| | Event type

Flyweight, Freestyle (≤52 kg), Men

Date	27 – 31 August 1972
Status	Olympic
Location	Ringer-Judo-Halle, Messegelände (Halle 14), München
Participants	24 from 24 countries
Format	Scoring by negative points, with negative points given for any result short of a fall (win by fall-0.0; win by superior decision-0.5; win by decision-1.0; draw-2.0; loss by decision-3.0; loss by superior decision-3.5; loss by fall-4.0). Accumulation of 6 negative points eliminated the wrestler. When three or fewer wrestlers remained, they advanced to a final round, with preliminary results carried forward.

There was no clear favorite in this class, but Japan’s Kiyomi Kato dominated the early rounds. After six rounds he had only 1½ bad points, and led over Soviet Arsen Alakhverdiyev, and North Korean Kim Gwong-Hyong, who both had 5½ bad points. Kato then decisively defeated both of them in the final round to win the gold medal easily. Kim and Alakhverdiyev drew in their match, but Alakhverdiyev won the silver medal on an arcane tie-breaker.

Kato had no significant international record prior to the 1972 Olympics, the highlight being a silver at the 1970 Asian Games, and none afterwards. Alakhverdiyev had won the 1972 European Championships and would win that title again in 1973 and 1975. As always, Kim had no known international record, as North Korea rarely let their athletes venture out of the country except for the Olympics.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Round Eliminated	Bad Points
1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	–	–	Gold
2	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	–	–	Silver
3	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	–	–	Bronze
4	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	–	–
5	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	–	–
6	43	Gordon Bertie	CAN	–	–
AC	15	John Kinsela	AUS	eliminated r4/7	7.0
AC	145	Henrik Gál	HUN	eliminated r4/7	7.0
AC	350	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	eliminated r4/7	7.5
AC	190	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	eliminated r4/7	8.0
AC	53	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR	eliminated r3/7	7.0
AC	269	Andrzej Kudelski	POL	eliminated r3/7	7.0
AC	235	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL	eliminated r3/7	7.5
AC	386	Jimmy Carr	USA	eliminated r3/7	8.0
AC	227	Florentino Martínez	MEX	eliminated r3/7	9.0
AC	24	Bayo Baev	BUL	withdrew r3/7	2.0
AC	55	Miguel Alonso	CUB	eliminated r2/7	6.5
AC	2	Mohammad Arref	AFG	eliminated r2/7	7.0
AC	121	Mario Sabatini	FRG	eliminated r2/7	7.0
AC	140	Pedro Piñeda	GUA	eliminated r2/7	7.5
AC	254	Wanelge Castillo	PAN	eliminated r2/7	7.5
AC	95	Willi Bock	GDR	eliminated r2/7	8.0
AC	257	Javier León	PER	eliminated r2/7	8.0
AC	175	Mohammad Ghorbani	IRI	withdrew r2/7	4.0
DNS	62	Miguel Tachin	CUB	–	–
DNS	252	Ditta Allah	PAK	–	–

Round One

Date	27 August 1972 — 10:00

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
=1	43	Gordon Bertie	CAN	0.0	–
=1	145	Henrik Gál	HUN	0.0	–
=1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	0.0	–
=1	53	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR	0.0	–
=1	269	Andrzej Kudelski	POL	0.0	–
=6	15	John Kinsela	AUS	0.5	–
=6	235	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL	0.5	–
=8	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	1.0	–
=8	227	Florentino Martínez	MEX	1.0	–
=8	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	1.0	–
=8	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	1.0	–
=12	24	Bayo Baev	BUL	2.0	–
=12	190	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	2.0	–
=14	2	Mohammad Arref	AFG	3.0	–
=14	121	Mario Sabatini	FRG	3.0	–
=14	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	3.0	–
=14	350	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	3.0	–
=18	55	Miguel Alonso	CUB	3.5	–
=18	140	Pedro Piñeda	GUA	3.5	–
=20	95	Willi Bock	GDR	4.0	–
=20	175	Mohammad Ghorbani	IRI	4.0	withdrew
=20	254	Wanelge Castillo	PAN	4.0	–
=20	257	Javier León	PER	4.0	–
=20	386	Jimmy Carr	USA	4.0	–

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	27 Aug	Bayo Baev	BUL	Draw	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA
Match #2	27 Aug	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL	Decision	Miguel Alonso	CUB
Match #3	27 Aug	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	Decision	Mohammad Arref	AFG
Match #4	27 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Fall (5:57)	Mohammad Ghorbani	IRI
Match #5	27 Aug	Andrzej Kudelski	POL	Fall (8:57)	Wanelge Castillo	PAN
Match #6	27 Aug	Gordon Bertie	CAN	Fall (2:14)	Javier León	PER
Match #7	27 Aug	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR	Fall (4:57)	Jimmy Carr	USA
Match #8	27 Aug	Sudesh Kumar	IND	Decision	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR
Match #9	27 Aug	Henrik Gál	HUN	Fall (1:56)	Willi Bock	GDR
Match #10	27 Aug	Florentino Martínez	MEX	Decision	Mario Sabatini	FRG
Match #11	27 Aug	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	Decision	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK
Match #12	27 Aug	John Kinsela	AUS	Decision	Pedro Piñeda	GUA

Round Two

Date	28 August 1972 — 19:00

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
=1	145	Henrik Gál	HUN	0.0	–
=1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	0.0	–
3	15	John Kinsela	AUS	0.5	–
=4	43	Gordon Bertie	CAN	1.0	–
=4	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	1.0	–
=4	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	1.0	–
7	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	1.5	–
8	24	Bayo Baev	BUL	2.0	–
=9	190	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	3.0	–
=9	269	Andrzej Kudelski	POL	3.0	–
=9	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	3.0	–
=9	350	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	3.0	–
=13	53	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR	4.0	–
=13	386	Jimmy Carr	USA	4.0	–
15	235	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL	4.5	–
16	227	Florentino Martínez	MEX	5.0	–
17	55	Miguel Alonso	CUB	6.5	eliminated
=18	2	Mohammad Arref	AFG	7.0	eliminated
=18	121	Mario Sabatini	FRG	7.0	eliminated
=20	140	Pedro Piñeda	GUA	7.5	eliminated
=20	254	Wanelge Castillo	PAN	7.5	eliminated
=22	95	Willi Bock	GDR	8.0	eliminated
=22	257	Javier León	PER	8.0	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	28 Aug	Bayo Baev	BUL	Dq (passivity)	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL
Match #2	28 Aug	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	Decision	Miguel Alonso	CUB
Match #3	28 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Fall (8:35)	Mohammad Arref	AFG
Match #4	28 Aug	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	Decision	Wanelge Castillo	PAN
Match #5	28 Aug	Gordon Bertie	CAN	Decision	Andrzej Kudelski	POL
Match #6	28 Aug	Jimmy Carr	USA	Fall (5:56)	Javier León	PER
Match #7	28 Aug	Sudesh Kumar	IND	Fall (4:01)	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR
Match #8	28 Aug	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	Fall (1:54)	Willi Bock	GDR
Match #9	28 Aug	Henrik Gál	HUN	Fall (7:41)	Mario Sabatini	FRG
Match #10	28 Aug	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	Fall (7:47)	Florentino Martínez	MEX
Match #11	28 Aug	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	Fall (4:16)	Pedro Piñeda	GUA
Match #12	28 Aug	John Kinsela	AUS

Round Three

Date	29 August 1972 — 10:00

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	0.0	–
=2	43	Gordon Bertie	CAN	1.0	–
=2	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	1.0	–
=2	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	1.0	–
5	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	2.5	–
6	145	Henrik Gál	HUN	3.0	–
7	15	John Kinsela	AUS	3.5	–
=8	190	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	4.0	–
=8	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	4.0	–
=8	350	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	4.0	–
=11	53	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR	7.0	eliminated
=11	269	Andrzej Kudelski	POL	7.0	eliminated
13	235	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL	7.5	eliminated
14	386	Jimmy Carr	USA	8.0	eliminated
15	227	Florentino Martínez	MEX	9.0	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	29 Aug	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	Decision	John Kinsela	AUS
Match #2	29 Aug	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	Decision	Dorjzovdyn Ganbat	MGL
Match #3	29 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Fall (2:55)	Andrzej Kudelski	POL
Match #4	29 Aug	Gordon Bertie	CAN	Fall (3:35)	Jimmy Carr	USA
Match #5	29 Aug	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	Decision	Kim Yeong-Jun	KOR
Match #6	29 Aug	Sudesh Kumar	IND	Fall (7:07)	Florentino Martínez	MEX
Match #7	29 Aug	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	Decision	Henrik Gál	HUN
Match #8	29 Aug	Petre Ciarnău	ROU

Round Four

Date	30 August 1972 — 10:00

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	0.5	–
2	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	1.0	–
3	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	1.5	–
4	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	2.5	–
=5	43	Gordon Bertie	CAN	4.5	–
=5	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	4.5	–
=7	15	John Kinsela	AUS	7.0	eliminated
=7	145	Henrik Gál	HUN	7.0	eliminated
9	350	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR	7.5	eliminated
10	190	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA	8.0	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	30 Aug	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	Decision	John Kinsela	AUS
Match #2	30 Aug	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	Fall (7:43)	Vincenzo Grassi	ITA
Match #3	30 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Decision	Gordon Bertie	CAN
Match #4	30 Aug	Sudesh Kumar	IND	Fall (3:17)	Henrik Gál	HUN
Match #5	30 Aug	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	Decision	Ali Rıza Alan	TUR

Round Five

Date	30 August 1972 — 19:00

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	1.5	–
2	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	3.5	–
3	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	4.0	–
4	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	4.5	–
5	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	5.5	–
6	43	Gordon Bertie	CAN	7.5	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	30 Aug	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	Draw	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS
Match #2	30 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Decision	Sudesh Kumar	IND
Match #3	30 Aug	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	Decision	Gordon Bertie	CAN

Round Six

Date	31 August 1972 — 10:00

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	202	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	1.5	–
=2	290	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	5.5	–
=2	365	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	5.5	–
4	168	Sudesh Kumar	IND	7.0	eliminated
5	297	Petre Ciarnău	ROU	7.5	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	31 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Fall (1:35)	Petre Ciarnău	ROU
Match #2	31 Aug	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS	Decision	Sudesh Kumar	IND
Match #3	31 Aug	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK

Final Round

Date	31 August 1972 — 19:00

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	31 Aug	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK	Draw	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS
Match #2	31 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Decision	Kim Gwong-Hyong	PRK
Match #3	31 Aug	Kiyomi Kato	JPN	Decision	Arsen Alakhverdiyev	URS