| | Event type
Light-Flyweight, Greco-Roman (≤48 kilograms), Men
| Date | 19 – 20 July 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall G) | |
| Participants | 19 from 19 countries | |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament with classification rounds for placements. | |
This class would be discontinued after 1996, as the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) shuffled weight limits to decrease the number of weight classes, as mandated by the IOC. The 1995 World Champion was Korean Sim Gwon-Ho, although he was expected to be challenged by the 1993-94 World Champion, Cuban Wilber Sánchez, and Russian Zafar Guliyev, who had won three of the last four European tournaments. Guliyev lost in round two to Sim and was out of contention for gold. Sánchez was upset in the semi-finals by Belarussian Aleksandr Pavlov, runner-up at the 1994 Worlds. The final between Pavlov and Sim went to overtime with Sim winning the gold medal, 4-0 at 6:44. Guliyev did get a bronze medal, defeating North Korean Kang Yong-Gyun, also by 4-0.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | CP | TP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sim Gwon-Ho |  KOR | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | Aliaksandr Paulau |  BLR | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | Zafar Guliyev |  RUS | – | – | Bronze | 1 | |
| 4 | Kang Yong-Gyun |  PRK | – | – | |||
| 5 | Wilber Sánchez |  CUB | – | – | |||
| 6 | Gela P'ap'ashvili |  GEO | – | – | |||
| 7 | Hiroshi Kado |  JPN | – | – | |||
| 8 | Ioannis Agkakatzanian |  GRE | – | – | |||
| 9 | Francesco Costantino |  ITA | 8 | 21 | |||
| 10 | Bratan Tsenov |  BUL | 5 | 14 | |||
| 11 | Bayram Özdemir |  TUR | 7 | 17 | |||
| 12 | Oleg Kutscherenko |  GER | 5 | 11 | |||
| 13 | Mujaahid Maynard |  USA | 5 | 7 | |||
| 14 | Tahir Zahidov |  AZE | 4 | 11 | |||
| 15 | Piotr Jabłoński |  POL | 2 | 4 | |||
| 16 | José Ochoa |  VEN | 0 | 2 | |||
| 17 | Enrique Aguilar |  MEX | 0 | 0 | |||
| 18 | Jorge Yllescas |  PER | 0 | 0 | |||
| 19 | Abdullah Al-Izani |  YEM | 0 | 0 |
Round One (19 July 1996)
| Match #1 2 | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 3 | decision (3-2) (5:00) | Hiroshi Kado | JPN |
| Match #2 | Bayram Özdemir | TUR | grand superiority (11-0) (4:13) | Enrique Aguilar | MEX |
| Match #3 | Ioannis Agkakatzanian | GRE | grand superiority (10-0) (1:06) | Jorge Yllescas | PER |
| Match #4 | Gela P'ap'ashvili | GEO | decision (8-6) (5:00) | Francesco Costantino | ITA |
| Match #5 | Bratan Tsenov | BUL | grand superiority (10-0) (1:11) | Abdullah Al-Izani | YEM |
| Match #6 | Oleg Kutscherenko | GER | grand superiority (10-0) (3:08) | Tahir Zahidov | AZE |
| Match #7 | Wilber Sánchez | CUB | decision (12-3) (5:00) | Mujaahid Maynard | USA |
| Match #8 | Aliaksandr Paulau | BLR | grand superiority (11-0) (1:43) | José Ochoa | VEN |
| Match #9 | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK | decision (9-3) (5:00) | Piotr Jabłoński | POL |
| Match #10 | Sim Gwon-Ho | KOR | bye |
Round Two (19 July 1996)
| Match #1 4 | Sim Gwon-Ho | KOR | decision (2-1) (8:00) | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 5 |
| Match #2 | Ioannis Agkakatzanian | GRE | decision (3-2) (6:26) | Bayram Özdemir | TUR |
| Match #3 | Gela P'ap'ashvili | GEO | decision (7-4) (5:00) | Bratan Tsenov | BUL |
| Match #4 | Wilber Sánchez | CUB | decision (1-1) (8:00) | Oleg Kutscherenko | GER |
| Match #5 | Aliaksandr Paulau | BLR | decision (3-2) (5:00) | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK |
Quarter-Finals (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Sim Gwon-Ho | KOR | decision (4-1) (5:00) | Ioannis Agkakatzanian | GRE |
| Match #2 | Gela P'ap'ashvili | GEO | bye | ||
| Match #3 | Wilber Sánchez | CUB | bye | ||
| Match #4 | Aliaksandr Paulau | BLR | bye |
Semi-Finals (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Sim Gwon-Ho | KOR | grand superiority (11-0) (4:14) | Gela P'ap'ashvili | GEO |
| Match #2 | Aliaksandr Paulau | BLR | decision (5-0) (7:59) | Wilber Sánchez | CUB |
Final Round (20 July 1996)
| Match 1/2 | Sim Gwon-Ho | KOR | decision (4-0) (6:10) | Aliaksandr Paulau | BLR |
| Match 3/4 6 | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 7 | decision (4-0) (5:00) | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK |
| Match 5/6 | Wilber Sánchez | CUB | decision (4-0) (5:00) | Gela P'ap'ashvili | GEO |
| Match 7/8 | Hiroshi Kado | JPN | decision (1-0) (5:00) | Ioannis Agkakatzanian | GRE |
Classification Round Two (19 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Hiroshi Kado | JPN | grand superiority (10-0) (3:29) | Enrique Aguilar | MEX |
| Match #2 | Francesco Costantino | ITA | grand superiority (10-0) (3:28) | Jorge Yllescas | PER |
| Match #3 | Tahir Zahidov | AZE | grand superiority (11-0) (1:58) | Abdullah Al-Izani | YEM |
| Match #4 | Mujaahid Maynard | USA | fall (4-2) (2:31) | José Ochoa | VEN |
| Match #5 | Piotr Jabłoński | POL | bye |
Classification Round Three (19 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Hiroshi Kado | JPN | decision (9-1) (5:00) | Piotr Jabłoński | POL |
| Match #2 | Francesco Costantino | ITA | decision (5-0) (7:28) | Tahir Zahidov | AZE |
| Match #3 8 | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 9 | decision (6-0) (5:00) | Mujaahid Maynard | USA |
| Match #4 | Bayram Özdemir | TUR | decision (4-0) (5:00) | Bratan Tsenov | BUL |
| Match #5 | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK | decision (3-0) (5:00) | Oleg Kutscherenko | GER |
Classification Round Four (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Hiroshi Kado | JPN | decision (4-0) (5:00) | Francesco Costantino | ITA |
| Match #2 10 | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 11 | decision (7-0) (5:00) | Bayram Özdemir | TUR |
| Match #3 | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK | grand superiority (10-0) (2:56) | Ioannis Agkakatzanian | GRE |
Classification Round Five (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK | grand superiority (11-0) (0:31) | Hiroshi Kado | JPN |
| Match #2 12 | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 13 | bye |
Classification Round Six (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 14 | Zafar Guliyev | RUS 15 | decision (6-0) (5:00) | Gela P'ap'ashvili | GEO |
| Match #2 | Kang Yong-Gyun | PRK | decision (7-0) (5:00) | Wilber Sánchez | CUB |