We continue to look at all weight categories of the Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling. Last time we discussed wrestlers in the category up to 67 kg, and now we’ll look at wrestlers up to 77 kg.
Among the Armenians in this weight category at the Olympic Games will be Malkhas AMOYAN (Armenia), Aram VARDANYAN (Uzbekistan) and Hayk MNATSAKANYAN (Bulgaria).
There are several interesting and strong athletes in this weight category, but we have identified three main favorites who, in our opinion, have the greatest chance of winning at the Olympic Games in Paris - Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (Kyrgyzstan), Malkhas AMOYAN (Armenia) and Nao KUSAKA ( Japan).
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (Kyrgyzstan) The main favorite for Olympic gold in his weight category. He is a world champion and current vice-champion at the Tokyo Olympics, having dominated the world championships with his wrestling for several years now. Recently, at the Asian Championships, he suffered a sensational defeat in the final from the Japanese Nao Kusake with a score of 4:2. This event changed the situation a little in his weight class, drawing attention to the Japanese wrestler. However, earlier at the World Championship, Akzhol defeated Kusake in the semifinals with a score of 7:5, so this did not affect Akzhol’s favorite status.
Malkhas AMOYAN (Armenia) Armenian talent, three-time European champion and world bronze medalist. He has dominated Europe for several years now, but his success at the World Championships has been less consistent. Two years ago, Malkhas moved to the weight category up to 77 kg and during this time he twice won bronze medals at the world championships. At the last world tournament, he was defeated by Azerbaijani Sanan Suleymanov, whom he had previously defeated at the European Championships. Malkhas has high technical training and physical strength. Considering his achievements in recent years, he can be considered a favorite at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
Nao KUSAKA (Japan) is a 23-year-old strongman who is already considered a favorite for Olympic gold. He is an Asian champion and a bronze medalist at the World Championships. This year, Nao has already won the competition twice, which confirms his readiness for the Olympic Games. At the last tournament in Hungary, he defeated world vice-champion Sanan Suleymanov, who has been showing inconsistent results this year, including a defeat at the European Championships.
W/c composition up to 77kg at the Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (Kyrgyzstan) - Vice-champion of the Tokyo Olympic Games, two-time world champion and three-time Asian champion
Malkhas AMOYAN (Armenia) - Three-time European champion and two-time bronze medalist of the World Championship
Nao KUSAKA (Japan) - Asian Champion and World Championship bronze medalist
Sanan SULEIMANOV (Azerbaijan) - Two-time world vice-champion, two-time bronze medalist of the European Championship
Aram VARDANYAN (Uzbekistan) - Two-time bronze medalist of the Asian Championship and vice-world champion.
Yosvani PENA (Cuba) - Three-time Pan-American champion
Jair CUERO (Colombia) - Pan-American Champion
Sergey KUTUZOV (AIN, Russia) - Vice-world champion
Hayk MNATSAKANYAN (Bulgaria) - Two-time world and European bronze medalist
Levay Zoltan (Hungary) - Vice-world champion
Abdelkrim OANKALI (Algeria)
Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (Egypt)
Burhan AKBULAK (Türkiye) - World and European Champion
Jonny SARKKINEN (Finland) -
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (Kazakhstan)
Amin KAVIANI (Iran)