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| Event type

Welterweight, Freestyle (≤73 kilograms), Men

Date28 November – 1 December 1956
StatusOlympic
LocationRoyal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Victoria
Participants15 from 15 countries
FormatElimination by bad points. Win by fall = 0 points; win by decision = 1 point; loss by 2-1 decision = 2 points; loss by 3-0 decision = 3 points; loss by fall = 3 points. Three judges gave decisions, thus all decisions were either 2-1 or 3-0. Five bad points eliminated a wrestler.

The 1954 World Champion was Soviet Georgian Vakh’tang Balavadze and he would make it to the final round in Melbourne, joined there by Japanese Mitsuo Ikeda and Turkey’s İbrahim Zengin. In rounds three and four, Ikeda had defeated Balavadze and Zengin, so the gold medal was his by default, and he did not have to wrestle in the final round, as earlier round results were carried over. Zengin then defeated Balavadze to win the silver medal.

Balavadze had started out in sambo wrestling, a Soviet variant of judo and wrestling. He would win the World Championships again in 1957 and competed at the 1960 Olympics, but was not a medal contender. Zengin had been third at the 1951 Worlds as a lightweight.

PosCompetitor(s)NOCREBad Points
1Mitsuo IkedaJPNGold
2İbrahim ZenginTURSilver
3Vakht'ang BalavadzeURSBronze
=4Nabi SorouriIRI
=4Coenraad de VilliersRSA
=4Per BerlinSWE
ACMitko PetkovBULEliminated r3/56
ACMuhammad LatifPAKEliminated r3/56
ACAlfred TischendorfGEREliminated r3/57
ACErnie FischerUSAEliminated r3/57
ACNoel GrangerAUSEliminated r2/56
ACErnst WandallerAUTEliminated r2/56
ACDevi SinghINDEliminated r2/56
ACBruno OchmanCANWithdrew r2/53
ACVeikko RantanenFINWithdrew r2/53

Round One (28 November 1956 — -)

PosCompetitor(s)NOCBad Points
=1Mitko PetkovBUL0
=1Nabi SorouriIRI0
=1Coenraad de VilliersRSA0
=1İbrahim ZenginTUR0
=5Alfred TischendorfGER1
=5Mitsuo IkedaJPN1
=5Per BerlinSWE1
=5Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS1
=9Noel GrangerAUS3
=9Ernst WandallerAUT3
=9Bruno OchmanCAN3withdrew
=9Veikko RantanenFIN3withdrew
=9Devi SinghIND3
=9Muhammad LatifPAK3
=9Ernie FischerUSA3

Match #1 Mitko PetkovBUL
fall (9:45)
Bruno OchmanCAN
Match #2 Nabi SorouriIRI
fall (9:29)
Devi SinghIND
Match #3 Mitsuo IkedaJPN
decision (3-0)
Ernie FischerUSA
Match #4 İbrahim ZenginTUR
fall (6:30)
Ernst WandallerAUT
Match #5 Per BerlinSWE
decision (3-0)
Noel GrangerAUS
Match #6 Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS
decision (3-0)
Veikko RantanenFIN
Match #7 Alfred TischendorfGER
decision (3-0)
Muhammad LatifPAK
Match #8 Coenraad de VilliersRSA bye

Round Two (29 November 1956 — -)

PosCompetitor(s)NOCBad Points
1İbrahim ZenginTUR0
=2Mitsuo IkedaJPN1
=2Coenraad de VilliersRSA1
=2Per BerlinSWE1
=2Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS1
=6Mitko PetkovBUL3
=6Nabi SorouriIRI3
=6Muhammad LatifPAK3
=9Alfred TischendorfGER4
=9Ernie FischerUSA4
=11Noel GrangerAUS6eliminated
=11Ernst WandallerAUT6eliminated
=11Devi SinghIND6eliminated

Match #1 Coenraad de VilliersRSA
decision (3-0)
Mitko PetkovBUL
Match #2 Ernie FischerUSA
decision (3-0)
Nabi SorouriIRI
Match #3 Mitsuo IkedaJPN
fall (9:50)
Devi SinghIND
Match #4 İbrahim ZenginTUR
fall (4:00)
Noel GrangerAUS
Match #5 Per BerlinSWE
fall (8:46)
Ernst WandallerAUT
Match #6 Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS
fall (2:50)
Alfred TischendorfGER
Match #7 Muhammad LatifPAK bye

Round Three (30 November 1956 — -)

PosCompetitor(s)NOCBad Points
1İbrahim ZenginTUR1
=2Mitsuo IkedaJPN2
=2Coenraad de VilliersRSA2
=2Per BerlinSWE2
=5Nabi SorouriIRI4
=5Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS4
=7Mitko PetkovBUL6eliminated
=7Muhammad LatifPAK6eliminated
=9Alfred TischendorfGER7eliminated
=9Ernie FischerUSA7eliminated

Match #1 Coenraad de VilliersRSA
decision (3-0)
Muhammad LatifPAK
Match #2 Nabi SorouriIRI
decision (3-0)
Mitko PetkovBUL
Match #3 İbrahim ZenginTUR
decision (3-0)
Ernie FischerUSA
Match #4 Mitsuo IkedaJPN
decision (3-0)
Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS
Match #5 Per BerlinSWE
decision (3-0)
Alfred TischendorfGER

Round Four (1 December 1956)

PosCompetitor(s)NOCBad Points
1Mitsuo IkedaJPN3
=2İbrahim ZenginTUR4
=2Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS4
=4Nabi SorouriIRI5eliminated
=4Coenraad de VilliersRSA5eliminated
=4Per BerlinSWE5eliminated

Match #1 Nabi SorouriIRI
decision (3-0)
Coenraad de VilliersRSA
Match #2 Mitsuo IkedaJPN
decision (3-0)
İbrahim ZenginTUR
Match #3 Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS
fall (11:45)
Per BerlinSWE

Final Round (1 December 1956)

Match #1 İbrahim ZenginTUR
fall (8:03)
Vakht'ang BalavadzeURS