China's Tuo Erbatu (right) celebrates after defeating Iran's Ali Reza Ayat Ollah Nejati during their men's 63kg category Greek-Roman bronze medal final at the Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Sept 12, 2022. (PREDRAG MILOSAVLJEVIC / XINHUA)
BELGRADE – Chinese wrestler Erbatu Tuo took a bronze in the men's 63kg category here on Monday, the first medal for China at the 2022 Wrestling World Championships.
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The 2019 Asian champion outperformed Iran's Ali Reza Ayat Ollah Nejati 4-1 for the medal, while the other 63kg bronze went to Azerbaijan's Taleh Mammadov, a two-time European silver medalist who won his first world medal at age 33.
China's wrestling team, which has been away from the World Championships for three years, currently ranks 12th with 31 points
Following Serbian compatriots Zurabi Datunashvili and Ali Feizollah Arsalan's victories on Sunday in 87kg and 72kg respectively, Sebastian Nad defeated Leri Abuladze of Georgia 3-1 in the final to claim the 63kg gold.
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Another Serbian wrestler Mate Nemes overpowered Tokyo Olympic champion Mohamadreza Geraei from Iran in the 67kg category, winning 5-4.
Artur Aleksanyan, Olympic champion from Armenia, swept away Kiril Milov, world silver medalist from Bulgaria, 5-1 for the 82kg title, while Burhan Akbudak from Turkey defeated Jalgasbay Berdimuratov 7-6 to bag the 97kg gold.
China's Tuo Erbatu (right) celebrates after defeating Iran's Ali Reza Ayat Ollah Nejati during their men's 63kg category Greek-Roman bronze medal final at the Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Sept 12, 2022. (PREDRAG MILOSAVLJEVIC / XINHUA)
Serbia leads the national ranking at the World Wrestling Championships with 110 points, followed by Azerbaijan (85) and Turkey (82). China's wrestling team, which has been away from the World Championships for three years, currently ranks 12th with 31 points.
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The competition in Belgrade, which takes place from September 10 to 18, gathers over 800 wrestlers in men's Greco-Roman and men's and women's freestyle.
