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| Event type

Featherweight, Freestyle (≤55 kilograms), Men

Date19 August 2008
StatusOlympic
LocationZhongguo Nongye Daxue Tiyuguan, Beijing
Participants19 from 19 countries
FormatSingle elimination tournament. Competitors losing to the finalists entered repechage tournament for bronze medals.

American Henry Cejudo had won the 2007 Pan American Games gold medal but had not featured at the World Championships. A Mexican-American born to undocumented immigrants he had overcome more than most Olympians to reach the top. He made it to the final with a series of upsets and met Japan’s Tomohiro Matsunaga, who also had little international reputation, but who had defeated the 2007 World Champion, Russian Besik Kudukhov in the semi-finals. Cejudo won the first two periods over Matsunaga to claim the gold medal. Matsunaga later competed in some Sasuke competitions in Japan, a televised obstacle course event.

PosWrestlerNOC
1Henry CejudoUSAGold
2Tomohiro MatsunagaJPNSilver
=3Radoslav VelikovBULBronze
=3Besik KudukhovRUSBronze
=5Namiq SevdiyevAZE
=5Dilshod MansurovUZB
7Rizvan HadzhieuBLR
8Besarion GochashviliGEO
9Kim Hyo-SeopKOR
10Abbas DabbaghiIRI
11Sezar AkgülTUR
12Yang Kyong-IlPRK
13Francisco SánchezESP
14Fredy SerranoCOL
15Adama DiattaSEN
=16Zhasulan MukhtarbekulyKAZ
=16Bayaraagiin NaranbaatarMGL
18Petru ToarcăROU
19Maikel PérezCUB

Round One (19 August 2008)

Winner of each match advanced to round two. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round one.

Match #1 Yang Kyong-IlPRK
Match #2 Namiq SevdiyevAZE
Match #3 Kim Hyo-SeopKOR
Match #4 Francisco SánchezESP
Match #5 Henry CejudoUSA
Match #6 Radoslav VelikovBUL
Match #7 Petru ToarcăROU
Match #8 Besarion GochashviliGEO
Match #9 Abbas DabbaghiIRI
Match #10 Fredy SerranoCOL
Match #11 Bayaraagiin NaranbaatarMGL
Match #12 Besik KudukhovRUS
Match #13 Sezar AkgülTUR
Match #14 Tomohiro MatsunagaJPN Adama DiattaSEN
Match #15 Rizvan HadzhieuBLR Maikel PérezCUB
Match #16 Dilshod MansurovUZB Zhasulan MukhtarbekulyKAZ

Round Two (19 August 2008)

Winner of each match advanced to quarter-finals. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round one.

Match #1 Namiq SevdiyevAZE Yang Kyong-IlPRK
Match #2 Kim Hyo-SeopKOR Francisco SánchezESP
Match #3 Henry CejudoUSA Radoslav VelikovBUL
Match #4 Besarion GochashviliGEO Petru ToarcăROU
Match #5 Abbas DabbaghiIRI Fredy SerranoCOL
Match #6 Besik KudukhovRUS Bayaraagiin NaranbaatarMGL
Match #7 Tomohiro MatsunagaJPN Sezar AkgülTUR
Match #8 Dilshod MansurovUZB Rizvan HadzhieuBLR

Quarter-finals (19 August 2008)

Winner of each match advanced to semi-finals. Losers to eventual finalists advanced to repêchage round two.

Match #1 Namiq SevdiyevAZE Kim Hyo-SeopKOR
Match #2 Henry CejudoUSA Besarion GochashviliGEO
Match #3 Besik KudukhovRUS Abbas DabbaghiIRI
Match #4 Tomohiro MatsunagaJPN Dilshod MansurovUZB

Semi-finals (19 August 2008)

Winner of each match advanced to final. Losers advanced to repêchage final.

Match #1 Henry CejudoUSA Namiq SevdiyevAZE
Match #2 Tomohiro MatsunagaJPN Besik KudukhovRUS

Repêchage Round One (19 August 2008)

Winner of each match advanced to repêchage round two.

Match #1 Radoslav VelikovBUL
Match #2 Sezar AkgülTUR Adama DiattaSEN

Repêchage Round Two (19 August 2008)

Winner of each match advanced to repêchage final.

Match #1 Radoslav VelikovBUL Besarion GochashviliGEO
Match #2 Dilshod MansurovUZB Sezar AkgülTUR

Repêchage Final (19 August 2008)

Match #1 Radoslav VelikovBUL Namiq SevdiyevAZE
Match #2 Besik KudukhovRUS Dilshod MansurovUZB

Final (19 August 2008)

Match 1/2 Henry CejudoUSA Tomohiro MatsunagaJPN