Armenian wrestler wins silver at European Games in Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s Greco-Roman wrestler Mihran Harutyunyan has brought the first medal to his team at the European Games being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Armenia Now reports.

The 26-year-old athlete performing in the 66-kg weight division lost to Russia’s Artyom Surkov in the final and was awarded a silver medal.

Another Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler, Maxim Manukyan, was left without a medal as he lost to a Turkish competitor in the 85-kg division bronze medal bout.

Earlier in the competition, Manukyan beat Azerbaijan’s wrestler Saman Takhmasebi 9-0.

Armenia’s Freestyle wrestlers are due to engage in the competition on June 17.

All in all, Team Armenia consists of 25 athletes competing in six sports (sambo martial arts, shooting, judo, wrestling, boxing, and taekwondo) at the Games that will be held through June 28.

Performances of Armenian athletes are taking place under heavy psychological pressure from the stands, reflecting the hostile relations that exist between Armenia and Azerbaijan due to the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Armenian delegation heard booing and hissing from the Olympic Stadium in Baku during the athletes’ parade when the Games were ceremonially launched on Friday, June 12.

Russia’s ethnic Armenian wrestler Stepan Maryanyan, who won a gold medal in the 59-kg Greco-Roman final on Saturday and also beat an Azerbaijani rival on the way to his victory, spoke about “pressure in the hall” as he talked to international media after the competition.

The National Olympic Committee of Armenia made the decision to send athletes to Baku after representatives of the International and European Olympic committees as well as the government of Azerbaijan provided security guarantees for them.

Some leading athletes, including world wrestling champions Arsen Julfalakyan and Artur Alexanyan, decided to skip the Games, officially explaining their decisions by the need to train for the world championships due in September.

Many in Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora have also criticized the country’s sporting community for its decision to send athletes to the Games that are widely viewed as a means for Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime to promote its international image.