The men's Greco-Roman lightweight competition at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place from 16 to 19 October at the Komazawa Gymnasium. Nations were limited to one competitor. Lightweight was the fourth-lightest category, including wrestlers weighing .
Competition format
This Greco-Roman wrestling competition continued to use the "bad points" elimination system introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman and at the 1932 Summer Olympics for freestyle wrestling, as adjusted at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Each bout awarded 4 points. If the victory was by fall, the winner received 0 and the loser 4. If the victory was by decision, the winner received 1 and the loser 3. If the bout was tied, each wrestler received 2 points. A wrestler who accumulated 6 or more points was eliminated. Rounds continued until there were 3 or fewer uneliminated wrestlers. If only 1 wrestler remained, he received the gold medal. If 2 wrestlers remained, point totals were ignored and they faced each other for gold and silver (if they had already wrestled each other, that result was used). If 3 wrestlers remained, point totals were ignored and a round-robin was held among those 3 to determine medals (with previous head-to-head results, if any, counting for this round-robin).
Results
Round 1
Romero withdrew after his bout.
Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation James Burke Tie Hossein Ebrahimian Alejandro Echaniz Tie Wahid Ullah Zaid Stevan Horvat Decision Franz Berger Eero Tapio Tie Valeriu Bularcă Dimitrios Savvas Decision Kim Ik-jong Tokuaki Fujita Fall Raúl Romero Davit Gvantseladze Decision Franz Schmitt Rune Johnsson Decision Kurt Madsen Kazım Ayvaz Decision Mahmoud Ibrahim Ivan Ivanov Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 1 0 1 0 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 14 3 14 3 14 Kim Ik-jong 3 14 3 14 3 19 4*
Round 2
Two of the wrestlers who had a tie in round 1 lost by fall in this round and were eliminated. Three more were eliminated with a second loss. Each of the remaining 13 men had at least 1 point, with Fujita, Johnsson, and Ivanov in the lead with only 1.
Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation Ivan Ivanov Decision James Burke Eero Tapio Fall Hossein Ebrahimian Valeriu Bularcă Decision Kim Ik-jong Tokuaki Fujita Decision Dimitrios Savvas Rune Johnsson Fall Alejandro Echaniz Kurt Madsen Decision Wahid Ullah Zaid Franz Schmitt Decision Franz Berger Stevan Horvat Decision Mahmoud Ibrahim Kazım Ayvaz Decision Davit Gvantseladze
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 Total 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 4 1 1 2 4 1 1 2 4 2 0 2 7 2 1 3 8 1 3 4 8 3 1 4 8 1 3 4 8 3 1 4 12 2 3 5 12 2 3 5 14 3 3 6 14 2 4 6 14 2 4 6 14 3 3 6 14 Kim Ik-jong 3 3 6
Round 3
Four wrestlers were eliminated. Ayvaz, with the assistance of a bye, moved up to join Fujita in the lead at 2 points.
Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation Eero Tapio Decision Ivan Ivanov Valeriu Bularcă Foul James Burke Dimitrios Savvas Tie Rune Johnsson Tokuaki Fujita Decision Kurt Madsen Franz Schmitt Fall Wahid Ullah Zaid Davit Gvantseladze Decision Stevan Horvat Kazım Ayvaz Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 Total 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 2 3 2 1 0 3 3 1 0 2 3 3 2 0 1 3 6 0 1 3 4 6 3 1 0 4 8 1 1 3 5 8 1 3 1 5 10 1 3 2 6 11 3 1 3 7 12 2 3 4 9 12 2 3 4 9
Round 4
Three wrestlers were eliminated, leaving 6 in contention. Ayvaz was now in sole possession of the lead at 3 points. Bularcă and Fujita each had 4; the remaining 3 men had 5.
Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation Kazım Ayvaz Decision Ivan Ivanov Eero Tapio Tie Tokuaki Fujita Valeriu Bularcă Decision Rune Johnsson Stevan Horvat Fall Franz Schmitt Davit Gvantseladze Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 Total 1 1 1 0 1 3 2 2 1 0 1 4 2 0 1 1 2 4 4 1 3 1 0 5 4 1 1 3 0 5 4 2 0 1 2 5 7 1 0 2 3 6 8 0 1 3 3 7 9 3 1 0 4 8
Round 5
Five of the six wrestlers were eliminated in round 5, with Ayvaz the only man to stay below 6 points and therefore the gold medalist. The three-way tie for second place necessitated a final round to determine silver, bronze, and 4th.
Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation Davit Gvantseladze Decision Eero Tapio Kazım Ayvaz Tie Valeriu Bularcă Tokuaki Fujita Tie Stevan Horvat
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Total 1 1 0 1 2 5 2 2 1 0 1 2 6 2 0 1 1 2 2 6 2 1 3 1 0 1 6 5 1 1 3 0 2 7 6 2 0 1 2 3 8
Final round
With three wrestlers tied for 2nd place, none of whom had faced each other, there was a final round-robin. Bularcă prevailed in a close contest, defeating Gvantseladze by decision before drawing against Fujita. Gvantseladze took the bronze medal, with one win and one loss. Fujita, with the loss and tie, finished 4th.
Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation Valeriu Bularcă Decision Davit Gvantseladze Davit Gvantseladze Decision Tokuaki Fujita Valeriu Bularcă Tie Tokuaki Fujita
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Points 3 4 4 5
References
General