Wrestling at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle lightweight
The men's freestyle lightweight competition at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place from 11 to 14 October at the Komazawa Gymnasium. Nations were limited to one competitor.
Competition format
This freestyle 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 3 wrestlers remained, point totals were ignored and a round-robin was held among those 3 to determine medals.Results
Round 1
; Bouts| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Mahmut Atalay | Decision | Zarbeg Beriashvili | ||
| Muhammad Bashir | Decision | Stefanos Ioannidis | ||
| Udey Chand | Decision | Arto Savolainen | ||
| Enyu Valchev | Fall | Tham Kook Chin | ||
| Gregory Ruth | Decision | Matti Poikala | ||
| Iwao Horiuchi | Decision | Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter | ||
| Sidney Marsh | Fall | Alejandro Echaniz | ||
| Abdullah Movahed | Decision | Kenny Stephenson | ||
| Klaus Rost | Decision | Rodger Doner | ||
| Jeong Dong-gu | Decision | Tony Greig | ||
| Djan-Aka Djan | Decision | Carlos Alberto Vario |
; Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | R1 |
| 1 | 0 | ||
| 1 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Jeong Dong-gu | 1 | |
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter | 3 | |
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 21 | 4 | ||
| 21 | Tham Kook Chin | 4 |
Round 2
Valchev was the only wrestler to win both of his bouts by fall to stay at 0 points. Seven wrestlers were eliminated with losses in each of the first two rounds. Fifteen advanced to round 3.; Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Mahmut Atalay | Decision | Stefanos Ioannidis | ||
| Zarbeg Beriashvili | Decision | Muhammad Bashir | ||
| Enyu Valchev | Fall | Udey Chand | ||
| Arto Savolainen | Fall | Tham Kook Chin | ||
| Iwao Horiuchi | Decision | Matti Poikala | ||
| Gregory Ruth | Decision | Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter | ||
| Kenny Stephenson | Decision | Alejandro Echaniz | ||
| Abdullah Movahed | Decision | Sidney Marsh | ||
| Klaus Rost | Fall | Tony Greig | ||
| Jeong Dong-gu | Decision | Djan-Aka Djan | ||
| Carlos Alberto Vario | Decision | Rodger Doner |
; Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Jeong Dong-gu | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 16 | Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 4 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 20 | Tham Kook Chin | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Round 3
Five competitors were eliminated, leaving 10 to continue forward. Valchev, with his third win by fall, stayed at 0 points.; Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Mahmut Atalay | Fall | Muhammad Bashir | ||
| Zarbeg Beriashvili | Decision | Udey Chand | ||
| Enyu Valchev | Fall | Arto Savolainen | ||
| Iwao Horiuchi | Decision | Gregory Ruth | ||
| Sidney Marsh | Decision | Kenny Stephenson | ||
| Abdullah Movahed | Decision | Jeong Dong-gu | ||
| Klaus Rost | Decision | Djan-Aka Djan | ||
| Carlos Alberto Vario | Bye | N/A | N/A |
; Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 8 | Jeong Dong-gu | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 11 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 11 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
Round 4
This round was highly unusual in that 3 of the 4 winners were eliminated along with only 2 of the 4 losers. Beriashvili defeated Valchev to give the latter wrestler his first points, but the Soviet picked up his 6th point in doing so and was eliminated. The match between Ruth and Marsh resulted in both wrestlers receiving enough points for elimination. The bout between Horiuchi and Movahed, where a victory of any kind would eliminate the loser and allow the victor to continue, resulted in a draw—keeping both men in the competition.; Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Mahmut Atalay | Decision | Carlos Alberto Vario | ||
| Zarbeg Beriashvili | Decision | Enyu Valchev | ||
| Gregory Ruth | Decision | Sidney Marsh | ||
| Iwao Horiuchi | Tie | Abdullah Movahed | ||
| Jeong Dong-gu | Decision | Klaus Rost |
; Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6 | Jeong Dong-gu | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Round 5
Rost had the great fortune to receive the bye in this round, guaranteeing he would continue while the field narrowed. Horiuchi's victory over Atalay in this round eliminated both men at 6 points; it also ultimately served as the tie-breaker between the two for the bronze medal. In the other match of the round, Movahed needed a win by fall to stay in competition, while Valchev would continue with any win or a tie. A Movahed victory by decision would eliminate both. Ultimately, the match ended in a tie; Valchev continued on to face Rost in the final while Movahed took 5th place.; Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Iwao Horiuchi | Decision | Mahmut Atalay | ||
| Enyu Valchev | Tie | Abdullah Movahed | ||
| Klaus Rost | Bye | N/A | N/A |
; Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Total |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Final round
With only two wrestlers left, they faced each other in a gold medal bout. Valchev defeated Rost by decision.; Bouts
| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Enyu Valchev | Decision | Klaus Rost |
; Points
| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Points |
| 1 | |||
| 3 |