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Ciobanu tallied four victories at the World Championships and scraped together a 9-3 60kg finals victory over Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ). His podium-topping finished handed Moldova their first-ever Greco-Roman world gold medal.
"This gold medal means a lot to me and to my coach, because I never had a world gold medal, nor did he," said Ciobanu, who turned 29 in early October. "I have made the dream of both of us come true."
Ciobanu, one of the most dynamic competitors in the sport, came close to winning a title in Budapest in 2018 but finally got over the hump in Oslo.
In the finals battle between wrestlers from former Soviet republics mutually seeking a first-ever Greco champion, Ciobanu put together a near-flawless performance to make it to the top of the podium at last.
The final was a rematch of his quarterfinal clash with Sharshenbekov at the Tokyo Olympics, which Ciobanu won by 9-0 technical fall. His victory in Oslo was not as one-sided, but he never seemed in danger, even after spotting the 2018 world 55kg silver medalist a 3-0 first-period lead.
"I knew that the final match would be tough, because we wrestled each other at the Olympics," Ciobanu said. "I know he is a great wrestler, he is younger than me, I respect him a lot. Wrestling is wrestling, but it’s important to remain human. I am thankful to him for that amazing match."
Ciobanu’s Road to #WrestleOslo Gold:
GOLD - df. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV 🇰🇬, 9-3
Semifinals - df. Gevorg GHARIBYAN 🇦🇲, 9-6
Quarterfinals - df. Stepan MARYANYAN (RWF), 7-6
1/8 finals - df. Zhora ABOVIAN 🇺🇦, 11-6
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