Akmataliev competed in the 70 kg weight category and faced American Alec Pantaleo on the mat. Towards the end of the match, the situation was not in favor of the Kyrgyz wrestler: Pantaleo was leading with a score of 4:3.
At that moment, Kurbanaliev, passing by the central mat with Ibrahim Ibrahimov, noticed that the judges had mistakenly awarded extra points to the American. He attempted to convey this information to the second of the Kyrgyzstan team, and then initiated a review of the moment himself by pressing the challenge button.
After reviewing the episode, the judges canceled the extra points, changing the score to 3:2 in favor of Akmataliev.
“I pulled him out. I approached, started shouting — he didn’t hear. So I pressed,” commented Kurbanaliev after the match.
In the first match of the tournament, Ernazar also faced Ibrahimov, winning that bout as well. After that, Kurbanaliev noted that his protégé was significantly stronger than the Kyrgyz wrestler.
