#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. 

#WrestleSamokov

Shkarin, Javadov complete Worlds and Europeans U20 golden double

By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 22) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) managed to pull off a continental and world double by winning the gold medal at the World U20 Championships on Friday. He won the gold medal at the European U20 Championships in July.

This is the second straight year that Shkarin has done that as he won the world and European U17 last year.

Wrestling Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ) in the 82kg final, Shkarin came out with his best defense in par terre to defend his 4-1 lead and win the gold medal.

"Last year I won Worlds and Europeans U17s, now Worlds and Europeans U20s," Shkarin said. "I don’t see anything supernatural in this. Everything is just working out for me."

Shkarin was in top form throughout the tournament with three technical superiority wins in three bouts and it was only in the final that he was test and did not manage to finish his bout before time.

In the semifinals, Shkarin blanked Martik PETROSYAN (ARM) while Seitkaliyev defeated Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) in the other semifinal. However, Shkarin was hoping to get a rematch against Yoshida who had defeated Shkarin in the 2023 world U17 final.

"The motivation for me at this World Championship was that I really wanted to take revenge on the Japanese wrestler," Shkarin said. "I even told my friends that I could leave this championship upset only if I lost to the Japanese again. Nothing else would upset me as much. But it’s not my fault, it’s his -- he didn’t reach the final."

With the World U20 gold won, Shkarin will look to move to the Olympic weight class -- 87kg -- next year and plan his journey towards winning the Olympic medal in the future.

"Next year I want to move up to the 87 kg weight category," he said. "I’ll start working on my physical shape, try to gain muscle mass, and gradually settle into the 87 kg weight class. I want to try competing at seniors level."

Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 60kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The last time the World U20 Championships were held in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan won crowned three champions in Greco-Roman. However, at the next two editions, the country failed to win gold.

The 2025 edition of the U20 Worlds, back in Bulgaria, seems to have brought luck back for Azerbaijan as the nation won its first gold in Greco-Roman in the first final.

European U20 champion and two-time world U17 champion Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) added a gold at the U20 level in his first year by beating Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) in the 60kg final.

The 18-year-old showed no signs of discomfort in the new age-group and won three out of his five bouts via technical superiority or fall. In the final, he maintained a good lead throughout and defeat Mkhitaryan, also 18 years old, 12-5.

Javadov was put in par terre in he first period and Mkhitaryan scored two turns using gut0-wrench for a 5-0 lead but as he was trying to complete the third one, Javadov blocked him and scored two points. Armenia challenged the call but it was clear block and two points and Mkhitaryan led 5-3 at the break.

Javadov got the par terre in the second period but he failed to score any points. It was the third passivity with which the momentum of the final changed. Javadov asked for par terre after third passivity, which doesn't award any points. But Javadov managed to turn him for two and then a reverse lift for another two points to lead 8-5.

Mkhitaryan tried to jump over the head but it did not work out as Javadov controlled him and slammed him on mat for four points. He ultimately won 12-5.

"Since childhood I have been very self-confident," Javadov said. "Age makes no difference, I always believe I deserve first place."

Javadov has now not faced defeat for three years and the gold medal in Samokov. But the debut at U20 Worlds made him a little nervous.

"I couldn’t fully prepare mentally for the final bout, most likely my opponent wasn’t that good either," he said. "I made a couple of mistakes and gave up points, but then I managed to pull myself together. In the second period I realized that my opponent was very tired, and I understood that I could take the advantage and win."

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 12-5

BRONZE: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Omer ALTAS (TUR), 9-0 (victory via cautions)
BRONZE: SURAJ (IND) df. Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA), 1-1

82kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) df. Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ), 4-1

BRONZE: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. PRINCE (IND), 11-0
BRONZE: Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB) df. Martik PETROSYAN (ARM), 8-0