Turkey has got a chance to win its first gold at the Beijing Olympics in the men's freestyle 66kg wrestling, which is the sport's giant Russia's heel of Achilles.
Turkish wrestler Ramazan Sahin, the 2007 world champion and 2008 European champion in the 66kg category, is the top favorite. He stunned talented Cuban star Geandry Garzon, the bronze medalist in the 2005 and 2006 worlds, in the 2007 worlds.
Garzon, also a strong contender at the Beijing Olympics, breezed to the top podium at the Pan American Games in February this year.
In the 2007 world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Russia's 66kg wrestler Irbek Farniev only nipped a bronze and was the only member of the then Russian team who didn't capture gold.
The Olympic men's 66kg wrestling gold will be decided on Wednesday afternoon, followed by the final of the men's 74kg.
Russian Buvaysa Saytiev is the most likely the winner of the men's freestyle 74kg. The 33-year-old dominated this category by winning the 1996 and 2004 Olympic golds, who also won six world titles and other major events, including European championships, World Cup and World Military Championships.
Other favorites includes the 2006 world champion Ibragim Aldatov of Ukraine, who placed second in 2007 worlds, and the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Ivan Fundora of Cuba, who captured a bronze in Baku and dominated this category at Pan American level.
(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2008)