European Championships entry list

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 11:06 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (March 28) -- The 2023 European Championships will see the return of 27 defending champions as we enter the Paris Olympics cycle.

Zagreb, Croatia will play host to the tournament from April 17 to 24 with all 10 Greco-Roman returning champions, nine freestyle champions and eight women's wrestling gold medalists. The three who are not entered are Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) at 70kg, Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) at women's 62kg and Anna SCHELL (GER) at 72kg.

The number of countries participating in the tournament will be eligible to participate in the World Championships, the first event which will offer quotas for Paril Olympics.

Once again, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Georgia will be the biggest threat to the team title in freestyle with Azerbaijan begin led by Olympic silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE) at 65kg.

Turkiye has Taha AKGUL (TUR) at 125kg while Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) are also part of the team.

It is expected to come down to 125kg final between Akgul and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), another chapter in their storied career. Akgul won the final over Petriashvili last year.

A similar story is expected in Greco-Roman as the three countries are bringing top squads. Last year, Azerbaijan won both the team title with Turkiye finishing second and Georgia finishing third.

Greco-Roman will see a few rivalries also be resumed as both Eldaniz AZIZLI (GEO) and Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) are entered at 55kg. So are the finalists at 60kg -- Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL). The finalists from 63kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg are also entered.

World champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) is returning to European Championships after three years. He is a six-time European champion -- five continental and one Games title.

In women's wrestling, Turkiye and Ukraine will once again be fighting for the team title like last year.

Ukraine has a stronger team than last year with the return of the Olympic bronze medalist at 62kg Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) and former world champion Yuliia TKACH (UKR) at 59kg. However, the absence of world silver medalist Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) may hurt the nation.

Turkiye will be led by the world and European champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) with Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), Nesrin BAS (TUR) and Bose TOSUN (TUR) also part of the team.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE) will be returning for yet another European Championships in her career and for the first time since 2021. She is a nine-time European champion which includes two Games titles.

Taha AKGUL (TUR) defeated Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the 125kg final last year. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Levan METREVELI (ESP)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Amir MAGOMEDSULTANOV (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)

61kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Intigam VALIZADA (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Andrei VITAN (MDA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Valentyn BLIASETSKYI (UKR)

65kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Carlos ALVAREZ (ESP)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Andre CLARKE (GER)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Stevan MICIC (SRB)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Magomed KHANIEV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Semen RADULOV (UKR)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Kreso SKUGOR (CRO)
Gabriel IGLESIAS (ESP)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Maxim VASILIOGLO (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Iman MAHDAVI (UWW)

86kg
Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Ilia HRISTOV (BUL)
Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Ruslan VALIEV (FRA)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (ITA)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Uvejs FEJZULAHU (MKD)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Andrei FRANT (ROU)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Vladyslav PRUS (UKR)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Strahinja DESPIC (SRB)
Ermak KARDANOV (SVK)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)

97kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Georgi DIMITROV (BUL)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Jose CUBA VAZQUEZ (ESP)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Abraham CONYEDO (ITA)
Ivan NEDEALCO (MDA)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)

Kiril MILOV (BUL) is the defending champion at 97kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian SCHMITT (GER)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Muhammet CAKIR (TUR)
Viacheslav BAIRAKTAR (UKR)

60kg
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Daniel BOBILLO (ESP)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Christopher KRAEMER (GER)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgii TIBILOV (SRB)
Ardit FAZLJIJA (SWE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Aker SCHMID AL OBAIDI (AUT)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Ismail CULFA (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)

67kg
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Elmer MATTILA (FIN)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Zaur KABALOEV (ITA)
Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Pedro DE MATOS (POR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)

72kg
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Michael WIDMAYER (GER)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Andrii KULYK (UKR)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Marcos SANCHEZ (ESP)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Christos KOUTSOURIDIS (GRE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)
Serhii KOZUB (UKR)

82kg
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Kristoffer BERG (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

87kg
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Nikolaos VARKAS (GRE)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Zarko DICKOV (SRB)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Artem MATIASH (UKR)

97kg
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE)
Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)
Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Delian ALISHAHI (SUI)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

Mariya STADNIK (AZE) is eyeing her 10th European title. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Aintzane GORRIA GONI (ESP)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Veronika RYABOVOLOVA (MKD)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)

53kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Marija SPIRKOVSKA (MKD)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Marija IGNJATOVIC (SRB)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Ilona DYDIAK SEMKIV (AZE)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Lana NOGIC (CRO)
Graciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Jenna HEMIAE (FIN)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Anna SZEL (HUN)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Kelsey BARNES (GBR)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Othelie HOEIE (NOR)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
JOVANA RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Yuliia TKACH (UKR)

62kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)

65kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Nerea PAMPIN BLANCO (ESP)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Busra EFE (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Gia KASTELAN (CRO)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

72kg
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Milla ANDELIC (CRO)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Liudmyla PAVLOVETS TYCHYNA (UKR)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Marta BESEK (CRO)
Epp MAE (EST)
Cynthia VESCAN (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Christina PAPADOPOULOU (GRE)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Marion BYE (NOR)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR)

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Live Blog: Asian Championships day five

Saturday, April 23, 2022 - 03:13 By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (April 23) -- The Asian Championships move to freestyle on day five. Wrestlers from 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg will be in action in Ulaanbaatar.

Ravi KUMAR (IND), Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), Bajrang PUNIA (IND), Rahman AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI), Mohammadhossien MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) will be in action.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

13:50: The semifinals and repechage matches are over, bringing a close to the morning session. The crowd has been great, and we can expect some fireworks in the finals starting at 18:00 local time.

13:43: Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN), making his first international appearance since 2017, stormed into the final at 70kg with an 11-5 victory over defending champion Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ). Narikuni will face world silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) in the final. Interesting to note that Narikuni's mother was a world champion in 1990 and 1991 (as Akiko IIJIMA) and the coach at the kids club where he started wrestling.

13:42: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) comes back from 6-3 down and scores a 12-6 win over Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL). He added a stepout before launching a gut wrench to secure the win.

13:34: In a rematch of the '20 Asian final, Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) and Gourav BALIYAN (IND) in a back-and-forth bout and Baliyan avenge that loss with an 8-5 victory. He led 2-1 at the break with a counter. But in the second period, the two changed leads three times. Budazhapov scored a stepout before Baliyan added an exposure for two but gave up the reversal and a roll. Budazhapov needed to defend the 5-4 lead for a minute but he failed to keep up and conceded a takedown with 11 seconds remaining. Baliyan won 8-5, making him the third Indian in the final

13:30: Rahman AMOUDZADKHALILI (IRI) gives Iran a third finalist with an 6-0 victory in the 65kg semifinal over Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN. He'll face Punia for the gold in the night session.

13:28: Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ) pulls off an amazing comeback to make the final at 57kg. Down 5-0 against Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) going into the second period, he cuts the gap with a takedown. With the clock ticking down, he scores a takedown, then muscles Smanbekov over with a gut wrench to go ahead 6-5 with :16 left. He holds on to the end to earn a date in the final against India's defending champion Kumar.

13:25: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) moves into the 79kg final after a 3-0 win over Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN). He got a point for the passivity of Takahashi in the first period. He was called passive in the second period but he scored a takedown in the activity period.

13:18: Ravi KUMAR (IND) starts out in a 4-0 hole in the 57kg semifinal against a fired-up Zanabar ZANDANBUD (MGL), who scores a takedown and gut wrench in the opening seconds. But the Olympic silver medalist shakes it off and puts on a takedown clinic, reeling off three in a row to go ahead 6-4 at the break. From there he pads the lead and wins 12-5, giving him a shot at a third straight Asian gold.

13:17:Bajrang PUNIA (IND) will make his fourth straight 65kg final at the Asian Championships as he controls his semifinal against Haji ALI (BRN) to win 3-1

13:10: Satywart KADIAN (IND) is wrestling Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) in the semifinal. Mohammadian begins with a stepout before adding a takedown. At the break, he leads 4-0 with a stepout. He wins 10-0 after adding a takedown to gut and another takedown.

13:03: S. TALGAT (KAZ) gets a win by technical superiority and he confirms a semifinal against Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN) who beats Mohammademehdi YEGANEHJAFARI (IRI) 6-2 at 70kg

12:56: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) bounces back from 2-0 down to beat NAVEEN (IND) 6-3 and reach the 70kg semifinal. We will be beginning with the semifinals shortly

12:50: Rahman AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI) fills the final semifinal place at 65kg with a workmanlike 8-0 win over Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN). The match was a battle between current (Amouzadkhalili) and 2019 (Yamaguchi) world junior champions at 61kg. The semifinals will be Bajrang PUNIA (IND) vs Haji ALI (BRN) and Amoudzadkhalili and Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL).

12:50: At the 97kg semifinal, Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL) quickly built a 5-0 lead against Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB). On Mat C, Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) is leading NAVEEN (IND) 3-2 at 70kg

12:42: The semifinal in the bottom half of the bracket at 57kg is now set. Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ) defeated No. 2 seed Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB ) 6-1, and will face Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ), a 4-1 winner over Sunngwon KIM (KOR).

12:36: Tsogbadrakh Tseveensuren (MGL) is trailing 4-1 when he twists Alibek Osmonov (KGZ) to his back and secures the fall, much to the delight of the home crowd, to advance to the semifinals at 65kg.

12:35: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) and Byambadorj ENKHBAYAR (MGL) wrestled an action-packed second period at 79kg. Savadkouhi was leading 7-4 before Enkhbayar managed to make it 7-6 with 10 seconds remaining. His last attack did not yield any points as he goes down at 79kg

12:32: Olympic silver medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND) faced tough competition from Rikuto ARAI (JPN), but ultimately overpowered the young Japanese with a run of takedowns for a 15-4 technical fall to advance to the semifinals at 57kg. He will face local favorite Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) for a place in the final.

12:31: Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND) begins his campaign for a third Asian gold at 65kg win a 3-0 win in the quarterfinals over a cautious Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB ). Punia scored two points on the activity clock and another on a stepout in a match a bit shy of action.

12:30: 2020 champion Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) gets the small contingent of Kyrgyzstan fans going with an 11-0 win over Bumgue SEO (KOR). A series of gut wrenches to finish the bout

12:20: Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) could not have begun in a better style. He scores a takedown and then Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM) is put in par terre for his forced break for bleeding during the action. Mohammadian scores three gut wrenches before closing out a 10-0 win with a takedown

12:19: 2017 silver medalist Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) gets the crowd roaring as he roars back from a 6-1 deficit to defeat Reza MOMENIJOUJADEH (IRI) 10-6 to advance to the 57kg semifinals. With 1:20 left, Zandanbud starts his comeback with a takedown, followed by two gut wrenches. He adds a stepout, then tackles the Iranian to his back, where he remains as time expires.

12:10: Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL) was trailing 5-5 against Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ) but then got into a bear hug and scored a big four and win 9-5 at 97kg. The home crowds loves it

12:00: At 97kg, Satyawart KADIAN (IND) shuts out Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) attacks and counters them with go behinds to win 5-0 in the quarterfinals.

11:52: NAVEEN (IND) with an 11-0 win over Perman HOMMADOV (TKM) at 70kg and he gets World silver and U23 world champion Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) in the quarterfinals.

11:50: Jasurbek USMONOXUNOV (UZB) did score two takedowns but that was not enough as Bumgue SEO (KOR) hung on for a 5-4 win at 79kg

11:48: Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN) begins with a four and then adds two takedowns to lead 8-0 against Shuhrat BOZOROV (TJK). A takedown and stepout in the second period gave him the win 11-1

11:46: Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL) gets the home crowd charged up when he finished up an 11-0 win over Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ) with :28 left in their qualification round match at 65kg.

11:45: Rahman AMOUZADKHLILI (IRI), the world junior champion at 61kg, started his campaign at 65kg with an 11-0 technical fall over Inayat ULLAH (PAK) in the qualification round. Amouzadkhlili is the favorite to make the final in the bottom half of the bracket.

11:27: On an overcast morning in Ulaanbaatar, the mat will be shining with Asian's top freestyle wrestlers with competition at 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, and 97kg on Day 5. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

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Live Blog: Asian Championships day five