#WrestleAstana

Asian Championships Greco-Roman brackets

By Vinay Siwach

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (April 8) -- The nerves of competing are always preceded by the nerves of knowing the brackets. The Greco-Roman wrestlers at the Asian Championships are now aware of the opponents and expected path to the gold medal as the brackets for the Asian Championships were released Saturday.

Here's how the bouts will play out.

55kg
Top seed Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) will wait for his first opponent as he sits in the quarterfinals. RUPIN (IND) and Sardarbek KONUSHBAEV (KGZ) will wrestle in qualification to advance against Bekbolatov. 

Second seed Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) also sits in the quarterfinal and wait for the winner of Taiga ONISHI (JPN) and Mostafa ALQADE (JOR) to know his first opponent.

Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) is seeded third and has Abduvali RAHIMBAYEV (TKM) in the quarterfinals. A win will take him to the semifinals, most likely against Dad Marz.

Bekbolatov, if he wins his quarterfinals, will face the winner of Haifeng ZHANG (CHN) and fourth seed Hyeokjin JEON (KOR).

60kg
World champion and top seed Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) is the favorite to win the weight class. He waits for his first opponent which will be the winner of Umit DURDYYEV (TKM) and U20 world bronze medalist SUMIT (IND). In the other quarterfinal, fourth seed Maito KAWANA (JPN) faces Akmal KHAMROEV (UZB).

On the lower side, second seed Liguo CAO (CHN) will face the winner of Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) and Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK). Third seed and returning silver medalist Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) will also have to wait to see if Yernur FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ) or Jui Chi HUANG (TPE) reach the quarterfinals.

It sets up a potential mouth-watering semifinal between Moshen Nejad and Lao.

63kg
With nine wrestlers, only one qualification bout is scheduled with others sitting in the quarterfinals. That bout is between NEERAJ (IND) and Dastan KADYROV (KGZ). The winner will face top seed U23 world champion and top seed Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) in the quarterfinal.

Second seed Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ) faces Haodong TAN (CHN) in the quarterfinal and a potential semifinal can be against third seed Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB) who faces Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN) in his quarterfinal.

If Khoon Mohammadi wins, he will get the winner of Jinseub SONG (KOR) and Siyovush ACHILOV (TJK) in the semifinal.

67kg
A weight class with some talented wrestlers will see top seed HUSIYUETU (CHN) face the winner of Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) and Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) in the quarterfinal. His path to the final includes Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM) and fourth seed Reza Mahdi ABBASI (IRI) as the two face each other in the second quarterfinal of the top half.

The lower side has second seed ASHU (IND) in the quarterfinals waiting for the winner of Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) and Hong Yu CHEN (TPE). Third seed Hansu RYU (KOR) will have the winner of Firuz MIRZORADZHABOV (TJK) and Abror ATABAEV (UZB). If the seeds hold, Ryu and Ashu will wrestle for a spot in the final.

72kg
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) will be the top seed at home in 72kg and will have Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ) or Loiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK) in the quarterfinal.

On the same side is Zi LIM (SGP) facing Ali AL ABBOODAH (IRQ) and Taishi HORIE (JPN) facing fourth seed Jamol JUMABAEV (UBZ). The winner of those bouts will face each other in the quarterfinal.

The lower side will see second seed Jian TAN (CHN) will wrestle one of Hekim GURBANMYRADOV (TKM) and JASON BAUCAS (PHI). Fourth seed Sajjad IMENTALABFOUMANI (IRI) will see one of VIKAS (IND) and Jiyeon LEE (KOR).

77kg
World champion and top seed Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) has his opening bout against Gadiel Raid MISSO (SGP) or Jeyhun OVEZDURDYYEV (TKM). The much-anticipated semifinal between Makhmudov and fourth seed Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) can happen if Kim beats the winner of Kodai SAKURABA (JPN) and Lai Hsing YAO (TPE) who wrestle in the qualification round.

The second seed is held by Rui LIU (CHN) who may have a tough test when he faces one of SAJAN (IND) or Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IR) in the quarterfinal. Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) is seeded third and will face the winner of Amro SADEH (JOR) and Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ).

82kg
Dias KALEN (KAZ) would like to reach the semifinals in front of his home crowd. For that, he needs to beat one of Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) or Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK) who will wrestle in qualification. And if Kalen wins, he will face one of the fourth seed Sultan EID (JOR) or Yuya MAETA (JPN) who wrestle in the other quarterfinal.

The lower side of the bracket with Rohit DAHIYA (IND) taking on Aryan BIN AZMAN (SGP) and Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) facing Sejin YANG (KOR). The winner of the former bout will face third seed Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ) in the quarterfinals. The winner of the latter will have second seed Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI).

87kg
Nasir ALIZADEH (IRI) will look to defend his Asian title as he is the top seed for the weight class. He begins in the quarterfinals with the winner of Masato SUMI (JPN) vs. Shyhazberdi OVELEKOV (TKM) set to advance.

The other quarterfinal will be between fourth seed Sunil KUMAR (IND) and Saidislomiddin ASLAMOV (TJK).

The second seed goes to Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) and he will face the winner of Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) and Chengwu WANG (CHN). The other quarterfinal on the lower side will be between third seed A. AZISBEKOV (KGZ) and Byeongcheol SHIN (KOR).

97kg
Out of the 10 participants, Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ) gets the top seed. Seyeol LEE (KOR) and U. DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) will wrestle off to earn a place in the quarterfinal against Syrlybay.

Fourth seed Narinder CHEEMA (IND) faces Azizdzhon ZARIPOV (TJK) in the other quarterfinal.

Yiming LI (CHN) is seeded third and will get the winner of Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM) and Abrorbek NURMUKHAMMEDOV (UZB) as his quarterfinal opponent. If he wins, the semifinal will feature one of Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI) or Yuta NARA (JPN).

130kg
World silver medalist and favorite Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is top-seeded in 130kg. He can reach the semifinal if he wins against Sota OKUMURA (JPN) or Roman KIM (KGZ). The two will wrestle in the qualification to reach the quarterfinal against Mirzazadeh. One of NAVEEN (IND) and fourth seed Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) will try to stop Mirzazadeh in the semifinals.

Second seed Lingzhe MENG (CHN) wrestles Minseok KIM (KOR) or Timothy Yu LOH (SGP) in the quarterfinal. If he wins, he is likely to face third seed Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) as the Kazakhstan wrestler has to beat the winner of Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ) and Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM).

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2026 Day 2 Results & Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 5) -- The second day of the Ulaanbaatar Open will feature three Greco-Roman and five Women's Wrestling weight classes. Iran, Bulgaria and India won two Greco-Roman gold medals each on day one of the competition.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

Semifinals with Greco-Roman

12:40: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) stuns Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) in Round 3 at 63kg! Sharshenbekov did not score from par terre in the first period. On the other hand, Keshtkar scored an exposure from par terre to lead 3-1 and Sharshenbekov committed a defensive foul to give two more points to Keshtkar which Iran got only after a challenge. As the bout restarted in par terre, Keshtkar lifted Sharshenbekov and threw him for two points while the Kyrgyzstan wrestler committed a leg foul. Kyrgyzstan challenged for no foul but lost it and Keshtkar got another point, taking his score to 10-1.

12:30: Solid match between European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) and MUSKAN (IND). Ana with a takedown and then two trap arm guts to lead 6-0. Muskan got one back and scored a takedown to make it 6-2. But Ana scored another takedown before the break to lead 8-2. Both kept exchange takedowns in the second period but Ana managed to keep her lead at 10-6 with 1:33 left. She then scored a stepout and three different takedown to complete her victory.

12:15: MEENAKSHI (IND) is no match for world champion Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) who gets a 10-0 victory in just over a minute. She scores a takedown and lace to lead 6-0 before scoring another counter takedown and a roll for four more points.

12:10: World silver medalist Il Sim SON (PRK) begins with a 11-0 victory over Danielle LIM (SGP) at 57kg. She needed only a minute and 36 seconds to roll Lim

11:45: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) secures his places in the semifinals with Round 2 victory over Sunny KUMAR (IND). Sharshenbekov did not score from par terre but managed to bring down Kumar for four points using a body lock. He then defended par terre in the second period to complete the win at 63kg

11:35: All-Iranian bout at 63kg in Round 2 between Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) and Erfan JARKANI (IRI). Keshtkar gets the first par terre and he lifts Jarkani, tosses him for four points. Jarkani cannot do the same when he gets the par terre in the second period. He challenges for something not evident but loses it and Keshtkar leads 6-1. Jarkani gets a point for Keshtkar's foul but the latter wins 6-2. The win also confirms Keshtkar's spot on the Iran team for the 2026 World Championships

11:20: World champion at 55kg, Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) was a little rusty in the first period against Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) at 53kg. She tripped the Mongolian for a four-pointer but also gave up for four on a cutback. However, she switches gears in the second period and rolls to a 14-4 victory.

11:05: European silver medalist Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) with a fall in Round 1 of the Nordic bracket at 72kg against HARSHITA (IND). Choler led 4-0 before countering a deep attack from the Indian and sticking her to the mat for the fall.

10:55: Out comes the lace from Pyol HONG (PRK) against Enkhtuvshin BALJINNYAM (MGL) and she rolls to a 10-0 technical superiority win at 59kg.

10:52: Bediha GUN (TUR) scored the opening takedown in her Round 1 bout against Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) at 59kg. But the Mongolia uses an arm-bar to secure the fall over Gun in the second period.

10:45: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) returns to the mat for close to two years and begins with a win. In his 63kg Round 1 bout, Sharshenbekov was up against Erfan JARKANI (IRI) and holds off the Iranian 1-1 on first-point criteria. Jarkani was given par terre twice in the second period, one with 30 seconds remaining, but Sharshenbekov defended both times. Since it's a Nordic bracket, the two can face each other again in the final.

10:30: Ulaanbaatar Open will enter the second day with five Women's Wresting weight classes and the remaining three Greco-Roman weights. Here are the results from day one of the tournament.