ROC's Zavur Uguev seals victory in men's wrestling freestyle 57kg

ROC’s Zavur Uguev continued his impressive form in international wrestling by defeating India's Kumar Ravi 7-4 in a thrilling final of the men's freestyle 57kg at Tokyo 2020.

The two-time world champion, who was making his Olympic debut, attacked from the start at the Makuhari Messe Hall. He was soon up 2-0 but Ravi, who was battling to win the first Olympic gold medal in wrestling for his country, quickly equalized before Uguev finished the first period 4-2.

The ROC athlete dominated the early stages of the second period and was up 5-2 but 23-year-old Ravi, who is a two-time Asian Champion, kept battling and managed to claw back two points before Uguev closed out the bout 7-4.

“It was hard, that was one of the important things. During the match, I was concentrating solely on my opponent, the match and the strategy," said Uguev. "During all these years, I’ve trained for and waited for this moment. I did my best.” On his future in the sport, the 26-year-old added: “I am still young. I will get prepared and train for the next Olympic Games.”

On the road to the gold medal, Uguev had also beaten in the semifinal the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Reza Atrinagharchi 8-3, and in earlier rounds Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev 6-6 and USA’s Thomas Gilman 5-4.

Gilman went on to win a bronze medal after beating Atrinagharchi 9-1. The second bronze was won by Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev who sealed a 5-1 victory over Bulgaria’s Georgi Vangelov.