UPDATE - Turkish wrestlers win gold in European championship

UPDATES WITH VICTORY OF TAHA AKGUL; REVISED HEADLINE, DECK

By Halil İbrahim Avsar

KASPIYSK, Russia (AA) - Turkish wrestler Soner Demirtas won the gold medal in European Wrestling Championship after beating his French counterpart Zelimkhan Khadjiev in the Russian city of Kaspiysk on Sunday.

Demirtas became a gold medalist for the third time in a row when he beat Khadjiev 2-0 in the men's freestyle 70-kilogram category.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Demirtas said he wanted to dedicate this medal to his family.

"Because my father had a dream when I started wrestling. He wanted to see [me as] a champion," said Demirtas.

Later, another Turkish athlete Taha Akgul also won a gold medal in the same tournament.

Akgul clinched the victory beating his Georgian competitor Geno Petriashvili in the men’s freestyle 125-kilogram category in the final match of the tournament.

He led the game 1-0 in the first set of the game in the Ali Aliyev Sport Complex and won the competition 2-1.

With Sunday’s victory, the national wrestler of Turkey repeated his record in the European championship for the sixth time.