Karen Mnazakanjan

Karen Mnazakanjan ( Armenian Կարեն Մնացականյան ; English Karen Mnatsakanyan ; born March 3, 1977 in Yerevan , Armenian SSR , USSR ) is a former Armenian wrestler . He was runner- up in bantamweight world champion in 2001, European bantamweight champion in 1997 and featherweight European champion in 2006 , both in Greco-Roman style.

Career

Karen Mnazakanjan began wrestling as a teenager in 1988, focusing on the Greco-Roman style. As an adult, he joined the armed forces and became a member of the Dinamo Yerevan sports club . He was mainly trained by Georgi Kozharjan and Samvel Geworkjan. He later studied sports science at the Staatl. Institute of Sports Science in Yerevan. At 1.73 meters he was relatively tall for the bantamweight he wrestled in at the beginning of his career. After a weight class reassignment by the FILA, he then competed in featherweight from 2002.

Even as a junior he took part in a number of international championships and was quite successful in doing so. Right at his first start at such a championship, the Junior World Championship (cadets age group) in Lünen / Germany, he became Junior World Champion (juniors age group) in the weight class up to 60 kg. In 1995 he became Junior European Bantamweight Champion in Witten / Germany ahead of Peter Ronai from Hungary and Bunyamin Emik, Turkey.

In 1997, Karen Mnazakanjan managed the feat of winning a championship title at his first start with the seniors. In May of this year he became European bantamweight champion in Kouvola / Finland, defeating Grzegorz Szyszka, Poland, Rustem Mambetow , Russia, Ergüder Belkisdamat, Turkey and Djamel Ainaoui , France. A month later he was again Junior European Champion (age group Juniors) in the weight class up to 60 kg in Istanbul. At the Junior World Championship 1997 (age group Juniors) in Turku, he lost his first fight against Dovletberdy Mamedow, Turkmenistan. Since this did not reach the final, he was eliminated and only finished 32nd place. A placement that certainly did not correspond to his actual ability, but which is due to the strange regulations.

In 1999 Karen Mnazakanjan won a bronze bantamweight medal at the European Championships in Sofia, where he suffered a loss to Valery Nikinorow from Russia in the semifinals. At the 1999 World Cup in Athens he lost after winning two fights against Kim In-sub from South Korea and only came in 15th. In 2000 he managed to qualify for participation in the Olympic Games in Sydney at two tournaments in Clermont-Ferrand and Tashkent, where he was even the tournament winner. In Sydney he lost both bantamweight fights, which he played against Igor Petrenko , Belarus and James Grünwald from the United States. Therefore he only came in 15th place.

After a 9th place at the 2001 European Championships in Istanbul, where Şeref Eroğlu from Turkey was the bantamweight winner, Karen Mnazakanjan triumphed at the World Championships this year in Patras. He defeated there in the bantamweight Norbert Futo, Yugoslavia, Juri Estevas, Brazil, Kang Kyung-il , South Korea and the Olympic and multiple world champion Armen Nazarjan , an Armenian compatriot starting for Bulgaria, whom he defeated with 5: 4 points. He faced Dilschod Aripow from Uzbekistan in the final , but lost this fight with 3: 6 points. He became vice world champion.

After this success he dosed his starts at the international championships. At the European Championships in Seinäjoki / Finland he won three featherweight wins before he lost to Armen Nazarjan and, surprisingly, also to Djamel Ainaoui, slipping to 4th place. He did not qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, but in 2006 he achieved another great success. This year he became European champion for the second time in Moscow. In featherweight he defeated Tomasz Swierk, Poland, Fuad Aliyev , Azerbaijan, Alexei Wakulenko, Ukraine and Dawit Bedinadze , Georgia.

In 2008 he qualified for the Olympic Games again. In Beijing he did not get along well again, lost his first fight against Makoto Sasamoto from Japan and was eliminated because Sasamoto did not reach the final. As a result, he only came in 17th place.

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class	Results
1993	1.	Junior World Championships (Cadets) in Lünen / Germany	up to 60 kg	before Gabor Tenai, Hungary and Murat Schumakow, Russia
1994	3.	Junior World Championships (Juniors) in Budapest	up to 60 kg	behind Choi Duk-hoon, South Korea and Albert Saurin, Russia
1995	5.	World military games in Rome	feather	behind Mehmet Akif Pirim , Turkey, Włodzimierz Zawadzki , Poland, Pawel Chasow, Russia and Park Jung-shin, South Korea
1995	1.	Junior European Championship (Juniors) in Witten / Germany	up to 60 kg	before Peter Ronai, Hungary, Bunyamin Emik, Turkey and Michail Schelsnikow, Russia
1997	1.	EM in Kouvola / Finland	Bantam	after victories over Grzegorz Szyszka, Poland, Rustem Mambetow, Russia, Ergüder Belkisdamat, Turkey and Djamel Ainaoui, France
1997	1.	Junior European Championship (Juniors) in Istanbul	up to 60 kg	before Arici Mustafa, Turkey, Roland Lengyel, Hungary and Wladislaw Jantschew, Bulgaria
1997	32.	Junior World Championships (Juniors) in Turku	up to 60 kg	after a loss to Dovletberdy Mamedow, Turkmenistan
1998	6th	FILA test tournament in Nikea	Bantam	Winner: Igor Petrenko, Belarus and Yuri Melnichenko , Kazakhstan
1998	10.	EM in Minsk	Bantam	after defeating Ruslan Chakimow, Ukraine and losing to Alfred Ter-Mkrtchyan , Germany and István Majoros , Hungary
1999	3.	EM in Sofia	Bantam	after victories over Joao Perreira, Portugal, Alexander Kudisch, Israel and Seymur Gasimow, Azerbaijan, a defeat against Valeri Nikinorow, Russia and a victory over Ergüder Bekisdamat
1999	15th	World Cup in Athens	Bantam	after victories over David Maria Braga Dacosta, Portugal and Armando Fernandez Garcia, Mexico and a defeat against Kim In-sub, South Korea
2000	4th	Olympic qualification tournament in Clermont-Ferrand	Bantam	behind Ali Ashkani Aboloag, Iran, Djamel Ainaoui and James Grünwald, USA
2000	1.	Olympic qualification tournament in Tashkent	Bantam	before Alexander Stepanjan, Ukraine, Makoto Sasamoto, Japan and Grzegorz Szyszka, Poland
2000	15th	OS in Sydney	Bantam	after losing to Igor Petrenko and James Gründwald
2001	9.	EM in Istanbul	feather	Winner: Şeref Eroğlu, Turkey ahead of Temour Tehumow, Russia and Wlodzimierz Zawadzki
2001	2.	World Cup in Patras	Bantam	after victories over Norbert Futo, Yugoslavia, Juri Estevas, Brazil, Kang Kyung-il, South Korea and Armen Nazarjan, Bulgaria and a defeat against Dilschod Aripow, Uzbekistan
2002	4th	EM in Seinäjoki / Finland	feather	after victories over Wasileos Motsios, Greece, Arasch Rayhaniasl, Netherlands and Riccardo Magni, Italy and defeats against Arman Nasarjan and Djamel Ainaoui
2002	21st	World Cup in Moscow	feather	after a win over Laszlo Bona, Hungary and a loss to Djamel Ainaoui
2003	8th.	EM in Belgrade	feather	after victories over Stig Andre Berge , Norway and Aleksej Djakonow, Lithuania and a defeat against Armen Nazarjan
2003	22nd	World Cup in Créteil	feather	after a win over Laszlo Bona and a loss to James Grünwald
2004	12.	Olympic qualification tournament in Novi Sad	feather	Winner: Makoto Sasamoto ahead of Jung Ju-hyun, South Korea
2004	11.	Olympic qualification tournament in Tashkent	feather	Winner: Nurlan Koischaiganow, Kazakhstan ahead of Davor Štefanek , Serbia
2006	1.	EM in Moscow	feather	after victories over Tomasz Swierk, Poland, Fuad Aliyev, Azerbaijan, Alexei Wakulenko, Ukraine and Dawit Bedinadze, Georgia
2006	33.	World Cup in Guangzhou	feather	after losing to Roberto Monzon Gonzalez , Cuba
2008	3.	Olympic qualification tournament in Novi Sad	feather	behind Sebastien Hidalgo, France and Stig Andre Berge
2008	17th	OS in Beijing	feather	after a loss to Makoto Sasamoto

Explanations

• all competitions in Greco-Roman style
• OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship
• Bantam weight, up to 57 kg up to 1996, up to 58 kg from 1997 to 2001, featherweight, up to 63 kg from 1997 to 2001, up to 60 kg body weight since 2002

swell

• Trade journal Der Ringer
• Foeldeak Wrestling Database website

Web links

• Karen Mnazakanjan in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• The fight of Karen Mnazakanjan (blue) against Roberto Monzon Gonzalez at the 2006 World Cup