Lidiya Karamchakova (Russian: Лидия Карамчакова; born February 17, 1968, in Abakan, Russian SFSR) is a retired amateur Russian-Tajikistani freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's flyweight category.[1] Karamchakova's wrestling career emerged with two career medals at the European Championships (1997 and 2000), before acquiring a dual citizenship to compete for Tajikistan in 2002. Since then, she scored a silver in the 48-kg division at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and also finished seventh at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Karamchakova is also a member of the Viktor Wrestling Club in Krasnoyarsk, under her personal coach Viktor Raiko.[2]

Lidiya Karamchakova
Personal information
Full nameLidiya Karamchakova
Nationality Russia
 Tajikistan
Born (1968-02-17) 17 February 1968 (age 56)
Abakan, Russian SFSR,
Soviet Union
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight48 kg (106 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleFreestyle
ClubViktor Wrestling (RUS)
CoachViktor Raiko (RUS)
Medal record
Women's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Russia
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Budapest 46 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Warsaw 46 kg
Representing  Tajikistan
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2002 Busan 48 kg

Karamchakova reached sporting headlines at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, where she picked up a silver medal in the women's flyweight category (48 kg), being pinned by China's Zhong Xiue.[3][4]

When women's wrestling made its debut at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Karamchakova qualified for her naturalized Tajik squad in the inaugural 48 kg class.[5] Earlier in the process, she placed third and guaranteed a spot on the Tajik wrestling team from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Madrid, Spain.[6] Karamchakova lost her opening match to eventual Olympic champion Irini Merleni of Ukraine on technical superiority, but bounced back to upset Greece's Fani Psatha in front of the home audience with a 5–3 verdict, and then pinned Tunisia's Fadhila Louati before reaching the two-minute mark. Despite missing a spot for the semifinals, Karamchakova had a chance to compete against Russia's Lorisa Oorzhak, but she fell behind her fellow Russian rival by a rare 11–0 defeat, placing seventh in the final standings.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lidiya Karamchakova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  2. ^ СИБИРСКАЯ ОЛИМПИАДА [Siberian Olympiad] (in Russian). Krasnoyarskiy Rabochiy. 16 August 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  3. ^ "No brake on China gold rush". Calcutta: The Telegraph. 4 October 2002. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Asian Games roundup: Gold medals keep coming despite rowing defeat for China". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 3 October 2002. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  5. ^ Советские козыри [Soviet trumps] (in Russian). Gazeta.kz. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  6. ^ Abbott, Gary (14 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. in women's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Wrestling: Women's Freestyle 48kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
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