Ukraine's wrestling team concluded its campaign at the U20 World Championship in Bratislava (Slovakia) with five medals across three disciplines. The final day of the world championship was dedicated to freestyle wrestling, which earned the "blue-and-yellow" two bronze medals. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing a statement from the Ukrainian Wrestling Association. At the award ceremony, held on a stage under the auspices of United World Wrestling (UWW) with the support of the Slovak Ministry of Transport, Construction and Sport, Ukrainian wrestlers climbed to the third step of the podium.
Bronze Final in Bratislava
The competitive program of the U20 World Championship was closed out by freestyle wrestlers, who added two bronze medals to the national team's tally. Thus, the Ukrainian juniors finished the tournament with an overall result of five medals, distributed across three wrestling disciplines. The award submission and the ceremony were carried out against the official UWW backdrop featuring the logos of the tournament's organizers and sponsors in Bratislava.
Ivan Zalisko: From Junior Titles to World Bronze
In the up to 74 kg weight category, Ivan Zalisko won the bronze medal of the World Championship. For this wrestler, the award was a logical continuation of a successful junior career: he had previously become the U15 European champion and a silver medalist at the U17 European Championship. Thus, Zalisko added a bronze from the world championship in his age group to his European titles and podium finishes.
Bohdan Alekseenko: Confirmation of a European Vice-Champion's Level
Third place on the podium in the up to 79 kg weight category was taken by Bohdan Alekseenko. This year he had already demonstrated a high level, becoming the vice-champion of the U20 European Championship. The bronze at the World Championship in Bratislava confirmed his status as one of the leaders of Ukrainian freestyle wrestling in the junior category and allowed him to finish the season with two significant international awards.
The Result for the Ukrainian Team
In total, at the U20 World Championship in Bratislava, the Ukrainian team won five medals across three wrestling disciplines. Two of them were earned on the final day of the tournament in freestyle wrestling by Zalisko and Alekseenko. The result confirms the steady presence of Ukrainian juniors in the world top-3 in wrestling and builds the talent pool for the senior teams in the coming cycles.
