After the Olympic Games in Rio, this name is known to almost all sports fans and not only. Migran Harutyunyan is an Armenian and Russian athlete, a master of sports of international class, a Greco-Roman style wrestler. It performs in the weight category up to 66 kg. At the 2016 Olympic Games in the capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, he was deprived of a gold medal and received a silver.
The athlete was terribly disappointed and even thought about quitting sports forever - the work of his whole life. However, in his country he received great support from the people, and the President of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Tsarukyan declared him a gold medalist and rewarded accordingly.
Athlete Migran Harutyunyan (fight): biography, childhood
The future champion was born in the spring of 1989 in Armenia, in the city of Echmiadzin. When the boy was 4 years old, his family moved to live in Moscow. Here he went to school, studied well, but was a very active child, he was a little mischievous. At the age of 12, with the onset of puberty, parents did not know how to continue with his indefatigable energy and decided to direct his enthusiasm into sports, and the Greco-Roman wrestling was chosen as the species. His first mentor in sports was the honored trainer of the Soviet Union, a former champion in this sport, Aram Sargsyan.
First victory
Not even three weeks after the boy began to attend the section, and the coach decided to introduce a talented pupil at the school competition in Greco-Roman wrestling in honor of Defender of the Fatherland Day and was not mistaken. The winner in the weight category up to 35 kilograms was Migran Harutyunyan. Greco-Roman wrestling has since become the main thing in his life. The taste of the first victory inspired the boy, and he began to take his training more seriously, wanting to achieve outstanding results in sports. By nature, Migran is a workaholic and also has incredible stamina. He can give up many temptations of life if he has a goal. In one of his interviews, he said that he had these qualities from his father, whose example was always before his eyes. Finding himself in a foreign land, Harutyunyan Sr. worked tirelessly to provide the family with normal living conditions.
Ah, that sweet word "winner"! Disappointment
In 2006, the 17-year-old Migran became the winner of the European Championship among juniors, a year later he was already the champion in this age category. Further, passing into the adult category, he became the silver medalist of the championship of the Russian Federation. The next year, he still managed to win a gold medal in the championship of Russia. However, it was during this period that Migran felt prejudiced against his person. Despite the fact that he was the holder of a champion title, he was not given the opportunity to compete for a license to participate in the London Olympics. Of course, fans of this sport were perplexed, where is Migran Harutyunyan? The struggle in the weight category up to 66 kilograms for many Russians was associated precisely with his name, because he bore the title of reigning champion. Thus, due to the intrigues surrounding his name, the magnificent wrestler M. Harutyunyan was not allowed to the Olympics. Of course, it was a shame, it was the last straw of his patience.
At home
After all this, Migran decided to return to Armenia and continue his sports career under the tricolor of the republic. Almost immediately, he won the title of champion of the country, however, he did not have the right to speak in international competitions, since he was in quarantine for two years. After this period, he first represented his country at the World Cup in Tashkent, but did not enter the number of winners, as he lost to the Hungarian wrestler in the quarterfinal match. Ruben Tatulyan became his official coach in the national team of the Republic of Armenia. According to the athlete, he is not just a coach for him, but a real friend, support, support. Migran Harutyunyan, whose struggle is a matter of his life, also maintains relations with his first coach Aram Sargsyan, although he is in Moscow. In matters of his physical preparation, Alexander Hakobyan helps him.
Ups and downs
After Migran did not perform very well at the World Cup in Tashkent, he was sent to represent the country at an international tournament in the city of Barnaul. It was here that he took first place, immediately after that in Moscow at the 22nd All-Russian Tournament named after Sergei Taraskin also won first place Migran Harutyunyan. The fight captured him so that at first he did not even notice that he injured his knee. As a result of this, he was unable to take part in the championship of the Republic of Armenia. Rather, he expressed a desire to compete, but before the start of the tournament he had sharp pains, and the trainers had to call an ambulance, which took the athlete to the hospital. However, he was soon able to bounce back and, as part of the country's national team, went to Baku for the European Championship, where, losing to the Russian wrestler, he won the second prize.
Migran Harutyunyan (fight): 2016 Olympics
Upon returning to Armenia from neighboring Azerbaijan, the athlete began to diligently prepare for rating tournaments, the first of which was to be held in Las Vegas. Of course, he received a ticket, then mentally and physically began to prepare for Rio. Since Migran did not participate in the 2012 Olympics in London, few people knew him in sports circles, and no one considered him a favorite and a candidate for the prize. Nevertheless, he confidently went to victory. First, he defeated the Egyptian athlete Akhmet, with a score of 9: 0, then the world champions: Korean Hanso Liu and Azerbaijani athlete Rasul Chunayev. And so it turned out that Migran Harutyunyan (struggle) will play in the finals. Rio is a city where Greco-Roman wrestling is not particularly loved, but nevertheless many fans came to watch the final match with the participation of Armenian and Serbian athletes.
Alas ... Silver
However, the judges were not supportive of Migran and awarded the first place to Stefanek. Migran was more than disappointed; he even wanted to leave the sport forever. However, in his homeland, in Armenia, the athlete was greeted as the real champion of the Olympics, and then he decided that he still had to raise his country's flag high.