Alejandro Sancho goes 0-1 at the 2021 Poland Open in men's Greco-Raman competition. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo.
Release courtesy of Mike Willis/USA Wrestling.
The Greco-Roman portion of the Poland Open kicked off this morning. Team USA’s sole competitor was Alejandro Sancho at 67 kg. Sancho, who will represent the U.S. at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, dropped his opening match to Bohdan Kovernyuk of Ukraine.
Sancho carried a 1-0 lead into the break on the strength of a passivity point. However, he was put down in the second period, and Kovernyuk capitalized in par terre, hitting a lift for two points. Sancho spent the rest of the match as the aggressor, eventually earning a step out point for his efforts. At one point, it looked as though Sancho nearly scored a takedown in a flurry, but the referee stopped the action and put the wrestlers back on their feet. With under ten seconds left in the match, Sancho was hit with a caution and 2, which resulted in a 5-2 final.
Sancho was denied the opportunity for repechage when Kovernyuk fell in the semifinals to Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed of Egypt, a 2019 World Military Games champion and two-time U23 World champion. Elsayed qualified Egypt for the Olympics with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 World Championships, which means Sancho could face him in the Games this summer.
The medal round begins at 12:00 p.m. EST. However, the other two Americans competing in this tournament, Max Nowry (55 kg) and Alan Vera (87 kg) won’t wrestle until tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. EST The tournament is streaming in its entirety on FloWrestling.
2021 Poland Open
Warsaw, Poland
U.S. Greco-Roman results
Alejandro Sancho (U.S. Army WCAP)
LOSS Bohdan Kovernyuk, 5-2
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