Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Wrestling Committee Elects New Board

By Tim Foley

GOLD COAST, Australia (April 17) -- The General Assembly of the Commonwealth Wrestling Committee met last week during the final day of wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast to elect a new board of directors and set out an agenda of growth for the next four years. 

Twenty two nations attended the assembly and worked together to create and approve a new organizational constitution. The group also elected the new board of directors, led by Don RYAN (CAN) who is the president of the Canadian Wrestling Federation. Olympic champion wrestler Danial Igali was one of four vice presidents elected.

"I am looking forward to working with our board to move our sport forward and strengthen commonwealth wrestling at all levels," said Ryan. "We want to improve our efforts on behalf of the athletes, coaches and officials, especially given that wrestling has been recently added as a core sport at the Commonwealth Games."

The board also stated that it would be improving outreach and upping its efforts for promotion and the development of wrestling within the Commonwealth.

"As we continue to develop our sport, I have spoken with representatives from United World Wrestling and the CEO of the Commonwealth Games, David Grevemberg, regarding opportunities to strengthen our sport in the commonwealth and the world," said Ryan. "It's a very exciting time for our athletes."

Commonwealth Wrestling Board of Directors, Secretary General and Members:

Don RYAN (CAN) – President
Sakkie BOSSE (RSA) – Vice President
John SAUL (AUS) – Vice President
Daniel IGALI (NGR) – Vice President
Ian WIGGETT (GBR - Wales) – Secretary General
Marlene POURI-LANE – Member
Ilai MANU (TKL) – Member

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2026 Greco-Roman Day 1 Results & Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

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.