LIVE BLOG: European C'ships (Day Two)
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - 09:26 By Eric Olanowski
WARSAW, Poland (April 20) --- We're live from Warsaw, Poland with the second day of freestyle action.
Tuesday's Schedule:
11:30 - Qualification round
16: 45 - Semifinals
18:00 - Finals
WATCH: European Championships
Returning freestyle champs in action Tuesday:
74kg - Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) (Lost in 1/8 final)
86kg - Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) (Made it to the 86kg finals)
125kg - Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) (Lost in qualification round)
17:45: That's a wrap for the semifinal session. The medal matches kick off at 18:00 (local time). We'll see you back here in 15 minutes, wrestling fans.
17:26: What a thriller! Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) scored a takedown with 8 seconds left to upset Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 3-2.
17:17: For a second consecutive match, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) erased a five-point deficit. In the quarterfinals, he upset '18 world silver medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), then just shocked Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 6-5. In addition to those two wins, he also scored a massive win over two-time world champion Frank CHAMIZO (ITA).
Semifinal Results:
61kg
GOLD - Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) vs. Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Eduard GRIGOREV (POL), 4-2
SEMIFINAL - Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) df. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), 5-3
74kg
GOLD - Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) vs. Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS, 6-5
SEMIFINAL - Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL) df. Valentin BORZIN (MDA), 5-0
86kg
GOLD - Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) vs. Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) df. Boris MAKOEV (SVK), 9-0|
SEMIFINAL - Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) df. Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 3-2
92kg
GOLD - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) vs. Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
SEMIFINAL - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 6-2
SEMIFINAL - Samuel SCHERRER (SUI) df. Hajy RAJABAU (BLR), 5-4
125kg
GOLD - Taha AKGUL (TUR) vs. Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Taha AKGUL (TUR) df. Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR), 4-0
SEMIFINAL - Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) df. Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 10-0
14: 50: The freestyle semifinals are set! We'll take a break until 16:45 and come back for the start of semifinal action. Then, we'll roll right into the Day 2 finals, which are expected to start at 18:00.
14:33: What a comeback! Salkazanov erased a five-point deficit against Kentchazde and moved into the 74kg semifinals.
14:19: Individual World Cup champion Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS) is coming up in two matches on Mat C.
14:10: Can Salkazanov keep his hot streak alive? He's coming off a massive win over two-time world champion Frank Chamizo and will take on '18 world silver medalist Avtandil Kentchazde next on Mat A.
13:53: Had to take a short break to get some photos up on Instagram, but we're back at it again. The quarterfinals are underway on Mat A & B. Mat C has two more 1/8 final matches and then will roll right into the quarterfinals.
13:32: That was short-lived! Naifonov scored nine unanswered points and moved into the quarterfinals with a 10-2 win over Magmedsaidov.
13:27: There's an upset brewing over on Mat B. Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE) leads two-time European champion Artur NAIFONOV (RUS), 2-1, with short time left in the first period.
13:14: Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) ends Chamizo's bid for a third straight European title. The Slovakian trailed 2-2 with 15 seconds left when he scored a takedown and a left-sided trap arm gut wrench to win, 6-2.
13:11: We have a close one going on on Mat B. Frank Chamizo trailed Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) but scored a takedown and leads 2-2 on criteria.
13:08: One of the three returning European champions that are in action today, Artur NAIFONOV (RUS), is coming up next on Mat B.
12:59: In his Serbian debut, Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) (formally known as Khetig TSABOLOV (RUS)) falls to world runner-up Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 10-7. Cabolov, the '14 world champion and '17 world runner-up, transferred after falling to Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS) in the '20 Russian National finals.
12:53: '19 world champion Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) is coming up on shortly on Mat A.
12:48: Four-time world medalist Ali SHABANAU (BLR) will take on Dzhemal ALI (BUL) in two matches on Mat A.
12:42: Gocen upsets world bronze medlaist Reichmuth, 5-4, and moves into the 86kg 1/8 round.
12:34: Swiss Olympian Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI) is taking on Osman GOCEN (TUR) on Mat B.
12:30: Daniel SARTAKOV (GER) found himself on the inactivity clock twice. On two separate occasions, he was in deep on a single let against Chamizo but was unable to finish. The Italian moves on with a 4-0 win.
12:26: Two-time world champion Frank Chamizo is wrestling now on Mat B.
12:14: It's going to take some time to get my feet back under me! I was so excited for that match that I lost focus on what else was going on!
12:09: Akgul back peddles and gives up the one point for fleeing the hold. That doesn't matter to him as he still commanded the five-point advantage. The Olympic champ hung on to win, 6-1.
12:08: Akgul stops another Petriashvili shot and leads 6-0. The reigning three-time world champion is starting to get frustrated.
12:07: Taha is on FIRE! He scored two first-period takedowns and heads into the second period leading 4-0.
12:06: Geno and Taha are up on Mat A!
11:54: We're still a while out, but Chamizo will be up in six matches on Mat B. He's the defending two-time European champion and is looking for his fifth overall continental gold.
11:30: All eyes will be on Mat A / Bout 70 as Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Taha AKGUL (TUR) will clash for what feels like the 100th time. Between the two, they've won every world or Olympic title since the ’14 World Championships and every continental gold medal since the ’12 European Championships.
Two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) will look to lock up his spot on Russia's Tokyo team. He can do so by outplacing 
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