Arvi Savolainen lost to Lithuania’s Mindaugas Venckaitis in the third round. According to Savolainen, wrestling still lacks routine after hard times.
Arvi Savolainen career at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade ended in the third round, when he suffered a screening loss to Lithuania Mindaugas to Venckaitis in the 97-kilogram division of Greco-Roman wrestling.
The 2022 European Championship silver medalist was frustrated with the outcome of the Games. The wrestling looked good at times, but the result did not match the goals. In addition, the Olympic place that was allocated to the five best remained a dream.
– These are the competitions where you should succeed if you want to be a good wrestler. I wasn’t at the level I should have been. It’s frustrating and there are the same mistakes that have happened years ago, no matter how hard you try to train in between, Savolainen said.
Savolainen started the match well, but after about a minute of vertical wrestling, the Lithuanian threw the Finn to the mat, and Savolainen never got up.
Savolainen didn’t know how to expect a throw and neck jump from an opponent he knew from competitions and camps.
– It came as a bombshell. That was not known. I don’t know, this has happened before, same situation.
Savolainen referred to the 2021 European Championship, where he suffered a defeat against Belarus For Mikalai Stadub in the same way. Savolainen estimates that the reason is the lack of confidence in vertical wrestling.
– It should have been driven in and the position improved, but it has not been successful.
Savolainen’s dreams of reaching the Olympic spot in Belgrade were shattered once and for all when Vencaitis failed to advance to the final match of the series. Consequently, Savolainen was unable to continue in the qualifying matches, through which he could have advanced to the bronze medal match and among those claiming an Olympic spot.
Before his defeat, the Finnish wrestler first beat Japan on the World Cup mat Yuta Naran 8–0 and the Netherlands Tyrone Sterkenburg 10 to 7. Savolainen was left with a toothache from the tournament.
– There was no good feeling, even though I managed to win a few matches. The guys were such that all three should have been won. It might not have been expected that the best of the series would be here, but I was hoping for a better result.
Savolainen, who lost the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, has had injuries and health problems. He had to miss last year’s World Cup due to a wrist injury. Savolainen underwent heart surgery in 2021.
Due to the hard times, wrestling lacks a routine, even if the condition is good.
– Endurance condition can be even better than before, but there have been so many problems that general physique and strength levels have come down. There are just a lot fewer wrestling minutes behind. Goes a bit on the wrong track, that’s where mistakes come more easily.
Savolainen’s next main target is the Olympic qualifiers in the spring.
Savolai was interviewed by Jarkko Ala-Huikku.