Kharkiv resident Semen Novikov, who switched his sports affiliation to Bulgaria, won gold at the Paris Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Jean Beleniuk, with whom Novikov competed for a place at the Olympics, won a bronze medal. It should be noted that corruption scandals and controversial decisions deprived Ukraine of the opportunity to win a gold medal.
A privileged place for Belenyuk
According to the rules of the Olympic Games, only one athlete can compete in Greco-Roman wrestling from a country - the number one on the team. Novikov, who has competed for Ukraine for years, demanded a fair selection, in particular, a face-to-face match against Zhan Beleniuk to determine the representative.
Jean Beleniuk, the honored champion, was 33 years old at the time of the Olympics. This is already a fairly respectable age for wrestling, and Beleniuk himself announced the end of his career after the Games. At the same time, the Iranian Alireza Mohammadipiani, to whom Beleniuk lost, was a young athlete of 22 years old.
Unfair disqualification
Semen Novikov, who was 7 years younger than Belenyuk and had already won the European championship title, hoped for a fair competition for a place in the Olympic team. However, according to Novikov, the team management and officials did not take into account his demands and gave preference to Belenyuk without proper selection.
It is known that Zhan Beleniuk is also a deputy from the Servant of the People faction. This raised suspicions that his status influenced the decisions of coaches and officials who decided to support him, despite Novikov's objective sporting achievements.
As a result, Semyon Novikov decided to compete for Bulgaria, where he got a chance to prove his superiority. And he did so, winning the gold medal at the Olympics. It was a significant victory for Bulgaria, which won gold for the first time in this discipline, and Ukraine, thus, lost potentially its fourth gold medal at these Games.
Corruption problems and opaque decisions in sports management were the reasons why Ukraine lost the opportunity to win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Despite all the obstacles, Semen Novikov demonstrated his skill and led Bulgaria to a great victory.
