#WrestleHangzhou

Asian Games Wrestling: Yazdani vs Punia, Tazhudinov vs Goleij in finals

Saturday, October 7, 2023 - 01:42 By Vinay Siwach

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LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 7) -- The Asian Games in Hangzhou will see the final day of wrestling at the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Center. Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) are wrestling today as wrestlers in Freestyle 74kg, 86kg, 97kg and 125kg

LIVE MATCH ORDER | BRACKETS | DAY 3 RESULTS

That's it for the session before repechage begins. Here are the finals for the evening session

74kg
Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) vs. Yones EMAMI (IRI)

86kg
Deepak PUNIA vs Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)

97kg
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) vs Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)

125kg
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) vs. Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)

12:55: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returns to the 86kg final at the Asian Games with yet another 10-0 victory in the semifinal. He will take on Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) who manages to score a late exposure against Deepak PUNIA to win 3-2. Wait we have challenge... Punia is asking for two points as well. The jury awards two points to Punia and he wins 4-3 against Shapiev.

12:48: Asian Championships silver medalist Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) takes out defending champion Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) 6-0 to enter the final at 74kg. A top win for the Japanese. He will face Yones EMAMI (IRI) who defeats Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) 9-3.

12:45: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) final set at 97kg. The two wrestled at the Asian Championships with Tazhudinov scoring a 13-8 win over Goleij.

12:33: Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) with a fall over Khusanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) in the 125kg semifinals. Munkhtur will wait for the winner of Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) to know his final opponent. 

12:25: Azamat DALUETBEKOV (KAZ) is absolutely livid with his coach who challenged a stepout call with 30 seconds on board. Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) led 2-1 when he forced the stepout to make it 3-1. Kazakhstan corner decided to challenge the call and as Daluetbekov had put his hand out first, it was called a stepout and Kazakhstan lost the challenge, giving Shapiev an extra point. Daluetbekov scored the takedown but that made it only 4-3.

Just two weeks back, Daluetbekov had scored a final-second takedown against Shapiev to win the World Championships bronze medal.

12:15: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) has still got it. The defending champion puts himself in the 74kg semifinal after beating Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) 3-1. On Mat C, Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) scores the winning takedown to beat Bali SOU (CAM) 5-1 at 125kg.

12:12: A stepout, takedown, stepout, takedown, turn, turn. That's the scoring pattern Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) used to beat in the first period and reach the 86kg semifinal.

12:05: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) scored a takedown in each of the two periods to beat Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) 4-2 at 97kg. He moves into the semifinals.

12:03: Deepak PUNIA gives up three stepouts against Shota SHIRAI (JPN) but his two takedowns, one stepout and two caution points against Shirai are enough to help him move into the semifinals with a 7-3 win.

11:48: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) takes a minute and 56 seconds to beat Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ) at 86kg. Yazdani is the defending champion at the Asian Games.

11:40: World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) on Mat A wrestling BUHEEERDUN (CHN) in the 125kg quarterfinals. Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) wrestling Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) at 97kg on Mat B. Zare works to a 10-0 win while Yergali holds off Ishiguro for a 4-2 victory.

11:35: Azamat DALUETBEKOV (KAZ), the 86kg world bronze medalist, is made to work hard by Gwanuk KIM (KOR) in the opening bout but he gets the job done 6-0.

11:30: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) with a go-behind to open the scoring against Kanybek  Abdulkhairov. He adds exposure and an activity period point to lead 5-0. An arm-bar to get the fall just at the break!

11:22: Defending champion Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) with two activity points in either period to win 2-0 against Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) at 74kg. 

11:15: Yones EMAMI (IRI) will feel the heat of this bout against Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) perhaps later in the day. Emami scores a 7-2 win but Toktomambetov brought the pace with him and Emami looks a little tired here.

10:55: World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) with a composed 10-0 win over Zaman ANWAR (PAK) at 125kg. He will have a 10-minute break before the next round of matches. 

10:50: Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) and Feng LU (CHN) roll to technical superiority wins on Mat C. The Kazakhstan wrestler beats Farkhod ANAKULOV (TJK) at 125kg while Lu thrills the crowd by beating Inayat ULLAH (PAK) at 74kg.

10:35: Omar SAREM (SYR) got a big four against Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN) to lead 4-4 on criteria but the Japanese wrestler scored a takedown to make it 6-4. A reversal for Sarem but that doesn't change the final result.

10:25: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) with a 10-0 win over VICKY to advance. Next up on Mat C is Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) and SUMIT at 125kg. Sumit qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in Sofia but was later found to have failed a dope test. His place was awarded to Lazarev.

10:20: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) built a 2-0 lead over Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) but the Uzbek with a counter four! Goleij with a stepout to lead cut the lead 4-3 at the break. Ibragimov with a takedown in the second period to lead 6-3 now. Both wrestlers are on the edge and it's a stepout for Ibragimov who now leads 7-4. Well, that was it for Ibragimov as Goleij scored a takedown and three turns to make it 13-7 and advance.

10:14: Deepak PUNIA lost to Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) in the Asian Championships in 92kg but he avenged that loss with a 3-2 win at 86kg. Bost wrestlers had a takedown each but Punia with an activity point in the second period to win the bout.

10:00: World champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) is on Mat A against Awusayiman HABILA (CHN), a rematch of the Asian Championships final in which Tazhudinov won. The Bahrain wrestler with a big attempted lift but gets only two points. A takedown for Tazhudinov but Habila scores a reversal just before the break. The second period begins with Habila go behind and he cuts Tazhudinov's lead to 5-3. Tazhudinov answers with a takedown to lead 7-3 and is happy to keep it as the clock expires.

#WrestleSamokov

Iliasov levels up to win 130kg gold; Iran Greco champ again

Sunday, August 24, 2025 - 19:38 By Vinay Siwach

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SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 24) -- Ali ILIASOV (UWW) made his international wrestling debut at the European U20 Championships in July and won a silver medal. Two months later, the 18-year-old is a world champion.

Wrestling at his career first World U20 Championships on Sunday, Iliasov emerged at the champion in the 130kg weight with victories over rivals more experienced and heavier, literally, than him.

Weighing only 115kg for the 130kg final, Iliasov defeated returning silver medalist Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) in the semifinals and on Sunday, he managed to humble two-time world U17 champion Yusuf BAKIR (TUR) in the final and win the gold medal.

"I’m underweight for the class but I feel a kind of relief," Iliasov said. "I’ve fulfilled a small dream of mine. I still haven’t fully realized that I’ve become a world champion."

Overall, Iran became the team champions with 117 points. Armenia managed second-place finish with 98 points and Azerbaijan was third with 90 points. This was Iran's fourth straight team win in Greco at the World U20 Championships.

Ali ILIASOV (UWW)Ali ILIASOV (UWW) turns Yusuf BAKIR (TUR) for two points during the 130kg final at the World U20 Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iliasov was only 10 seconds into the final against Bakir when he used an arm-drag and had Bakir in trouble. Bakir managed to stop the takedown but he stepped out and was cautioned for fleeing as well. Iliasov led 2-0 after this sequence.

A similar arm drag brought down Bakir to the mat and Iliasov scored his first takedown. A stepout made the score 5-0. Iliasov remained relesntless in his attacks and a snapdown helped him score another takedown on Bakir. He then turned Bakir for the match-winning gut-wrench.

"I managed to beat my opponent so decisively was because I was extremely confident in myself, even more confident than he was," he said.

While he blanked Bakir in the final, Iliasov did have his share of close bout in Samokov. In his opening bout, Iliasov had a close 7-6 victory over Viachaslau FEDARYNA (UWW). He scored a technical superiority win over Leonhard JUNGER (AUT) in the second match before facing Fathitanzangi in the semifinals.

"I would say I was warming up, a little nervous [in the first bout]," he said. "After that first match I completely opened up."

In the semifinals, Iliasov led 3-0 when Fathitanzangi went for a pushout. Iliasov tried to stop it by throwing Fathitanzangi but he landed on his back and the Iranian wrestler was given two points.

As Fathitanzangi was awarded par terre position in the second period, he also got the 3-3 criteria lead over Iliasov. The Iranian tried defending his lead for the win but Iliasov managed to circle around and bring him down for two points. Fathitanzangi pulled one back with a stepout but that was all as Iliasov entered the gold-medal bout with a 5-4 win.

"My performance can be rated 9 out of 10," he said. "Because in the semifinal I strayed a bit from my tactics, lost focus, and almost gave away points."

With experience from this World U20 Championships, Iliasov now wants to switch to senior level as early as next year.

"I’ll try at the senior level," he said. "Of course, that’s another level, wrestler with much more experience. But I’ll do my best to test myself."

Georgia double

Georgia earned two gold medals on the final day of the World U20 Championships, a feat the country has not achieved since 2016.

Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO) and Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) came out with dominant performances in the 77kg and 87kg finals respectively to bring home two golds for Georgia.

Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO) hits a counter attack against Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI) during the 77kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 77kg, Putkaradze was up against Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI) in the final and got the par terre position. He managed to turn Bouveiri two times for a 5-0 lead. In the second period Bouveiri had the chance to turn it around when he the top position in par terre.

Things, however, did not go that way. As Bouveiri was trying lift Putkaradze, the Georgian countered with a bodylock and then slammed him for two-point takedown. He then turned the Iranian for two more points and won the gold medal, 9-1. Iran challenged for a foul but there was none and one more point was added to his score to make it 10-1.

Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) celebrates with his coach after winning the 87kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The second gold came from Kochalidze as he pinned Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (UWW) in the 87kg final. In a rematch of the European U20 Championships final at 87kg, Abdulkadyrov was hoping to avenge his loss from Carole, Italy.

He was given the par terre advantage in the first period and he tried turning Kochalidze, who blocked the turn but lost his grip as well and the turns were called neutral. As Abdulkadyrov was back on top, he again tried to turn Kochalidze who managed stop Abdulkadyrov and kept him on the mat till the fall was called.

Georgia was the only country to win two gold medals in this competition in Greco-Roman.

At 63kg, senior Asian champion Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) proved why he will be medal threat in Zagreb with a dominant run to gold-medal. He defeated Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM), 12-2, with two big four-point throws.

Khalmakhanov began with a underhook throw for a takedown in the first 20 seconds. He tried the same move again but Margaryan blocked and scored a takedown for a 2-2 criteria lead. Late in the first period, Khalmakhanov was awarded the par terre position for one point but he failed to score and led 3-2 at the break.

If Margaryan hoped for a better second period, Khalmakhanov had no such idea. He slammed Margaryan from standing using the underhook for four points. He continued the sequence and lifted Margaryan and slammed him forward for four more points.

The two big throws for Khalmakhanov were enough for him for the win despite a challenge from Armenia. The lost challenged made his score 12-2.

RESULTS

63kg
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM), 12-2

BRONZE: Mohammad ABOUTALEBI (IRI) df. Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL), 9-0
BRONZE: Igor PUNCHENKO (UWW) df. Damir IBRASHOV (KAZ), 5-1

77kg
GOLD: Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO) df. Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI), 10-1

BRONZE: Zaur BESLEKOEV (UWW) df. Raatbek PAIAZBEKOV (KGZ), 8-0
BRONZE: Kiryl VALEUSKI (UWW) df. Leister BOWLING (USA), 9-0

87kg
GOLD: Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) df. Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (UWW), via fall

BRONZE: Erik TER MATEVOSYAN ( ARM) df. Elias LYYSKI (FIN), 1-1
BRONZE: Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 4-4

130kg
GOLD: Ali ILIASOV (UWW) df. Yusuf BAKIR (TUR), 9-0

BRONZE: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE), 8-0
BRONZE: Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) df. Viachaslau FEDARYNA (UWW), 5-1