THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING — Revazi Mindorashvili of Georgia beat the Russian gold medal favourite in an emotional semifinal match Thursday, then rallied in the final to win the Olympic freestyle wrestling 84-kilogram championship.
Mindorashvili, the 2005 world champion, lost the first period of the final against Yusup Abdusalomov of Tajikstan 3-2 but came back to dominate the last two periods 3-0 and 4-0.
After the medal ceremony, Abdusalomov fainted in the mixed zone where reporters conduct brief post-match interviews. He tried several times to get up but couldn’t — possibly dehydrated — but shakily rose to his feet few minutes later, according to bystanders. He did not attend the medallists’ news conference.
Several hours earlier, Mindorashvili reversed a European championship loss in April to reigning world champion Georgy Ketoev of Russia with a 4-2, 7-3 decision, nearly causing him to break into a middle-of-the-match dance.
The disappointed Russian wouldn’t even shake his hand, though the two smiled at each other during the medal ceremony after Taras Danko of Ukraine and Ketoev took the bronzes.
Despite the hostilities between the two countries and Russia’s recent military intervention in Georgia, Russian fans in the China Agriculture University gymnasium stood politely during the Georgian national anthem.
Russian Shirvani Muradov won gold in the 96-kg division, while Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan repeated as the Olympic freestyle wrestling champion at 120 kilograms.
Without Ketoev, the 84-kg final featured two wrestlers who have long been contenders in major tournaments but had never gotten this far in an Olympics. In 2004, Abdusalomov was ninth and Mindorashvili was 13th in Athens.
Abdusalomov is 30, but his only previous high finish was a second in last year’s world championships.
In the 96-kg division, Muradov defeated Taimuraz Tigiyev of Kazakhstan 1-0, 1-0 for the gold medal.
The 23-year-old Muradov beat out 2004 Olympic champion and three-time reigning world champion Khadshimourad Gatsalov to make Russia’s Olympic team. Gatsalov had won every major world title since 2004.
The bronze medal winners were George Gogshelidze of Georgia and Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan.
In the 120-kg division, Taymazov denied Russia its seventh wrestling gold medal in Beijing, defeating Bakhityar Akhmedov 3-0, 1-0.
Taymazov joins Russia’s Mavlet Batirov (60 kg) and Buvaysa Saytiev (74 kg) as repeat freestyle gold medallists from Athens. Taymazov, 29, was also a silver medallist in 2000.
The bronze medallists were David Musulbes of Slovakia and Marid Mutalimov of Kazakhstan.
