Ryu Hansu Fails to Reach Olympic Quarterfinals... Korean Wrestling Faces No-Medal Crisis

Likely No Olympic Medals for the First Time Since the 1976 Montreal Games

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ryu Han-su (33, Samsung Life Insurance) was eliminated from the quarterfinals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On the 3rd, at the Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, Japan, he lost 6-7 to Egypt's Muhammad El-Sayed in the Round of 16 of the men's Greco-Roman 67kg wrestling category.

The throw he conceded just 20 seconds into the first period was painful. After that, he gave up 2 more points due to ground techniques, falling behind 0-6. Ryu Han-su showed a completely different performance in the second period. With about 1 minute and 20 seconds remaining, he scored 2 points with a tackle. Soon after, he succeeded in another tackle, and since his opponent's challenge was rejected, he closed the gap to 4 points (3-7). Ryu continued to press El-Sayed. With 16 seconds left, he succeeded in another tackle, narrowing the score to 6-7. However, there was not enough time to overturn the match.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The possibility of a medal still remains. If El-Sayed reaches the final, Ryu will be granted a chance to enter the repechage and compete for a bronze medal. If this opportunity is lost, Korean wrestling will finish the Olympics without a medal for the first time since the 1976 Montreal Games. The wrestling team suffered a COVID-19 outbreak after departing for international competitions in March, causing disruptions to their schedule and limiting them to securing only two spots for this tournament. The other spot holder, Kim Min-seok (28, Ulsan Nam-gu Office) in the men's Greco-Roman 130kg category, was eliminated in the first round on the 1st.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.