Wrestling Day 8 Preview: Final show of Wrestling

  2008-08-20 13:14:59 GMT    2008-08-20 21:14:59 (Beijing Time)    BOCOG

  (BEIJING, August 20) -- The last day of Olympic Wrestling will produce one gold medal each in Men's Freestyle 84 kilogram, 96 kilogram and 120 kilogram weight classes.

  Men's Freestyle 84kg

  Georgy Ketoev of Russia is a rising start in this category. The 22-year-old became the world champion in 2007 and won the following 2007 and 2008 European Championships. He was also crowned in three consecutive World Cup series (2006, 2007 and 2008).

  Ketoev's best match-up would be Yusup Abdusalomov of Tajikistan who finished ninth in Athens. The 30-year-old took a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships and a bronze medal in the 2008 Asian Championship.

  Revazi Mindorashvili of Georgia also has a shot at the gold medal. The 32-year old veteran finished 13th in Athens after which he won the 2005 World Championship. He also took a silver medal in the 2006 World Championship and 2008 European Championship.

  Other possible medalists include 2005 European champion Taras Danko of Ukraine, two-time Olympian and Athens silver medalist Gennadiy Laliyev of Kazakhstan and 2006 Asian Games champion Reza Yazdani of Iran.

  The qualification round will start at 9:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +8), followed by a repechage round at 4:00 p.m. The bronze medal match will begin at 5:00 p.m., and the gold medal bout will kick off 20 minutes later.

  Men's Freestyle 96kg

  Daniel Cormier of the United States may become the winner of this class. The 29-year-old finished fourth in Athens and took a bronze medal in the 2007 World Championship.

  George Gogshelidze of Georgia is also favored to win. The 28-year-old is the reigning European champion. He also took a silver medal in the 2006 World Championships.

  Uzbekistan's Kurban Kurbanov could be another potential medalist. The 23-year-old just became Asian champion this year. He finished third in the 2007 World Championship.

  Other medal candidates are 2007 World Championship silver medalist Saeid Abrahimi of Iran, 2007 European champion Shirvani Muradov of Russia and 2007 Asian champion Aleksey Krupnyakov of Kyrgyzstan.

  The qualification round will start at 9:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +8), followed by a repechage round at 4:00 p.m. The bronze medal match will begin at 5:55 p.m., and the gold medal bout will kick off 20 minutes later.

  Men's Freestyle 120kg

  Two-time Olympian Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan is looking good going into his third Olympic journey. The 29-year-old defending champion won a gold medal in the 2006 World Championship and 2006 Asian Games.

  Another two-time Olympian, Mehmet Aydin Polatçi of Turkey, is going to compete for his first Olympic gold medal in Beijing. The 31-year-old was the world champion in 2005.

  Sydney gold medalist David Musulbes of Slovakia won the gold with Russia, but this year the 36-year-old is determined to grab Slovakia's first ever Olympic wrestling medal. He took a silver medal in the 2008 European Championship.

  Other potential medalists include 2007 junior world champion Bakhtiyar Akhmedov of Russia, 2006 Asian champion Marid Mutalimov of Kazakhstan and reigning Asian champion Fardin Masoumi of Iran.

  The qualification round will start at 9:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +8), followed by a repechage round at 4:00 p.m. The bronze medal match will begin at 6:50 p.m., and the gold medal bout will kick off 20 minutes later.