#WrestleBudapest

Four Nations Earn Pair of Olympic Berths on Friday

Friday, March 19, 2021 - 20:02 By Eric Olanowski

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 19) --- Belarus, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine earned a pair of Tokyo Olympic berths, while Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) outscored their semifinal opponents 20-0 on Friday night at the European Olympic Qualifier.

Hrushyna Akobiia and Koliadenko were flawless en route to booking Ukrainian Olympic tickets at 57kg and 62kg, respectively.

Hrushyna Akobiia, the ’20 European runner-up, scored 16 points and only surrendered one on her way to reaching the 57kg finals. She stopped two-time world medalist Emese BARKA (HUN), 6-1, then shot down Sara LINDBORG’S (SWE) hopes of booking Sweden’s second ticket of the day to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

In her semifinals meeting with Lindborg, Hrushyna Akobiia scored four takedowns before sticking Lindborg to her back in the bout's closing seconds. She was inches away from booking the fall but time expired and she was awarded the 10-0 technical superiority victory.

She’ll wrestle Bulgaria’s Evelina NIKOLOVA for gold on Saturday night. The ’15 world bronze medalist earned her nation's Tokyo berth with a 4-2 come-from-behind win over Bediha GUN (TUR). Nikolova and Gun traded takedowns, but the Bulgarian restored her lead with a late second-period takedown to gain the two-point advantage.

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) snaps down her Geman opponent at the European Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Koliadenko was the second Ukrainian wrestler to score a perfect ten and earn an Olympic license. She barely broke a sweat in her semifinals match agast Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA). She blew through the Moldovian wrestler, 10-0, in the first period and will compete tomorrow night for 62kg European OG Qualifier gold.

She’ll square off with Latvia’s now-three-time Olympian, Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT). The 30-year-old and former European champion denied Elif YESILIRMAK’s (TUR) attempt at becoming the first Turkish woman to reach three Olympic Games with a 4-4 come-from-behind victory.

Grigorjeva trailed 3-0 but capitalized on two second-period shot attempts and won, 4-4.

Belarus, Bulgaria and Russia also cemented a pair of Olympic spots through Friday night’s semifinal winning performances.

Belarus’ berths came from Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) and Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), who put on semifinal shows at 53kg and 76kg, respectively.

Kaladzinskaya, a two-time world champion, led Iulia LEORDA (MDA), 9-0, when she stopped wrestling after thinking she earned the 11-0 technical superiority win. She surrendered a reversal and a takedown but comfortably cruised to the 9-3 win.

She’ll go toe-to-toe with Rio Olympic bronze medalist and fellow world champion Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) on Saturday night.

Mattsson seized Sweden’s 53kg Olympic quota with a semifinal fall over Russia’s Stalvira ORSHUSH.

Marzaliuk looked marvelous in her semifinals meeting against Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL). The '17 world finalist got to her double underhooks and the rest was history. She only needed just over two minutes to pick up the fall and move into the 76kg finals. 

Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) and the aforementioned Nikolova punched Bulgaria’s pair of women’s wrestling tickets to Tokyo with wins on Friday night.

Selishka fell behind 1-0 against Poland’s 38-year-old Iwona MATKOWSKA but strung together two takedowns for the 4-1 victory. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), a two-time world medalist, awaits the European champion in the 50kg finals.

The 25-year-old had a minimal 1-0 lead over Julie SABATIE (FRA) after the first period but flew out of the gates in the second period with a head inside single, coupled with a gut wrench to extend to lead to 5-0. Although she shut it down with 30 seconds, she cried tears of joy with a 5-1 victory.

Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) was one of two Russian wrestlers who earn Olympic berths on Friday night. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Russia was the final country that had a pair of semifinal winners on Friday night.

Heavy hitters Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) and Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) were the ticket punchers that we’ll wrestle for gold on Saturday night.

Velieva, the stone-cold 21-year-old, completely shut down fellow European champion Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) in their semifinals clash. The young Russian earned back-to-back one-point exchanges in the first period, then grabbed a pair of second-period takedowns to win, 6-0.

Velieva will wrestle 21-year-old Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) for 68kg gold.

Larroque, who became the ninth French woman to qualify for the Olympic Games, rocked Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 10-0, in the semifinals. The two-time world-medal winner scored three takedowns in the first period and closed out the match with a takedown and an exposure in the second period to claim the 11-0 shutout win.

Although it wasn’t the ideal way you’d want to qualify, London Olympic champion Vorobeva snuck past Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-1, thanks to a pair of inactivity calls. She’ll wrestle the long and lengthy Marzaliuk for the 76kg crown on Saturday night.

The European Olympic Qualifiers resume on Saturday morning at 11:00 with Greco-Roman action taking center stage.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD - Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) vs. Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) df. Iwona Nina MATKOWSKA (POL), 4 – 1
SEMIFINAL - Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Julie SABATIE (FRA), 5-1

53kg
GOLD - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) vs. Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)
SEMIFINAL - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS), via fall
SEMIFINAL - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) df. Iulia LEORDA (MDA), 

57kg
GOLD - Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL) vs. Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) df. Sara LINDBORG (SWE), 10-0
SEMIFINAL - Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) df. Bediha GUN (TUR), 4-2

62kg
GOLD - Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) vs. Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
SEMIFINAL - Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) df. Elif Jale YESILIRMAK (TUR), 4-4
SEMIFINAL - Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA),10-0

68kg
GOLD - Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), 6-0
SEMIFINAL - Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA) df. Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 11-0

76kg
GOLD - Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) vs. Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-1
SEMIFINAL - Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) df. Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL), via fall

#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds

Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 13:44 By United World Wrestling Press

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KATERINI-PIERIA, Greece (September 27) -- Iran’s return to Beach Wrestling after an eight-year absence could have been cautious. Instead, it was commanding.

Iran won four medals, including two golds, to claim the men’s team title at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships after a close race with Georgia, which finished second with 75 points to Iran’s 80. Azerbaijan was third with 62 points.

In the women's category, hosts Greece managed to go past France to finish first with 50 points while France ended up second with 42. The United States was third with 32 points.

The U17 World Championships is a significant stop in Beach Wrestling as it will be taken into consideration for while awarding the quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

IranIran's two gold medalists in Greece, Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI), left, at 90kg and Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI), right, at 70kg.

Gold medalists for Iran, Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI) at 70kg and Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI) at 90kg, were competing in Beach Wrestling for the first time but never let their inexperience affect their performances.

Hossein, who defeated Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA) in the knockout match, was placed in Group D with Yuki UEDA (JPN), Nikolaos PAPADOPOULOS (GRE) and Ilie TURCAN (MDA). He defeated Papadopoulos 3-1 in the group bout before blanking Turcan 3-0 in just 40 seconds. He was quicker against Ueda, winning in 34 seconds.

Facing Luka MAKHARADZE (GEO) in the quarterfinals, Hossein scored a 3-1 victory and took only 40 seconds to beat Rashad ALIYEV (AZE) in the semifinals.

In an all-Iran final, Hossein fell behind 1-0 against Ilyar VEGHARI (IRI) but stormed back with two straight points with a knee and head touch from Veghari. He used a lateral drop as his final move to win 5-1. Veghari's lost challenge added to Hossein's score and made it 6-1.

Fotouhi was even more dominant at 90kg, winning all three of his group bouts via fall. Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE) survived getting pinned in the quarterfinals but Fotouhi was strong enough to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals.

After winning the semifinal 2-1 against Elgun KARIMLI (AZE), Fotouhi was back to his dominant self and slammed Joni SHAORSHADZE (GEO) to pick his fourth fall in six bouts and the gold medal for Iran.

Fotouhi began with a step out to earn his first point of the final. Both wrestlers arm-locked each other and tried to throw at the edge but it was Shaorshadze who touched outside first which gave Fotouhi his second point.

In one of those moments when his Freestyle instincts took over, Fotouhi went for duckunder and touched his knee on the sand which gave Shaorshadze a point to make the score 2-1. The Georgian tried a fireman carry in the final 10 seconds but Fotouhi pancaked him for a fall.

At 60kg, Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) defeated Rati BERIDZE (GEO) twice, first in the group stages and then in final, to claim the gold medal.

Kuzmenko blanked all his opponents barring Beridze who managed to score one point when the two met in the Group B bout. However, the Ukrainian improved and gave no chance to Beridze in the final, winning 3-0.

The Ukrainian was quick to score two step-outs and lead 2-0 and when Beridze tried to score a point, Kuzmenko snapped him down and scored his third and winning point.

Georgia had another silver medalist, Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), who suffered a one-sided loss in the 80kg final to Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE), who had represented Azerbaijan at the U17 World Championships in Athens in August.

Suleymanli did not give up a single point in the tournament and won the final against Mustafaev 3-0. He scored a step-out to open the scoring in the final before Mustafaev fell on the ground to give a second point. The Georgian wrestler tried tripping Suleymanli but instead gave a takedown for one point to drop the final.

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan's first-ever gold medalist Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) with other team members.

Historic golds for Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan

In the women's category, Puerto Rico and Azerbaijan earned historic golds as four different countries crowned champions.

Heklanys RIVERA (PUR), the first woman to compete in Beach Wrestling for her country, made a stunning run to the gold medal at 45kg. She did not give up a single point in six bouts including the final.

Taking on Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA) in the final, Rivera was put on the 30-second activity clock. With eight seconds remaining, Rivera used an underhook to get the first takedown for a point.

The second point was awarded to Rivera when Salissou committed a foul by grabbing Rivera's shorts. The winning takedown was similar to the first one as Rivera moved from underhook to tripping Salissou.

For Azerbaijan, 15-year-old Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) needed only 16 seconds to create history. She defeated last year's champion Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) via fall in the 55kg final. Kojima tried hitting a lateral drop in the final but fell on her back, which gave Musayeva three points for the win.

Earlier, Musayeva had lost one of the group bouts against Mia KOVAC (CRO) via fall but rebounded to win all remaining bouts to make the final and then capture the gold medal.

Hosts Greece, which won the team title, earned the gold medal at 75kg through Elena ZAIMIDOU (GRE) who scored a 32-second victory via fall over Madeline HAYDEN (USA) in the final.

Zaimidou, who has competed and won gold in Grappling at the European level, secured three victories via fall, and a victory via superiority over Merily VAESTER (EST) in the semifinals.

In the gold medal bout, Hayden stunned the local fans when she hit a beautiful over-the-head suplex on Zaimidou. Hayden went for a second suplex, but Zaimidou blocked her, using a headlock, and Hayden fell on her back which gave Zaimidou three points and the victory.

Hayden challenged the scoring but the points were confirmed on review and Zaimidou was awarded a point for lost challenge, which made her score 4-1.

European bronze medalist in Women's Wrestling, Alexandra MOISEI (MDA) earned the gold medal at 65kg after some nervous wins. She defeated Thea ROUSSEL (FRA), 3-0, in the final in 49 seconds using three easy snapdowns.