Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Hayk Khloyan defeated Russian Olympic and two-time world champion Musa Evloev 3:2 in the 97 kg Round of 16 on Tuesday, June 30, at the Benur Pashayan International Memorial Tournament, held at Yerevan’s Dynamo Sports Hall from June 30 to July 1. For both wrestlers, it was their first match of the competition.
The bout was extremely tense. With 18 seconds left, Evloev committed a violation, and after a video review the referees awarded Khloyan two points to seal the 3:2 win. The Under-23 world champion now advances to the quarterfinals of the home tournament.
Evloev is one of the main rivals of Armenian Olympic, four-time world and seven-time European champion Artur Aleksanyan, who was in attendance watching Khloyan’s major victory. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Evloev defeated Aleksanyan 5:1 in the 97 kg final under ambiguous refereeing conditions.
The bout also marked Evloev’s return to competition after time away from the international stage. He missed the 2024 Paris Olympics after being barred from the qualifying tournament.
The competition also features 2024 European silver medalist Magomed Murtazaliev, 2024 European champion Artyom Delyan, 2022 European silver medalist Arvi Savolainen, Under-23 world and European champion Giorgi Chkhikvadze, and 2021 World Championship bronze medalist Arkadiusz Ku?ynycz.
