Robby Smith (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)PARIS -- Different day, but similar results.
On Day 2 of the World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France, USA's Greco-Roman team was still unable to place a wrestler in a medal match.
Of the four wrestlers who competed on Tuesday, Ildar Hafizov (59 kilograms), Ellis Coleman (66 kilograms), Cheney Haight (80 kilograms), and Robby Smith (130 kilograms), only two were victorious, Coleman and Smith.
Ellis Coleman opened the Worlds with a win (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Coleman came out aggressive in his first match against Diego Ribeiro of Brazi, using a series of step outs and takedowns on his way to a dominant 8-0 technical fall in the first period.
In his second match against Mate Nemes of Serbia, Coleman was dinged two points for a caution, hitting his opponent in the face area, which forced him to change his game plan for the match. He fell 3-1.
Disappointed, yet still optimistic, Coleman spoke about his performance.
"The guys that aren't making those mistakes are the guys that are winning it," Coleman said. "I have to figure out my offense and be the one receiving those points [instead of being on the other end] of the sticks."
Smith faced Tamas Soos of Slovakia in the opening round, and took an early 2-0 lead before using a beautiful four-point body lock lateral drop to cement his opponent at the 1:54 mark.
In Smith's second match against Yasmani Acosta of Chile, he started slowly and trailed 2-0 at the break. Smith was able to muster a point in the second period, but by that time the score was 3-1 and he was almost looking at the double zeros on the clock.
Obviously, upset about failing to place, Smith talked about how his performance.
"I'd rather be talked to after I win a medal," Smith said. "It's not fun doing this right now honestly. We have to get back to the drawing board and figure something out."
For Hafizov and Haight, they each had tough opponents in their first match that they could not overcome.
Hafizov met Vazgen Khachatryan of Armenia and found himself down early, when Khachatryan used a throw to build a four-point lead. Hafizov would cut the deficit to 4-2, but Khachatryan built an 8-3 lead to close out the match.
Hafizov was eliminated from the tournament when Khachatryan lost his next match in the round of 16.
On the contrary, Haight could did get on the board first in his match, going up 2-0 on Laszlo Szabo of Hungary. But that would not last long as Szabo stormed to a 9-2 lead before pinning Haight at 5:37.
Haight too was no longer eligible for repachage when Szabo was defeated in his next match.
It was a disappointing performance for USA's Greco-Roman team in Paris as no wrestler came close to bringing home hardware.
The last USA Greco-Roman wrestler to earn a medal at the World Championships was Andy Bisek, who obtained bronze in 2015 and 2014. Before him it was Dremiel Byers with a silver in 2009, and a bronze in 2007.
USA Greco-Roman coach Matt Lindland, in a somber tone, said the young guys who are inexperienced fought hard on the first day, but on the second day the experienced guys must find the fight.
"Today I didn't see the fight and I know we have really talented athletes," Lindland said. "I don't know what the answer is to fixing it right now. Maybe it is bringing up the juniors who have wrestled with these rules and let them matriculate into seniors."
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