#wrestlebishkek

Bishkek Ranking Series entry list

By Vinay Siwach

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (May 23) -- An entry list that will put most international tournaments to shame, the Bishkek Ranking Series will be attended by more than 400 wrestlers.

The third Ranking Series of the year will be headlined by 29 continental champions who won gold medals in the recently concluded championships across the world.

In freestyle, Azerbaijan is bringing a solid squad headlined by Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE). The nation has also entered three wrestlers at 74kg -- Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE), Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) and Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) -- in a bid to get a clearer picture of its World Championships team.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia are also bringing some of their top names in freestyle while India will see the return of Olympic silver medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND), his first competition since the World Championships.

Women's wrestling will see powerhouse China bring a full squad as it continues to get international competition after missing out on some in the past three years.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine will be its biggest opponents as the three countries are also bringing their best teams.

In Greco-Roman, Iran will be the favourite in most weight classes as it has decided to land with a full strength squad for the Ranking Series event. Georgia and Turkiye too have a tough squad for the tournament.

Iran will be led by Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) and it also includes Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), Daniel SHORABI (IRI), Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) among others.

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will try to challenge the these countries when the competition begins June 1 in Bishkek.

Ravi KUMAR (IND)Ravi KUMAR (IND) will be wrestling for the first time since the World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Freestyle

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Abzal OKENOV (KAZ)
Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ)
Yerassyl MUKHTARULY (KAZ)
Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) 
 
61kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Ravi KUMAR (IND)
PANKAJ (IND)
AMAN (IND)
Kairat AMIRTAYEV (KAZ)
Nurbolat ABDUALIYEV (KAZ)
Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Sardor RUZIMOV (UZB) 
 
65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Maikai ABULIZI (CHN)
Nuerlaxi BIEKEZHATI (CHN)
Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Meirzhan ASHIROV (KAZ)
Galymzhan IBADULLA (KAZ)
Ilyas AMANZHOLOV (KAZ)
Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ)
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) 
 
70kg
AGUDAMU (CHN)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Mulaym YADAV (IND)
Orts ISAKOV (JOR)
Doszhan ASSETOV (KAZ)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Turbayar DAVAANYAM (MGL)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)
Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) 
 
74kg
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Shengsong XIA (CHN)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
AWUSAYIMAN KELAN (CHN)
Amr Reda HUSSEN (EGY)
Otari BAGAURI (GEO)
YASH (IND)
Erzo T ISAKOV (JOR)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ)
Alinur TAKIROV (KGZ)
Adilet ZHAPARKULOV (KGZ)
Kubat AZIZBAEV (KGZ)
Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB) 
 
79kg 
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Hade AYIDUSI (CHN)
Tu Erxun AHEIYOU (CHN)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Deepak DEEPAK (IND)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Zhiger ZAKIROV (KAZ)
Bibarys NURYLLAULY (KAZ)
Myrza ZHYRGALBEK UULU (KGZ)
Adilet MARATBAEV (KGZ)
Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL)
Ermak KARDANOV (SVK) 
 
86kg
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Peilong LI (CHN)
Jumabieke ABAIYI (CHN)
Xiao SUN (CHN)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Zaur BERADZE (GEO)
Jointy KUMAR (IND)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Maksat SATYBALDY (KAZ)
Islyambek ILYASSOV (KAZ)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ)
Narbek IZABEKOV (KGZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB)
Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB) 
 
92kg 
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Jumabayi AERGEN (CHN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Abdimanap BAIGENZHEYEV (KAZ)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Yeskali DAULETKAZY (KAZ)
Stambul ZHANYBEK UULU (KGZ)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Rustam SHODIEV (UZB) 
 
97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Reheman RUSIDANMU (CHN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
DEEPAK (IND)
Nursultan AZOV (KAZ)
Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
Makhsud VEYSALOV (UZB) 
 
125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Benxin DUAN (CHN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Anirudh KUMAR (IND)
Omar EYUBOV (KAZ)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ)
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Batmagnai ENKHTUVSHIN (MGL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)
Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB)

Grace BULLEN (NOR)Grace BULLEN (NOR) will be competing in the 62kg weight class in Bishkek. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Jiang ZHU (CHN)
Meng FAN (CHN)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
NEELAM (IND)
Gulzhazira AMANTAYEVA (KAZ)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Evin DEMIRHAN YAVUZ (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Jasmina IMMAEVA (UZB) 
 
53kg
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Li DENG (CHN)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ (ECU)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN)
POOJA (IND)
Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Liliya HORISHNA (UKR)
Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB)
Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) 
 
55kg 
SITO (IND)
Zulfiya YAKHYAROVA (KAZ)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) 
 
57kg 
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
ZHUOMALAGA (CHN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)
Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) 
 
59kg
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR)
Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR) 
 
62kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
SONAM (IND)
Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL)
Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)
Dilfuza AIMBETOVA (UZB)
 
65kg
MANISHA (IND)
MUKATAY (KAZ)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Purevsuren ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL) 
 
68kg
Olivia DI BACCO (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
NISHA (IND)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB)
Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB) 
 
72kg
REETIKA (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 
 
76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN)
Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAE (EST)
Cynthia VESCAN (FRA)
PRIYA (IND)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will be at his second Ranking Series event of the year at 72kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Rupin RUPIN (IND)
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Marlan MUKASHEV (KAZ)
Yersin ABYIR (KAZ)
Taalaibek BEISHENBEK UULU (KGZ)
Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB)
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) 
 
60kg
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Erbatu TUO (CHN)
Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
SUMIT (IND)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Aibek SABYRBEKOV (KAZ)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ)
Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
Balbai DORDOKOV (KGZ)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Umit DURDYYEV (TKM)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) 
 
63kg 
Ainiwaer AIKEREMU (CHN)
Geminghan REHETI (CHN)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Madiyar MALTEKBAYEV (KAZ)
Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ)
Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB) 
 
67kg
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Luis ORTA (CUB)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
NEERAJ (IND)
ASHU (IND)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Daniyar KALENOV (KAZ)
Merey BEKENOV (KAZ)
Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ)
Tynar SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)
Abror ATABAEV (UZB) 
 
72kg 
Jian TAN (CHN)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
VIKAS (IND)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Yerassyl NURBOSSYNOV (KAZ)
Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ)
Khabibullo TYNCHTYK UULU (KGZ)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) 
 
77kg
Rui LIU (CHN)
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN)
Yesitai ZIYINI (CHN)
Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Sajan SAJAN (IND)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Azat SADYKOV (KAZ)
Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ)
Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ)
Alibek BERDIEV (KGZ)
Renat ILIAZ UULU (KGZ)
Jeyhun OVEZDURDYYEV (TKM)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB)

82kg
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Rohit DAHIYA (IND)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Shamil BATYROV (KAZ)
Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Temirlan BEKTURDIEV (KGZ)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB)
Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB)

87kg
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Yi YANG (CHN)
Talimubieke AYIDINGBIEKE (CHN)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI)
Baurzhan MUSSIN (KAZ)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Shyhazberdi OVELEKOV (TKM)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) 
 
97kg
Yan LIU (CHN)
Yiming LI (CHN)
Maimaiti KAISAIER (CHN)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Narinder CHEEMA (IND)
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)
Zhantas NURGALI (KAZ)
Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Arkyt OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM)
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) 
 
130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Di XIAO (CHN)
Teliuhan HAIYISHAOER (CHN)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
Sahil SAHIL (IND)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Anton SAVENKO (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Fatih BOZKURT (TUR)
Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB)

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Tazhudinov wins gold; Sujeet, Suda champions in Budapest

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 17) -- The final Ranking Series of the season begins Thursday in Budapest with seven Freestyle weight classes -- 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg and 125kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | FREESTYLE PREVIEW

19:55: Bahrain gets a second gold medal as Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) hangs on for a 5-3 win over Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) in the 125kg final.

19:35: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) makes it another 11-0 victory and wins gold medal at 97kg. That is his fourth technical superiority win today. Since his Paris gold, Tazhudinov wrestled in Spain and won gold and now adds a second in two weeks.

19:10: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) is so good in his defense and he uses it to great effect and beats Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) 5-0 and takes the gold medal at 79kg at the Budapest Ranking Series.

18:35: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) wins Ranking Series gold medal at 70kg after beating Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) 8-0 in the final. Just a really strong performance overall as he gets ready for World Championships.

18:10: SUJEET (IND) gives India a Ranking Series gold medal in Freestyle after beating Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE). A bit of Bajrang PUNIA (IND) in Sujeet as he only gives up a activity point in the first period and upped the pace in the second scoring two takedowns and point for activity to win the gold medal.

17:45: Takara SUDA (JPN) with a buzzer-beating four-pointer in the 61kg final to win gold medal! Suda was down 3-1 against Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) with 10 seconds remaining. Suda snaps Zhumashbek Uulu and then brings him down on the mat. Zhamashbek Uulu tries to defend but in clearly on his back and Suda has control. Suda is awarded a 3-3 criteria win.

Kyrgyzstan challenges but that is awarded four points to Suda and he wins 5-3

17:20: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) is the champion at 57kg after he pulls off a takedown in the last 25 seconds against Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE). Both wrestlers exchanged activity points and Lilledahl led 1-1 on criteria but he scored a takedown to pull off a clear 3-1 victory.

17:00: The medal bouts in all weight classes begin now. The bronze medals will be held on Mat B and C while the gold-medal bout will be on Mat B.

Budapest Ranking Series 2025 Day 1 Semifinal Report

Olympic champions Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), who wrestled at the Grand Prix of Spain last week in his first tournament since Paris Olympics, reached the 97kg final at the Budapest Ranking Series on Thursday.

Wrestling only in his third-ever Ranking Series, Tazhudinov posted three straight technical superiority wins and entered the final against Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL).

Opening his day with a 14-2 win, Tazhudinov manhandled Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) and capitalized on the half-hearted attacks of the French wrestler. He hit a big double-leg attack for four points but Viskhanov got two points for exposure.

But that was only opening Tazhudinov allowed for the rest of the bout. Viskhanov tried a few leg attacks but Tazhudinov scored a takedown and two turns to be up 10-2 before an arm-bar attempt turned into takedown for his win.

Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW) was next and Tazhudinov needed just a minute to beat him. In the semifinals, he took 1 minute and 48 seconds to see off Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), 10-0.

Baranowski had a contradictory run to the final as he won 6-6 on criteria against Jonathan AIELLO (USA) before a 7-5 victory over VICKY (IND) in the quarterfinals. He improved the score line to 7-3 in the semifinal against Juhwan SEO (KOR).

In other weight classes, world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) needed two last-second wins in quarterfinals and semifinals to book a place in the final. He defeated Niklas STECHELE (GER) 4-2 with a pushout in the last second and then handed RAHUL (IND) a 7-6 loss with a takedown in the final moments.

He will take on Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) for the gold medal after the Azerbaijan wrestler beat Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 5-2.

Asian champion at 61kg Takara SUDA (JPN) showed why he one of the medal threats at the World Championships in Zagreb. Suda wrestled two bouts before reaching the final and won them without much trouble. He began with a 12-2 win over Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and then posted a 4-3 win over Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ).

He will face Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) in the final after the Kyrgyzstan beat his compatriot Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 3-2. A win against Suda in the final can be a huge confidence booster for the Kyrgyz wrestler.

At 65kg, SUJEET (IND) was a surprise finalist after he got the better of Paris Olympic medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB), 11-0, and then beat Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), 6-1, in the semifinals.

He will take on Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) in the final who defeated Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN), 9-2, in the other semifinal.

At 70kg, Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) and Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) set up the final which will be a clash between two continental silver medalists. Aoyagi was in red-hot form in Budapest and outscored his opponents 28-3 before the final.

Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), after his small quest at 86kg, returned to 79kg and made it to the final in Budapest after a 2-0 win over Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) in the semifinal. He will face Asian silver medalist Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) in the final. The Tajik stunned Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) in the semifinal using a cradle in just 21 seconds.

Kougioumtsidis dominated his matches till the semifinals but could not stop Evloev from finishing the cradle and had to make his way to the bronze-medal bout instead of gold.