01. 01. 2020
The last star in the northern sky has faded
WRESTLERS IN HELSINKI APPLAUDED AND CRIED
Last week, the last little star of Slovak Olympic hope also faded in the northern sky. Our wrestlers did not bring back a ticket to London from the final qualification tournament in Helsinki either. Although freestyle wrestler Dan Pálinkás from ZK Košice 1904 almost had it in his hands...
KOŠICE. Pálinkás's heroic performance in the 74 kg weight category will long remain in the memory of the president of the best Slovak club, ZK Košice 1904, Ján Tokár. "I will certainly not forget a performance like the one Dano gave in Helsinki in the fight for the London Olympics. Together with the president of the Slovak Wrestling Federation, Arpád Baksay, we applauded on the one hand that he won a very valuable bronze medal, and on the other hand, we had tears in our eyes when we realized that he was about ten seconds away from an Olympic spot..."
HE WAS IN GREAT FORM
In the first round, the Slovak representative gave no chance to Ilgiz Dzhakypbekov from Kyrgyzstan, whom he defeated 2:0 on periods, and his next opponent, the Italian Carmelo Lumia, did not enjoy his time on the Helsinki mat much either. Only the Greek Olegk Motsalin in the quarterfinals had a slightly tougher root, as he had sprouted on Russian soil. But Dano held his own against him. "He won the first period, and in the second, he was still leading ten seconds before the end..." Ján Tokár also experienced the great tension along with Pálinkás. "If he had brought it to a victorious end, he would have won 2:0 on periods... But perhaps also due to a slightly incorrect tactic, he did not hold the lead, and in the third part, he succumbed to the Greek, thus losing 1:2 on periods, and thus also lost the opportunity to advance to the final, which guaranteed a London spot. However, Dano wrestled in great form, also based on how he performed in the repechage, where the Greek pulled him through by advancing to the final. The fight for bronze against the Ukrainian Dmytro Rochniak, which he won 2:1 on periods, was excellent on his part. Especially the second period was fantastic, he led in it 1:0 and in the end, he not only repelled his opponent's attacks but eventually scored with a so-called 'schneider' for three points and won the period 4:0. By winning the bronze medal, Dan Pálinkás achieved one of the greatest international successes in recent years, for which we congratulate him."
Another Košice native, Daniel Dancák, also tried to conquer the Tower of London in the 84 kg category. In the first round, he easily passed the South African Meyer, but then he was pinned by the Mongolian Orgodol. "He was losing to him 0:1, so he took a risk at the end of the period, but the Mongolian was not to be surprised," Ján Tokár describes the moments of the match in which Dancák's Olympic hopes vanished. "Since the Mongolian wrestler made it to the final, Dancák fought in the repechage for placement with Kolesnikov from Israel. However, in a very good match, he lost 1:2 on periods and finished in twelfth place overall."
ABSURD CRITERIA
In the Olympic qualification, the Košice team had another hot prospect, but it cooled down at the previous tournament in China, from where Jakub Kačeňák brought back health problems. "These had already contributed to his loss to the representative of South Korea there, so he did not travel to Helsinki. Marián Hutňan in the 120 kg category was also absent due to an unhealed injury he sustained at this year's European Championships," explains the Košice president, who until the last moment believed in the participation of Slovak wrestlers at the London Olympics. "Based on the results of this qualification tournament, I am disappointed with the qualification rules FILA has adopted. From the World Championships, which were held last year in Istanbul, only the top five advanced, from the European Championships, not even the European champion was entitled, and from the European qualification tournaments, only the top two go to the Olympics. This is absurd! If we take the placements of our representatives and compare them with the qualification conditions that were in place for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, then freestyle wrestler Kačeňák in the 66 kg category, who placed eighth at the World Championships, Jaloviar in the 96 kg category, as ninth from the World Championships, and Pálinkás in the 74 kg category, as bronze from the qualification in Helsinki, would have traveled to London. And of course, this year's European champion in Greco-Roman style in the 60 kg category, Lévai. But what can you do, we have to continue to work hard, and already think about preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro..."
Korzár, 15.5.2012, Bohuš Matia