#WrestleFaenza

Azerbaijan Reaches Top of European Podium Twice on Day 2

Tuesday, June 18, 2019 - 19:13 By Eric Olanowski

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FAENZA, Italy (June 18) – Azerbaijan, led by Malik ALIYEV (AZE) and Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), won a pair of Day 2 gold medals and head into the final day of Greco-Roman wrestling trailing first-place Russia by 23 points. 

The first Azerbaijani wrestler to claim the 25 first-place points was Malik Aliyev, who won the 48kg title by scoring five unanswered points against Russia's Damir KALAKUTOK. In the finals, Aliyev surrendered an inactivity point and a gut wrench and trailed his Russian opponent, 3-0. 
The tides quickly turned when the Azeri compiled five quick points. Aliyev scored his first points with an arm drag takedown, then coupled that with a gut wrench to gain the 4-3 lead.  He then racked up another point from a quick stepout and transitioned into the second period with the 5-3 lead. A scoreless second period ended the match with the same score that started the second period, 5-3, giving Aliyev his first continental title. 

The second Azeri to win a gold medal on the second day of wrestling at the Cadet European Championships was 2017 world silver medalist Nihat Mammadli. 

Mammadli quickly ended Hleb MAKARANKA's (BLR) magical European run with an 8-0 victory in the 55kg gold-medal bout. The Belarusian was coming off an opening day performance where he stopped defending European champion Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO) from reaching the top of the podium in back-to-back years. 

In the short-lived 55kg finals, Mammadli struck first with a lightning-quick arm drag for the match's first takedown. The action was blown dead, and when the wrestlers got back to their feet, Mammadli secured double underhooks, and threw the Belarusian with a picturesque back arch and picked up four points. Now leading 6-0, Mammadli lifted Makaranka near the out of bounds lines and was awarded two points for the correct throw, and ultimately the gold medal with the 8-0 shutout victory. 

Azerbaijan also collected 15 third-place points after Khasay HASANLI (AZE) bulldozed Nikoloz MARGVELASHVILI (GEO), 9-0 in the 65kg bronze-medal bout. 

Russia entered three wrestlers into the Day 2 finals but Imran BABOCHIEV (RUS) was the only one to reach the top of the podium. He won the 65kg title with an 8-6 over Muslim BARGA (TUR). (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Although Azerbaijan had the most champions on Day 2, they still trail Russia by 23 points heading into the final day of Greco-Roman wrestling. 

Russia, who leads with 88 points, had three wrestlers vying for a gold medal on day two, but Imran BABOCHIEV (RUS) was the only one who came out on the winning end of things. Babochiev trailed Muslim BARGA (TUR) 6-0 before scoring eight unanswered points to take the 65kg title with an 8-6 victory. 

Damir Kalakutok and Said MUSAEV (RUS) fell short in the 48kg and 110kg finals respectively, but still collected 20 second-place points. Russia also received 15 third-place points from Artem KOLESNIK (RUS) after he crushed Varuzhan ANTONYAN (ARM), 9-0 in the 55kg bronze-medal match. 

Armenia rounds out the top-three in the Greco-Roman team race after the second day of wrestling.  Armenia and Azerbaijan both have 65 points, but the Azeris hold criteria because of their two champions. 

Wrestling resumes tomorrow in Faenz, Italy, at 11:30 (local time) and can be followed on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD - Malik ALIYEV (AZE) df. Damir KALAKUTOK (RUS), 5-3 
BRONZE - Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM) df. Anatoliy KOTYK (UKR), 6-2 
BRONZE - Maksim STUPAKEVICH (BLR) df. Melkamu FETENE (ISR), 3-1 

55kg 
GOLD - Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (BLR), 8-0 
BRONZE - Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO) df. Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR), 5-1 
BRONZE - Artem KOLESNIK (RUS) df. Varuzhan ANTONYAN (ARM), 8-0 

65kg
GOLD - Imran BABOCHIEV (RUS) df. Muslim BARGA (TUR), 8-6
BRONZE - Dzmitry BONKA (BLR) df. Arman KHACHIKYAN (ARM), 5-1
BRONZE - Nikoloz MARGVELASHVILI (GEO) df. Khasay HASANLI (AZE), 9-0 

80kg
GOLD – Vasile Daniel COJOC (ROU) df. Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM), 
BRONZE - Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE) df. Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA), 9-7 
BRONZE - Jonas Kjeldgaard MOELLER (DEN) df. Umut CELEM (TUR), 10-3 

110kg
GOLD - Mate GOKADZE (GEO) df. Said MUSAEV (RUS), 8-0 
BRONZE - Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), via fall 
BRONZE - Omer AYGUL (TUR) df. Adolf BAZSO (HUN), 6-1 

2026 World Championships

Yazdani Returns to World Championships After Beating Azarpira

Friday, June 19, 2026 - 11:56 By Vinay Siwach

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KEMRAN, Iran (July 19) -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) made his World Championships debut at 70kg in 2015. The Olympic champion will be at 97kg for his eighth World Championships, 11 years later.

Yazdani, a three-time world champion, booked his spot on Iran's team for the 2026 World Championships after beating world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) in two straight matches in Kemran on Friday.

Azarpira needed to win only one bout to earn his spot as he was a returning world medalist but Yazdani secured two wins, 4-2 and 5-3, to end Azarpira's hopes. 

According to selection criteria set by Iran, a returning world medalist needed to win only one bout while the opponent needed two straight wins to claim the spot.

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), blue, shakes hands with Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) after beating him in the second bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

In the first bout, Yazdani scored three stepouts and a point for passivity while Azarpira managed a takedown to the lead but he could not find another takedown or two one-point scoring actions needed to win.

An hour later, the two wrestlers returned for their second bout. Azapira, needed just a win to secure his place, led 3-3 on criteria in the second period. After Yazdani led 3-0, Azarpira fired back a takedown and stepout to earn the criteria.

In the final minute, Azarpira pressured Yazdani towards the zone and just went it seemed that he has scored a stepout, Yazdani circled back and scored a takedown to take a 5-3 lead. A shocked Azarpira protested the decision but he had no challenge left as he had used and lost the challenge in the first period.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) tries to score on Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) during the 97kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Yazdani, with all his experience, managed to hold on to his two point lead and confirm that he will return to the World Championships three years later. The Iranian will be chasing his eighth medal as he already has medals from every edition he has participated in.

The 31-year-old began with a silver medal at 70kg in 2015, won gold at 86kg in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and won bronze in 2018. At the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, he finished silver medals, losing those finals to David TAYLOR (USA).

This, however, won't be Yazdani's debut at 97kg. He wrestled at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series in February and reached the final before Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) defeated him, 13-3.

Yazdani's next challenge will be to win a medal at the October 24-November 1 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 97kg weight class will most likely have returning world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA), Paris Olympic champion and world bronze medalist Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and world bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA (JPN).

Former Olympic and world champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) will also be in the mix if he makes the Russian team. Olympic silver medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), former world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), will also be challenging for the three-time Olympic medalist Iranian.

Yazdani, Firouzpour Win

Two other weight classes, 74kg and 97kg, were also contested to confirm the Iran Freestyle team for the World Championships.

Former world silver medalist Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) defeated Yones EMAMI (IRI) in two straight bouts to clinch the spot at 74kg, a weight class that Emami has ruled in Iran for quite a few years now.

In two high-scoring bouts, Yazdani won 10-6 and 11-7, mostly using his counters in the zone to book his spot.

At 92kg, world bronze medalist Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) defeated Mobin AZIMI (IRI), 2-1, in the second bout of the series to claim the spot. As he was the returning world medalist, Firouzpour needed only one win to qualify.

Azimi won the first bout 2-2 on criteria, scoring a late stepout after three points were awarded for passivity. However, there was no such comeback in the second bout as Firouzpour kept his lead.

On Tuesday, a wrestle-off was held in Greco-Roman in which Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), 5-1, at 130kg to secure his spot for the World Championships.

Iran's Freestyle Team for 2026 World Championships

57kg: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
61kg: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
65kg: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
70kg: Sina KHALILI (IRI)
74kg: Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
79kg: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
86kg: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
92kg: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
97kg: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
125kg: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)