Stevens
Point native Ben Provisor had his second Olympic appearance come to an end when
he lost his opening match in the 85kg weight class in Greco-Roman wrestling at
the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics Monday, Aug. 15.

Provisor
was unable to overcome a four-point toss in his Round of 16 match against 2015
World Championship Silver Medalist Rustam Assakalov of Uzbekistan, and ultimately
fell 6-3.

He
then was eliminated from the competition after Assakalov lost in the
quarterfinals.

“I
felt good; I felt that I had a good game plan against him,” Provisor said in an
interview with Trackwrestling.com after his match. “I knew he was going to try
to get over-hooks on my right side, so I was going to stay away from that.

“And
I got that dude dog tired, so I felt like I had the right game plan, I just
sort of let the refs get to me in that last little bit of par terre, and I got
lifted and turned, which rests on my shoulders,” he said. “I feel like if I’m
wrestling 100 percent on my feet, I don’t think anybody can stop me. I just
made a mental mistake.”

In
the blind draw for the weight class Sunday, Aug. 14, Provisor was chosen to open
the competition Monday morning against Assakalov, who won the Silver Medal at
the 2015 World Championships and was ranked fourth in the world in the weight
class.

The
score was 0-0 late in the first period, with Provisor working from the top of
par terre and Assakolv on the bottom with his hands and knees on the mat.

Provisor
tried to lift and toss Assakalov, but Assakolv slipped out of the hold and
scored on a reversal to take a 1-0 lead with six seconds left in the period.

In
the second period, Assakalov was called for passivity and Provisor was awarded
a point to tie the match at 1-1, while Provisor was later called for passivity
and forced to go into par terre, with his hands and knees on the mat and
Assakolv in the top position and now leading 2-1.

“I
had just gotten one point for being active and him being passive, and then it
was pretty much the same thing,” said Provisor. “I was coming forward, digging
under-hooks and moving my feet forward, and the refs I guess decided that I was
being passive.

“I
thought that was a little bit of a crappy call, but it just is what it is,” he
said. “I shouldn’t have let that little bit affect me.”

In
par terre, Assakalov lifted Provisor by the waist, twisted and threw him to the
mat for a four-point toss to go up 6-1 with 1:02 remaining in the match.

“I
defended him in par terre the first time I was there, and then the second time
I stopped moving and got turned, so that was ultimately my fault,” Provisor
told Trackwrestling. “And I know I wasn’t being passive, I know he looked way
more passive, but the refs made a decision that I was being passive, and I let
that get to me.

“In
that moment, I let it mentally rattle me, and maybe it wasn’t because I was
prepared for it, maybe it wasn’t because I didn’t do it in practice,” he said.
“But ultimately, it rests on my shoulders, I need to be ready for everything
that happens in a match, and in that case I wasn’t.”

Provisor
went for a takedown with 39 seconds to go in the second period and pushed
Assakalov off the edge of the mat, as the referee whistled a caution and
awarded Provisor two points to make it 6-3, while Assakalov crouched over for a
few moments to catch his breath.

Assakalov
appeared winded as the match drew to a close, and Provisor went for a takedown
in the final seconds, but he was unable to get behind Assakalov in his final
attempt with two seconds left, and fell 6-3.

“That
guy was second in the world and I pretty much broke him in six minutes,”
Provisor told Trackwrestling after the match. “I know that I’m more than
capable to win Olympic medals and win World medals, I just need to keep the
pressure on people for an entire six minutes.

“Maybe
I started a little slow and didn’t go as hard as
possible, but I need to just be wrestling as hard as I can the whole time,” he
said. “I’m not even tired now, I wrestled one match, and I feel like what I
came here to do is incomplete, so I’ve just got to try to keep getting better.”

Assakalov
had to wrestle in the quarterfinals less than an hour later and lost 2-1 to
second-ranked Viktor Lorincz of Hungary Monday morning, which knocked Provisor
out of participating in the repechage round for a chance to wrestle back for the
Bronze Medal.

Provisor
planned to stay in Brazil through the closing ceremonies with family members
that were able to make the trip, while after the match he reflected on his
journey the last four years, as he battled multiple injuries to qualify for the
Olympics a second time.

“I’m
just proud I kept my head up and still wrestled,” Provisor told Trackwrestling.
“Not a lot of people thought I was going to come back and wrestle so well at
Trials, and I think I surprised a lot of people there.

“And
even here today, the guy that was second in the world, I pretty much broke
him,” he said. “I’m just proud that I’m still here, I’m still standing, I
didn’t give up on my dreams, I’m here trying to be the best in the world.

“Every
day that I’ve lived, I wanted to be an Olympic Champion, ever since I was 13,”
he said. “And now, I know that’s not that far away from reality. I just need to
keep focusing on my craft, and hopefully these next four years I don’t have so
many injuries, and I can be healthy and try my best.”