Abdulrashid Sadulaev Returns to European Stage with Gold

Abdulrashid Sadulaev made a triumphant return to the European stage, claiming a title as neutral athletes from Russia dominated the opening day of the European Wrestling Championships' freestyle competition. They secured four out of five gold medals, though their results do not contribute to the official medal standings. This leaves the battle for first place between Ukraine, currently leading with six gold medals, and Azerbaijan, who has three and four finalists competing on Sunday.

Bulgaria now stands alone in sixth place in the overall standings, following Ahmed Magamaev's bronze medal win today in the 97 kg category.

Sadulaev had been absent from European Championships for six years due to various reasons, most recently visa issues stemming from the conflict in Ukraine and sports federation regulations. The Russian returned to action this week in Tirana, winning his first two bouts by technical superiority. He then conceded his first points of the tournament but still defeated Magamaev. In the final, he was decisive, overcoming Slovakia's Batyrbek Tsakulov 14:3 to earn his first European gold since Rome 2020. Sadulaev is also a two-time Olympic champion from Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Magamaev and Givi Macharashvili (Georgia) shared the bronze medals in the category.

The dominance of neutral athletes from Russia in freestyle wrestling culminated with Sadulaev's victory. It began at 65 kg with Bashir Magomedov, who defeated home representative Islam Dudaev by technical superiority. Vazgen Tevanyan (Armenia) and Islam Huseynov (Belarus) took the bronze medals. David Baev continued the streak at 70 kg, winning 2:1 against Moldova's Alexandr Gaidarli, with Ismail Musukaev (Hungary) and Akaki Kemerterlidze (Georgia) also medaling. Akhmed Usmanov secured the third gold, triumphing 4:2 over Belarusian Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov at 79 kg, where Jabrail Gadzhiev (Azerbaijan) and Zelimkhan Khadjiev (France) finished third.

However, the day started with a title for Islam Bazarganov at 57 kg, who defeated neutral athlete Musa Mekhtikhanov 8:6, keeping Azerbaijan's hopes alive for an outright first-place finish. The bout was not easy; Bazarganov scored eight points in the first period, while the Russian fought back with six in the second, but couldn't equalize. Manvel Khndzrtsyan (Armenia) and Aryan Tsiutryn (Belarus) claimed the bronze medals.