Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler Kazybek Kalmagambetov has advanced to the final of the under-20 (U20) World Championships in the 67 kg weight class in Slovakia, reports infohub.kz.
On Wednesday evening, the Kazakh will compete for gold against Belarusian Mikhail Markovsky. Kalmagambetov began his path to the final with a victory over German Sebastian Wagner – 9:0. He then defeated American Emrin Brian Nutter by judges' decision – 1:1. In the quarterfinals, Kazybek got past Egyptian Mohamed Hassan Ahmed Mohamed Abdelrehim – 4:1. And in the semifinals, he edged out Petro Zhytovoz, competing under the Hungarian flag, with a score of 7:5.
Kalmagambetov's teammate Marlan Bakaev, competing in the 72 kg category, will fight for a bronze medal through repechage bouts in the evening. Our Greco-Roman wrestlers Yerassyl Musan (55 kg) and Maxim Ukraintsev (97 kg) did not qualify for medal contention.
Earlier, Yerkebulan Anapiya (77 kg) lost the bronze medal match to Iranian Amir Mahdi Mohammad Saeedi Nave – 3:5.
The world championship, held under the auspices of the International Wrestling Federation (UWW) in the Slovak capital, features about 700 young athletes from around the globe. They will compete for 120 medals in three wrestling styles: Greco-Roman, freestyle, and women's wrestling.
Kazakhstan is represented in Bratislava by 30 athletes – 20 men and 10 women.
The tournament concludes on August 23.