#WrestleFaenza

Alili Makes Macedonian History, Wins First-Ever Cadet European Title

Saturday, June 22, 2019 - 17:29 By Eric Olanowski

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FAENZA, Italy (June 22) -- Coming into Saturday's European finals, Macedonia had three wrestlers reach the gold-medal bout but never had a cadet wrestler win a continental title in any style. Besir ALILI (MKD) changed that after winning his nations first-ever cadet European title on the sixth day of wrestling in Faenza, Italy. 

For the second year in a row, Alili had an opportunity to do what his fellow countrymen, Boban DANOV (MKD) and Dejan Bogdanov (MKD), couldn’t do, and that was to come out on the winning end of a European gold-medal bout. That’s exactly what he did on Saturday night, rewriting a page in his nation’s history book with a 7-6 come-from-behind win against Harutyun HOVHANNISYAN (ARM) in the 48kg finals. 

The match couldn’t have started any worse for Alili, but he wasn’t going to be denied a gold medal. His Armenian opponent hit a slide by to start the match, and as Alili squared up, Hovhannisyan shot a fireman’s carry. With Alili’s arm trapped, Hovhannisyan came up to his feet and thunderously tossed the Macedonian to his back. The referrers awarded five points to Hovhannisyan for his spectacular throw, leaving Alili down 5-0 less than 30 seconds into the match. To end the exchange that left him behind 5-1, Alili was able to somehow worm his way on top for the reversal, cutting his deficit to four points. 

With under 30 seconds left in the first period, Alili pulled Hovhannisyan’s head down to the mat and locked up a front head pinch, rolling his Armenian opponent over his back three consecutive times. His six points from the front head pinches, coupled with the reversal, gave Alili the 7-5 lead heading into the break. 

From there, there was nothing flashy from Alili’s end, just sound defense and near perfect position that helped him cruise to the 7-6 victory after being down 5-0 to start the match. 

After the match, and before strolling around the mat with the Macedonian flag draped above his head, Alili celebrated sticking the perfect landing on his cartwheel to a backflip. 

Macedonia now has eight cadet European medals. They have Alili’s Day 6 gold, three silvers and four bronze medals. 

The final day of wrestling at the Cadet European Championships starts tomorrow at 18:00 (local time) and can be followed live onwww.unitedworldwretling.org. 

RESULTS 

Team Scores 
GOLD – Russia (105 points)
SILVER – Azerbaijan (70 points)
BRONZE – Ukraine (56 points)
Fourth – Georiga (55 points)
Fifth – Turkey (38 points)

48kg 
GOLD - Besir ALILI (MKD) df. Harutyun HOVHANNISYAN (ARM), 7-6 
BRONZE - Ramazan BAGAVUDINOV (RUS) df. Ramik HEYBATOV (AZE), 7-3 
BRONZE - Luka GUGESHASHVILI (GEO) df. Andrei VITAN (MDA), 10-0

55kg
GOLD - Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA) df. Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR), 5-0 
BRONZE - Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) df. Hayk ABRAHAMYAN (ARM), 8-6  
BRONZE - Magomed TAZHUDINOV (RUS) df. Burak DEMIR (GER), 12-1 

65kg
GOLD - Iman SHIKHSHABEKOV (RUS) df. Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), 4-0 
BRONZE - Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO) df. Aliaksandr HULNIK (BLR), 11-0 
BRONZE - Narek POHOSIAN (UKR) df. Krystian Tomasz KRUPINSKI (POL), 13-2 

80kg
GOLD - Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (RUS) df. Denys SAHALIUK (UKR), 9-0 
BRONZE - Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO) df. Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE), via fall
BRONZE - Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) df. Nihat BEKTAS (TUR), 11-0

110kg
GOLD - Andrei BESTAEV (RUS) df. Georgi Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL), 10-0 
BRONZE - Hamlet NASIBLI (AZE) df. Hubert WISNIEWSKI (POL), 4-0 
BRONZE - David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) df. Marius UJA (MDA), 3-0 

#UWWAwards

UWW Breakout Wrestlers of 2025: Hidlay, Farokhi, Onishi

Monday, December 15, 2025 - 12:24 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 14) -- The 2025 Breakout Wrestlers of the Year were not the ones anyone circled heading into the season. They weren’t the favorites, or the ones analysts picked to walk away from the season as world medalists.

They were the outsiders, largely unproven and underestimated. But that all changed in a single season when they smashed expectations, catapulting themselves into world-wide stardom with world-title runs that nobody saw coming.

Freestyle Breakout Performer of the Year: Trent HIDLAY (USA)

Before 2025, Hidlay had never climbed to the top of a podium at an international event. His  2025 season even began with more doubt than promise, dropping his second match of the year to rising Azeri phenom Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) at the Zagreb Open. But that loss lit a fuse. From that moment on, the 26-year-old didn’t just improve -- he transformed.

Hidlay unleashed a stunning 13-match win streak and collected gold medals at the Pan-American Championships, the Budapest Ranking Series and the World Championships. Along the way, he knocked off giants -- Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), just to name a few.

Then came the finale: a world finals comeback for the ages. Down and all but finished, Hidlay stormed back to defeat Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW). In one year, Hidlay didn’t just win -- he arrived.

Greco-Roman Breakout Performer of the Year: Gholemreza FAROKHI (IRI)

When opportunity knocked, Farokhi wasn’t just there to answer it, he was there to kick the door off its hinges. The 23-year-old stepped into Iran’s senior lineup for the first time in his career and tore through anyone in front of him -- whether it was at 82kg or 87kg.

Farokhi bulldozed his way to gold medals at the two World Championships he participated in. He racked up a perfect 17-0 record, including 11 technical superiority wins and six decisions, sweeping gold at the World Championships, U23 World Championships, the Islamic Solidarity Games, and the Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

Women’s Wrestling Breakout Performer of the Year: Sakura ONISHI (JPN)

At 19 years old, Onishi entered the senior circuit with massive goals but had zero experience and zero fear. In mere months, she became a problem no one had an answer for.

Onishi tore through the season with a flawless 15-0 record, capturing titles at the Senior and U20 World Championships, the Asian Championships, and the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series. Her dominance wasn’t subtle -- it was exactly what you’d expect from a Japanese women’s wrestler -- 11 tech falls, three pins, and a decision, outscoring opponents 158-17.