#WrestleTirana

Bondar caps off remarkable year with U23 Worlds gold

Saturday, October 26, 2024 - 11:03 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 25) -- Iryna BONDAR (UKR) was at her home in Zhytomyr, watching her teammate Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) win the silver medal at the 62kg weight at the Paris Olympics. Bondar was inspired by her senior and vowed to make the Olympic team for 2028 Los Angeles Games. However, the 20-year-old will have to beat Koliadenko to make that team as both compete in the 62kg weight class.

"We train together and even matches during training," Bondar said. "She wins but with a close score. It is possible for me to win against her. She has won two medals at the Olympics, her hard work brings the results."

On her journey in the new Olympic cycle, Bondar has established herself as one of the biggest stars in 62kg with 2024 being one of the most remarkable years for her.

After finishing eighth in the Zagreb Ranking Series, Bondar has won gold medals at the U23 European Championships, Budapest Ranking Series, U20 World Championships and on Friday, she won the U23 World Championships gold medal, upgrading her silver from last year.

"It was a very intense year," she said. "The main goal for me was to complete the year with the U20 World gold, since this is my last Junior year. I did it."

With two world titles in a one-month span, Bondar is slowly coming to terms with her achievement. Despite coming to Tirana as a heavy favorite, Bondar says she was nervous and still cannot believe that she is a world champion.

"I am always a bit nervous at competitions," she said. "If there is no nervousness, then there is no competition. There is no difference what kind of competition it is. I came up with the idea that I had to win, because I already have two U23 silver medals, and I was coming here for gold only."

In the final, Bondar met two-time world medalist Macey KILTY (USA) who had dominated her competition till the final. An close final was expected by Bondar had different ideas. She used her quick offense and Kilty slumped to a 12-3 loss.

"I know that I have a very experienced opponent in the final but I prepared to wrestle her," Bondar said.

With three more years of U23 eligibility, Bondar may set a unique record of winning the most level at U23 World Championships. However, she said that she will be focused on senior level as well.

"At the end of November we will have qualifiers for the European Championships," she said. "I will be wrestling there but it's still hard to believe that I have won."

U.S. wins team title

While Kilty lost, the U.S. performance was good enough to win it their first-ever U23 team title. U.S. won five medals including three golds to outperform Japan which finished second. U.S. finished with 136 points while Japan had 129 points. Ukraine was third with 124 points.

Kylie WELKER (USA) added another age-group world title after she defeated Vianne ROULEAU (CAN) via fall in the 72kg final. She also has a U20 world title from 2021. Since then, Welker has wrestled at 76kg. For this tournament, she dropped down to 72kg and it proved dividends for her.

Ringaci defends

Paris Olympian and one of the biggest stars in Tirana, Irina RINGACI (MDA) returned to the mat after her medalless campaign at the Paris Olympics. She ended the season by defending her U23 world gold medal at 65kg, beating Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), 10-3.

At one point, Ringaci led only 4-3 and Kasabieva had locked her for a suplex. However, Ringaci used her trademark whizzer and scored a four-pointer. Kasabieva challenged for a stepout but lost, making it 9-3 for Ringaci.

"I came here to win the gold medal because this is my last year competing at the U23 age group," Ringaci said. "I really wanted to win this World Championships to recover from the missing Olympic medal."

Ringaci suffered a 10-6 opening round loss against Pak Sol Gum (PRK) in Paris and returned without a medal.

"My preparation for the Olympic Games was really good," she said. "Days before my first Olympic bout, I got seriously ill. I was taking antibiotics, that’s why I was feeling bad. I was so disappointed because all the preparation stages went perfectly, but something we couldn’t control happened."

"I was wrestling on the first day at the Games, and at first I didn’t realize the Olympics were over for me. Only after the Olympic Games were over, I realized that it had all come to an end. I was completely devastated, because I expected much more. I still can’t recover from that defeat. But this U23 medal has cheered me up a bit and given me a little power."

Aliyeva first for Azerbaijan

Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) became the first-ever U23 world champion in women's wrestling by beating Ruka NATAMI (JPN) 10-8 in the 57kg final. She had won the silver medal last year after losing the final to Sara NATAMI (JPN), Ruka's older sister.

Aliyeva was running with the final and at one point she led 10-4. However, with less than a minute to go, Natami mounted a comeback but she failed to get a final turn as time ran out.

Sakamoto's golden debut

Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) had never competed at any World Championships and when she did, she made sure she won gold. The former U20 Asian champion made her debut in Tirana and won the 53kg gold medal with a resounding 11-0 victory over Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN).

While the final was one-sided, Sakamoto survived a scare in the semifinal against Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL), scoring a takedown in the last five seconds to win 4-4.

"I was injured this past year," Sakamoto said. "I overcame that and the semifinal was a lot harder for me. There were a few times when I couldn't get through the tackle. The Mongolian wrestler was really strong. I didn't move very well, but I was able to seize some chances and make the final tackle, so I'm glad."

Sakamoto suffered an ACL tear last year and had to operate, making her miss a few tournaments. She returned to competition during the selection trials for the World Championships. During her recovery, she realised that returning to 50kg would be a big ask so she moved up to 53kg.

"During the injury period, I thought a lot about my weight. In 50kg, I reduced weight but my strength increased," she said. "I felt like I wasn't using my strength in the competition, so I tried 53kg. I don't cut weight now."

Last month, Sakamoto followed her younger brother and moved to the U.S. While her brother is at Oklahoma State University, Sakamoto chose Northern Michigan University. But she will continue to appear for trials in Japan.

"I wish I could challenge myself through wrestling," she said. "I heard that my younger brother was going to college in the United States, so I thought I'd give it a try as well. So I decided to go to America because there were more matches there and I thought it would be a better fit for me, so I thought I could stick to my favorite style."

df

RESUTLS

53kg
GOLD: Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) df. Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 11-0

BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. Xiaomin XIE (CHN), 10-8
BRONZE: Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL) df. Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ), 12-2

57kg
GOLD: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Ruka NATAMI (JPN), 10-8

BRONZE: Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) df. Sofia MACALUSO (USA), 8-4
BRONZE: Neha SHARMA (IND) df. Mingyue ZHANG (CHN), 5-2

62kg
GOLD: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 12-3

BRONZE: Olha PADOSHYK (POL) df. Hanying ZHANG (CHN), via fall 
BRONZE: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Viktoria VESSO (EST), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), 10-3

BRONZE: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Karolina POK (HUN), 
BRONZE: SHIKSHA (IND) df. Rin TERAMOTO (JPN), 6-3

72kg
GOLD: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Vianne ROULEAU (CAN), via fall

BRONZE: Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN) df. Olesia BEZUGLOVA (AIN), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Haticenur SARI (TUR), via fall (11-0)

Freestyle Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) vs. Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE)

SF 1: Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) vs. Abhishek DHAKA (IND), 11-1
SF 2: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) vs. Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)

SF 1: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN), 5-1
Sf 2: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) df. Ismail KHANIEV (AIN), 1-1

86kg
GOLD: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) vs. Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)

SF 1: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN), 2-1
SF 2: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA), 8-1

92kg
GOLD: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) vs. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR),
SF 2: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) df. Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN), 

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)

SF 1: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Aydin AHMADOV (AZE), 10-0
SF 2: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Lucas STODDARD (USA), 10-0

#WrestleZagreb

Komarov upends Mohamadi to make history, spoil Iran celebrations

Sunday, September 21, 2025 - 20:47 By Ken Marantz

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Note: An earlier version of this article mentioned Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) as the first male wrestler to have won the "Grand Slam". Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) was the first. The error is regretted.

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 21) -- Olympic silver medalist Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) was set to put the cherry on top of Iran's dominant performance in Zagreb, but Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) had a recipe for disaster.

Komarov pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory in the 87kg final that left Mohamadi inconsolable, while earning himself a unique place in wrestling history as the curtain came down on the World Championships on Sunday with the last three Greco titles decided.

"I’m very happy," Komarov said. "The final was really tough, and I believed I could succeed. In the end I managed it, and I’m very glad about that."

In other finals, teenager Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) gave Uzbekistan just its second world Greco title -- more than two decades after the first -- with a victory at 63kg, while Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) triumphed at 67kg to become the Iran's second Olympic champion in two nights to add the senior world gold.

Iran easily won the team title with 180 points, nearly twice as much as the runner-up, to complete the freestyle-Greco double for the first time. The Asian powerhouse finished with four golds and eight medals overall in Greco. Azerbaijan placed second with 89 points, followed by Uzbekistan with 72. Both nations had one champion.

With his triumph in Zagreb, the Russian-born Komarov became the second male wrestler to complete the "Grand Slam" of world titles -- winning all three age-group titles as well as the senior gold.

Komarov, who began competing for Serbia in 2024, previously won the first of two cadet (U17) titles in 2015, the world junior (U20) in 2017 and 2018, then added the world U23 in 2021.

He joins Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) as the lone men to achieve the Grand Slam. Mirzazadeh, who won a second career Greco 130kg title two days earlier in Zagreb, become the first when he won his first senior gold in 2023, adding to world titles at U17 in 2015, U20 in 2018 and U23 in 2021.

A handful of women, including Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Amit ELOR (USA), have achieved the slam. Three other male greats came close, but fell just short by taking silvers on either the U17 or U20 levels -- Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) in freestyle and Leri ABULADZE (GEO) in Greco.

"I’ve collected the whole set of medals," said Komarov, who has also completed the Grand Slam on a European level. "My coach, my journey -- everything I did was right. I have success, so I’m very happy. My goal and my dream are the Olympic Games. I think about it. It’s too early to talk about that now, but I hope everything works out."

Even with his past glory, not everything had worked out for Komarov in his run-up to Zagreb. In fact, it was less than spectacular.

Eighth at the Paris Olympics, this year the 26-year-old relinquished the European title he had won in 2024, having to settle for a bronze, and placed fifth at all three Ranking Series events he entered, in Zagreb, Tirana and Budapest.

In fact, it was in Tirana that he clashed with Mohamadi, who handed him a 5-1 defeat in the semifinals en route to the gold.

"It was a very hard road to get here -- it’s been a very difficult year and I lost all the ranking series. I lost at the Europeans," Komarov said. "Of course I had doubts in myself, but I believed I could do it and I succeeded. I’m always mentally ready -- I didn’t change anything, just worked a lot and tried to wrestle without mistakes and give my best."

But Komarov made all the right moves in Zagreb to beat Mohamadi, who reluctantly settled for his second world silver, adding to one at 82kg in 2023.

The difference came down to what each wrestler did from par terre. Mohamadi, who won the Tirana Ranking Series title, could only manage a stepout on a throw
attempt. Komarov, on the other hand, got the traditional roll, which put him up 3-2 in the second period.

The key moment of the match came in the final minute, when Mohamadi pressed forward in a tackle position and had Komarov backpedaling out of the ring.

But the stepout -- nor a potential fleeing point -- was not awarded when it was determined on a lost Iranian challenge that Mohamadi's hands had dropped below Komarov's waist, which made it 4-2.

Mohamadi needed a takedown to win, but could only manage a late stepout. At the final whistle, he dropped to the mat in total despair, and had be propped up as he
walked dejectedly from the main floor.

Meanwhile, Komarov's celebrations took a odd twist when it was discovered there was no Serbian flag for him to hoist for his victory lap. Instead, he circled the mat on the shoulders of his coaches.

"Nobody believed I would win," Komarov said with a smile. "Many Serbians came to support me, but nobody brought a flag."

While Komarov chose to relocate his life to Serbia and has a Serbian wife, his family remains in Russia. His younger brother, Ilya KOMAROV (UWW), won a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in August.

At 63kg, Khalmakhanov's victory on the senior stage came just over a month after winning the gold at the World U20 Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria.

Khalmakhanov, who also won the senior Asian title in March, looked like a seasoned veteran in the final against Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), dominating in a 6-0
victory.

Khalmakhanov wasn't able to turn in par terre in the first period, but added a stepout to take a 2-0 lead at the break. In the second, he shrugged Chung down for a takedown, then added another stepout while attempting a throw.

The Korean side challenged the original takedown, but it was denied, giving Khalmakanov a 6-0 lead that he defended to the end. 

Perhaps the only person more ecstatic over Khalmakanov's victory was his coach, the indefatigable Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), who finally retired at age 40 after the Paris Olympics, having won two world medals but no golds.

Uzbekistan's only previous gold in Greco came in 2001, when Dilshod ARIPOV (UZB) won the 58kg title in Petras, Greece.

Chung was denied in his bid to give Korea its first world Greco gold since his senior teammate and longtime training partner at Kyungsung University, the now-retired Hansu RYU (KOR), won the second of his two world golds in Paris in 2017.

At 67kg, Esmaeili got a stepout to start the match, and that proved the difference in a 2-1 victory over reigning European champion and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE).

"With a smart plan, I beat him 2–1 and became the champion of this weight class," said Esmaeili, who won the gold in his senior world debut.

Each wrestler had a chance in par terre, but neither could turn the other, giving Esmaeili his closest victory of the tournament. He had cruised into the final with four consecutive wins by technical superiority.

"Anyone who makes it to the final is obviously a good wrestler, but I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks in the final," Esmaeili said. "We had a clear plan to win, and thank God it worked out -- we came out on top."

Esmaeili has been on quite a run in recent years. He has suffered just one loss since 2021, a 9-7 defeat at the hands of Luis ORTA (CUB) in the semifinals of the Budapest Ranking Series event in June 2024.

His accolades, in addition to the Paris gold, include back-to-back Asian titles in 2024 and 2025. Having already won golds at the world U17 and U20, he needs just the world U23 to complete a "Golden Grand Slam," which includes the Olympics.

His victory came a day after fellow Paris champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) won the title at 97kg.

"This was my first time competing in the [senior] world championships," Esmaeili said. "Before this, I had competed in the Olympics, where thankfully I won gold, and here I was able to repeat that Olympic gold to prove myself once again."

Keshtkar tops Emelin for 63kg bronze

In the bronze-medal matches, Asian silver medalist Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) stormed out a big lead, then fought fatigue to hold off a late surge from former world champion Sergey EMELIN (UWW) to take his first world medal with a 6-4 victory at 63kg.

Keshtkar used an arm spin for an opening takedown, then added a stepout off a whizzer. Another stepout, combined with an unsuccessful challenge, put him up 5-0 at the break.

After Keshtkar padded his lead with another stepout, Emelin went on the offensive as the Iranian began to run out of gas. A stepout, takedown and fleeing penalty point cut the gap to two points, but the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist couldn't apply the coup de grace and fell short of a third world medal.

European bronze medalist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), last year's world U23 champion, was able to complete his comeback to defeat Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) 6-5 for the other 63kg bronze.

Hrushyn, a two-time European medalist, had two stepouts and led 3-0 in the second period when Eriomenco gained a stepout, then was put in par terre. He took full advantage, executing a trap arm roll, then going back the other way to go ahead 6-3.

Hruyshyn scored a takedown with :37 left to pull within one, but Eriomenco conceded nothing the rest of the way to secure the medal.

At 67kg, lanky Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) fell into a five-point hole early against Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), but used his elongated limbs to maximum advantage in ground wrestling to rally to a big lead before securing a late fall.

Two-time Asian silver medalist Beishekeev uncorked a 4-point throw from par terre in the first period to lead 5-0, with Galstyan picking up a stepout before the break.

Galstyan started his comeback by shrugging Beishekeev to the mat for a takedown, then getting behind again to tie the score at 5-5, although he still trailed on criteria. But he wrapped his long arms around Beishekeev and scored two exposures to go ahead 9-5.

An arm spin gave him another takedown, then he stopped an attack for another 2. That would have ended the match, but Galstyan put an exhausted Beishekeev on his back for a fall with :18 left.

At 87kg, Asian U23 champion Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) defeated David LOSONCZI (HUN) 4-2 to deny the former world champion a third career world medal.

Zhanyshov stopped a lateral drop attempt in the first period for a 2-point score, then added a passivity point to lead 3-0 at the break.

Losonczi, who took silver medals at three ranking series events this year, had a chance at par terre, but could not turn Zhanyshov. He did manage a stepout to cut the gap, but Zhanyshov shut him down the rest of the way, while a late caution point added to his tally.

Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW) stepped over on a gut wrench attempt by Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) and secured a fall to take home the other 87kg bronze.

Alirzaev took a 3-0 lead with an exposure from par terre in the first period. In the second, he was on the bottom when he deftly stuck Yevloyev for the fall in 4:08.

Day 8 Results

Greco-Roman

63kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 6-0

BRONZE: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) df. Sergey EMELIN (UWW), 6-4
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), 6-5

67kg (34 entries)
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Daniial AGAEV (UWW) df. Sebastian NAD (SRB), 7-1
BRONZE: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) by Fall, 5:42 (15-5)

87kg (30 entries)
GOLD: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI), 4-3

BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 4-2
BRONZE: Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) by Fall, 4:08 (5-1)