Iran, USA share top honors at Zagreb Open

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 - 22:06 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 1) -- For those who watched Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) wrestle on Wednesday, the most difficult task would be to find a chink in his armor. Sure, Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) managed to score a takedown on Yazdani using a powerful single leg to go behind. Barring that moment in which he was caught off-guard, Yazdani opened his season with a 44-2 routing of his opponents to win the gold medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event.

In his first tournament since the loss to David TAYLOR (USA) in the World Championships final last year, Yazdani was at his usual calm on the mat and managed to run through the 86kg field in Zagreb.

The season-opening Ranking Series event is the first under the new rule of a two-kilogram allowance for wrestlers and offers prize money to the medal winners.

Yazdani, along with five other gold medalists, pocketed 1500 Swiss Francs while the silver medalists got 750 Swiss Francs. The two bronze medalists in each of the six weight classes got 500 Swiss Francs each.

Ishiguro, who surprised many by reaching the final at 86kg, opened the score in the final against Yazdani but as the Iranian continued his high-pressure, underhook dominated game, Ishiguro had no answers.

Yazdani scored via pushouts combined with two takedowns for a 7-2 lead. Ishiguro tried a bodylock, but Yazdani managed to counter it with a four before a double leg to win 13-2.

After the final, Ishiguro said that he tried saving his stamina against Yazdani which stopped him from giving his 100 percent in the final.

Reza ATRI (IRI) won the 61kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

This was Iran's second gold of the night as Reza ATRI (IRI) won the 61kg gold over Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL). While he only led 5-3 at the break, Atri dominated the second period and gave no chance to Narmandakh. He used an underhook to four to secure the fall in the final.

The USA also won two gold medals as Alec PANTALEO (USA) scored his second career win over Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Jason NOLF (USA) impressed in his 3-3 win over World Championships bronze medalist Yones EMAMI (IRI).

At 70kg, Pantaleo faced Aliyev and rode high on confidence as he defeated Aliyev at the Polan Open Ranking Series event in 2021. Taking lessons from that bout, Pantaleo did not let Aliyev use the snapdown from the wrist and came out on top 5-2.

Alec PANTALEO (USA) secured his second career win over Haji ALIYEV (AZE). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

While Pantaleo acknowledged the size and strength difference between him and Aliyev, who usually wrestles at 65kg, he said his skill set of Aliyev makes him very dangerous.

Pantaleo scored a takedown before an activity point gave him a 3-0 lead at the break. Aliyev managed to score a takedown early in the second period but his attempts to snap Pantaleo did not work. The American got two more points when Aliyev made a desperate attempt in the final few seconds.

Nolf's final against Emami at 74kg was much closer as his takedown in the second period proved to be the difference in the bout. He also made sure to not give up a takedown when Emami was pressuring him. Emami scored three stepouts which were not enough.

In the post-match interview, Nolf explained that in the past, he missed closing out tight matches so a win in such a bout was a confidence booster.

Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) won the gold medal at 57kg over Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The first gold medal of the day went to Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE), who ended the dream run of U20 world champion Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) by winning the final 2-0. Rzazade looked like the wrestler to beat in the weight class despite some hiccups on the way to the final.

He began with Wanhao ZOU (CHN) and came out of it with a 14-8 before beating compatriot Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) 10-0 in the quarterfinal. He did survive a scare against Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinals but managed to win 4-2.

Nishiuchi entered the final from the other side of the bracket with impressive wins over Darian CRUZ (PUR), Zane RICHARDS (USA) and U23 world champion AMAN (IND). He gave up points in all three bouts but scored a lot of his own as well.

But when the 18-year-old met Rzazade in the final, he failed to break the defense of the former U23 world champion. Rzazade got a passivity point in the first period and when Nishiuchi up the ante in the second, Rzazade scrapped out a stepout to win 2-0 in a tight final.

Tulga TUMUR-OCHIR (MGL) defeated Joseph MCKENNA (USA) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Tumur Ochir wins 65kg

Not much weight is put on Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)'s name but he showed that he is yet another contender in the ever-strong 65kg as he won the gold in Zagreb.

He came out with some nasty finishes using his underhooks, defeating Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) in the semifinal and later scoring a 4-1 win over Joseph MCKENNA (USA) in the final.

The underhook was the lethal weapon that his opponents had no counter to. McKenna was toe-to-toe with Tumur Ochir but could not stop him from scoring takedowns on either side of the break. McKenna scored a stepout late in the bout but it was not enough.

ALL PHOTOS: DAY 1 Zagreb Open

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) df. Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN), 2-0

BRONZE: AMAN (IND) df. Zane RICHARDS (USA), 10-4
BRONZE: Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 4-4

61kg
GOLD: Reza ATRI (IRI) df. Narankhuu NARMANDAKH (MGL), via fall

BRONZE: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) df. Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA), 10-0
BRONZE: Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN) df. Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO), 8-2

65kg
GOLD: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Joseph MC KENNA (USA), 4-1

BRONZE: Evan HENDERSON (USA) df. Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN), via fall (10-14)
BRONZE: Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) df. Ryoma ANRAKU (JPN), 12-1

70kg
GOLD: Alec PANTALEO (USA) df. Haji ALIYEV (AZE), 5-2

BRONZE: Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) df. Temuulen ENKHTUYA (MGL), 8-2
BRONZE: Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Jason NOLF (USA) df. Yones EMAMI (IRI), 3-3

BRONZE: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df. Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN), 5-0
BRONZE: Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR) df. Joseph LAVALLEE (USA), 6-4

86kg
GOLD: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) df. Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN), 13-2

BRONZE: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Myles AMINE (SMR), 6-0
BRONZE: Mark HALL (USA) df. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE), 7-3

#BeachWrestling

Zenkina, Khoma power Ukraine to top at U20 Beach Wrestling Worlds

Monday, September 29, 2025 - 09:52 By Vinay Siwach

KATERINI-PIERRIA, Greece (September 28) -- Riding on inspiring performances by former world U17 champion Mariia ZENKINA (UKR) and European silver medalist Yelyzaveta KHOMA (UKR), Ukraine emerged as the best country at the U20 World Beach Wrestling Championships in Greece.

Out of the four gold medals on offer in women's category, Ukraine won two while Romania and Serbia won one each. In the men’s division, Iran dominated its way to the top of the team rankings.

Ukraine finished at the top of the team race with 85 points while the United States was second with 50 points. Serbia managed to finish third with 39 points.

Zenkina, a U17 World Championships silver medalist in 2022, showed her skills on the beach as well and won all her bouts, including the final, without giving up a point.

Facing compatriot Daria KONSTANTYNOVA (UKR) in the +70kg final, Zenkina got the first point when Konstantynova failed to score after being put on the 30-second activity period. Zenkina then scored via snapdown which forced Konstantynova to touch the sand with her knees.

Zenkina defended her 2-0 lead for the remaining 27 seconds to claim her second world title, the first coming at U17 level in 2021.

Khoma was equally dominant in her run to gold at 60kg but needed strong defense in the final against local favorite Evdoxia PAPADOPOULOU (GRE) to win the gold medal.

The final was off to an electric start with both wrestlers giving it a go and scoring points. It was Papadopoulou who scored the first point with a stepout and took a 1-0 lead. However, Khoma fired back with a snapdown with Papadopoulou's elbow touching the sand and she took a 1-1 criteria lead.

Papdopoulou tried forcing a stepout when Khoma used double underhooks to throw the Greece wrestler who landed on her elbow, giving one more point to Khoma. In the next exchange, Khoma tried a whizzer but she touched her head on sand before Papadopoulou's which cost her one point and the lead exchanged hands. Now, the Greece wrestler led 2-2 on criteria with two minutes remaining in the match.

Khoma wasted no time in launching her next attack and pushed Papadopoulou towards the edge of the ring. As Papadopoulou tried to counter throw, Khoma kept her balance and forced her opponent to touch the sand. This gave Khoma the winning score of 3-2 as in Beach Wrestling, the first wrestler to three points wins.

Ukraine's third finalist Alevtyna LIASHENKO (UKR) was not so lucky as she lost the 50kg final to Ana ROTARU (ROU) via fall. Rotaru hit a blast double to open the scoring in the final and take a 1-0 lead. She used a similar technique to score her second point and lead 2-0 with 53 seconds left in the match.

She left nothing to chance and hit a perfect headlock throw for three points, ending the match 5-0, and victory via fall. [A three-point move in Beach Wrestling is considered fall].

Serbia won its first-ever gold medal at the U20 World Championships after European silver medalist Masa PEROVIC (SRB) scored a fall over world U17 champion Alexandra MOISEI (MDA) to claim the top medal at 70kg.

Moisei scored the first point of the final with hip toss and take a 1-0 lead and extended it to 2-0 by avoiding a trip attempt from Perovic who fell head first and lost another point. Moisei was going for the winning third point when Perovic attempted a lateral drop. While backstepping to avoid the drop, Moisei lost her balance and Perovic used that to her advantage and dropped Moisei on the back for three points and the win.

Iran's golden double

A day after winning the U17 World Championships team title in men's category, Iran continued to dominate Beach Wrestling by winning the U20 team title as well.

Like its U17 team, Iran won two golds in U20 competition to finish at the top of the team rankings with 77 points. Moldova finished second with 57 points while Ukraine was marginally behind at third with 55.

After missing out in the final in the first two weight classes, Ramtin RAVANBAKHSH (IRI) and Mersad SHAKERI (IRI) made sure Iran doesn't miss out on the finals by reaching the gold medal bouts at 90kg and +90kg respectively.

Ravanbakhsh showed impeccable defense in the final against Alexandru BORS (MDA), a former U17 World Championships silver medalist in Freestyle, at 90kg to win the gold medal. In fact, he had to beat Bors twice.

The two first met in a Group A match, which Ravanbakhsh won 1-0, before facing again in the final, where the Iranian repeated the result.

Shakeri was more active in his matches but was tested by Kostiantyn ZADOIANCHUK (UKR) in the final. He, however, managed to hold on to a 2-0 victory.

Shakeri hit a powerful snap which completely unbalanced Zadoianchuk who touched the sand with his knee and Shakeri got the first point. Shakeri got his second point with a stepout which Zadoianchuk had no chance to defend.

At 70kg, Eduard LENARD (ROU) dashed the hopes of local fans by beating Ilias KARNAVAS (GRE) in the gold medal bout in just 44 seconds.

Karnavas was sure that he got the first point as he pushed Lenard towards the edge but Lenard managed to keep himself inside and not give up the point for stepout. As Karnavas kept pushing, Lenard hit a counter whizzer for a point to dramatically turn the advantage around and lead 1-0.

As Karnavas got on a single-leg attack in another sequence, Lenard dropped him on his back with a whizzer which was scored as three points, giving the win to the Romanian. Karnavas challenged the call but on review, the original call for three points was upheld and Lenard was announced as the winner.

Moldova earned itself a gold medal at 80kg as Gabriel OJOG (MDA) scored a victory via fall over Zurab MAMULADZE (GEO) in the final. Mamuladze tried to hit a big move on Ojog who blocked it and landed on top of Mamuladze to score three points and the victory.

Iran, USA share top honors at Zagreb Open

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Zenkina, Khoma power Ukraine to top at U20 Beach Wrestling Worlds