Kiril Milov will fight for a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, after losing his semifinal bout in the category up to 97 kg classic style. The Bulgarian national team lost 5:7 to Kiril Maskevich from Belarus.
Milov started more actively and twice brought his opponent to the ground in the first half. After the break, however, Maskevich realized two moves, in the second he won more points and led 7:5. The Belarusian wrestler held on to his lead until the end and avenged his loss to Milov at the European Championship in Tirana.
Three wins on the way to the semifinals
The reigning European champion started the tournament with a resounding 10:0 victory over Vladlen Kozlyuk from Ukraine. In the next round, Milov faced Alex Soke from Hungary, whom he also met in the final of the European Championship, and won 3:2.
In the quarterfinals, the Bulgarian faced the representative of the hosts Islam Yevloyev. Milov took two points with a takedown in the first half, and then finished the fight with a takedown after 1 minute and 49 seconds.
The loss to Maskevich leaves Milov in the fight for honors. In his next bout, he will compete for the bronze medal in the 97 kg category.
Kubatov will also fight for bronze
Bulgaria has another chance for a medal in the program. Stoyan Kubatov will face Shiav Mamedov of Belarus in the third-place bout in the 77 kg category.
Kubatov reached the bronze medal match after three wins, but lost his semifinal to Alexandrin Gutsu of Moldova.
The other Bulgarian representative on the competition day, Dimitar Georgiev, was eliminated in the 72 kg category after a 3:7 defeat to Nestor Trujillo of Chile.
Sources: bta.bg