Dream clash in final of 54-kg Greco-Roman

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Sydney: The two favourites for the under 54-kg category in the Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Sydney Olympics eased through their semi-final encounters on Monday evening.

Kwon Ho Sim of South Korea, the Atlanta Olympic champion, and Lazaro Rivas of Cuba, the reigning world champion, set up the dream final for Tuesday night.

Sim faced Yong Gyun Kang in an all-Korean semi-final that he dominated from the start. Showing the form that carried him to the Olympic crown and two world titles, in 1995 and 1998, Sim quickly racked up the points with a series of turnovers on the ground.

He opened up a 10-0 gap to Kang and according to wrestling rules Sim was awarded the bout on technical superiority. He was then followed into the final by Rivas, who also beat his Ukrainian opponent Andriy Kalashnikov 10-0 to record a technical superiority victory.

In the under 97kgs semi-finals the 20-year-old rookie, Garrett Lowney of the US, finally bowed out after a stunning baptism in the international arena. Lowney wasn't even expected to win the American trials, but caused a few more ripples on Sunday when he knocked out the five-times world champion, Gogui Koguouachvili of Russia.

The final was just one step too far, though, as Lowney was outclassed 8-1 by the experienced Swede, Mikael Ljunberg.

The Australian crowd was also treated to its first sight of the great Russian three-time Olympic and nine-time world champion, Alexandre Kareline. He looked a little sluggish in his opening bout in the under 130-kg category, squeezing past Serguey Moreyko of Bulgaria 3-0.

But he was back to his best in his next bout against Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary, securing the quickest possible victory by a fall, pinning both his opponent's shoulders to the mat.



(c) Reuters Limited.