Manvel Khndzrtsyan

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Manvel Khndzrtsyan was born on January 26, 2001, in the village of Azatan, Shirak Province, Armenia. In 2010, he began attending the Sevan Sports Society's sports school, where his coach was Ara Sahradyan. Since 2012, his coach has been Karapet Yengoyan. Khndzrtsyan achieved his first notable success on the international stage in 2018, when he won the silver medal in the 51 kg freestyle category at the European Cadet Wrestling Championships held in Skopje.

In June 2021, at the 2021 European Juniors Wrestling Championships in Dortmund, competing in the 57 kg weight category, Khndzrtsyan defeated Italy’s Simone Piroddu 11–0 in the quarterfinals, then overcame Switzerland’s Thomas Epp in the semifinals, before losing to Russia’s Khunkerov in the final and earning the silver medal. Two months later, in August, at the 2021 World Junior Wrestling Championships in Ufa, he won the bronze medal by defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Abdumalik Bagavudinov 6–2 in the third-place match. On November 6 of the same year, at the 2021 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, he secured another bronze medal, defeating India’s Suraj Yadav by technical superiority (10–0) in 1 minute and 20 seconds. From November 21 to 24, at the World Military Wrestling Championships in Tehran, he won a bronze medal. In December of that year, Khndzrtsyan became the national champion of Armenia.

Khndzrtsyan made his senior international debut in March 2022 at the 2022 European Wrestling Championships in Budapest. Starting from the round of 16, he defeated Moldova’s Anatolii Buruian 11–6, then claimed a comeback victory in the quarterfinals against Turkey’s Muhammet Karavuş, overturning a 0–4 loss to win 14–4. After losing in the semifinals to North Macedonia’s Vladimir Egorov, he secured the bronze medal by defeating Germany’s Niklas Stechele 6–2.

At the 2023 U23 World Championships in Tirana, Khndzrtsyan advanced to the final in pursuit of the silver medal. He first defeated an American wrestler 11–0, then overcame Germany’s Niklas Stechele 2–1 in a closely contested bout. In the semifinals, he delivered a strong performance against a Mongolian opponent, winning 14–4 to reach the final.

In an interview, Khndzrtsyan stated that he had never initially dreamed of becoming a wrestler; he took up the sport to grow stronger and more resilient. After achieving significant success, he decided to continue and set a goal of becoming a European and World champion. He has also noted that fear is merely a sign of doubt, a principle he strives to follow in life.

Since 2020, Khndzrtsyan has been studying at the Faculty of Finance of the Armenian State University of Economics. In 2022, he was recognized as one of the university’s top students, and in 2024, he graduated from the same faculty.

From April 25 to 27, 2026, at the European Wrestling Championships held in Tirana, Albania, Khndzrtsyan first defeated Germany’s Leier 12–6, followed by a dominant 11–0 victory over a Romanian opponent. In the semifinals, however, he sustained a knee injury early in the match and was unable to continue at full capacity, ultimately losing 5–0 to Russia’s Musamekhti Khanov. As his opponent advanced to the final, Khndzrtsyan was given the opportunity to compete for the bronze medal the following day.

In the bronze medal match, he faced Serbia’s European champion Atzamat Tusukaev. Despite trailing 1–6 at the start, Khndzrtsyan delivered an impressive comeback, showing a high-level match to win 18–6. As a result, he became a two-time bronze medalist at the European Championships.