Italian policeman halts total Russian Olympic wrestling advance

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) — Italian policeman Andrea Minguzzi brought Russia's bid to dominate the Greco-Roman wrestling event at the Olympics to a halt on Thursday.

The 26-year-old underdog sensationally eliminated world and Olympic champion Aleksei Mishin in the men's 84kg division quarter-finals to hold the Russian advance.

German firefighter Mirko Englich and Cuban teacher Mijain Lopez were then left with the task of further blocking the Russian assault going into the three Greco-Roman gold-medal bouts from 0900 GMT Thursday.

Minguzzi, who also won his semi-final, had finished 45th at the last world championships won by the 29 year-old Mishin who has also been the European champion for the past four years.

"It was a very important victory. Mishin is the...