Turkey's Akgul comes second in World Wrestling C'ships

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish wrestler Taha Akgul won silver medal in the World Wrestling Championships after Saturday's loss against Georgia's Geno Petriashvili in men's freestyle 125 kg final.

Akgul, 28, lost the final in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan with a 6-6 tie over Petriashvili.

Akgul had the 6-4 lead against Petriashvili but the Georgian athlete earned the advantage points in the last few seconds to level the match at Barys Arena.

Despite the 6-6 tie, 25-year-old Petriashvili became the world champion in Nur-Sultan.

Meanwhile, Akgul had to return home with silver medal.

The World Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan will run through Sept. 22.

Petriashvili won the World Wrestling Championships three times in a row as he previously became the world no. 1 in Paris (2017) and Budapest (2018).

The 2016 Summer Olympics gold medalist, Akgul had back-to-back world titles, Tashkent (2014) and Las Vegas (2015).

Akgul was decorated with silver medal in Paris as Petriashvili beat him in the 2017 final to get his maiden world title.

Even though Akgul lost Saturday's final in Nur-Sultan, he has already booked his place in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.