#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling World Series grows to 3 continents in 2023

Tuesday, March 7, 2023 - 13:01 By United World Wrestling Press

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CROSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 7) -- The Beach Wrestling World Series continues to gather popularity with its incredible athleticism, non-stop action, easy-to-understand points system and rules, as well as a growing recognition in relevance from the world of sports.

Already the fastest-growing style on the United World Wrestling (UWW) calendar, beach wrestling gets underway in a brand new location. The season opener will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 7-8, following UWW's senior Pan-American Championships, It will mark the return of the World Series to the continent for the first time since the inaugural season in 2019.

The tour will then head to its first-ever stop on Asian sands as it touches down in Singapore on June 10 and 11, making its debut on the continent.

The first two stops of the World Series are also qualifying events for the ANOC World Beach Games, which will take place in Bali on August 11 and 12. Beach Wrestling is a core event at the Games.

The third stop will see the wrestlers move to the sensational sands of Saint Laurent du Var, bringing that Cote D’Azur French flair to the season for the third year in a row with the event doubling up as the sport's U17 and U20 European Championships.

The penultimate event will take place on September 9 and 10 on magical Mamaia Beach in Constanta, Romania which has been the venue for the final stop of the World Series’ past two seasons. With the U17 and U20 World Championships taking place in the days before, the sand will be warmed up for the seniors to show their skills.

The final stop will see the Kings and Queens of the Beach coronated in Sarigerme, an area of marvelous Mugla, Turkey, and the site of the 2022 season opener, on October 14 and 15 as the curtain comes down on another year of the strongest show on the sand.

The Beach Wrestling World Series is popular with fans and athletes alike, providing a festival atmosphere as the sun shines on the sand, the music plays and the spectators’ "ooohs" and "ahhhs" accompany the wrestlers on their way to gold.

The adrenaline-filled action helps feed the vibe and it’s easy to see why the sand side crowd continues to grow with each event. With Beach Wrestling being named one of ANOC’s Beach Games core disciplines for 2023 and 2025, the popularity of the sport is sure to continue to grow at the rapid rate it has so far.

More than 700 athletes from 48 countries have participated in the World Series since its introduction in 2019 with 267 women and 445 men taking to the sand with World Series gold in their sights. More new faces, talents and potential title challengers are expected for the new season.

Registration is open for four different weight categories for both men and women, with the men's competing in -70kg, -80kg, -90kg and +90kg, and the women competing in -50kg, -60kg, -70kg and +70kg. Each bout lasts three minutes, or first to three points.

The UWW has put prize money of 1000 Swiss Francs for the gold medalists, 500 Swiss Francs for the silver medalists and 250 Swiss Francs for each of the two bronze medalists. Along with that, the ‘Top Technique’ award for the best move over the weekend, voted by the fans via the World Series’ official Instagram page, will see the winners take home 1000 Swiss Francs for each gender.

Who will take home the gold in this series? Will the Big Gun, Azerbaijan’s Oyan Nazariani make a victorious return after an injury-hit 2022? Will the Glorious Georgians go on another gold run? Will anyone be able to match Romania’s 50kg ‘heavyweight’ Stefania Princeputu? Can the ever-growing Team USA make an impression this year?

Will the impressive Indian team continue its upwards trajectory, or will the Brilliant Bulgarians shine on the sand? It’s anyone’s guess as we head towards the start of the series with competitors from all over the world gearing up for the biggest Beach Wrestling World Series to date.

Tune in to see how the drama unfolds and who will be the Kings and Queens on Sand, come October in Mugla.

Dates and Locations, Beach Wrestling World Series 2023
Stop 1 – Buenos Aires (ARG), May 7-8, 2023  
Stop 2 – Singapore (SGP), June 10-11, 2023
Stop 3 – Saint-Laurent-du-Var (FRA), June 29-30, 2023
Stop 4 – Constanta (ROU), September 9-10, 2023
FINAL – Mugla (TUR), October 14-15, 2023

UWW Beach Wrestling
UWW, then known as FILA, codified the form of beach wrestling in 2004. Beach Wrestling is standing wrestling done by wrestlers inside a sand-filled circle measuring 7 meters (23 ft) in diameter. The style originally mirrored the rules used before the use of wrestling mats, and Beach Wrestling has been regarded as the oldest version of international competitive wrestling. The international rules were modified by UWW in 2015, with the current rules allowing wrestlers to score points via takedowns, pushing their opponent out of bounds, or bringing the opponent down to their back.

Introduced in 2019, the Beach Wrestling World Series crowns the world champions during the finals of the five-legged competitive season in beach locations across South America, Asia and Europe.

Weight Classes
Women: 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, and +70kg
Men: 70kg, 80kg, 90kg, and +90kg

Find out all about the Beach Wrestling World Series at www.beachwrestling.org

Follow us on social media
IG @uwwbeachwrestling
FB @ Beachwrestlingworldseries
YT @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU82VJze6xdYhhp3uEFA_tw/featured - watch the competitions live

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2026 Greco-Roman Day 1 Results & Highlights

Wednesday, June 3, 2026 - 17:22 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 4) -- The first day of the Ulaanbaatar Open will feature seven Greco-Roman weight classes. The third Ranking Series stop offers vital Ranking points which will in turn help earn a seed at the World Championships.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | ULAANBAATAR OPEN PREVIEW

14:35: 97kg semifinals - Minho LEE (KOR) showed some fight but eventually fizzled out as Nurassyl AMANALY (KAZ) secured the fall after a 10-4 lead. Amanaly will face Asian silver medalist NITESH (IND) in the final after the Indian defeated Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL), 4-1. 

14:10: The 87kg semifinals took some time but they are done! Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ) finished his semifinal with a 9-0 victory over Seunghwan LEE (KOR) and in the second semifinal, Asian bronze medalist Sunil KUMAR (IND) held on to a 3-1 victory over Luis AVENDANO (VEN) after scoring a turn from par terre in the second period.

Switching to remaining semifinals on one mat!

13:45: An all-Bulgarian final at 82kg! Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL) wins his semifinal 9-1 in the first period against Imur TEMIRBEKOV (KGZ) while Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) blanks Lkhagvasuren DASHJAMTS (MGL), 9-0.

13:30: At 77kg, Amuguleng BAI (CHN) with a four-point throw in the final 10 seconds to stun Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ), 7-6, and advance to the finals. Bai was trailing 6-3 but out of nowhere he launches Orunkul Uulu to secure the win. He will face Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL) for the gold medal after he posted a controlled 3-1 win over Yeonghun NOH (KOR)

13:20: No mercy from Iranian duo of Danial SOHRABI (IRI) and Javad REZAEI (IRI) in 72kg semifinals. A very identical bout in their respective matches as both Sohrabi and Rezaei won in 1:39 seconds and score of 9-0. Sohrabi defeated Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ) while Rezaei moved past Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ) and will meet in the 72kg final.

13:15: The semifinals will begin with 67kg. Murat FIRAT (TUR) up against Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND) in the semifinals. He scores a stepout before given a par terre position from which he turns Sahrawat and then lifts him to throw for four points. India challenge the last throw but loses it and Firat wins 9-0. He will face Xinxin JIN (CHN) for the gold medal after Jin upsets Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS), 4-2, in the other semifinal.

12:45: Payam AHMADI (IRI) does it! He wins the gold at 55kg after winning his Round 4 bout against Emin CAKIR (TUR), 9-0, his fourth technical superiority win of the morning session. He completed a 17-second win in Round 3. 

12:20: Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) continues his dominant run at 67kg as he beats Karanjit SINGH (IND), 12-3. Singh got the par terre and scored a turn but Shimoyamada used an arm-throw to take a 4-3 lead. He used another arm throw but did not succeed. However, he wrapped Singh's arm around his head to turn the Indian twice and lead 8-3. He used a reverse lift for four points to finish the bout right at the stroke of the break.

12:00: Continuing the round-robin bracket at 55kg, world silver medalist Payam AHMADI (IRI) with two beautiful throws over Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL) to win his second bout 8-0. Two more wins and he will claim the gold medal.

11:45: At 97kg, Asian silver medalist NITESH (IND) has to work hard for his 3-1 victory over Juan DIAZ (VEN) in the quarterfinals. Nitesh is the favourite to win the gold medal but still needs two more wins.

11:22: Asian silver medalist Javad REZAEI (IRI) takes less than two minutes to complete a 10-0 win over former U23 world champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) at 72kg. Two Iran wrestlers are entered at 72kg. Apart from Rezaei, Sohrabi is also wrestling in Ulaanbaatar with Iran hoping that they face each other and the winner likely to get the spot on the Iran team for the World Championships.

11:15: European silver medalist Murat FIRAT (TUR) takes some time but manages an 8-0 technical superiority victory over ALAMUSI (CHN) in 4:49 at 67kg.

11:10: No troubles for world bronze medalist and defending champion in Ulaanbaatar, Danial SOHRABI (IRI) as he finishes Borgil TUVSHINBAATAR (MGL) in just a minute and 26 seconds at 72kg. Sohrabi wins 10-0

11:00: Former Asian champion Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (AUS) with a statement win over Man Gwang SON (PRK) at 67kg. He got highlight reel going with big four-pointers as he moves on with a 10-1 victory

10:52: Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) with a big head lock throw and holds ANIL (IND) for a fall in the opening round bout at 72kg.

10:45: World silver medalist Payam AHMADI (IRI), in a Nordic bracket at 55kg, begins with a technical superiority win over Asian silver medalist LALIT (IND). He scored a takedown to lead 2-0 before given the par terre position. From 3-0, he scored a turn to make it 5-0 and Lalit committed a leg foul which gave two more points to Ahmadi. India challenge the call but it is lost, giving an 8-0 victory to Ahmadi 

10:30: Welcome to Ulaanbaatar Open in the Mongolian capital. Seven Greco-Roman weight classes will kick off the competition.