The recent Greco-Roman wrestling European Junior Championships held in Bucharest was marred by an unsavory incident involving Azerbaijani wrestler Rahim Hasanov and Armenian athlete Karapet Manvelyan. In the quarter-finals, Hasanov lost to Manvelyan, who went on to win the competition.
After the match, as is customary, Manvelyan extended his hand for a congratulatory handshake. However, instead of reciprocating the gesture, Hasanov struck Manvelyan in the face. The act was captured on camera and quickly spread across social media platforms.
The incident resulted in immediate disqualification for Hasanov due to his unsportsmanlike behavior. If Manvelyan had won in the semi-finals, Hasanov could have competed for the bronze medal. However, due to his disqualification, the Azerbaijani wrestler lost the opportunity.
In the upcoming semi-finals, Manvelyan will face off against Turkish athlete Muhammet Emin Cakir. It remains to be seen if Manvelyan will be able to overcome this incident and maintain his focus on the competition.
This is the second incident of this sort to go viral recently. Previously a similar occurrence happened between folkstyle wrestlers in Ohio.