The victory over the American in the end and the demarche of the Ukrainian at the awarding ceremony: Usmanov and Sidakov became world champions in wrestling

Two finals on the same day

The third competitive day of the World Wrestling Championship promised to be much more successful for the Russians than the previous one. If on the eve of domestic fans were content with one silver won by freestyle wrestler Abasgadzhi Magomedov, then on Monday they were waiting for two finals at once.

In the weight category up to 74 kg, Zaurbek Sidakov had excellent chances for the final victory. Despite the fact that the athlete is only 27 years old, he managed to win all possible awards, including two gold medals of the world championships and, most importantly, the highest award of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. In Belgrade, he was eager to become a three-time world champion.

The path to the decisive confrontation turned out to be difficult for the athlete. In the preliminary round, he barely broke the resistance of Avtandil Kentchadze - 7:6. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Khetik Tsabolov, a native of North Ossetia, performing under the flag of Serbia - 6:4. Moreover, even the dissection of the eyebrow did not prevent him from winning. Finally, in the semifinals, Zaurbek defeated Turan Bayramov. In the fight for gold, he was waiting for an extremely difficult confrontation with one of the strongest wrestlers in this weight, Kyle Dake, a four-time world champion in both 74 and 79 kg.

And in the category up to 79 kg, Akhmed Usmanov unexpectedly reached the decisive fight, for whom the current World Cup turned out to be his debut in his career. But he had a victory at the World Cup in 2020. The Russian arrived in Serbia in excellent condition and alternately knocked out Akhmad Magomedov, Mor Sakhyn, two-time World Cup silver medalist Mohammad Nokhodi and Orkhan Abasov from the fight. In the final, the native of Dagestan met with the representative of Georgia Vladimir Gamkrelidze, the champion of the planet among youth.

Usmanov's exemplary fight

It was Usmanov who was the first to take to the mat and managed to please the country. Moreover, he tactically competently held the meeting, as if it was not the first time he fought at this level. The beginning turned out to be quite cautious. Athletes did not seek to take risks and did not give up the center. At the same time, they "loaded" each other's shoulders. It was obvious that sooner or later the judge would be forced to intervene due to the lack of attempts to go forward. He recognized the Georgian as less active. He was given 30 seconds to attack. Nothing could be done, and the Russian earned the most important point.

And at the beginning of the second period, Ahmed made a fateful beautiful pass to the legs, for which he received two more. Even though the gap in the score remained small, the opponent found himself in a difficult situation, because it was difficult to restore balance in such a fight.

Gamkrelidze was forced to rush forward in the hope of making a move, but the opponent defended amazingly and did not allow anything. So, when trying to get to the legs, he competently left the grip and clamped the head of his counterpart. And soon Vladimir made a fatal blot, giving the domestic wrestler to free his hand from the grip and get another point.

Half a minute before the end, it was difficult to count on a comeback, and the Georgian limited himself only to soaking the score, pushing his opponent out of the mat. But there was no time left for salvation. Thus, Usmanov in many ways unexpectedly won gold at the World Championships in the non-Olympic discipline up to 79 kg and brought the national team a debut award of the highest standard in the tournament. After the fight, he did not hide his emotions.

"You never know if there will be another chance in life or not, you have to win. The national team did not have a single gold medal before my final, so there was a special responsibility. Two days ago it was my birthday - I wanted to give myself the gold of the World Cup. And he gave it. I want to dedicate this success to my mother and brothers, they believed in me so much, waited so much. My mother is combative, a strong woman in spirit, many thanks to her, her name is Pineusat, "R-Sport quotes the athlete.

Unfortunately, the award ceremony was not without a fly in the ointment. Ukrainian Vasily Mikhailov, who took bronze, refused to be photographed next to Usmanov on the pedestal. As a result, Ahmed limited himself to a joint shot with two other prize-winners.

Sidakov's incredible duel

Sidakov and Dake were the last to take to the mat. As expected, their meeting was a real decoration of the tournament. The first half turned out to be quite neat. Athletes did not seek to take risks and did not rush forward. However, Kyle quickly took a break due to a slight injury to his ear. In turn, the Russian appeared with a bandage on his head, which he took off during the break. In it, he allowed his opponent to open the scoring. The American was given 30 seconds to attack, and he quickly pushed the Russian over the mat.

In the second three minutes, the situation was repeated, but this time Sidakov benefited the most. He not only held a reception, but also received an additional point for an attack that was not realized by the opponent - 3:1.

Further events developed rapidly. Soon, Dake himself walked to his feet and restored the status quo. However, Sidakov had enough time ahead of him, and he was not going to give up. Kyle, on the other hand, pulled him, again resorting to the help of doctors. But this did not save him from a fateful rapprochement less than a minute before the end. The domestic wrestler turned his counterpart twice and, it seemed, secured a comfortable lead.

However, the judges decided to revive the intrigue. Firstly, they also counted one coup to the representative of the United States, and secondly, they approved the challenge of his team and added two more points to him - 7:8. Kyle spent the remaining half a minute in desperate attacks, because even a draw made him the champion of the last action. But Zaurbek bravely withstood the pressure. Nevertheless, the representatives of the American did not give up and after the end of the fight they took another challenge. But the referees took the side of the native of Beslan - 10:7.

The athlete himself, becoming the champion of the planet for the third time in his career, dedicated his success to his father, who died a few months ago.

"There's a lot to say. God was on my side today. Probably, I deserved this victory more than anyone else. I dedicate it to my late father. He would be very happy. And my mother, who was very worried. Thanks to everyone who was nearby... I believed to the last that we would be allowed to participate in this tournament, I did not give up and went to this. Thank God, everything worked out. I will train even harder, "Match TV quotes the athlete.

He also admitted that Dake did not shake his hand at the end of the meeting, thereby showing disrespect. But this hardly upset the triumphant.

Meanwhile, two victories on the same day of competition allowed the Russian team to dramatically improve its position in the medal standings. Now she occupies the second position, second only to the US national team, which has three awards of the highest standard and six in total.

Uguev's defeat and Sadulayev's injury

Another medal could be brought to the national team by Zaur Uguev. In the quarterfinals, the reigning Olympic champion sensationally lost to Stevan Mičić in the last seconds. However, the Russian simply had no right not to get to the fights for bronze. There, ironically, fellow countryman Zelimkhan Abakarov, representing Albania, was waiting for him.

At first, everything went well for the favorite. He, in the style of Usmanov, earned a point for the lack of activity on the part of the opponent, and then held a reception. Moreover, the gap soon increased to four points. However, the ending turned out to be discouraging. 40 seconds before the finish line, his counterpart not only made a hold, but also knocked Uguev back, for which he earned a total of 4 points. Zaur had time left, but he failed to get ahead, and Abakarov was recognized as the winner in the last action. The Russian also had to hold an additional fight with Kazakhstan's Meirambek Kartbay for an Olympic license, but at the decisive moment he still pulled himself together and won.

Unfortunately, the day was not without another unfortunate failure. Moreover, the misfire was made by the one from whom it was least expected. The legendary Abdulrashid Sadulayev came to Serbia as a two-time Olympic champion. It seemed that no one was able to prevent him from winning gold at the World Cup for the sixth time. However, in the semifinals, the Russian sensationally suffered the first defeat in his career in six years. Moreover, he lost to Ahmed Tazhudinov, who plays for Bahrain, a graduate of the Sadulayev school - 2:9. As it turned out, the cause of the failure was a serious injury. Because of it, he will most likely not fight for bronze.

"Abdulrashid has a hernia in his cervical vertebra, a huge bump, it's painful. Due to the character of the winner, he won the previous fight in the quarterfinals. And in the semifinals, I just couldn't fight normally. Most likely, Abdulrashid will not be able to perform tomorrow and will complete his performances, "Match TV quotes the coach of the Russian freestyle wrestling team Makhmud Magomedov.