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Mocco qualifies for repechage; Hrovat eliminated; Cormier withdraws in freestyle wrestling |
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
08/21/2008 |
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BEIJING, CHINA - The final day of wrestling at the 2008 Olympic Games began on Thursday at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium.
Steve Mocco (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) won two matches and was defeated in the quarterfinals at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. However, because the opponent who defeated him later qualified for the gold-medal finals, Mocco was drawn into the repechage round, where he remains eligible for a bronze medal.
Mocco opened the tournament with a victory over Rajiv Tomer of India, 1-0, 3-0. Mocco scored a pushout in the first period, and added three second period takedowns to secure the win.
In his second match, Mocco defeated the massive Liang Lai of China, 1-0, 3-0. Mocco won the first period with a single leg takedown. In the second, Mocco scored two takedowns and a pushout for the victory. Liang towered over Mocco in height.
In the quarterfinals, Bakhtiyar Akhmedov of Russia defeated Mocco in three periods, 0-1, 1-0, 2-0. No takedowns were scored in regulation, as all three periods went to the leg clinch.
In the first period, Mocco won the ball selection and scored on a single leg takedown. In the second, Mocco again won the ball selection and secured the leg clinch. However, Akhmedov blocked his takedown attempt, grabbed Mocco’s leg and kept him from scoring, winning the point on defense. In the third and deciding period, Akhmedov won the ball selection, and scored the winning two-point takedown from the clinch.
When Akhmedov won his semifinal match over Marid Mutalimov of Kazakhstan, Mocco was drawn back into the repechage round, which begins at 4:00 p.m.
Mocco will face the winner of the first repechage match between Bozhidar Boyadzhiev of Bulgaria and Fardin Masoumi of Iran. If he wins that match, he moves on into a bronze medal match with Mutalimov.
Mocco is competing in his first Olympic Games. This is his first U.S. Senior team. He is originally from N. Bergen, N.J. He was a NCAA champion twice, winning once for Iowa and once for Oklahoma State Univ., and a four-time finalist. His sister Katie is a nationally ranked judo athlete. Mocco is a USOTC resident athlete.
Losing his first match and eliminated from medal contention is Andy Hrovat (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC) at 84 kg/185 lbs.
In the first bout, Reineris Salas of Cuba defeated Hrovat on a last second move in the deciding third period, 0-3, 3-1, 2-2. Hrovat won the first period by scoring three points from the leg clinch. In the second period, Salas had a three-point takedown with exposure for the edge. In the third period, Hrovat scored midway through the period for a 1-0 lead. In the final few seconds of the bout, Hrovat got a one-point takedown, then Salas scored a two-point counter exposure to tie it up at 2-2. Salas won the tiebreaker by having the highest value score, the two-point move.
When Salas was defeated in his next match by Serhat Balci of Turkey, Hrovat was eliminated. Only those who lose to gold-medal finalists are eligible for the repechage rounds.
Hrovat is competing in his first Olympic Games. He was a member of the 2006 U.S. World team. Hrovat is from Cleveland, Ohio, and was an All-American for the Univ. of Michigan. He is currently a strength and conditioning coach for the Univ. of Michigan. He is nicknamed “Silent H”
Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Sunkist Kids) withdrew from the competition at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. for medical reasons. The U.S. Olympic Committee released a statement concerning this on Thursday morning.
OLYMPIC GAMES
Men’s freestyle wrestling
At Beijing, China, August 21
Gold-medal final pairings
84 kg/185 lbs.
Yusup Abdusalomov (Tajikistan) vs. Revasi Mindorashvili (Georgia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs.
Taimuraz Tigiyev (Kazakhstan) vs. Shirvani Muradov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan) vs. Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia)
U.S. performances
84 kg/185 lbs. - Andy Hrovat (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC)
First match –Reineris Salas (Cuba) dec. Andy Hrovat (USA), 0-3, 3-1, 2-2
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Sunkist Kids)
Cormier withdrew from the competition
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Steve Mocco (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)
First match – Steve Mocco (USA) dec. Rajiv Tomer (India), 1-0, 3-0
Second match – Steve Mocco (USA) dec. Liang Lai (China), 1-0, 3-0
Quarterfinals – Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia) dec. Steve Mocco (USA), 0-1, 1-0, 2-0
Will face the winner of the repechage match between Bozhidar Boyadzhiev of Bulgaria and Fardin Masoumi of Iran
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