Cenk Ildem (TUR, world no. 7) didn’t make it out of the first round and Hungary’s Adam Varga blitzed to the final in what was an eventful morning at the European Greco Olympic Qualifier in Zrenjanin, Serbia. Ildem was victimized by the aggressively steady attack of Peter Oehler (GER) and never got his game going. Oehler wanted points and went after them continuously, cruising to a 9-1 tech fall victory, which sent the somewhat inconsistent Turk packing (Oehler would go on to lose in the semifinal to Varga in a narrow 2-1 contest).
Varga, who has improved over the last two seasons and could have been looked as one of only a couple of favorites at 98 kg, found himself in tight match after tight match on his road to qualification. In his first bout of the day, he would be tested by David Vala (CZE). Varga had significant trouble moving his opponent around. Vala stayed inside and worked for his own opportunities and nearly found one as the two jostled along the edge. It wouldn’t happen, however, and Varga managed to escape with a nail-biting 2-1 win.
The same story would play out in the proceeding round. Georgios Koutsioumpas (GRE) did his best to stymie the Hungarian’s attack throughout and it was a strategy that seemed effective. Two points would arrive midway through, allowing Varga to advance to the semifinal, which is where Varga and Oehler would meet up.
The finals of the European Greco Olympic Qualifier have yet to kick off. We will update following their conclusion and have summaries on both what happens along with a full summary on the 130 kg bracket.
