15.04.2019
Turkey achieved historic success with a total of 16 medals at the European Wrestling Championships in Bucharest, Romania. The haul included seven medals in freestyle, four medals in women’s, and five medals in the Greco-Roman discipline.
At last year’s European Wrestling Championships in Kaspiysk, Dagestan, Russia, the Turkish team won five gold and bronze medals.
Female wrestlers complete the podium
Yasemin Adar became the final woman to win gold on day four of the 2019 European Wrestling Championships in Bucharest. Adan, the 2018 World Championship silver medallist, defeated Austria’s Martina Kuenz (AUT), 6-1, using an arm spin and four-point throw to win her fourth consecutive European title.
In the women’s 50kg, Evin Demirhan beat Azerbaijan’s Turkan Nasırova 10-3 to bag a bronze, while Bediha Gün (55kg) and Elif Jale Yeşilırmak (59 kg) will also leave Romania with bronze medals after respective wins secured their place on the podium.
Freestyle Men ranked second
Turkey's Olympic champion Taha Akgul won his third consecutive European title and seventh continental championship overall with a staggering 7-0 win over a vulnerable Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the 125kg category. The Georgian wrestler had his left knee heavily taped and was limited in what he could do in the gold-medal bout.
Akgul, the 2016 Olympic champion, dominated the final with a pair of takedowns, a leg lace and a brutality point, and cruised past his biggest rival for the second consecutive time in a European final.
In the 57kg category, Süleyman Atlı came out on top with an 8-3 win over Russia’s Musliv Sadulaev in the gold medal match. The gold rush continued as Mustafa Kaya defeated Azerbaijani’s Aghahuseyn Mustafayev 6-2 in the in 70kg final.
However, Selahattin Kılıçsallayan was beaten in the 65kg Freestyle final after losing to Azerbaijani Haji Aliyev.
Turkey also had three bronze medallists as Recep Topal (61kg), Muhammet Nuri Kotanoğlu (79kg) and Fatih Erdin (86kg) earned their places on the podium.
Second place for Turkey’s Greco-Roman wrestlers
Turkey’s Riza Kayaalp wrote his name into the Turkish wrestling history books on Saturday night by winning his ninth European title. Kayaalp entered the night tied with Hamza Yerlikaya on eight European titles, but surpassed Yerlikaya with his day six win at the Polyvalent Hall in Bucharest, Romania.
In his 130kg gold-medal bout, Kayaalp scored three points from a step-out and a takedown to defeat Iakobi Kajaia (GEO), 3-0.
On the final day of the Championships, Atakan Yüksel beat Polish Gevorg Sahakyan 5-1 to win his first European title in the 67kg category.
Cengiz Arslan lost to Russian Abuizad Mantsigov 2-1 the final of the in 72kg event ensuring another silver medal for Turkey. Kerem Kamal (60kg) and Emrah Kuş (82kg) also added bronze medals to Turkey’s European Championships success.