After the initial collar ties, Taylor went for the offense. He got on Sadulaev's leg and tried the lift but Sadulaev was swift to get out of the hold. Taylor continued his attack. That's the only way he knows wrestling. Taylor took another offensive shot and Sadulaev, with lessons from the previous attack, pressured forward to neutralize the attack and scored a go-behind for two. Sadulaev resorted to heavy snapdowns and Taylor wasn't able to defend the second one. Within two minutes, Sadulaev was up 4-0.
The speed and power was Sadulaev was impressively superior to that of Taylor who decided to change a little in the second period. He went for the far leg of Sadulaev. But Sadulaev was quick and spun behind Taylor and scored a takedown with less than two minutes left.
By this time, Ghasempour had finished his bout on the other mat. He defeated Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) 6-0 in a rather slow bout.
Sadulaev now had to defend his 5-0 lead. Taylor continued his aggressive approach and got on Sadulaev's right leg. What he did not expect was the quick counter from Sadulaev who pushed Taylor and scored an exposure for two. It was evident that Taylor could not match Sadulaev.
David TAYLOR (USA) in the warm-up hall after his bout against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) at 92kg in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)
"I did not score on the two times I shot and he did," Taylor said after the bout. "That was the difference. I needed to score on those two occasions."
Taylor and Sadulaev went to the warm-up hall but the former sat for more than 45 minutes in silence. He finally broke his silence and talked to the United States coaches after his leg attacks. After spending 30 more minutes gathering his thoughts, Taylor packed his bags and left.
On the training mats, Ghasempour and Sadulaev jogged before cooling down after their bouts. If both continue to win, they are expected to meet in the semifinals.
The match will be rather important for Taylor as well. He will hope for a Sadulaev win which will give him the chance to wrestle for the bronze medal.
"I expect him to make the finals and come back tomorrow," Taylor said. "I need to wrestle better that is my focus for now."
If he does wrestle Thursday, fans will only be treated to another blockbuster. A Ghasemoour-Taylor bout. The only downside will be that one will go home empty-handed.
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