Lara88.Bruin@ucla.edu
GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING
Roman Amoyan (pictured above) was victorious against his Cuban adversary in the 55-kilogram category for wrestling. He received the bronze medal.
After the first period, Amoyan already had a 3 to 0 lead against his Cuban opponent. After the second round, the score was 5 to 0, with Amoyan in the lead.
While being awarded his bronze medal, his eyes were filled with tears. Amoyan was the first wrestler to win a medal since the 1996 Olympic games, win which Armen Nazaryan was awarded the gold.
Two-time Olympic champion Armen Nazarian of Bulgaria, who was favored to win, was defeated by Vitaliy Rahimov of Azerbaijan for the 60-kilogram weight class.
“I didn’t expect to win this match, as he is an Olympic champion,” said Rahimov regarding his victory against Armen Nazarian during the quarterfinals.
While facing world 60-kg champion David Bedinadze of Georgia, Armen Nazarian of Bulgaria used a 3-point throw in order to defeat him. However, his luck ended there. Nazarian lost the next two matches with a combined score of 10 to 0.
Another Armenian athlete, Yuri Patrikeev (Pictured above), defeats his Swedish adversary, earning Team Armenia another bronze medal in wrestling.
During the quarterfinals, Patrikeev was dominating the match against his Cuban opponent, Mijain Lopez. However, Lopez won the match after scoring a pin-down, which ended the match. Lopez would go on to win the gold medal.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Tigran Varban Martirosyan (pictured in red) of Armenia won the bronze medal in the 85-kilogram grouping for weightlifting.
The gold and silver medals were awarded to the Chinese and Belarus weightlifters who both broke the world records in the 85-kg category.
Other wins included Gevorg Davtyan, in the 77-kilogram category, and Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan, in the 69-kilogram category, who were both awarded bronze.
Davtyan lifted a 165-kilogram in the snatch and also 195-kilogram in the Clean and Jerk, making it a whopping total of 360-kilograms.
After suffering a leg injury, Ara Khachatryan finished in 7th place since he was not able to participate in the second and third rounds of the Clean and Jerk.
BOXING
Hrachik Javakhyan became the first ever boxer to earn a medal for Armenia in boxing; the last known champion of the boxing competition during the 291st Olympic game was by Prince
Varastades of Armenia in the fourth century A.D.
After losing the semi-final match to World and European champion Alexei Tishchenko of Russia, Javakhyan receives the bronze medal.
The final score was 10 to 5, with Russian boxer Tishchenko in the lead.
ARMENIAN ATHLETES COMPETING FOR OTHER COUNTRIES
Arthur Ayvazian won the gold medal in the Men’s 50m Rifle Shooting event; however, he wasn’t on Team Armenia, but rather on Team Ukraine.
Another Armenian competitor on Team Ukraine, Armen Vardanyan, earned the bronze medal in the 66-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling event.
Other noteworthy Armenian athletes competing on different teams in the Olympics include Samvel Aslanyan of the Russian handball team, Oshin Sahakian of the Iranian basketball team, David Nalbandian on the Argentinean tennis team, and Biurakan Hakhverdyan of the Netherlands women’s water-polo team.
However, one Armenian athlete who participated in the Olympics made huge headlines when he dropped his bronze medal on the mat and walked away from it in disgust.
Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian (pictured above in blue) was favored to win gold. Conversely, due to “politics” in the Olympics, he was awarded the bronze medal in the 84-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling event.
While competing against Italy’s Andrea Minguzzi during the semifinal match, the referee made a dubious penalty call that decided the match. Abrahamian was so angry that he had to be restrained afterwards, until he stormed off backstage and slammed a door. His friends unremittingly tried to persuade him to compete for the bronze medal.
Once awarded the bronze medal, the 28-year-old Abrahamian walked off the medal stand and dropped the medal on the mat. This was considered disrespectful and the International Olympic Committee stripped him of the medal.
"It was felt that his behavior on the medal podium and during the medal ceremony was not appropriate," said Giselle Davies, a representative of IOC. "His behavior was not in the Olympic spirit of respect for his fellow athletes. Whatever grievances you may have, this was not the way to go about it."
Ara Abrahamian never expressed regret or offered an apology. He stated, "I think the semifinals shows that FILA does not play fair. I don't deserve to lose. The system is corrupt.
Leo Myllar, Abrahamian’s coach, was just as disappointed, saying, "It's all politics, and it's all corrupt."
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