| Glushkov and Baroev won gold at the World Championships The World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships ended in Paris, bringing the Russian team two gold medals. In the weight categories up to 74 kg and 120 kg, Alexey Glushkov and Khasan Baroev won champion titles for the first time in their careers. The results of the world championship completely coincided with the forecast made by the President of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili.
Surprisingly, the central match of the world championship was not the final duel at all, but the preliminary round bout between competition debutant Khasan Baroev and American Rulon Gardner. By knocking Gardner out of the fight for medals, the Russian proved that Karelin's defeat in Sydney was accidental. Three years after the Games, Baroev not only “took revenge” on Karelin’s offender, but also returned the championship title to Russia in the most prestigious weight category. By the way, in the final the young wrestler met with the Hungarian Mihaly Dick - in the past one of Karelin’s main rivals. Despite the difference in weight (Baroev is 10 kg lighter), the Russian won in overtime - 3:1.
Currently, Baroev lives and trains in Moscow, although he spent his childhood years in Tajikistan. There he became interested in the “classics”. But events in the republic forced Hassan’s parents to move to Vladikavkaz, where, as you know, almost every boy practices freestyle wrestling, less Greco-Roman. In such favorable conditions, the talent of the young athlete could not help but reveal itself. Russia received a worthy successor to the three-time Olympic champion.
The second Muscovite, this time a native, experienced Alexey Glushkov, received the right to go to the championship thanks to his excellent athletic form. Let us remind you that Olympic champion Vartares Samurgashev is also competing for this weight in the national team. In the final, Glushkov faced Konstantin Schneider from Germany, whom the Russian technically won - 3:0.
With their victories, Baroev and Glushkov secured two places for Russia at the upcoming Olympics. Alexander Bezruchkin (96 kg) added another ticket to Athens, for whom, however, the Paris start did not bring any medals. The remaining members of the team - Oleg Nemchenko (55 kg), Nikolay Baraban (60 kg), Sergey Kuntarev (66 kg) and Alexey Mishin (84 kg) - did not bring Russia any awards or Olympic licenses. And if such results are excusable for championship debutants Baraban, who replaced the experienced Alexey Shevtsov at the last moment, and Kuntarev, then Nemchenko and Mishin simply had to fight and win.
The results of the championship put the Russian “classics” in a difficult situation: so far only three athletes are going to the Games in Greece. True, the missing four licenses can still be won: there are three major tournaments ahead, including the next continental championship. Olga ERMOLINA |
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