site.btaAmaev Wins Second Medal for Bulgaria at European Wrestling Championships

Abu Muslim Amaev won a second medal for Bulgaria at the 2024 European Wrestling Championships in Bucharest after defeating Norway's Morten Thoresen in the third-place match in the men's Greco-Roman 67 kg event on Wednesday.

Amaev earned most of his points from the par terre position in the first part and defended successfully in the second part, which enabled him to win the match and earn the bronze medal.

On Tuesday, another member of the Bulgarian men's team, Edmond Nazaryan, won the bronze in the Greco-Roman 63 kg category.

The 67 kg category is new for Amaev, but early in the European Championships he scored 25 points by beating Shon Nadorgin (Israel) and Kristupas Sleiva (Lithuania). In the quarter-finals Amaev lost to Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijan) 4-13, who then prevailed over Thoresen in the semi-finals. This brought Amaev to a repechage, in which he beat Sebastian Nad (Serbia) and qualified for the third-place match.

In the repechage system, wrestlers who lose in the pre-quarterfinals or later are given a chance to revive themselves in the competition and compete for a bronze medal or a third-place match. The idea is that a worthy wrestler should not be penalized just because they were paired with another strong wrestler very early in the draw.