The World Championship is over for Greco-Roman wrestlers. After arriving in Armenia three-time world, four-time European and Olympic champion Artur Aleksanyan told about his performances injury and future plans.
“To tell the truth I’m slightly disappointed. I was in good shape. In the previous championships where I won I didn’t feel so good. Everybody saw I won my main rivals. During the bout with the Turk wrestler I got injured. After it I spent two more bouts. In the semifinal the injury repeated and the next day I wasn’t able to continue performing. Half an hour before the final match I still wanted to wrestle. There were doctors that did the injections but the pain didn’t subside at all. If it were up to me I would participate even in that condition. My coaches and the doctors decided retain me because there was a danger I would make the injure worse. My main purpose was to obtain an Olympic qualification. Now I’ll pass a medical examination, recover and fully prepare for Tokyo 2020,” the Olympic champion told Epikentron.
The Armenia team returned to homeland with 2 medals. Slavik Galstyan won a world bronze medal and Artur Aleksanyan (97 kg) - a silver one. Aleksanyan missed the final match because of a rib fracture.