European Games

Aleksanyan Looks to Add European Games Gold to Resume

Saturday, June 29, 2019 - 18:06 By United World Wrestling Press

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MINSK, Belarus (June 29) - Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) has won gold medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Games. Now the 27-year-old Armenian stands one win away from winning a gold medal at the European Games.

Competing in his first European Games, Aleksanyan won three matches on Saturday to earn a spot in the 97kg finals. He trailed in his first two matches before battling back to win. In his semifinal match, Aleksanyan faced two-time U23 world champion Aleksandr GOLOVIN (RUS). 

This time Aleksanyan led the entire time, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period, scoring off a passivity and then a gut wrench. He held on to win 3-1. Aleksanyan will face Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) in the gold-medal match at 97kg. Hrabovik shut out Olympic bronze medalist Cenk ILDEM (TUR) 2-0 in the semifinals.

Two world No.1's competed in Saturday's semifinals, with one winning and the other losing. 

World No. 1's Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), a 2015 world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist, came back to defeat Radzik KULIYEU (BLR) 3-1 in the semifinals at 87kg. Kuliyeu led 1-0 at the break after scoring with a passivity point, but Beleniuk battled back in the second period to win, scoring off a passivity point and then with a gut wrench. He will meet Islam ABBASOV in the 87kg finals. Abbasov, a two-time U23 world medalist, shut out Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) 5-0 in the semifinals. 

At 130kg, Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR) stunned world No.1 Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) 3-1 in the semifinals. The Russian Olympic medalist scored first off a passivity and held a 1-0 lead at the break. But with the home crowd cheering on Hryshchanka, the Belarusian Greco-Roman heavyweight scored three points in the final period to secure a spot in Sunday's gold-medal. He will face Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the finals. Kajaia, a European silver medalist, advanced to the finals with a fall over world No.7 Oskar MARVIK (NOR).

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

87kg
GOLD - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) vs. Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Ivan HUKLEK (CRO), 5-0
SEMIFINAL - Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) df. Radzik KULIYEU (BLR), 3-1

97kg
GOLD - Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) vs. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
SEMIFINAL - Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) df. Cenk ILDEM (TUR), 2-0
SEMIFINAL - Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Aleksandr GOLOVIN (RUS), 3-1

130kg
GOLD - Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR) vs. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR) df. Sergey SEMENOV (RUS), 3-1
SEMIFINAL - Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) df. Oskar MARVIK (NOR), Fall (1:02)
 

2026 U20 Asian Championships

China's Yang Turns Weight-Loss Plan into Historic U20 Asian Gold

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 - 10:04 By Vinay Siwach

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PATTAYA, Thailand (July 6) -- Even Yuanchong YANG (CHN) could not help but appreciate the irony.

Yang was introduced to wrestling because he was overweight. His parents simply wanted their youngest son to lose a few kilos. Instead, he created history for China, becoming the country's heaviest-ever Asian Freestyle champion.

China won only one Freestyle medal at the 2026 U20 Asian Wrestling Championships in Pattaya, Thailand but Yang made sure it was a historic one.

The 97kg wrestler claimed the gold medal to become China's first-ever U20 Asian champion in Freestyle and only the sixth Chinese to win an Asian Freestyle title at any level. He also surpassed Ying WANG (CHN), who won the 84kg title at the 2008 Senior Asian Championships, as the heaviest Chinese Freestyle wrestler to capture an Asian gold medal.

"I was extremely fat in elementary school, so my parents sent me to a sports school [later] to exercise and become thinner and healthier," Yang told United World Wrestling. "My parents thought wrestling would help me lose weight faster."

Yuanchong YANG (CHN)Yuanchong YANG (CHN) celebrates after winning the gold medal in 97kg at the U20 Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

When he first stepped onto the mat as a 12-year-old, Yang never imagined he would one day represent China. Wrestling was simply a way to shed the extra kilos.

"Following my training, I was deeply touched by the passion of my team, the teamwork and the charm of wrestling," he said.

Yang's first major breakthrough came in 2023 when he captured the U17 National Championships title. Later that year, he represented China at the East Asian Youth Games but returned home without a medal.

"I saw my older teammates winning medals consistently, so I set myself the goal of winning my own gold medal," he said. "After five years of training, I finally won the U17 title in 2023."

Yang competed at both the 2025 U20 and U23 World Championships but came up short in both after losing close bouts. When he returned home to Jinan, Shandong Province, he shifted his focus to the 2026 season.

Last week in Pattaya, Yang produced a dominant 11-0 technical superiority win over LACKY (IND) in the semifinals before defeating Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ), 8-2, in the final to complete his historic run.

Yang relied on strong underhooks to force pushouts and controlled the par terre exchanges with an effective gut wrench, leaving little room for his opponents to recover.

Yuanchong YANG (CHN)Yuanchong YANG (CHN) at the podium with the 97kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

As he stood atop the podium, Yang was emotional but he soon realised that this is just the beginning.

"When I received the gold medal, I was really happy," he said. "But while I was walking down from the podium, I realised there are higher goals waiting for me. I can't be satisfied with this. My next target is to win a medal at the Senior Asian Championships."