Turkish Nationals

Demirhan, Tosun, and Yesilirmak Punch Tickets to World and European Championships

Wednesday, January 9, 2019 - 17:05 By Eric Olanowski

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YALOVA, Turkey (January 9) - The Turkish Women’s Wrestling National Championships came to an end in Yalova, Turkey, and U23 world champions Evin DEMIRHAN and Buse TOSUN, and 2018 world runner-up Elif YESILIRMAK were among the winners.

Of the ten tournament champions, nine wrestlers punched their tickets to the 2019 World and European Championships. Yasin ADAR, the 2017 world champion and 2018 world runner-up did not compete at this weekend's National Championships but will be Turkey's 76kg representative at the World and European Championships.

In his opening ceremony speech, Turkish Wrestling Federation President Musa Aydin talked about the importance of September's Astana World Championships, saying, "Our first goal is the 2019 World Championships because there's now an Olympic quota. Athletes entering the top 6 in 2019 will receive a visa. We want to ensure that our athletes receive their visas one year in advance. Our goal is to join the Olympics by creating the best wrestling team in the world in 2020." 

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan will be the most important Olympic Games in Turkish women's wrestling history. Turkey has won 63 Olympic medals, 29 of those being gold, at the Olympic Games, but they've all come from freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers. 

Six Turkish women have qualified for the Olympic Games, but have all fell short of winning a medal. Their highest finishes came at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games when Buse Tosun, who won the 68kg gold medal this weekend, and Hafize SAHIN finished in seventh-place. 

Elif Yesilirmak, who won the 62kg gold medal this weekend, was the first and lone Turkish women to wrestle at the 2008 London Olympics. She also competed in the 2016 Olympic Games, and has the opportunity to become the first Turkish woman to qualify for three Olympic Games. 

You can watch the Turkish women's wrestling team compete at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yaryin, which begins on January 24 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Click HERE to read the full story from the Turkish Wrestling Federation. 

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD - Evin DEMIRHAN 
SILVER - Aynur ERGE 
BRONZE - Funda TUKENMEZ 
BRONZE - Zehra DEMIRHAN 
 

53kg 
GOLD - Zeynep YETGIL 
SILVER - Emine ÇATALOGLU 
BRONZE - Elif Büşra KOCA 
BRONZE - Fikriye GOK

55kg  
GOLD - Bedia DAY 
SILVER - Elif YILMAZ 
BRONZE - Aysun ERGE 
BRONZE Esra PUL 

57kg  
GOLD - Mehlika OZTURK 
SILVER - Ozge FINDIKCI 
BRONZE - Nurife DUMAN 
BRONZE - Nuray KARADUMAN


59kg  
GOLD - Elif YANIK 
SILVER - Derya BEYHAN 
BRONZE - Dilan KAYA 
BRONZE - Gizem KABAK 
 

65kg 
GOLD - Asli TUGCU 
SILVER - Cansu AKSOY 
BRONZE - Merve KARADENIZ 
BRONZE - Asli DEMIR 

62kg 
GOLD - Elif YESILIRMAK 
SILVER - İlknur BATIR 
BRONZE - Damla ARSLAN 
BRONZE - Cemile UNUDAN 

68kg
GOLD - Buse TOSUN 
SILVER - Kadriye AKSOY 
BRONZE - Sehernur BULUT 
FOURTH - Aysegul SEVER 

72kg  
GOLD - Merve PULA 
SILVER - Tugba SWORD 
BRONZE - Bester ANDERSON 

76kg 
GOLD - Aysegul OZBEGE 
SILVER - Mehtap GULTEKIN 
BRONZE - Fatma KANLIADA 

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2026 Day 2 Results & Highlights

Thursday, June 4, 2026 - 17:14 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 5) -- The second day of the Ulaanbaatar Open will feature three Greco-Roman and five Women's Wrestling weight classes. Iran, Bulgaria and India won two Greco-Roman gold medals each on day one of the competition.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

Semifinals with Greco-Roman

12:40: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) stuns Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) in Round 3 at 63kg! Sharshenbekov did not score from par terre in the first period. On the other hand, Keshtkar scored an exposure from par terre to lead 3-1 and Sharshenbekov committed a defensive foul to give two more points to Keshtkar which Iran got only after a challenge. As the bout restarted in par terre, Keshtkar lifted Sharshenbekov and threw him for two points while the Kyrgyzstan wrestler committed a leg foul. Kyrgyzstan challenged for no foul but lost it and Keshtkar got another point, taking his score to 10-1.

12:30: Solid match between European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) and MUSKAN (IND). Ana with a takedown and then two trap arm guts to lead 6-0. Muskan got one back and scored a takedown to make it 6-2. But Ana scored another takedown before the break to lead 8-2. Both kept exchange takedowns in the second period but Ana managed to keep her lead at 10-6 with 1:33 left. She then scored a stepout and three different takedown to complete her victory.

12:15: MEENAKSHI (IND) is no match for world champion Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) who gets a 10-0 victory in just over a minute. She scores a takedown and lace to lead 6-0 before scoring another counter takedown and a roll for four more points.

12:10: World silver medalist Il Sim SON (PRK) begins with a 11-0 victory over Danielle LIM (SGP) at 57kg. She needed only a minute and 36 seconds to roll Lim

11:45: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) secures his places in the semifinals with Round 2 victory over Sunny KUMAR (IND). Sharshenbekov did not score from par terre but managed to bring down Kumar for four points using a body lock. He then defended par terre in the second period to complete the win at 63kg

11:35: All-Iranian bout at 63kg in Round 2 between Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) and Erfan JARKANI (IRI). Keshtkar gets the first par terre and he lifts Jarkani, tosses him for four points. Jarkani cannot do the same when he gets the par terre in the second period. He challenges for something not evident but loses it and Keshtkar leads 6-1. Jarkani gets a point for Keshtkar's foul but the latter wins 6-2. The win also confirms Keshtkar's spot on the Iran team for the 2026 World Championships

11:20: World champion at 55kg, Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) was a little rusty in the first period against Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) at 53kg. She tripped the Mongolian for a four-pointer but also gave up for four on a cutback. However, she switches gears in the second period and rolls to a 14-4 victory.

11:05: European silver medalist Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) with a fall in Round 1 of the Nordic bracket at 72kg against HARSHITA (IND). Choler led 4-0 before countering a deep attack from the Indian and sticking her to the mat for the fall.

10:55: Out comes the lace from Pyol HONG (PRK) against Enkhtuvshin BALJINNYAM (MGL) and she rolls to a 10-0 technical superiority win at 59kg.

10:52: Bediha GUN (TUR) scored the opening takedown in her Round 1 bout against Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) at 59kg. But the Mongolia uses an arm-bar to secure the fall over Gun in the second period.

10:45: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) returns to the mat for close to two years and begins with a win. In his 63kg Round 1 bout, Sharshenbekov was up against Erfan JARKANI (IRI) and holds off the Iranian 1-1 on first-point criteria. Jarkani was given par terre twice in the second period, one with 30 seconds remaining, but Sharshenbekov defended both times. Since it's a Nordic bracket, the two can face each other again in the final.

10:30: Ulaanbaatar Open will enter the second day with five Women's Wresting weight classes and the remaining three Greco-Roman weights. Here are the results from day one of the tournament.