Armenian Wrestling Federation Appeals Arthur Aleksanyan's Final Match

The Armenian Wrestling Federation has filed an appeal regarding the final match of Greco-Roman wrestler Arthur Aleksanyan, who competes in the 98 kg weight class, at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. This was reported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.

In the finals of the 2024 Olympic Games, Aleksanyan faced Iranian Mohammadhadi Saravi, a bronze medalist from the Olympic Games, world and Asian champion, and winner of the Asian Games, and lost the match with a score of 1:4, earning a silver medal.

Arthur Aleksanyan, a gold, silver, and bronze medalist of the Olympic Games, four-time world champion, and seven-time European champion, expressed hope that justice will be restored.

“I came here for the gold medal, but you all saw what happened during my match. In one episode, the Iranian wrestler completely stepped out of the mat with both feet, and I told my coaches to file an appeal. In that case, one point should have been awarded to me, but instead, they gave two points to the Iranian wrestler, plus another point for the appeal. I am confident that that point should have been mine. There was no tension, as this was my third final and my fourth Olympic Games. It’s just that in such competitions, especially in the finals, even minor details can solve serious issues,” said Arthur Aleksanyan.

“Everyone is asking why I took off my medal. I did it for this reason. That point should have been mine, and the score should have been 2:1 in my favor,” Aleksanyan told reporters.

Nevertheless, Aleksanyan emphasized that he will continue his sports career, despite the disappointing biases and injustices: “Yes, I have been very disappointed by these injustices, but I will still remain in wrestling. Moreover, the biases were not just in my case. Slavik Galstyan had a clean victory, the referee recorded the victory, and he could have reached the final ensuring at least a silver medal, but today Slavik ended up without a medal because for various reasons the result of the match was changed. The same happened today with Arsen Harutyunyan. It feels like there was pressure against our team. I know that an appeal has been filed. I hope that justice will be restored,” Aleksanyan stated.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Karen Giloyan, who was following the Olympic Games in Paris, also mentioned that the government will join the appeal process. “We are waiting for a written response, which will be attached to the appeal of the Armenian National Olympic Committee and sent to the appropriate authorities. I assure you, we will try to restore justice,” said Deputy Minister Karen Giloyan.

It is noteworthy that at the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Aleksanyan triumphed early with a score of 9:0 against South Korean representative Sinjoon Kim. In the quarterfinals, the Armenian wrestler faced Uzbekistan’s Rustam Asakalov, a 40-year-old world runner-up, and secured a dramatic victory in the final seconds with a score of 9:5. In the semifinals, he had a brilliant victory against Cuban Gabriel Rusilio with a score of 5:3.

So far, Armenia has won 2 silver and 1 bronze medals at the 33rd Summer Olympic Games. Gymnast Arthur Davtyan has also become an Olympic runner-up, while Greco-Roman wrestler Malxas Amoyan has won a bronze medal.