Paris Preview: Kyrgyzstan’s Sharshenbekov seeks third-straight gold at 60 kg in Greco-Roman

Leading the charge as the top seed at 60 kg is Zholaman Sharshenbekov of Kyrgyzstan, the two-time reigning World Champion. He has collected four Senior World medals and was seventh the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The No. 2 seed is Liguo Cao of China, who earned his country’s spot in Paris by securing a bronze medal at the 2023 Senior World Championships.

The most experienced wrestler in the group is the No. 3 seed Victor Ciobanu of Moldova. This will be Ciobanu’s second Olympic Games, adding to his extensive list of World Championship tournaments. He has competed at 12 age-group World tournaments and nine Senior World tournaments, claiming three medals. Ciobanu qualified through the European Olympic Games Qualifier following an eighth-place finish in Belgrade.

No. 4 seed Kenichiro Fumita of Japan adds a layer of depth to the competition as an Olympic silver medalist and two-time World champion. Mehdi Mohsen Nejad of Iran, seeded fifth, will be on the same side of the bracket as Fumita and Sharshenbekov, as will No. 8 seed Razvan Arnaut of Romania.

Uzbekistan’s Islomjon Bakhramov, seeded sixth, is a returning World bronze medalist. No. 7 seed Raiber Jose Rodriguez Oroczo of Venezuela was a Tokyo Olympian and is the reigning Pan American champion.

Abdelkarim Fergat of Algeria brings the total of past Olympians in the field to five. Egypt’s Moamen Ahmed Rabie Mohamed is the only athlete entered in the weight that has not yet competed at a Senior World Championships.

Also entered to compete are Kevin DeArmas Rodriguez of Cuba, Enes Basar of Turkey, Aidos Sultangali of Kazakhstan, Seung Ri of North Korea, Murad Mammadov of Azerbaijan, Georgi Tibilov of Serbia, Enes Basar of Turkey, and IOC Refugee team entry Jamal Valizadeh.

60 kg GR Seeded Wrestlers

No. 1 Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
No. 2 Liguo CAO (CHN)
No. 3 Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
No. 4 Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
No. 5 Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
No. 6 Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
No. 7 Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)
No. 8 Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)

60 kg GR Olympians (to be drawn in)

Abdelkarim Fergat (ALG)

Murad Mammadov (AZE)

Kevin De Armas (CUB)

Moamen Mohamed (EGY)

Jamal Valizadeh (EOR)

Aidos Sultangali (KAZ)

Se Ung Ri (PRK)

Georgij Tibilov (SRB)

Enes Basar (TUR)

(Local Paris time, six hours ahead of U.S. time zone)

Monday, August 5, 2024

3:00 p.m. - Round of 16 and Quarterfinals - Men’s Greco-Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

9:00 p.m. - Semifinals - Men’s Greco Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

11:00 a.m. - Repechage Men’s Greco Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg

11:30 a.m. - Round of 16 and Quarterfinals - Men’s Greco-Roman 77-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 50 kg.

6:15 p.m. - Semifinals - Men’s Greco-Roman 77-97 kg and Women’s Freestyle 50 kg

7:15 p.m. - Medal Rounds in Men’s Greco Roman 60-130 kg and Women’s Freestyle 68 kg