#WrestleAlexandria

Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series day two finals set

By Vinay Siwach

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (February 24) -- The second of the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series in Alexandria will see three Greco-Roman and four women's wrestling weight classes in action. After an enthralling first day, expect nothing less.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The finals for the evening session are set

GR

72kg
Otar ABULADZE (GEO) vs. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)

77kg
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) vs. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)

82kg
Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ) vs. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)

WW

57kg
Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) vs. Alexandria TOWN (CAN)

62kg
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) vs. Xiaojuan LUO (CHN)

68kg
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Forrest MOLINARI (USA)

76kg
Juan WANG (CHN) vs. Kennedy BLADES (USA)

15:10: Kennedy BLADES (USA) is having a dream run here! She takes on Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) 12-1. She will wrestle for gold at 76kg against Juan WANG (CHN).

15:00: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) controls the bout through and through to win 6-1 against Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) to book her place in the 68kg final. She will now face Forrest MOLINARI (USA) who defeated Alexandria GLAUDE (USA) via fall in the other semifinal.

14:55: Mohammedreza GERAEI (IRI) cannot catch a break. He now suffers an 8-0 loss to Otar ABULADZE (GEO) in the 72kg semifinal. Abuladze with a throw to start which was challenged by Geraei but he lost that. From 3-0, Abuladze countered Geraei's bodylock for four and added another correct throw for one point to win 8-0.

14:50: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) on Mat A. Koliadenko is called passive and Tynybekova takes the lead. In the second period, Koliadenko tries to force Tynybekova out of bounds but she fails. However, she challenges that she did score a stepout. A lost challenge. Tynybekova holds on for a 2-0 win. 

14:40: Forrest MOLINARI (USA) wins 5-3 over Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) at 68kg. Molinari never stopped her attacks and Zhumanazarova never got going. Big win for Molinari at this weight. 

14:15: Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) continues her run at 57kg. She beats Qi ZHANG (CHN) 7-0 in the semifinals and will take on Alex TOWN (CAN) in the final. Town, surprisingly, has beaten Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) via fall.

14:10: They never disappoint! Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) and Samar HAMZA (EGY) once again put on a show at 76kg. Hamza led 5-0 against Medet Kyzy. But the Kyrgz wrestler was never giving up and scored a fall over Hamza. She will face Kennedy BLADES (USA) in the semifinals.

13:50: Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) moves into the semifinal at 62kg after a close 3-3 win over Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL). Some great defense from Lindborg at the end of that bout.

13:40: Kayla MIRACLE (USA) fails to trouble Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) who scores a 10-0 win over Miracle. Tynybekova, despite struggling for sometime now, keeps posting these big wins perhaps telling everyone to never count her out. 

13:35: Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK) could have caused a big upset had he pinned Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI). Ochikov got the headlock for two and held Geraei to his back but could not finish the job. Geraei rarely gives a second chance. He scores a four and two takedowns after reversals to win 11-3.

13:30: Grace BULLEN (NOR) up against Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) on Mat B. She begins with a double leg for two. Koliadenko counters an attempt from Bullen to score a takedown. As Koliadenko tries a lace, Bullen holds her to her back for two but gives up a lace. Koliadenko leads 5-4 after that exchange. Huge throw from Bullen with locked arms! She gets the lead 8-5. The second period begins with Koliadenko scoring a takedown and transitioning to a lace. She manages two of them and takes the lead 11-8. A takedown from Bullen with under a minute remaining. Another double-leg blast to regain the lead 12-11. A shot from Bullen but Koliadenko exposes her for two. Bullen challenges the call but loses. Koliadenko wins 14-12

13:15: Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) always finds a way to win! Yongxin FENG (CHN) got exposure late in the bout to win 4-3 but Nikolova was sure there was no score in the exchange. She challenges and wins the call. A 3-2 win for Nikolova.

13:00: Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) gets a correct throw in the second period to beat Yunus BASAR (TUR) 3-1 at 77kg. Basar would be ruing the chance he got in par terre but failed to get anything out of it.

12:45: Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) continues to control her opponents with great command. She worked up a 6-0 lead before finishing the bout 10-0 against Giullia OLIVEIRA (BRA) to move into the semifinals at 57kg.

12:15: Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) has eked out a 2-0 win over Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) at 68kg. On Mat C, Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) and Buse TOSUN (TUR) were involved in a fierce battle. Larroque scored a takedown to lead 3-1 but Tosun pushed for a stepout. However, Larroque held on for a 4-2 win. 

12:10: Tokyo Olympic silver bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), wrestling for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics, using a lethal leg lace to win against Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) at 62kg. She faces Grace BULLEN (NOR) next.

12:00: Kayla MIRACLE (USA) with a final second takedown to beat Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) 5-4 at 62kg. That was ridiculous from Miracle, circling around and forcing Prokopevniuk to give up. On Mat B, Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) beats Ameline DOUARRE (FRA). Both Miracle and Tynybekova will face each other in the quarterfinal.

11:50: Grace BULLEN (NOR) is becoming a force at 62kg. She gets the better of Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) in the quarterfinals. Dudova was leading 3-2 but Bullen scored two takedowns in the second period to win 6-3.

11:40: A lot of action at 76kg. Anastasiia OSNIACH (UKR) has pinned Skylar GROTE (USA) on Mat C while Samar HAMZA (EGY) starts with a 5-0 win over Maria ACOSTA ((VEN).

11:30: World bronze medalist Epp MAE (EST), wrestling for the first time since the World Championships, looking in trouble on Mat B against KIRAN (IND). She did get the first point for Kiran's passivity but gave up a takedown and passivity point to trail 3-1. Kiran scores a takedown to make it 5-1. A desperate throw attempt lands Mae on her back as Kiran wins 9-1.

11:15: Former U20 world champion Kennedy BLADES (USA) makes her senior debut in Alexandria. She begins with a solid 11-2 win over Qian ZHOU (CHN) at 76kg.

11:10: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) wrestling at 72kg in Alexandria. He faces Omar OKIL (EGY) in the first bout. Geraei gets the parterre and scores two. Underhook from Okil but Geraei with a slam for four! Okil can't stop Geraei from another exposure but scores a reversal as well. Okil is asking for a takedown. He challenges but there is no takedown. Geraei wins 10-1

10:55: Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) is one of those wrestlers who will keep you busy throughout the bout and will capitalize on each opening she gets. Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER) gave her one and Hrushyna used an arm-bar to pin her German opponent. She moves on at 57kg.

10:40: Yunus BASAR (TUR) and Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) on Mat B for their 77kg bout. Basar gets the first par terre advantage. He manages to roll Levai using a chest wrap but was himself in danger of giving up danger position. Basar returns on top and throws Levai for four. Referees call for a foul from Levai which means a 9-0 win for Basar. Levai challenges the call but there is a leg foul. Basar wins 10-0

10:35: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) has challenged the call after he gave up a series of gut wrenches against Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ). Gutu got the par terre advantage and tried to front headlock but failed Zhadrayev scored a 10-1 win but Gutu challenged. No illegal move by Zhadtayev and Gutu goes down 11-1.

10:30: Forrest MOLINARI (USA) and Alla BELINSKA (UKR) win with falls at 68kg. Dominant start for both the wrestlers who can meet later in the session.

10:20: Nathali GRIMAN (VEN) gave Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) a scare in the opening match at 62kg. Griman at one point led the bout 6-4 but Prokopevniuk manages to roll to a 9-6 win.

10:15: Early big match here in Alexandria. Grace BULLEN (NOR) is up against Jennifer PAGE (USA) at 62kg. She was put on the clock but scores a double leg for four over Page. A reversal and gut wrench for Page to make it 4-3 before adding a stepout. Bullen holds 4-4 criteria at the break. Bullen starts the second period with a takedown and another double leg for four. Page manages to reverse once again and score from the gut wrench. Bullen leads 10-7 with just over a minute left in the bout. Page with a slipby takedown to make it 10-9. Great comeback from Page. Bullen adds a stepout to make it 11-9. Page needs three points to win this. She scores a takedown but the time runs out. Bullen wins 11-11.

10:00: The wrestlers enjoyed their time going around Egypt and seeing the pyramids. But now serious business. Day two of the tournament is here. Greco-Roman 72kg, 77kg and 82kg will be in action along with 57kg, 62kg, 72kg and 76kg in women's wrestling. 

#WrestleNoviSad

Farokhi, Hedayati lead Iran's golden charge at U23 Worlds

By Vinay Siwach

NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 21) -- Iran’s Greco-Roman dominance shows no signs of slowing down. After winning team titles at the U17 World Championships in Athens, the U20 Worlds in Samokov, and the senior event in Zagreb, Iran looks poised to complete a clean sweep in Novi Sad as Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) claimed gold medals at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2025 on Tuesday.

World champion Farokhi and defending champion Hedayati, who celebrated his birthday as well on Tuesday, won gold medals in dominant fashion at 87kg and 130kg respectively.

"I was able to win two back-to-back tough matches at the World Championships and bring home two gold medals," Farokhi said. "These were high-level competitions."

Farokhi, a gold medalist at 82kg in Zagreb, moved up to 87kg for Novi Sad but had no troubles in switching weights. As he did in Zagreb, Farokhi brought his best game in par terre and rolled to his second gold in one month after a 9-0 victory in the final against Ivan CHMYR (UKR), his fifth technical superiority victory.

After being put on top in par terre, Farokhi launched a trap-arm gut and turned Chmyr four times for the win. Ukraine threw one of those ever increasing challenges for no reason but lost it to add one more point to Farokhi's score.

"When you move up a weight class, the opponents are definitely stronger and tougher," Farokhi said. "It was a good experience, and it gave me a better sense of how I can perform at 87 kg -- an Olympic weight class"

Hedayati, who has not lost an international bout since his 2022 U20 World Championships finals loss, showed why he will dominate the 130kg weight class for years to come.

Up against Razmik KURDYAN (ARM) in the final, Hedayati began with takedown on the edge for two points. Kurdyan was put in par terre and from there Hedayati turned him twice to extend his lead to 7-0. With just 23 seconds left before the break, Hedayati scored a stepout to finish the final 8-0 and claim his second straight U23 world title.

At 63kg, Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) upended returning 63kg U23 world champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3, in the final using a four-point suplex from par terre to score his points.

Eriomenco, who had defeated Babashov in the U23 European finals, looked very dominant in run up to the final while Babashov had some tough bouts on Monday. But the Azerbaijan wrestler began aggressively and managed to earn first par terre advantage.

He performed a suplex for four points to make his lead 5-0 and take huge step towards winning his first ever world title. He further consolidated his position when he defended from par terre in the second period and gave up only stepout to Eriomenco as the score changed to 5-2.

Babashov then countered an attack from the Moldova wrestler and forced him to stepout outside to extend his lead to 6-2. He gave up one more stepout but held on to the 6-3 lead to win the gold medal.

With the win, he now leads the head-to-head against Eriomenco 2-1 as both have traded victories at 2024 U23 European Championships and its 2025 edition with the Moldovan one being the more recent winner.

Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) holds off Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) in the 77kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

A silver medalist from 2023 at the U23 Worlds, Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) managed to win gold at 77kg as he defeated Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1, in the final.

Orjonikidze was himself to blame for the loss as he committed a defensive leg foul in the first period when Mirzoiev got the par terre position and as he was trying to lift, Orjonikidze blocked him with his leg, giving a 3-0 lead to the Ukrainian.

Georgia challenged the decision but on review, it was confirmed that a leg foul was indeed committed. The lost challenge gave one more point to Mirzoiev.

Orjonikidze got the par terre position in the second period but he failed to score any points and Mirzoiev easily defended his 4-1 lead to eventually claimed the gold medal.

Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) defeated Richard KARELSON (EST) in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Yakushenko closer to U23 title

U20 world champion Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) is a win away from winning his second world tittle three months after he reached the 97kg final at U23 World Championships. He defeated European Championships silver medalist Richard KARELSON (EST) 6-3 in the semifinals.

Karelson tried to make a match of it but Yakushenko scored a four-pointer from par terre to lead 5-0 before Karelson scored a takedown. But Yakushenko got a stepout to lead 6-2. He defended his lead despite Karelson getting par terre in the second period.

He will face Asian U23 champion Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) who rolled to a 9-1 win over Maksim AVERIN (UWW), scoring four turns from par terre in the second period.

At 55kg, U23 European champion Alibek AMIROV (UWW) will face Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) in the final after he defeated Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) in the semifinal. Amirov was down 2-1 when he got the 

Aliyev hit a beautiful headlock for four against 2024 U17 world champion Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) before securing the fall in the semifinal.

Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) will take on Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) for the gold medal at 67kg after he defeated Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1, having the criteria from the first point score in a 1-1 finish.

Andelrehim led 4-1 when his opponent in the semifinal, Attila JOZSA (HUN), injury default for a leg injury.

Seven years after winning the U17 World Championships gold medal, Abror ATABAEV (UZB) will have a chance to win a second world title after he reached the 72kg final. After getting the first par terre and 1-1 lead against Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), Atabaev defended his par terre position and kept the 1-1 criteria lead.

Maulitkanov threw everything at Atabaev in the final two minutes but the Uzbekistan defended all the attacks. Atabaev was close to giving up a takedown in the final 15 seconds but he managed to keep himself up and then score a pushout to lead 2-1. Kazakhstan challenged the call but it was a clear stepout and the lost challenge made it 3-1 for Atabaev.

He will face former Asian champion Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) for gold after the Iranian defended his 1-1 criteria lead against Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM). The final will be battle of two Asian champion as Atabaev won that title in 2023.

RESULTS

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3

BRONZE: Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (UWW) df. Servet ANGI (TUR), 6-1
BRONZE: Adham ELSAYED (EGY) df. Kuttubek ABDURAZAKOV (KGZ), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) df. Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), 3-3
BRONZE: Levente LEVAI (HUN) df. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN), 4-2

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Ivan CHMYR (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Payton JACOBSON (USA) df. Lachin VALIYEV (AZE), 5-3
BRONZE: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Yassine BEN LABED (POL), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), 8-0

BRONZE: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Aleksandr MELEKHOV (UWW) df. Artur SARKISJAN (CZE), 9-1

Semifinals

55kg
GOLD: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)  vs. Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

SF 1: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) df. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall (5-1)
SF 2: Alibek AMIROV (UWW) df. Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ), via fall (7-2)

67kg
GOLD: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) vs. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY)

SF 1: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1
SF 2: Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) df. Attila JOZSA (HUN), via inj. def. (4-1)

72kg
GOLD: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

SF 1: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), 1-1
SF 2: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) vs. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)

SF 1: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) df. Richard KARELSON (EST), 6-3 
SF 2: Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) df. Maksim AVERIN (UWW), 9-1