#WrestleNoviSad

Georgia Wins Quartet of Golds at U23 Euros

Tuesday, March 5, 2019 - 20:07 By Eric Olanowski

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (March 6) – Georgia (115 points) went 5-0 in medal matches on the second day of wrestling at the U23 European Championships, grabbing four golds and a bronze and took the commanding 38 point lead over second-place Russia (77 points) into the third day of wrestling in Novi Sad, Serbia. 


Georgia’s quartet of champions were Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), Levani KAVJARADZE (GEO), Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO), and Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO). 

At 55kg, Nugzari Tsurtsumia shutout Romania’s Florin TITA, 9-0, and won his second straight U23 European title. 

The returning U23 world champion earned two early step-outs and a takedown before the first period ended and took the 4-0 lead into the closing frame. A second takedown, followed by a right side gut wrench gave Tsurtsumia the 8-0 advantage and his second consecutive 55kg U23 European title. 

In the 63kg finals, Levani Kavjaradze gassed Armenia’s Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) and scored the 10-8 come-from-behind win in a match that saw four different lead changes. 

After a back and forth first period, Kavjaradze trailed 8-4 heading into the final three minutes of the gold-medal bout. The Georgian stayed offensive early in the second period and wore down the noticeably taller Armenian. Kavjaradze scored a takedown and a pair of step outs and controlled the 8-8 lead on criteria. With under a minute left, Kavjaradze scored the match-deciding takedown and won his first U23 European title. 

In the 87kg finals, Gurami Khetsuriani used his four-point lateral drop to break the 1-1 tie with Gazi KHALILOV (RUS), giving Georgia their third gold medal of the day. 

Georgia’s fourth and final gold medalist came at 130kg when six-time age-group world champion Zviadi Pataridze defeated Lenard BEREI (ROU), 5-0, and won his second consecutive U23 European title. 

The lone non-Georgia champion was Russia’s 2018 junior world champion Islam OPIEV (RUS), who trailed 3-0 with under two minutes to go, in the 77kg gold-medal bout, but scored a passivity point and a correct throw to defeat Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR), 3-2. 

Georgia owns the commanding 38 point lead over Russia into the third day of competition. Turkey (65 points), Romania (65 points), and Hungary (40 points) round out the top five respectively. 


The third day of wrestling in Novi Sad resumes tomorrow morning at 11:30 and can be watched live on www.unitdworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS 

Team Scores 
GOLD - Georgia (115 points)
SILVER - Russia (77 points)
BRONZE - Turkey (65 points)
Fourth - Romania (48 points)
Fifth - Hungary (40 points)
 

55kg 
GOLD - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) df. Florin TITA (ROU), 9-0 
BRONZE - Viktor VEDERNIKOV (RUS) df. Ziyad ZEYNALOV (AZE), 11-2  
BRONZE - Artium DELEANU (MDA) df. Bence KOVACS (HUN), 12-4 

63kg
GOLD - Levani KAVJARADZE (GEO) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 10-8
BRONZE - Erik TORBA (HUN) df. Nikalas Petrov SULEV (BUL), 9-0
BRONZE - Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), 6-3

77kg 
GOLD - Islam OPIEV (RUS) df. Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR), 3-2 
BRONZE - Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO) df. Nasir HASANOV (AZE), 3-0 
BRONZE - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Paulius GALKINAS (LTU), 5-1

87kg 
GOLD - Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) df. Gazi KHALILOV (RUS), 5-1
BRONZE - Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) df. Toni METSOMAEKI (FIN), 6-2
BRONZE - Ali CENGIZ (TUR) df. Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU), 10-0 

130kg 
GOLD - Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) vs. Lenard Istvan BEREI (ROU), 5-0 
BRONZE - Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) df. Artur VITITIN (EST), via fall 
BRONZE - Oleg Kahaberovitch AGAKHANOV (RUS) df. Boban ZIVANOVIC (SRB), 6-4 

#development

South Africa Advances National Wrestling System with DNSS Phase 2

Thursday, April 9, 2026 - 07:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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PRETORIA, South Africa (April 8) -- South Africa has reached a decisive milestone in its long-term wrestling development strategy with the successful implementation of Phase 2 of the Development of National Sport System (DNSS) programme, delivered in collaboration with United World Wrestling (UWW) and supported by Olympic Solidarity.

Following the diagnostic and mapping phase conducted earlier, Phase 2 marks a clear transition from analysis to structured implementation, laying the foundation for a sustainable and internationally aligned wrestling system.

Led by UWW Development Officer Vincent AKA, in close cooperation with the South African Wrestling Federation (SAWF), the National Head Coach, Markus DEKKER and Provincial Coordinators, the programme was deployed across multiple provinces through a structured 10-day intervention from March 2 to 13. 

Activities were conducted in key locations including:

· LPWA (Ion Bachu)
· CGWA (Ruiter)
· NGWA (Menlo Park Hall)
· Frank Joubert Tournament (Menlo Park Hall)

This nationwide approach ensured direct engagement with provincial structures, strengthening alignment between national leadership and local associations while promoting inclusive development across the country.

From Talent Identification to System Building

Unlike traditional training camps, DNSS Phase 2 focused on identifying talent and building long-term development systems. Wrestlers and coaches from all age categories -- U13, U15, U17, U20, and Senior -- were actively involved, ensuring a complete pathway approach.

Provincial visits and stakeholder meetings played a key role in assessing facilities and operational structures, strengthening coordination between SAWF and provinces, and identifying emerging wrestlers.

Building Athlete Pipeline

A training camp for different provinces brought together wrestler to consolidate talent identified during Phase 1 and introduce standardized training methodologies.

The training camp included technical sessions, physical conditioning, match simulations and wrestling. The initiative contributed to the creation of an updated national prospect and the foundation of a structured athlete monitoring system.

South Africa

Beach Wrestling Gains Momentum

As part of the DNSS activities, a Beach Wrestling training session in Roodepoort highlighted the programme’s expanding impact.

During the visit, Aka led a specialized session, sharing advanced technical insights adapted to beach wrestling. It included stance and balance adjustments, grip and control techniques, and movement adaptation on sand.

The training programme comes at a crucial time, as South African athletes prepare for African Beach Wrestling Championships in Alexandria, Egypt and other international tournaments.