The silver medal does not belong to me. That is why I removed it from my chest, said Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medalist, four-time world champion, and seven-time European champion Artur Aleksanyan in an interview with NEWS.am Sport from Paris.
On August 8, during the final of the Greco-Roman wrestling 97 kg category at the Paris Olympic Games, the victory was awarded to Iranian wrestler Mohammad Hadi Saravi, the bronze medalist of the Tokyo Olympic Games, world champion, two-time bronze medalist, and champion of the Asian Games and Asian Championships, with a score of 4-1, under biased refereeing conditions. Artur Aleksanyan received his second Olympic silver medal. After the award ceremony, the Olympic champion removed the silver medal.
"Everyone is asking why I removed the medal from my chest. It’s because that medal does not belong to me. The silver medal from the Paris Olympic Games does not belong to me. That is the reason," Artur Aleksanyan explained. In an interview with NEWS.am Sport from Paris, Armenia's Greco-Roman wrestling head coach Armen Babalyan mentioned that an appeal process has been initiated regarding the refereeing in the final match involving Artur Aleksanyan. According to the coach, in the second period, Saravi stepped out of the competition zone with both feet while attempting a move, in which case the point should have been awarded to Artur Aleksanyan. However, after the challenge, the chief referee did not register the out-of-bounds situation. The Armenian team, including Artur Aleksanyan, is currently in the Olympic capital and will return to Armenia on August 12.
Lusine Shahbazyan
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