Russian women suffer day of Wrestling shocks
Baku, June 15, AZERTAC
There will be at least two new names entering the Wrestling history books after Russia suffered three surprise defeats in the semi-finals on day one of the women’s Freestyle at the Heydar Aliyev Arena.
The world championship silver medallist Irina Ologonova had a two-point lead over Poland's Katarzyna Krawczyk with seconds to go in her 55kg semi final, but the Pole threw her to win a place in the final against Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson.
There was an even bigger surprise in the 48kg class, when Bulgarian Elitsa Yankova rallied from six points down to defeat Russia’s Valentina Islamova Brik, and she leapt into the arms of her coach when the bout ended.
Finally, in the 69kg, the Israeli Ilana Kratysh beat Natalia Vorobeva, the third defeated Russian who many had tipped for gold.
The sole Russian to progress, Svetlana Lipatova, will face Marianna Sastin in the 60kg final tonight in the Heydar Aliyev Arena. If the Hungarian should win, Mondays' Freestyle competition could see four nations which have previously never won a championship taking gold at the European Games.
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