#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Iran and Mongolia Capture Titles at First U23 Asian Championships

By Ali Feizasa

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (March 24) - The host country Mongolia captured the women’s wrestling title at the first edition of the U23 Asian Championships, while Iran's team shined, winning team titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

On the final day of wrestling in Ulaanbaatar, Iran took home three golds and a silver in four freestyle weight categories and captured the team title with 200 points (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). Mongolia was the runner-up with 177 points (3 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze) and Kazakhstan finished in third place with 146 points (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).

Abbas FOROUTAN, the 2018 junior world champion, and two-time junior world medal winner Ahmad BAZRI were the Iranian stars who won the 97kg and 86kg gold medals respectively.  Bazri and Foroutan won three of their four matches by technical superiority.

But the most exciting match of the tournament came in the 70kg finals bout where ENKHTUYA Temuulen (MGL) defeated Farhad NOURI (IRI), 11-11 on criteria to make the host fans happy in the closing match of the tournament.

TSOGT OCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL) helped the host nation win the team title with her 50kg gold-medal performance. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka) 

In women’s wrestling, the host country Mongolia won four gold medals. India also won four gold medals, while the other two titles went to Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei.

Mongolia, who won medals in all ten weight categories, earned the women’s wrestling team title with 200 points (4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze), followed by India 190 points (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) and Kazakhstan 162 points (1 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze).

TSOGT OCHIR Namuuntsetseg (MGL) won a gold medal at 50kg as she downed all three rivals by technical superiority. 

Reigning junior world champion Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) won the 72kg title outscoring his opponents 35-1. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

In Greco-Roman, Iran and Kyrgyzstan had a close battle for the team title. Both countries had four golds and two bronze medal winners, but Iran grabbed one more silver medal and captured the title with 202 points (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). Kyrgyzstan placed second with 182 points (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), and Kazakhstan came third with 167 points (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze).

The stars of the Greco-Roman competitions were Iranian Amin KAVIYANINEJAD and Roman KIM from Kyrgyzstan.

Kavianinejad, the 2018 junior world champion, stormed into 72kg gold medal by defeating all four his opponents by technical superiority, outscoring them 35 to 1. 

Meanwhile, heavyweight wrestler Roman Kim wrapped up two bouts against Iran and India by fall. He also finished his matches against Mongolia and Kazakhstan via technical superiority and captured 130kg gold medal.

RESULTS

Greco-Roman
(The competition of all weight categories of Greco-Roman was held in Nordic System and all wrestlers in each weight competed with each other in one group.)

Team Standings:
1- Iran 202 pts (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
2- Kyrgyzstan 182 pts (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
3- Kazakhstan 167 pts (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
4- India 128 pts (1 silver, 2 bronze)
5- Mongolia 120 pts (1 silver, 1 bronze)
6- Tajikistan 20 pts (1 silver)

55kg 
GOLD - Sardarbek KONUSHBAEV (KGZ)
SILVER - Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
BRONZE - MUNKH ERDENE Davaabandi (MGL)

60kg
GOLD - Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)
SILVER - Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE - Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)

63kg
GOLD- Meysam DALKHANI (IRI)
SILVER- Elmar TALANBEK UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE- Vijay VIJAY (IND)

67kg
GOLD- Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
SILVER- Khanburged GANKHUYAG (MGL)
BRONZE- Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ)

72kg
GOLD- Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
SILVER- Daler REZAZADE (TJK)
BRONZE- Bek KONURBAEV (KGZ)

77kg
GOLD- Renat ILIAZ UULU (KGZ)
SILVER- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
BRONZE- Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)

82kg
GOLD- Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI)
SILVER- Kuanyshbek DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Sanjeet SANJEET (IND)

87kg
GOLD- Mohammad Hadi SARVI (IRI)
SILVER- Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ)
BRONZE- Meirbek KORDABAY (KAZ)

97kg
GOLD- Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
SILVER- Ravi RAVI (IND)
BRONZE- Hassan ARYANEZHAD (IRI)

130kg
GOLD- Roman KIM (KGZ)
SILVER- Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)
BRONZE- Sarkis PSHENICHNIKOV (KAZ)

Freestyle Results

Team Standings:
1- Iran 200 pts (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
2- Mongolia 177 pts (3 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)
3- Kazakhstan 146 pts (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
4- India 140 pts (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
5- Kyrgyzstan 114 pts (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
6- Turkmenistan 75 pts (2 silver)
7- China 29 pts
8- Singapore 10 pts
9- Yemen 8 pts

57kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Rahul RAHUL (IND)
SILVER- Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE- Chinzorig TSERMAA (MGL)

61kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df. Sonba Tanaji GONGANE (IND, 13 – 2
BRONZE- Mohammad NAMJOU MOTLAGH (IRI) df. Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ), 3 - 0

65kg
GOLD- Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) by FALL
BRONZE- Parveen PARVEEN (IND) df. Weilesu WEILESU (CHN), 6 – 3
BRONZE- Ilyas ZHUMAY (KAZ) df. Zi Xyan LIM (SGP), 10 – 0

70kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL) df. Farhad Jafar NOURI KHORJESTAN (IRI), 11 - 11
BRONZE- Aidyn TAZHIGALI (KAZ) df. Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ), 12 – 2

74kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Otgonbayar BATSUURI (MGL) df. Navid Morad ZANGANEH (IRI) by FALL
BRONZE- Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) df. Bekzhan DZHAMBULOV (KGZ), 5 – 2

79kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
SILVER- Veer Dev GULIA (IND)
BRONZE- Atai IZABEKOV (KGZ)

86kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Ahmad BAZRI (IRI)
SILVER- Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
BRONZE- Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)

92kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Arashk MOHEBI (IRI)
SILVER- Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)
BRONZE- Tsogtgerel MUNKHBAATAR (MGL)

97kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in one group)
GOLD- Abbas FOROUTAN (IRI)
SILVER- Zhassulan YERMENBET (KAZ)
BRONZE- Mungunshagai TUMURBAT (MGL)

125kg (The competition of this weight was held in Nordic System in two groups)
GOLD- Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) df. Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) by FALL
BRONZE- Mohammad MORADI (IRI) df. Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ), 11 – 9

Women’s Wrestling Results

Team Standings:
1- Mongolia 200 pts (4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze)
2- India 190 pts (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
3- Kazakhstan 162 pts (1 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze)
4- Chinese Taipei 37 pts (1 gold)
5- Kyrgyzstan 32 pts (1 silver)


50kg
GOLD- Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL)
SILVER- Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE-Jyoti JYOTI (IND)

53kg
GOLD- Khaliunaa BAYARAA (MGL)
SILVER- Reena REENA (IND)
BRONZE- Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ)

55kg
GOLD- Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
SILVER- Anju ANJU (IND)
BRONZE- Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)

57kg
GOLD- Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
SILVER-Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
BRONZE- Yekaterina FIRSTOVA (KAZ)

59kg
GOLD- Kumari MANJU (IND)
SILVER-Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Otgonbayar PUREV (MGL)

62kg
GOLD- Purevsuren ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
SILVER- Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Radhika RADHIKA (IND)

65kg
GOLD- Tina TINA (IND)
SILVER- Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL)
Tina TINA (IND) df. Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL), 13 – 2

68kg
GOLD- Divya KAKRAN (IND)
SILVER-Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
BRONZE- Valeriya GONCHAROVA (KAZ)

72kg
GOLD- Naina NAINA (IND)
SILVER- Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Tsogzolmaa DORJSUREN (MGL)

76kg
GOLD- Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
SILVER- Pooja POOJA (IND)
BRONZE- Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL)

#WrestleTirana

Kadzimahamedau, Sadulaev Return to European Finals

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 24) -- Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), David BAEV (UWW), and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) were among the wrestlers who reached the final of the European Championships 2026 in Tirana on Friday.

Kadzimahamedau set up a rematch of the final from 2024 against Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) who defeated Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), 3-0, in a rematch of last year's European final.

After last year's European quest at 86kg, Kadzimahamedau returned to 79kg and continued his crafty wrestling, beating Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), 5-1, in the semifinals. He used two different takedowns and an activity period point for his scores.

But it was the quarterfinals in which Kadzimahamedau showed his class, Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO), 11-10. He lead 5-0 when Gaphrindashvili scored a double-leg four-pointer to make it 5-4, changed to 7-5 for Kadzimahamedau after a challenge. After a scramble and stepout, the scores read 10-9 for Gaphrindashvili with 11 seconds left but Kadzimahamedau snuck out a takedown with 3 seconds left to win.

At 97kg, five-time European champion Sadulaev returned to the final after six years after a clinical display throughout the day. In the finals, he got the better of Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL), 12-2, using his gut-wrench to score points.

Sadulaev used a outside single-leg attack to score his first takedown and then turned Magamaev to get a four-point lead. But as he was trying to turn Magamaev again, the Bulgarian blocked him for two points but Sadulaev managed to sneak out of any control. He then managed a takedown and two turns for a 10-2 lead before an easy go-behind finished the bout.

Former world silver medalist Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) will challenge Sadulaev in the final after he defeated Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), 12-1, using the leg-lace for five turns.

Defending champion Baev had no trouble in defeated Oleksii BORUTA (UKR), 9-2, and returning to the final. But a rising star awaits him next in the 70kg final as U23 European champion Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) defeated Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 11-0, in the other semifinals.

Gaidarli, who won silver at the U20 World Championships last year, did not give any chance to Muszukajev and turned the match into a one-sided affair.

Dudaev Returns to Final

Home-favorite and Olympic bronze medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB) returned to the final of European Championships at 65kg after a 4-0 victory over Islam GUSEINOV (UWW). Dudaev scored a stepout to start the bout before getting a activity point in the first period and lead 2-0. He doubled the lead to 4-0 in the final minute with a takedown which he defended.

Dudaev will take on Bashir MAGOMEDOV (UWW) for the gold medal after Magomedov handed former European champion Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) a heartbreaking, 3-3, criteria loss in the semifinals.

Tevanyan scored a takedown and also a point for stepout but in a later scramble, Tevanyan got countered on a leg attack and gave up a takedown on the edge for two points to Magomedov. Armenia challenged, asking for two points for Tevanyan during the scramble.

However, Tevanyan never got complete control over Magomedov and the lost challenge added to the latter's score to give him criteria. Tevanyan waited to launch the attack and when he did during the final moments of the bout, he could not gets a stepout or takedown despite all the action taking place in the zone.

At 57kg, Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW) and Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) will battle it out for the gold medal on Saturday. Mekhtikhanov defeated Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM), 5-0, in the semifinals after two counter takedowns and point for passivity.

Bazarganov was more active in his semifinal against Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO) and worked on his lace to beat the Georgian 11-1.

RESULTS

57kg
SF 1: Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW) df. Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM), 5-0
SF 2: Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) df. Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 11-1

65kg
SF 1: Islam DUDAEV (ALB) df. Islam GUSEINOV (UWW), 4-0
SF 2: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (UWW) df. Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), 3-3

70kg
SF 1: David BAEV (UWW) df. Oleksii BORUTA (UKR), 9-2
SF 2: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 11-0

79kg
SF 1: Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) df. Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), 5-1
SF 2: Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) df. Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), 3-0

97kg
SF 1: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) df. Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL), 12-2
SF 2: Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) df. Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), 12-1