The men's freestyle lightweight competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place from 28 November to 1 December at the Royal Exhibition Building. Nations were limited to one competitor.[1]
| Men's freestyle lightweight at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The final podium. | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Royal Exhibition Building | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 28 November–1 December | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 19 from 19 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Competition format edit
This freestyle wrestling competition continued to use the "bad points" elimination system introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman and at the 1932 Summer Olympics for freestyle wrestling, as modified in 1952 (adding medal rounds and making all losses worth 3 points—from 1936 to 1948 losses by split decision only cost 2). Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated. This elimination continued until the medal rounds, which began when 3 wrestlers remained. These 3 wrestlers each faced each other in a round-robin medal round (with earlier results counting, if any had wrestled another before); record within the medal round determined medals, with bad points breaking ties.[2][1]
Results edit
Round 1 edit
- Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Ashraf |  Pakistan |
Fall | O Tae-geun |  South Korea
|
| Mario Tovar |  Mexico |
Fall | Mateo Tanaquin |  Philippines
|
| Jay Thomas Evans |  United States |
Fall | Jack Taylor |  Great Britain
|
| Shigeru Kasahara |  Japan |
Fall | David Schumacher |  Australia
|
| Gyula Tóth |  Hungary |
Fall | Juan Rolón |  Argentina
|
| Emam-Ali Habibi |  Iran |
Fall | Olle Anderberg |  Sweden
|
| Roger Bielle |  France |
Decision, 2–1 | Väinö Hakkarainen |  Finland
|
| Garibaldo Nizzola |  Italy |
Fall | Lakhshmi Kant Pandey |  India
|
| Adil Güngör |  Turkey |
Decision, 3–0 | Georgi Zaychev |  Bulgaria
|
| Alimbeg Bestayev |  Soviet Union |
Bye | N/A | N/A |
- Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Jay Thomas Evans | United States |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Mario Tovar | Mexico |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Roger Bielle | France |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Adil Güngör | Turkey |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Olle Anderberg | Sweden |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Väinö Hakkarainen | Finland |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | O Tae-geun | South Korea |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Lakhshmi Kant Pandey | India |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Juan Rolón | Argentina |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | David Schumacher | Australia |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Mateo Tanaquin | Philippines |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Jack Taylor | Great Britain |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Georgi Zaychev | Bulgaria |
0 | 3 | 3 |
Round 2 edit
- Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
Fall | O Tae-geun | South Korea
|
| Mario Tovar | Mexico |
Decision, 2–1 | Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan
|
| Jack Taylor | Great Britain |
Decision, 3–0 | Mateo Tanaquin | Philippines
|
| Jay Thomas Evans | United States |
Decision, 3–0 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan
|
| Juan Rolón | Argentina |
Decision, 3–0 | David Schumacher | Australia
|
| Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
Decision, 3–0 | Gyula Tóth | Hungary
|
| Olle Anderberg | Sweden |
Decision, 2–1 | Väinö Hakkarainen | Finland
|
| Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy |
Decision, 2–1 | Roger Bielle | France
|
| Adil Güngör | Turkey |
Decision, 3–0 | Lakhshmi Kant Pandey | India
|
| Georgi Zaychev | Bulgaria |
Bye | N/A | N/A |
- Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Jay Thomas Evans | United States |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Mario Tovar | Mexico |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Adil Güngör | Turkey |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Georgi Zaychev | Bulgaria |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | Olle Anderberg | Sweden |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Roger Bielle | France |
1 | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | Juan Rolón | Argentina |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Jack Taylor | Great Britain |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 | Väinö Hakkarainen | Finland |
3 | 3 | 6 |
| 15 | O Tae-geun | South Korea |
3 | 3 | 6 |
| 15 | Lakhshmi Kant Pandey | India |
3 | 3 | 6 |
| 15 | David Schumacher | Australia |
3 | 3 | 6 |
| 15 | Mateo Tanaquin | Philippines |
3 | 3 | 6 |
Round 3 edit
Anderberg was injured and withdrew.
- Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
Fall | Georgi Zaychev | Bulgaria
|
| Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan |
Decision, 3–0 | Jack Taylor | Great Britain
|
| Jay Thomas Evans | United States |
Decision, 3–0 | Mario Tovar | Mexico
|
| Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
Fall | Juan Rolón | Argentina
|
| Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
Forfeit | Olle Anderberg | Sweden
|
| Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
Decision, 3–0 | Roger Bielle | France
|
| Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy |
Decision, 2–1 | Adil Güngör | Turkey
|
- Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Jay Thomas Evans | United States |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Mario Tovar | Mexico |
1 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Adil Güngör | Turkey |
2 | 3 | 5 |
| 10 | Georgi Zaychev | Bulgaria |
3 | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | Olle Anderberg | Sweden |
4 | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | Roger Bielle | France |
4 | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | Juan Rolón | Argentina |
4 | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | Jack Taylor | Great Britain |
4 | 3 | 7 |
Round 4 edit
- Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
Fall | Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan
|
| Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
Fall | Mario Tovar | Mexico
|
| Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
Decision, 3–0 | Jay Thomas Evans | United States
|
| Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
Decision, 3–0 | Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy
|
- Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Jay Thomas Evans | United States |
2 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Garibaldo Nizzola | Italy |
2 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 | Muhammad Ashraf | Pakistan |
4 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Mario Tovar | Mexico |
4 | 3 | 7 |
Round 5 edit
It is unclear why Tóth finished fourth despite having fewer bad points than Kasahara, who advanced to the medal rounds, at the end of this round.
- Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
Decision, 2–1 | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union
|
| Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
Decision, 3–0 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan
|
- Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
3 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Gyula Tóth | Hungary |
4 | 1 | 5 |
Medal rounds edit
Habibi's round 5 victory over Kasahara counted for the medal rounds. Habibi also defeated Bestayev, taking the gold medal with a 2–0 record against the other medalists. Kasahara never faced Bestayev; it is unclear how the silver and bronze medals were decided.
- Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
Fall | Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union
|
- Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Emam-Ali Habibi | Iran |
2 | 0 |
 |
Shigeru Kasahara | Japan |
0 | 1 |
 |
Alimbeg Bestayev | Soviet Union |
0 | 1 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Wrestling at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Freestyle Lightweight". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ Official Report, p. 664.