OLYMPICS – Three of Bahrain’s top medal hopefuls at the Paris 2024 Olympics are in action today in wrestling and weightlifting.
On the penultimate day of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, reigning freestyle wrestling world champion Akhmed Tazhudinov, former weightlifting world champion Lesman Paredes, and last year’s world championships bronze-medallist Gor Minasyan, are all set to fly the kingdom’s flag in their respective events.
Tazhudinov will be hitting the mat at Champs-de-Mars Arena in the men’s 97kg category competition. Paredes will be aiming for gold at South Paris Arena 6 in the men’s 102kg division, and Minasyan will go for his Olympic title in the men’s over-102kg class.
The trio, who are all making their debut Olympic appearances for Bahrain, are amongst the biggest names in their sports and are highly touted to be amongst some of the leading contenders for podium places.
Paredes and Minasyan are also making history as the kingdom’s first-ever lifters at any Olympics.
Tazhudinov will be first to compete today, with his competition scheduled to get underway at 12noon, Bahrain time. The 21-year-old will be wrestling in his round-of-16 match against Amirali Azarpira of Iran, who is a former under-23 world champion.
The winner of their contest will move on to the last eight where they will face the victor of the contest between Alisher Yergali of Kazakhstan and Mostafa Elders of Egypt. The medal matches, should Tazhudinov advance, will be held tomorrow.
In other matches in the opening stage, Arturo Silot Torres of Cuba takes on Erik Sven Thiele of Germany, Tokyo 2021 silver-medallist Kyle Snyder of the US faces Awusayiman Habila of China, Murazi McHedlidze of Ukraine faces Ibrahim Ciftci of Turkey, Givi Matcharashvili of Georgia takes on Nicolaas Johannes de Lange of South Africa, Radu Lefter of Moldova faces Zbigniew Mateusz Baranowski of Poland, and Magomedkhan Magomedov of Azerbaijan faces Luis Miguel Perez Sosa of the Dominican Republic.
“I am ready for this challenge,” Tazhudinov told the Bahrain Combat Sports Council. “It will be difficult, but not impossible.
“I have prepared according to the plan we have put in place for all physical, mental, and technical aspects.
“I have great ambition to achieve positive results. I am confident with my preparations and I promise everyone that I will do my best.”
Tazhudinov is set to become only the second wrestler from Bahrain to ever compete at the Olympics, following in the footsteps of countryman Adam Batirov, who suited up for the national team at the Rio 2016 Games in Brazil. At last year’s world championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Tazhudinov defeated former Magomedov to claim his world title, and will now be aiming to add an Olympic crown to his career achievements.
Meanwhile, Paredes will be in action from 12.30pm, Bahrain time, in his weightlifting 102kg division. The 28-year-old is one of 13 lifters in his class, who will be battling in the snatch as well as clean and jerk portions of their weight category.
The others in his event are Garik Karapetyan of Armenia, Irakli Chkheidze of Georgia, Davranbek Hasanbayev of Turkmenistan, Huanhua Liu of China, Ahmed Abuzriba of Libya, Don Opeloge of Samoa, Wes Kitts of the US, Faris Ibrahim Elbakh of Qatar, Yeonhak Jang of South Korea, Akbar Djuraev of Uzbekistan, Ramiro Mora Romero of the Refugee Olympic Team, and Yauheni Tsikhantsou, who is an individual neutral athlete.
Paredes claimed a world title and Asian championship gold medal competing in the men’s 96kg division for Bahrain, both in 2022.
Minasyan will only compete starting at 9.30pm in the weightlifting over-102kg division. The 29-year-old is part of a 12-lifter field. The others are Mart Seim of Estonia, Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia, Varazdat Lalayan of Armenia, Ali Ammar Yusur Rubaiawi of Iraq, Eishiro Murakami of Japan, Walid Bidani of Algeria, Kamil Kucera of Czechia, Ali Davoudi of Iran, Man Asaad of Syria, Abdelrahman Abdelaziz Elsayed of Egypt, and David Liti of New Zealand.
Minasyan won a bronze medal for the kingdom in last year’s world championships in Riyadh and a silver in 2022. He is also the reigning Asian Games champion and was back-to-back Asian champions in 2022 and 2023, before winning silver in the continental competition this year. He claimed all those accolades in the over-109kg category.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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