Brazil wins two wrestling bronzes in Russia
Gabriel Silva, in freestyle, and Joilson Júnior, in Greco-Roman, reached the podium at the 4th International Military Wrestling Tournament, held in Kyzyl from October 1 to 5
Brazilian wrestling came back from Russia with two medals. Gabriel Silva and Joilson Júnior won bronze at the 4th International Military Wrestling Tournament, held October 1-5 in Kyzyl, the capital of the Tuva Republic.
Silva, a third sergeant in the Brazilian Navy, reached the podium at 125 kg in freestyle. He opened with a win over the wrestler from Syria, lost in the quarterfinals to the one from Russia and, in the bronze-medal match, beat Armenia’s Martin Simonyan.
“It was 3 very tough matches in Kyzyl, Russia: a win against Syria, a loss in the quarterfinals to Russia and a win in the bronze-medal match against Armenia,” the athlete wrote on social media. “Thanks to God, to my team and, above all, to the Brazilian Navy for the chance to represent our country and live this moment.”
Joilson Júnior took bronze at 77 kg in Greco-Roman. In the match for the medal, the Niterói native beat Russia’s Narek Oganesyan, who was competing at home.
Who the medalists are
A São José Wrestling athlete, from São José dos Campos, Silva is coached by Nisdany Pérez, who was part of the delegation in Russia as coach. Earlier this year, he won silver at the South American Games in Santa Fe.
Joilson Júnior, 28, is one of the most experienced names in Brazilian Greco-Roman wrestling. He won silver at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, has been collecting medals at the Pan American Championships since 2017 and, this year, also reached the podium at the South American Games, with bronze.
The tournament in Kyzyl
The event had 12 weight classes across freestyle and Greco-Roman and featured names like Russia’s Artur Naifonov, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, according to the Brazilian site Olimpíada Todo Dia. Algeria, Armenia, North Korea, Iran and Russia were the countries that won gold medals.
Brazil also had two fifth-place finishes: Bryan Lucas de Oliveira, at 57 kg in freestyle, and Guilherme Evangelista, at 130 kg in Greco-Roman. Pedro Henrique de Souza and Matheus da Luz also competed.
What did you think of Brazil’s run in Russia? Leave your opinion in the comments.
