The Olympic champion from Paris 2024 Semen Novikov won a silver medal at the European Wrestling Championships in Bratislava, after losing the final to Hungarian David Lozonci in the 87 kg category with 3:4 points, dariknews.bg reported.
Novikov conceded the first two points in the opening seconds of the first half, and by the break he was already losing 0:4. The Bulgarian went to the bank after the break, but only reduced the score.
Lozonchi has been No. 1 in the world since 2023.
The two had two fights so far, in which the balance was tied.
Lozonchi defeated Novikov at the 2023 World Championships, and then Semen got his revenge at the Olympic Games.
In the semifinals, the Olympic champion prevailed over the Azerbaijani Islam Abbasov, a prizewinner at the European Championships, 5:3 in the 87 kg category in the classic style.
Ayek Mnatsakanyan remained in fifth place after losing to Moldovan Alexandru Solovei in the small final of the 77 kg category in the classic style.
Solovei broke Mnatsakanyan's nose in the first seconds of the fight and it was stopped repeatedly due to bleeding. The Moldovan won his first point by pushing the Bulgarian national, and the remaining two were awarded for passivity and disrespectful protest by Mnatsakanyan's camp for the final 1:3.