Tokyo 2020 champion David Taylor lost to Abdulrashid Sadulayev in the first round

American David Taylor The 2024 World Wrestling Championships in Tirana, Albania got off to a rocky start on Wednesday (October 30).

The Tokyo 2020 gold medalist in the 86kg division fell to a two-time Olympic champion. Abdulrashid Sadulayev7-0, in the qualifying round of the 92kg freestyle competition.

Ahead of the World Cup, Taylor told Olympics.com that he was looking forward to the match against Sadulayev.

“I have competed in many big matches in my life and fought all the legends of our sport. And he’s the only guy I didn’t have to talk to. So I really want this to happen,” he told us. “For a while we were considered two of the two best in the world, but there were divisions in weight classes and other things. It’s a pretty crazy series of events that led to both of us being in this weight class for this tournament, and the statistical probability is very low.”

Taylor still has a potential path to the podium, but he’s relying on other results to come his way. If Sadulayev can reach the final, the American will be called up to participate in the repechage round. After that, he will have a chance to win a bronze medal.

Sadulayev followed up his first-round win over Taylor with a 3-1 win over Abubakr Abakarov.

Now in the quarterfinals he will meet with German Lars Scheffle.

The 2024 World Championships will only feature wrestlers who did not compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.