Brawl costs wrestlers European Games medals

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) Two wrestlers threw away their medal chances at the European Games on Wednesday when their bout degenerated into punches and a head-butt.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) Two wrestlers threw away their medal chances at the European Games on Wednesday when their bout degenerated into punches and a head-butt.

As Georgia's Vladimer Khinchegashvili and Belarusian Vladislav Andreev faced off in their men's 57-kilogram freestyle semifinal, tempers became heated shortly after the mid-match break, and both swung punches.

As the referee moved in, Khinchegashvili head-butted Andreev, who did not appear badly hurt.

Both were disqualified, and a new semifinal held between their defeated quarterfinal opponents.

That opened the way for lucky loser Marcel Ewald of Germany to reach the final, where he took silver, losing on points to Russian Viktor Lebedev.