Hamid Soryan of Iran celebrates after winning the 55 kg Greco-Roman Olympic gold medal. Jason Bryant photo LONDON, England – The first two gold medals in wrestling were awarded at the ExCel Center on Sunday with the opening day of the Greco-Roman competition. The 55 kg/121 lbs. was a battle of the top two favorites, five-time World champion Hamid Soryan of Iran against 2011 World champion Rovshan Bayramov of Azerbaijan. Soryan did not compete in the 2011 World meet, and his only previous Olympic performance was fifth in 2008. Bayramov has a long list of achievements to go with his World gold, including a 2008 Olympic silver medal, a 2006 World silver medal and a 2009 World bronze medal. Soryan won the first period, scoring a two-point gut wrench during the 30-second par terre segment after neither athlete scored in the opening 90 seconds. In the second period, Soryan scored a takedown and closed out the period, holding off Bayramov’s final attempts for a 2-0, 1-0 win. The Iranian fans erupted in joy, as Soryan ran around the mat with the Iranian flag in celebration. Bayramov became a two-time Olympic silver medalist. The final at 74 kg/163 lbs. featured 2011 World champion Roman Vlasov of Russia against two-time World medalist Arsen Julfalakyan of Armenia. Vlasov has won many major international events in a row, including the 2012 European Championships and the 2012 Podubbny Tournament in Russia. Julfalakyan, a 2010 World silver medalist and 2011 World bronze medalist, was looking to match the feat of his father, Levon Julfalakyan, who won a 1988 Olympic gold medal for the Soviet Union at 68 kg. The first period went to Vlasov, who scored a one-point gut wrench from the top position in par terre. Vlasov defended from the bottom par terre position to get the point in the second period for a 1-0, 1-0 victory. Winning the first bronze medal at 55 kg/121 lbs. was Hungary’s Peter Modos, who needed three periods to defeat 2009 World bronze medalist Hakan Nyblom of Denmark, 2-0, 0-3, 2-0. The third period went to a ball draw, with it coming up red, putting Modos on top. He turned Nyblom with a two-point gutwrench midway to win the match. It was Modos first medal on the Senior level, after taking fifth in the World Championships on two occasions (2010, 2011). The second bronze at 55 kg/121 lbs. went to Russia’s Mingiyan Semenov, who stopped 2010 World silver medalist Gyu-Jin Choi of Korea, 3-1, 1-0. Semenov scored from his feet in the first period, and was able to defend in the par terre to win the second period. It was his first World-level medal for Russia. The first bronze medal at 74 kg/163 lbs. went to Aleksandr Kazekevic of Lithuania, who stopped four-time World medalist Mark Madsen of Denmark, 2-0, 2-0. Madsen lost a protest in the first period when Kazekevic was able to defend in the par terre. In the second period, he scored a two-point gutwrench from par terre for the win. It was Kazekevic’s first World-level medal, as he was competing in his second Olympic Games. The second bronze medal match at 74 kg/163 lbs. took three periods as Emin Ahmadov of Azerbaijan stopped 2009 World bronze medalist Aliaksandr Kikiniou of Belarus, 0-2, 2-1, 2-0. The third and deciding period went to the ball draw and Ahmadov went on top. Kikiniou got to his feet but was pushed out of bounds by Ahmedov. This was the first Senior World-level event for Ahmadov. OLYMPIC GAMES At London, England, August 5, 2012 Greco-Roman results 55 kg/121 lbs. Gold – Hamid Soryan (Iran) Silver – Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan) Bronze – Peter Modos (Hungary) Bronze – Mingyan Semenov (Russia) 5th – Hakan Nyblom (Denmark) 5th – Gyu-Jin Choi (Korea) 7th – Shujin Li (China) 8th – Gustavo Balart (Cuba) 9th – Spenser Mango (USA) 10th – Kohei Hasegawa (Japan) Medal Match results Gold – Hamid Soryan (Iran) dec. Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijan), 2-0, 1-0 Bronze – Peter Modos (Hungary) dec. Hakan Nyblom (Denmark), 2-0, 0-3, 2-0 Bronze – Mingyan Semenov (Russia) dec. Gyu-Jin Choi (Korea), 3-1, 1-0 74 kg/163 lbs. Gold – Roman Vlasov (Russia) Silver – Arsen Julfalakyan (Armenia), Bronze – Aleksandr Kazekevic (Lithuania) Bronze – Emin Ahmadov (Azerbaijan) 5th – Mark Madsen (Denmark) 5th – Aliaksandr Kikiniou (Belarus) 7th – Zurabi Datunishvili (Georgia) 8th – Christophe Guenot (France) 9th – Robert Rosengren (Sweden) 10th – Neven Zugaj (Croatia) Medal Matches Gold – Roman Vlasov (Russia) dec. Arsen Julfalakyan (Armenia), 1-0, 1-0 Bronze – Aleksandr Kazekevic (Lithuania) dec. Mark Madsen (Denmark), 2-0, 2-0 Bronze – Emin Ahmadov (Azerbaijan) dec Aliaksandr Kikiniou (Belarus), 0-2, 2-1, 2-0