Hopefully, you weren’t worried if Chris Gonzalez (71 kg, USA) was going to be a little tight in his first major World event. Because early indications are if you were, it was a waste of nervous energy.
Gonzalez was sharp and in control in his opening round match at the 2016 Non-Olympic World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The 25 year-old native of Illinois battled it out with Flip Dubsky (CZE) and got things ratcheted up in the second period. Following a passivity point given to the American earlier, Dubsky secured a high clinch he looked to take over the shoulder. Gonzalez quickly widened his base and pulled his hips forward to disrupt the position, landing directly on Dubsky. Gonzalez was awarded two for the sequence. A challenge by the Czech Republic was denied giving Gonzalez another point for a 4-0 lead.
Gonzalez didn’t stay complacent. With 40 seconds left in the match, an arm-drag yielded two more. The American then worked a lock he re-adjusted on at the edge to gutwrench Dubsky over for the match-ending points. Gonzalez, international newbie who made his first World Team last month in New York City, comes away with an impressive first-round technical fall to advance.
In the round of 16, Gonzalez will face Illie Cocojari (ROU), who defeated Ukraine’s Denys Demyanov. Keep it here as we update throughout the morning.
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