Yaroslav Tsurkan (second right) is not only an athlete, but also an active coach // Photo: estcurier.md
Tsurkan was represented among veterans under the age of 40 (wrestlers become veterans at the age of 35) in the weight category up to 78 kg. In 1/8 finals the 38-year-old Moldavian athlete defeated Emin Eminov with the score 10:0. Tsurkan defeated Russian Valentin Gruzdev, who competed in a neutral status, in the 1/4 finals with the same advantage.
The duel with another representative of Russia – Eldar Gaidarov – ended with the defeat of the Moldovan athlete (1:12). Despite this, he was able to compete for one of the two bronze medals. The small final, in which he faced Japanese Shinsuke Miura, ended with a 7:0 victory for the native of Criuleni.
Kazakhstan’s Nurlan Bekzhanov became the world champion, while Gaidarov was the silver medalist. The second bronze medal, along with Tsurkan, was won by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Perkhalyuk.
Dmitry Malenkov, represented in the same age group, failed to defend his world title in the 70 kg weight category. In the semifinals he lost to Amandyk Bakeyev from Kazakhstan (1:5), and in the small final to Russian Ildus Giniyatullin (1:2).
In the team medal standings among veterans under 40 years old, the Moldovan national team takes ninth place among 20 participating countries. The leading group consists of the USA, Kazakhstan and Hungary.
The World Championship in Olympic wrestling among veterans ends on October 12.
