#development

Bulgaria hosts Grappling referee educator course

Tuesday, August 23, 2022 - 12:31 By United World Wrestling Press

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Sofia, Bulgaria (August 22) – United World Wrestling hosted the first-ever Grappling Referee Educator Course in Sofia, Bulgaria.  The course was held from 12-16 August at the Ramada Hotel in Sofia.  The course was conducted prior to the start of the U20 World Championships which was hosted by the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.

The course was attended by 5 expert Grappling referees.  They included Mr. Vito PAOLILLO (ITA), Mr. Richard TADO (USA), Mr. Hrant KOTANJYAN (ARM), Mr. Akim ABDRAKHMANOV (KAZ), and Mr. Gary BIRD (CAN).  At the course, they learned various techniques and adult learning principles to help deliver more effective courses.  The educators were able to practice and improve those skills directly during the course.  “The Educator course was an outstanding experience of Learning. It totally changed my view on how you should run a course to make the participants interested and engaged in the topics.  It worked well because being a student in this you see in real time how this new method is working on you during the course and how Zach manage to keep you always active and never bored during the 3 days.” said Vito PAOLILLO. “The UWW Educator Course this week in Sofia, Bulgaria was an amazing experience. Not only from a student’s perspective but it also excelled from educators’ point of view. Our instructor, Zach Errett brought a plethora of knowledge to the course and instructed our class with the highest level of today’s information and respect.” said Richard TADO. “The skills that I got on how to conduct my future courses was important knowledge on how to make people interested and engaged in session.” said Hrant KOTANJYAN.

TextParticipants from the first-ever Grappling Referee Educator Course gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

This educator course was conducted on the first 3 days and was led by Zach Errett, UWW Education Manager. “I was very impressed with this group.  They were very open and willing to learn new skills to help them as educators.  It was amazing watching them improve each session and apply the principles that were taught during the course.  I see great things in the future for the Grappling referees.”  Said Zach Errett.

After the educator course completed, the Grappling Referee Educators stayed for 2 additional days to develop materials for their upcoming courses.  They were able to discuss best practices and the content that should be covered.  This group also had the opportunity to attend part of the U20 World Championships.  While there, they observed how the Olympic styles referees work at the competition.  This provided a chance to look for ways to improve the referees in Grappling.  “I appreciate the continued support from UWW and I’m looking forward to working with all the UWW Federations as we all grow the sport of UWW Grappling across the world.” said Richard Tado.

#WrestleZagreb

Saravi returns to final; Ganizade, Ghanem rematch for 72kg gold

Friday, September 19, 2025 - 16:52 By Ken Marantz

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 19) -- Paris Olympic champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) safely negotiated the minefield that was the draw of the stacked 97kg division, advancing to the final to earn a shot at capturing a second world title.

Saravi defeated Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) 3-1 in the semifinals Friday at the World Championships in Zagreb, putting him in Saturday's gold-medal match against Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) as the finals were set in three Greco weight classes.

In other finals, Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) and Alisher GANIEV (UZB) will battle it out at 60kg, while the 72kg match will be a rematch of last year's final between defending champion Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) and Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA).

Saravi, who avoided the upset bug that hit the legendary Artur ALEKSANYAN (AZE) and 2023 world champion Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) earlier in the day, executed a gut wrench from par terre against Maskevich, then hardly budged when he was put on the bottom in the second period.

The victory gives Saravi, who won his third straight Asian title and fourth overall this year, a shot at regaining the world title he won in 2021. He also has an Olympic bronze and world silver and bronze medals to his credit.

Sargsian, a 2021 bronze medalist, earned his place in the final with a 1-1 victory over Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), prevailing on the criteria of receiving the first of two passivity points.

Following an opening victory by technical superiority, it was Sargsian's third straight victory by a 1-1 scoreline, an aspect that is totally irrelevant to him.

"I don’t care about the score, the important thing is that they raised my hand," Sargsian said. "All my life I tried to win ahead of time, to get 8-0 in every match -- and for what? It didn’t lead to anything good. I’m 27 years old and I still have only world championship medal. So for me, three times 1-1 is the same as three times 8-0."

For Sargsian, the final gives him a chance to avenge a loss to Saravi from the 2021 World Championships, when the Iranian defeated him 6-4 in the first round in Oslo.

"I’m very glad that tomorrow I’ll finally have my long-awaited rematch with Saravi," Sargsian said. "It adds extra excitement that now he is not only a world champion, but also an Olympic champion."

At 60kg, Asian silver medalist Ganiev will get a chance to become just the second Uzbekistan wrestler to win a world Greco title after holding on to win a 5-5 thriller
over European silver medalist Georgij TIBILOV (SRB).

Ganiev was on top in par terre, trailing on criteria because he received the second passivity point, when he lifted Tibilov and executed a nifty cartwheel for a 4-pointer and a 5-4 lead.

But Tibilov, a world bronze medalist at 63kg in 2023, was not going down easily, and he pressured Ganiev at the edge for a takedown, then added a second one. But
that was all he could get, and Ganiev won on big-point criteria.

The victory avenged a 6-4 loss to Tibilov in the final of the Zagreb Open in the same arena back in February.

Uzbekistan's lone title in Greco came back in 2001, when Dilshod ARIPOV (UZB) won the 58kg gold in Patras, Greece.

Sultangali, who has world bronze medals from 2018 and 2022, will get a shot at his first gold after putting on a late surge and defeating Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
10-2 in the other semifinal.

Sultangali trailed 2-1 when he bulled Shavadze over for a 4-point takedown with :30 left, then added a gut wrench. An unsuccessful challenge made it 8-2 before Shavadze gave up the fight and allowed a stepout with fleeing penalty point with :03 left.

Kazakhstan has won five Greco world golds through three wrestlers, but hasn't had put one on the top of the medal podium since 1999, when Mkhtar MANUKYAN
(KAZ) won the second of his back-to-back titles at 63kg in Athens.

At 72kg, a second potential Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan match-up failed to come to fruition when both countries' wrestlers lost in the semifinals. Instead, it will be
Ganizade and Ghanem going at it for the second consecutive year.

Ganizade scored all of his points in the first period in a 5-0 victory over Asian silver medalist Abdullo ALIEV (UZB). He slipped behind for a takedown, then added a gut wrench before getting the lone passivity point to cap the first period.

In the other semifinal, Ghanem was leading a close match 3-2 as it was winding down when he countered Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) for 4-point throw.

Maulitkanov just remained lying on the mat, officially giving Ghanem a victory by fall in 5:49.

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg (25 entries)
SF 1: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) df. Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) by TF, 10-2, 5:57
SF 2: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), 5-5

72kg (30 entries)
SF 1: Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) df. Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 5-0
SF 2: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) by Fall, 5:49 (7-2)

97kg (29 entries)
SF 1: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW), 3-1
SF 2: Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) df. Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), 1-1