#WrestleBratislava

Adar leads Turkiye's strong show at European Championships

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 - 23:17 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 9) -- Yasemin ADAR (TUR) is a step closer to winning her eighth European gold medal. 

The Turkish legend once again reached the European Championships at 76kg after beating Martina KUENZ (AUT) 2-1 in the semifinals. Both wrestler spilt activity clock points but Adar scored a stepout to take a 2-1 lead and win.

Adar will have to beat former world U23 champion Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) who pinned Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (UWW) in the other semifinal.

Adar led an inspired Turkish team which had three finalists on Wednesday at the European Championships. Turkiye is the defending champions in team title.

At 59kg, Bediha GUN (TUR) defeated defending champion Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 3-0, and she will face former world U20 champion Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW) who held on for a 6-0 victory over Erika BOGNAR (HUN).

Returning silver medalist Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) also reached the final. In her semifinal, she won after her opponent Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU) suffered an injury mid-bout.

Demirhan built a 9-3 lead and was about to Vuc when the Romanian let out a painful cry. The semifinal was stopped and Demirhan got a victory via injury default. She will face former European champion Oksana LIVACH (UKR) for the gold medal.

In 2019, Livach won the gold medal at the European Championships. But in the six years since then, she has been denied the top of the podium finish at the tournament.

Livach is now has the opportunity to return to the top position in what will be her fourth trip to the final; she has won one and lost two in her career.

She defeated Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW) 3-1 in the semifinal after earning an extra technical point.

One of Ukraine's biggest hopes for the gold medal Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) suffered a big 9-3 loss to Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) in the 55kg semifinal. Khomenets led 2-1 for the majority of the bout but Verbina got on a single-leg attack, elevated the leg and as Khomenets tried a split defense, Verbina dragged and dropped her on the mat for four.

Another four-pointer in the final 15 seconds ended any hopes for Khomenets as Verbina won 9-3 to book her spot in the final against world bronze medalist Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA) who defeated Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) 10-0 in the other semifinal.

The 35-year-old Debien, who has only a bronze medal from 2023 edition in her six European Championships appearances, made it to the final for the first time after putting on a takedown masterclass against Dragutan.

At 68kg, Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) booked a spot in the final after her two four-pointers were too much for world bronze medalist Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE). Zelenykh won 11-3.

She will take on Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) after she won 2-1 against age-group European champion Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) in the other semifinal.

RESULTS

Semifinals

50kg
GOLD: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) vs. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)

SF 1: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW), 3-1
SF 2: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Emilia VUC (ROU), via injury

55kg
GOLD: Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA) vs. Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW)

SF 1: Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA) df. Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), 10-0
SF 2: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR), 9-3

59kg
GOLD: Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW) vs. Bediha GUN (TUR)

SF 1: Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW) df. Erika BOGNAR (HUN), 6-0
SF 2: Bediha GUN (TUR) df. Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 3-0

68kg
GOLD: Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) vs. Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)

SF 1: Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) df. Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR), 2-1
SF 2: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), 11-3

76kg
GOLD: Yasemin ADAR (TUR) vs. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

SF 1: Yasemin ADAR (TUR) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-1
SF 2: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (UWW), via fall

Qualification and morning session blog follows below

13:03: Martina KUENZ (AUT), a three-time European silver medalist, closes out the session with a big 12-0 win over returning silver medalist Catalina AXENTE (ROU). She blasted two double leg throws and two gut wrenches for the points.

12:47: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) into the 50kg semifinal with a 7-0 controlled win over Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA). Livach with a four-pointer in the opening minute and Luttenauer played catch-up after that.

12:40: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) with a fall over age-group world medalist Laura KUEHN (GER) to enter the semifinal at 76kg. She will face Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (UWW) who defeated Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW) 3-0.

12:20: Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) is back into the European semifinals with a 6-3 win over Noémi SZABADOS (HUN). She is looking to become the first Czech woman to win the gold medal at the European Championships.

12:17: Defending champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) with a big headlock throw for four and then pins Enrica RINDALI (ITA) to get her title defense at 76kg going with a win.

12:15: Defending champion at 59kg Aloyna KOLESNIK (AZE) breaks down Alesia HETMANAVA (UWW) with a spree of takedowns and leads a 6-0 but Hetmanava hits a throw in the final 50 seconds which bring the score to 6-2. She holds Kolesnik in danger positions for the remaining time but fails to secure the fall. Hetmanava wins 7-2

12:05: Defending champion and Paris bronze medalist Buse TOSUN (TUR) falls to Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) 3-2 at 68kg. Shauchuk had one takedown which was enough for the two technical points Tosun scored.

11:55: World silver medalist Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) fell behind 2-0 at the break after Beatrice FERENT (ROU) countered her attack for two points in their 55kg quarterfinal. However, Khomenets, searching for first senior European title, hits a four-point and then gets countered for exposure. She holds a 4-4 criteria lead before winning the bout 8-4 and enters the semifinals.

11:46: Three-time European U20 champion and two-time European U23 silver medalist Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) needed a late stepout against Kendra DACHER (FRA) to win 6-5 at 68kg. Skobelska, making her debut at senior Europeans, scored a four-point throw to lead Dacher 4-3 but Dacher got a takedown to reclaim the lead 5-4. A stepout gave Skobelska 5-5 criteria lead which Dacher failed to break. France challenged after the time and a lost challenge added another point to Skobelska's score.

11:35: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) with a move four to work up a 6-0 lead before securing the fall over Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER) at 68kg in a minute and 12 seconds.

11:30: Emilia VUC (ROU), former world silver medalist and European medalist, takes a minute and 13 seconds to roll to a 10-0 victory over Maria LEORDA (MDA) at 50kg.

11:23: Bediha GUN (TUR) gets two activity clock points and she manages to beat Aurora RUSSO (ITA) 2-1. Russo's one point also came from the activity clock.

11:15: Beatrice FERENT (ROU) kept Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE) in danger position for more than two minutes and secured a 3-2 win at 55kg. Mammadova could not sneak out of the double-arm lock.

11:10: A couple of heartbreaks for local wrestling fans as Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER) pins Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK) at 68kg and Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) destroys Lara GORCS (SVK) 10-0 at 59kg.

11:00: World and returning bronze medalist Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) begins with an 11-0 technical superiority win over Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE) at 68kg. 

10:50: Two quick finishes at 68kg on Mat A, Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) with a technical superiority win over Albina DRAZHI (ALB) and then Kendra DACHER (FRA) follows the same script against Nerea PAMPIN BLANCO (ESP) in the next match.

10:30: Day three here at the European Championships. We will have the repechage of the Freestyle and quickly move to Women's Wrestling in 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg and 76kg.

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships: Rise of Sujeet Fuels India’s 65kg Gold Hopes

Sunday, April 5, 2026 - 14:05 By Vinay Siwach

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 4) -- When SUJEET (IND) steps on the mat at the Asian Championships in Bishkek on Friday, he will carry hopes of a country looking for an Asian champion in a Freestyle weight class other than 57kg for the past seven years.

The 23-year-old is unbeaten this year, winning gold medals at the Zagreb Open and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series, making him the favorite to win gold at 65kg in Bishkek. The last time India won a gold medal at the Asian Championships was 2019 when Bajrang PUNIA (IND) won in Xi'an, China.

"I don't think much about anything," Sujeet says. "I say the name of the God and step on the mat. I will do the same at the Asian Championships.

"I am happy that I wrestle at 65kg because India has a decent history at 65kg. I will also try to carry it forward."

The 65kg field in Bishkek includes returning 61kg Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) who is moving up one weight. Suda's ability to score at any time in a bout puts him as the biggest threat against Sujeet.

World bronze medalist Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) is another strong competitor for Sujeet. The Indian enjoys a 4-0 head-to-head record against the Uzbekistan wrestler but at last year's Asian Championships, Sujeet pulled out of his bronze medal bout against Jalolov due to an injury.

Another tough competitor for Sujeet can be Peyman NEMATI (IRI). The two wrestled in the final of the Zagreb Open and the Iranian managed to keep Sujeet quiet despite losing 3-0. He will be keen to avenge that loss and win gold for Iran.

Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK), a world bronze medalist at 70kg in 2024, can spring a surprise and so can former U17 world champion Rustamzhan KAKHAROV (KGZ).

Early Start

Hailing from village Imlota, Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, a state that produces majority of wrestlers in India, Sujeet was introduced to wrestling in his village.

"There was an old akhada [training school] in my village so I used to go there," he says. "No coach had formal experience as such and I used to lose at the district level. I remember I lost in 2019 at the state level."

While there was little history of wrestling in the village itself, Sujeet's father Dayanand KALKAL was a national-level wrestler and was keen for his son to pick the sport as well. Till 2020, Sujeet continued training in the village.

"I was decent in studies," he says. "I balanced it with wrestling but after school, it was all wrestling. My village was very supportive of my wrestling. And then in 2021, I made the switch."

From south-west Haryana, Sujeet moved to Sonipat, a district in Haryana 60 kilometers north of New Delhi. With more experienced training partners, Sujeet could feel the improvements in his wrestling.

"The shift in 2021 to Sonipat changed my wrestling," he says. "My wrestling matured and the other wrestlers had international experience so it helped me in all aspects."

SUJEET (IND)SUJEET (IND), third from left, won a bronze medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships in Sofia. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In just one year, Sujeet made the U20 Indian team and was on his way to Bulgaria for the World Championships. He lost to Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the semifinals but won a bronze medal at 65kg, his first in international wrestling on debut.

"I was happy that I won a medal in my first-ever competition despite it being bronze," he says. "My wrestling was different than my opponents. I had never experienced that. But slowly I got used to it."

The biggest challenge for Sujeet was the vast difference in wrestling between junior and senior levels.

"When you shift from junior to senior, there is a lot of difference from power to technique," he says. "Opponents study you a lot once you are consistently competing. Everyone studies each other but I stick to my techniques."

Senior Career

Sujeet made the required adjustments and won the senior nationals in India to make the team with a hope to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. But that journey ended in a heartbreak.

At the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek, Sujeet failed to reach the competition due to floods at the Dubai airport. A month later at the World Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul, Sujeet squandered a 2-0 lead against Zain RETHERFORD (USA) and missed out on a ticket to Paris.

"My father says do not celebrate too much when you win, don't be disheartened when you lose, balance it," he says. "So I try to keep it balanced. I don't sulk when I lose. I think about it a little and then move on, sit with my friends and try to see what I can improve."

In need of training partners who could challenge him with different styles, Sujeet spent a few months training overseas. He picked Mongolia, Russia and Japan, and picked a few details from the sparring sessions. He also realized that depending on the renowned Indian conditioning will not be enough to win medals at the world level.

"In India, the training lasts long, usually 3-4 hours," he says. "In Japan, they have smaller training sessions with focus on speed. Russia also has longer sessions with focus on scrambles and bouts.

"Our stamina comes from the longer trainings which are also very hard. The Indian sit-ups are quite different. Others also have unique ways to train but they focus on their own styles. But we ultimately work hard for longer bouts."

Sujeet ended 2024 with a bronze medal at 70kg at the U23 World Championships.

For the majority of 2025, he remained an under-the-radar wrestler. He won the Ranking Series event in Budapest but was far off from being a medal threat at the September World Championships. However, a bout against Olympic silver medalist Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) at the World Championships caught the attention of the fans.

Though he lost 6-5, Sujeet was surprisingly the only wrestler who troubled Amouzad, the eventual world champion, in Zagreb.

"It was my first bout so I was all over the place and he was clearly stronger than me," he recalls. "May be next time I will be calmer. I took too much pressure on myself to win a medal and that showed in my bout against Real WOODS (USA)."

Woods beat Sujeet in repechage after an initial flurry of turns and then defended his lead to win 7-5. Sujeet returned home empty-handed.

SUJEET (IND)SUJEET (IND), second from left, as the U23 world champion in 2025. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Unbeaten Streak

But in a month's time, Sujeet would make amends and win the U23 world title with a stunning series of win over former U23 world champion Bashir MAGOMEDOV (UWW) in the quarterfinals, former U20 world champion Yuto NISHUCHI (JPN) in semifinals and Jalolov, who had won bronze in Zagreb, 10-0 in the final. He scored in the final 10 seconds in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

"At the U23 Worlds, I did not care much about the draw," he says. "I think I can manage to score at any moment. I do panic but I try to remain calm. I like going for the sweep and catch both legs to score points."

The Asian Championships will be a huge test of Sujeet's recent form and skill. A gold in Bishkek can put him in the top-tier of 65kg. Does he have the class to win in Bishkek and beyond?

"My wrestling is going good," he says. "Some win via technique, some win by speed. I personally feel my wrestling is good to win here."