Four-time European champion and four-time World Championships bronze medalist Arsen Harutyunyan opened his campaign at the World Freestyle Wrestling Championships with a 10-0 victory.
In the qualification round, the Armenian wrestler faced Derek Garcia, representing Mexico, and secured an early victory, Factor.am reports.
With this convincing win, 26-year-old Harutyunyan advanced to the round of 16. His next opponent will be Zelimkhan Abakarov, a 33-year-old Dagestan-born wrestler competing under the Albanian flag.
Armenia’s other representative, European champion, two-time European Championships silver medalist and World Championships bronze medalist Arman Andreasyan, will enter the competition directly in the round of 16.
The Armenian athlete, competing in the 70 kg weight category, will face Turkey’s Ferhat Kilic in his opening bout.
On October 30, Armenian national team member Vazgen Tevanyan, who competes in the 65 kg category, will also take to the mat at the World Championships.
Tevanyan has already achieved a historic milestone in his sporting career by reaching the World Championships final for the first time. The Armenian wrestler will face American Bo Bassett for the gold medal and the world championship title.
Armenia’s national freestyle wrestling team is competing at the World Championships in Astana with six athletes. The team’s other three representatives — Manvel Khndzrtsyan in the 57 kg category, Narek Harutyunyan at 74 kg and Hrayr Alikhanyan at 79 kg — will begin their campaigns on October 31.
