Entries Released for Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial

Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 13:54 By Eric Olanowski

Sassari, Italy (May 15) - Sandy beaches, bright blue waters, and wrestling? Not something you hear very often (unless it's a beach wrestling event) - but that'll be the case next week when wrestling invades the island destination of Sardinia, Italy, for United World Wrestling's third Ranking Series event of the year, the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial.

The tournament will be the first of its kind when speaking about Ranking Series events. United World Wrestling has never held a Ranking Series event with all three styles under one roof. The three-day Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial, which starts on May 23, will begin with Greco-Roman. Women's wrestling takes over on the second day, and freestyle closes out the tournament on May 25.

Though registration is not official until 24 hours before the first whistle, here are some of the world and Olympic medalists, among many others, that fans can expect to see in Sardinia:

GR 77kg - KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR) – Olympic champion
FS 70kg - Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) – Olympic champion
WW 76kg - Erica WIEBE (CAN) – Olympic champion
WW 76kg - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) – Olympic champion
FS 86kg - Selim YASAR (TUR) - Olympic silver
WW 72kg - Anna FRANSSON (SWE) – Olympic bronze
FS 74kg - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) – Two-time world champion
GR 67kg - RYU Hansu (KOR) – World champion
WW 76kg - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) – World champion
WW 55kg - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) – World champion
WW 55kg - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) – World champion
GR 77kg - Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) – World runner-up
FS 74kg - Khetik TSABALOV (RUS) - World runner-up
FS 65kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) – Two-time world silver
GR 87kg -Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) – U23 World champion
WW 57kg - Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) – U23 World champion
FS 57kg - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) – Ranked No. 1 at 57kg
FS 68kg - Fatih ERDIN (TUR) – Ranked No. 1 at 86kg

Freestyle
57kg
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Nader Ahmad HAJIAGHANIASAMAKOUSHI (IRI)
Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Zhandos ISMAILOV (KAZ)
Changjun PARK (KOR)
Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Adam KATES (USA)
Patrick HEBREARD (USA)

61kg
Rahul AWARE (IND)
Sonba GONGANE (IND)
Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI)
Rassul KALIYEV (KAZ)
Kerim HOJAKOV (TKM)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)
Alec HOOVER (USA)

65kg
Niurhun SKRABIN (BLR)
Dimitar IVANOV (BUL)
Joshua BODNARCHUK (CAN)
Vincent DE MARINIS (CAN)
Connor MCNEICE (CAN)
Mauricio SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU)
Roman ASHARIN (HUN)
Harphool HARPHOOL (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Sayatbek OKASSOV (KAZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Masoud NIAZI (NED)
Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Mehmet OGUT (TUR)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Brandon CALLOW (USA)
Andrew HOOVER (USA)
Spencer DUSI (USA)

70kg
George KOLIEV (BLR)
Mihail Iliev GEORGIEV (BUL)
Dillon Emmanuel WILLIAMS (CAN)
Pablo DIEZ PARDO (ESP)
Farhad Jafar NOURI KHORJESTAN (IRI)
Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI)
Nurdaulet AZHIKUL (KAZ)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Soslan RAMONOV (RUS)
Batyr BORJAKOV (TKM)
Mustafa KAYA (TUR)
Austin Alexander VICTOR (USA)
Jarrad Keith LASKO (USA)
Brandon Alexander BARTON (USA)

74kg
Andrei KARPACH (BLR)
Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
Ty Stuart BRIDGWATER (CAN)
Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Amit Kumar DHANKHAR (IND)
Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Tommaso FERRARI (ITA)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Seungchul LEE (KOR)
Jie Woon SHIN (KOR)
Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS)
Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS)
Suleyman OMAROV (TKM)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Isaac John COLLIER (USA)
John Delmas CHIPPS (USA)
Shane Michael GING (USA)

79kg
Parveen RANA (IND)
Kautuk Shamarao DAPHALE (IND)
Zhiger ZAKIROV (KAZ)
Shamil MURTAZOV (KAZ)
Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ)
Khalil AMINOV (RUS)
Sahergeldi SAPARMYRADOV (TKM)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Dmytrii TKACHENKO (UKR)
Seth Matthew WINKLE (USA)
Daniel Joseph NOVAK (USA)
Kyle Dylan ROBERTS (USA)

The top-ranked wrestler in the world at 86kg Fatih ERDIN (TUR) (84 points) is set to compete next week in Sardinia. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

86kg
Svetoslav Zhivkov DIMITROV (BUL)
Alexander Robert MOORE (CAN)
Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN)
Damian IGLESIAS VILELA (ESP)
Richard Ferenc LIGETI (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Ahmad Yousef BAZRIGHALEH (IRI)
William RAFFI (ITA)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Hyeokbeom GWON (KOR)
Vladislav VALIEV (RUS)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Selim YASAR (TUR)
Matthew Christopher FERRARO (USA)
Christian Brian HIPSHER (USA)

92kg
Istvan VEREB(HUN)
Viky VIKY(IND)
Arashk Mohammadkazem MOHEBI (IRI)
Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI)
Batyrbek TCAKULOV (RUS)
Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)

97kg
Ivan YANKOUSKI (BLR)
Nikolay Simeonov CHTEREV (BUL)
Nishan Preet Singh RANDHAWA (CAN)
Mihaly SZABO (HUN)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Hamed Delavar TALEBIZARRINKAMAR (IRI)
Abbas Ali FOROUTANRAMI (IRI)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Bakdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Igor Alekseevitch OVSIANNIKOV (RUS)
Selimmuhammet MUHADYYEV (TKM)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)

125kg
Aly Medhat Abde BARGHOUT (CAN)
Frédérick CHOQUETTE (CAN)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Parviz Khodavirdi HADIBASMANJ (IRI)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Donghwan KIM (KOR)
Zolboo NATSAGSUREN (MGL)
Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS)
Sohbet BELLIYEV (TKM)
Grant Michael ROBINSON (USA)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Enrick Jean Flavien BATAILLE (FRA)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Dogus AYAZCI (TUR)
Hakan Murat CANKAYA (TUR)

60kg
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Latuf MADI (FRA)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Jungbaik LEE (KOR)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Florin TITA (ROU)
Andrei IVANOV (RUS)
Sadyk LALAEV (RUS)
Ruben MINASIAN (RUS)
Dimitar Ivaylov SANDOV (SUI)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)

63kg
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Leo Alexandre Sylvain TUDEZCA (FRA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Fabio CARBONE (ITA)
Kyunghoon KIM (KOR)
Eunbin KIM (KOR)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)
Kadir KAMAL (TUR)

67kg
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Yasin OZAY (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Stefan Roger CLEMENT (FRA)
Mate KRASZNAI (HUN)
Otto LOSONCZI (HUN)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Azamat Gadjimuradovitch AKHMEDOV (RUS)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Haci KARAKUS (TUR)

72kg
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Anthony TANTINI (FRA)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Balint KORPASI (HUN)
Jeonggeun LEE (KOR)
Adam KURAK (RUS)
Evgenii VYSOTIN (RUS)
Aleksandr PAIVIN (RUS)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)

77kg
Brayden William AMBO (CAN)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Gil NUGUES (FRA)
Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Zotlan LEVAI (HUN)
Laszlo SZABO (HUN)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Dmitrii DZHIOEV (RUS)
Nicolas Peter CHRISTEN (SUI)
Aslan ATEM (TUR)
Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR)

82kg
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Antonio MALANGONE (ITA)
George Vlad MARIEA (ROU)
Adel SADYKOV (RUS)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)

87kg
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Rami Antero HIETANIEMI (FIN)
Ariel Andres ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ (HON)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Heageun PARK (KOR)
Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS)
Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Josef Patrick RAU (USA)

97kg
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Spyridon KOUNTOURATZIS (GRE)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Balazs KISS (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Daigoro TIMONCINI (ITA)
Armen GRIGORYAN (RUS)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Cenk ILDEM (TUR)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)

130kg
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Alexandros Marios ZORATLY (GRE)
Balint LAM (HUN)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Yongmin KIM (KOR)
Constantin HUTULEAC (ROU)
Lenard Istvan BEREI (ROU)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)

Erica WIEBE (CAN) is one of three Olympic champions who will be competing next week at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial. She'll wrestle at 76kg. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Jade Marie DUFOUR (CAN)
Natasha Irene Vera KRAMBLE (CAN)
Madison Bianca PARKS (CAN)
Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Tabatha Helene Laurence GRUNEWALD (FRA)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
YeoJin KIM (KOR)
Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS)
Fredrika Ida PETERSSON(SWE)

53kg
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Jessica Cornelia Francisca BLASZKA (NED)
Silje Knutsen KIPPERNES (NOR)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)

55kg
Emily Suzanne SCHAEFER (CAN)
Jayd alexandria DAVIS (CAN)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)
Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)

57kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR)
Hannah Fay TAYLOR (CAN)
Tianna Grace KENNETT (CAN)
Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Carola RAINERO (ITA)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Kelsey Rene CAMPBELL (USA)

59kg
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Maria Victoria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Kumari MANJU (IND)
Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Nazira AMANZHOLOVA (KAZ)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)

62kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE)
Elmira GAMBAROVA (AZE)
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Braxton Rei STONE (CAN)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Annalisa MARZULLI (ITA)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Jiae CHOI (KOR)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Moa Lena Maria NYGREN (SWE)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Mallory Maxine VELTE (USA)

65kg
Amanda SAVARD (CAN)
Pauline Denise LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Saidy Lorena CHAVEZ FIGUEROA (HON)
Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS)

68kg
Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN)
Alexia Rose SHERLAND (CAN)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA)

72kg
Dejah Aniela SLATER(CAN)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA(EGY)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE(FRA)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA(KAZ)
Anna Jenny Eva Maria FRANSSON(SWE)

76kg
Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Natallia LANKO (BLR)
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Gracelynn DOOGAN (CAN)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Epp MAE (EST)
Cynthia Vanessa VESCAN (FRA)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Eunju HWANG (KOR)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS)

#WrestleSamokov

U20 Worlds: After two heartbreaks, Kassimbek is world champ

Monday, August 18, 2025 - 19:08 By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 18) -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) had lost two World U17 Championships finals, denying him the world champion tag.

He got his third chance to be a world champion on Monday at the World U20 Championships in Samokov and third time proved to be lucky for the Kazakhstan wrestler.

Wrestling a familiar opponent in Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) in the final, Kassimbek seemed in no trouble during the six minute bout and captured the gold medal and his first world title with a 4-1 victory.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) turns Abofazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) for match-winning two points in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wresting / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The 18-year-old had previously wrestled Mohammad Nezhad three times in his career and won all three. Kassimbek defeated the Iranian at the 2023 Asian U17 Championships, 8-1, in their first meeting. In 2024, he defeated him twice, in the semifinals at the World U17 and Asian U17 Championships, 4-3 and 2-2, respectively.

"I am very happy," Kassimbek said. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I am glad [to win]. In the future, I will become an Olympic champion. I am already slowly preparing for this goal."

Mohammad Nezhad thought he may have a chance to change that record when he went up 1-0 in the final after Kassimbek failed to score after being put on the activity clock. But the second period was all about Kassimbek as he got a takedown and then turned the Iranian, wrapping Mohammad Nezhad's legs around his head, for two points.

The 4-1 lead and some defensive wrestling was enough for Kassimbek to win the final and claim his gold medal, making him the first wrestler to win the heaviest weight class at any World Championships.

World U20 champion at 125kg -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"Even though I have defeated the Iranian wrestler more than once, I take every opponent seriously," he said. "But when I stepped on the mat, I was confident in my victory."

While Kassimbek will have more age-group tournaments, he has ambitions to be at the senior level in quick time with some added strength and weight.

"I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I am still not strong enough," he said. "I need to work harder. I am eighteen years old, but I already want to compete at senior level, I just need to gain a little bit more weight."

PJ DUKE (USA) celebrates after winning the 70kg gold medal in Samokov. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

U.S. wins 2 golds

Two returning bronze medalists from the U.S. -- PJ DUKE (USA) and Justin RADEMACHER (USA) -- upgraded their medals to gold.

Duke, a recent high school graduate, was the first world champion on Monday as he won a slugfest against Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5. Duke's gold comes a month he wrestles at the senior World Championships in Zagreb.

He scored the first five points against Gaidarli's one but the Moldovan a takedown and turn from Gaidarli made it 5-5 with him leading on criteria and 1:20 left on the clock.

Duke, however, remained composed and managed to get on a leg-attack and convert it into a takedown for a 7-5 match-deciding lead. Gaidarli's attempts to score at the end where easily negated by Duke.

With the win, Duke denied Gaidarli a historic title which would have made him the first Freestyle world U20 champion since 1999 for Moldova.

PJ DUKE (USA) scores a takedown over Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) in the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"One thing I never really thought about, like obviously I've dreamed about winning a world title, but that feeling you get when you're on the podium when they're playing the national anthem. It's something I've never felt before and it's just so cool," Duke said.

Duke will have one month to rebound and wrestle in Zagreb, a competition much tougher than the U20 level.

"I got to definitely have a few things I need to tweak, easy fixes and minor technical changes," he said. "My body's is in good shape, I feel fine. I'm not too beat up on this."

Duke had to beat Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) in a best-of-three series to win the spot on the U.S. senior. While he celebrated his victory there, Duke had a subdued celebrations when he won in Samokov.

"The Final X was just a little different for me," he said. "I was definitely a bigger underdog there. It's just being on that senior team is my main goal. Coming from last year after losing the U20s. I just had to get that done. I tried not to show too much emotion but sometimes it's big deal, like final X, it comes out."

Justin RADEMACHER (USA) attempts a leg attack against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Rademacher had a rather straightforward final against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) at 97kg. The match was majorly a one-move finish as Rademacher got on a leg attack and forced Magomedov towards the zone before throwing him in danger for four points.

From there on, Rademacher was happy to play the clock while Magomedov, struggling with his conditioning, never really got a chance to score until a late stepout to get on the board.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

European U23 champion Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) got his world title to his name after he won the 74kg final against Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ). Khaniev blanked Akylbekov, 11-0, with a series of takedowns.

In the first period, Khaniev had two takedowns, a turn and a stepout to lead 7-0. He finished the bout quickly in the second period with takedown and an exposure to win.

"This was my goal for the year," Khaniev said. "I needed to accomplish it, and I did. I rate my performance at this tournament 4 out of 5 because there is always room to grow, I still made some mistakes."

Khaniev had a tough bracket to go through, wrestling returning silver medalist Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) and European U20 champion Manuel WAGIN (GER), a wrestler he recently lost to at the European U20 Championships.

"Against Lockett, I was focused and really wanted to beat him, just like the German wrestler to whom I lost at the Europeans," he said. "I was very well prepared for the match [against Lockett], and I managed to win with full confidence."

Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) won his first world title on Monday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Khaniev had lost to Wagin in Italy, 5-4, in a close semifinal but their rematch in Samokov followed a different storyline as Khaniev won via technical superiority.

"At the U20 European Championships I wasn’t fully prepared, I had injuries, although that is not an excuse," he said. "Here I really wanted to take revenge, I prepared very hard, did everything possible on my side, and it worked out."

Khaniev called the 74kg weight class as the "royal" one and wants to continue his career in it for the time being.

"I believe that if I continue to work hard, then even in such a competitive weight class I will be able to withstand the competition," he said. "This is considered the 'royal' weight. It will be very interesting for me to keep competing in this weight, unless my weight increases and I have to move up to a higher category."

RESULTS

70kg
GOLD: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5

BRONZE: Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) df. Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) df. Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ), 11-0

BRONZE: Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ) df. Raul CASO (ITA), 6-3
BRONZE: Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW), 4-1

BRONZE: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR), 8-3
BRONZE: Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ) df. VISHAL (IND), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) df. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI), 4-1

BRONZE: Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) df. Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA), 3-1
BRONZE: Cole MIRASOLA (USA) df. Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL), 12-2

Entries Released for Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial

Comments

U20 Worlds: After two heartbreaks, Kassimbek is world champ