback from the edge. While the Russian did well to avoid danger for the first four minutes, a late slip on the edge cost him the takedown and eventually the match.

“I am happy because I was able to beat an Olympic and European champion,” said Kim. “Now I have the gold medal! Next year I would like to win Asian Games and then I will concentrate on Rio.

Russia Wins Team Title

Though they dropped both their finals matches on Sunday, Team Russia had done enough over the previous two days of Greco competition to secure the team title by six points.  The Russians won one gold (96kg) and three silver (60kg, 66kg, 74kg) on way to their team title.

Korea earned two gold medals (66kg, 74kg), a silver (55kg) and a bronze (60kg) on the weekend.

Host Hungary turned in their best team performance since winning the title in 2005 – the last time the World Championships were held in Budapest.

Final Team Scores

Russia                   43
Korea                   37
Hungry                 31
Iran                       29
Armenia              28

India’s Continues Growth

India’s Tulsi Yadan Sandeep made history on Sunday night becoming the first wrestler from India to earn a world medal in Greco-Roman wreslting.

“I am extremely happy,” said Sandeep. “It was a difficult match … I think I have been wrestling to the required technical and physical level which is why I managed to win the bronze.”

Sandeep is the latest example of an Indian wrestling program that has been steadily increasing it’s medal count at Cadet, Junior and Senior level wrestling events. In 2010 Sushil Kumar became India’s first-ever World Champion. He’s also the country’s first-ever Olympic medalist, earning bronze in Beijing at 66kg and a silver in London.

More than 13k Fans Watch Sunday’s Finals

Sunday night’s finals drew more than 13,000 viewers on FILA’s LiveStream. The presentation averaged more than 4k viewers per mat at all time during the seven day event, with finals receiving a higher concentration of the viewership.

Iranian Aliakbari Avenges Loss, Wins Second Title

Amir Aziz Aliakbari helped Iran to a fourth place team finish on Sunday, earning the World Championship at 120kg. Facing 2012 Olympic silver medalist Heiki Nabi of Estonia, Aliakbari was barely challenged, finding four points in the first period, which proved enough to secure the win.

A 2010 World Champion at 96kg, Aliakbari recently completed a two-year probation for doping. After the decision he chose to seek citizenship in Azerbaijan but changed his mind after Iranian fans asked for him to return. Aliakbari had a tough road to eh finals, needing to avenge a University Nationals loss to Riza Kayaalp (TUR) 4-1 in the semifinals, to earn his chance for a second world title.

“A dream of mine has come true with this gold medal,” said Aliakbari. “This is the result of two years of hard work . Now I want to become Asia Champion in 2014 and Olympic Champion in 2016.

Fifteen Countries Earn Medals

Fifteen countries earned medals in Greco-Roman wrestling over the three days of the competition. Russia (4), Korea (4), Hungary (3), Armenia (3), Iran (2), Azerbaijan (2), Turkey (2), while Kazakhstan, Germany, Bulgaria, PR Korea, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Belarus and India all earned one medal.

T.R. Foley

FILA News Bureau