The last European champion in men, Hakan Reçber, who won the bronze medal, beat Edival Pontes from Brazil 25-18 in the 68 kg first round match and advanced to the quarterfinals. The national athlete faced Great Britain’s Bradly Sinden, who scored 53 points in his first match in the quarterfinals. Against scoring machine Bradly, Hakan failed to score in the first set (14-0). As the second set was 19-15 and the last final set was 39-19, the match ended because there was a 20-point difference with 1 minute left. Thus, Hakan Recber lost his semi-final chance.
Hakan Reçber played a repechage match with Tom Burs from New Zealand, with Bradly Sinden from Great Britain making it to the final for the bronze medal match. Reçber won the bronze medal match by beating New Zealander Tom Burs 23-8 in the fight that was under his control from the beginning of the match. Hakan Reçber faced Nedzad Husic from Bosnia and Herzegovina for the bronze medal. 21-year-old Recber, who had a technically superior fight against Husic, won the bronze medal by winning the match 22-13.
The 21-year-old athlete from Istanbul BBSK is also the European Champion.
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