World glory Nic-ked from Nico
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Oldmeldrum wrestler Nico Cojocaru expressed his bittersweet emotion after last weekend's World Championships.
The ETKO Academy coach was on the verge of history in Kazakhstan before injury eventually got the better of him, losing out in both the semi-final against the host nation and then in the bronze medal match against Iran.
Competing in the 70kg category, Nico finished 5th after early wins against Palau and Korea.
He commented: “I was so close to making history for the UK as no British contestant has ever won a medal in the World Championship.
“I was a bit upset that I couldn't perform at 100 per cent because of my injury, which I aggravated more after the Australia tie.
“I am happy that I managed to let everyone know that in Great Britain, we can wrestle too.
“We were fifth in the European Championships in April and now fifth in the world – it is a big improvement for British Wrestling.”
As a team In the competition, Britain were the best-ranked nation, higher than traditional wrestling powerhouses such as Armenia, Bulgaria, Belarus and Romania.
