BEIJING — Wrestling world champion Ramazan Sahin of Turkey won Olympic gold in the freestyle 66-kilogram (145 1/2-pound) bracket Wednesday by scoring a tight victory over Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine.

Sahin, also the European champion, won 2-2, 2-1, 2-2. He lost the first period on a tiebreaker because Stadnik scored the final points of the period but won the third when he scored last.

Stadnik, leading 2-0 in the third, controlled Sahin in a gut wrench along the edge of the mat. Sahin worked his way out from the bottom position to maneuver Stadnik onto his side and quickly tilt his shoulders toward the mat for a two-point exposure.

"The last moment, when we were tied 2-2, I told myself I should hold until the last minute, and I won," Sahin said. "I've lost to him before, but I felt quite relaxed and confident that I could win."

Stadnik said, "I tried to find the reserve to win but, in the end, I did not manage to."

That's two wrestling medals for two countries for the Stadniks in Beijing — his wife, Mariya Stadnik won a bronze at 48 kilograms (105 1/2 pounds) for Azerbaijan. She stood in the stands during her husband's match, screaming so loud she could frequently be heard over the spectators.

"My wife has won bronze here, while I have won silver," he said. "It's nice to realize that you compete against your own wife."

Of course, he didn't say who would win if the two went head-to-head.

Sahin started the day with perhaps his most important victory, defeating Geandry Garzon of Cuba 1-0, 7-4 in a rematch of their 2007 world championship final. After that, Sahin, 25, took out two-time world junior champion Mehdi Taghavi of Iran and Georgia's Otar Tushishvili.

The bronzes went to Tushishvili and Sushil Kumar, who won only the second Beijing medal for India.

Stadnik was a surprise finalist although he was third in the world in 2006. He benefited from the second-round ouster of Irbek Farniev, the only Russian to not win a world championship in freestyle's seven weight classes last year.

"Reaching the final is already a high result, but I have been ready to win," Stadnik said.

Stadnik's first match was a 2-0, 4-0 decision over Doug Schwab from the United States. Schwab also lost in the bronze-medal bracket to Kumar 4-1, 0-1, 3-2.

"I just didn't perform like I'm capable of," Schwab said. "It wasn't from the lack of preparation or anything like that, I just didn't perform."

Schwab felt inspired by Henry Cejudo's gold-medal performance at 55 kilograms (121 pounds) on Tuesday. That's what made his own poor performance all the more baffling.

"He kept attacking," Schwab said. "That's why he won. It was a great lesson for me, but I didn't use it."