Iran's Bimeh Razi Wins FS World Clubs Cup Title for the Third Time

Sunday, December 16, 2018 - 22:33 By Ali Feizasa

Iran’s team Bimeh Razi Babol captured the Freestyle Clubs World Championships for the third time in the last five years.

Bimeh Razi Babol defeated Turkey, 10-0, in the final match to win the title. The five-time world and Olympic medal winner Hassan RAHIMI (61kg), 2016 world champion Magomed KURBANALIEV (70kg), 2018 world bronze medal winner Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (79kg) and two-time world bronze medal winner Alireza KARIMI (86kg) were titled wrestlers of the Iranian side who won the team title.

“I had knee surgery after the Rio Olympic Games and I missed the events for about two years. I am very happy to be competing again. I love wrestling and it is like blood in my vessel.” Hassan Rahimi said after defeating Saban KIZILTAS (TUR) by technical fall.

“I cannot imagine my life without wrestling and I don’t know how I should retire in future. Surely that day will be the worst day of my life.”

“It was my first appearance at 61kg and I am satisfied with my performance. I had a successful surgery but it’s difficult to compete like the past times. The wrestlers who had knee surgery understand what I say,” Rahimi added.

“I have aimed to compete at 61kg in next World Championships but I should think for Olympic Games. I should choose between 57kg and 65kg and it depends on the future situation.”

For third place, Iran’s Setaregan Sari beat Georgia’s Raindi, 9-1, In the fifth-place match, Ukraine beat Kyrgyzstan, 7-3, while India finished in seventh after winning their match against Hungary by a final score of 7-3.

Final: Bimeh Razi Iran df. Turkey, 10-0
57kg- Reza ATRI (Bimeh) df. Ali KARABOGA (TUR) by forfeit

61kg- Hassan RAHIMI (Bimeh) df. Saban KIZILTAS (TUR) by Tech Fall, 10-0|
Competing after about two years absence, five-time Olympic and world medal winner Hassan Rahimi collected four points in first 30 seconds by a single leg takedown and gut wrench. Rahimi added another takedown to win first period 6-0.

In the second period, Rahimi scored four additional points from a takedown and gut wrench to win by 10-0 technical fall victory.

65kg-Meysam NASIRI (Bimeh) df. Sedat OZDEMIR (TUR) by Tech Fall, 13-2
With a four-point throw, 2016 Asian champion Nasiri finished first period 6-2. Nasiri added seven points by several takedowns to win the match by 13-2.

70kg- Magomed KURBANALIEV (Bimeh) df. Mustafa ZOPALI (TUR), 12-2
Just ten seconds after starting the match, 2016 World Champion Kurbanaliev collected eight points by a four-point throw and two gut wrench. The Russian wrestler added four more points to earn 12-2 technical fall victory and gave his team the 4-0 lead.

74kg- Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI df. Nazim KARA (TUR) by forfeit

79kg- Akhmet GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (Bimeh) df. Muhammet NURI KOTANOGLU (TUR) by Tech Fall, 10-0
Two and a half minutes was enough for 2018 World bronze medal winner Gadzhimagomedov to beat KOTANOGLU 10-0. Gadzhimagomedov took four points by two headlocks.

86kg- Alireza KARIMI (Bimeh) df. Ahmet BILICI (TUR), 5-0
Two-time world bronze medal winner Alireza Karimi didn't find himself in any trouble and defeated BILICI, 5-0.

92kg-Mohammad Javad EBRAHIMI (Bimeh) df. Semih YAZICI (TUR), 12-1
Asian champion Ebrahimi finished the first period 7-1 by consecutive gut wrenches. Ebrahimi added five points to finish the match, 12-1.

97kg- Hamed TALEBI ZARRINKAMAR (Bimeh) df. Fatih YASARLI (TUR) by forfeit

125kg- Amin TAHERI (Bimeh) df. Bekir ERYUCEL (TUR) by Tech Fall, 11-0
In the first minute of the match, Taheri gathered six points with a takedown and two gut wrenches. The two-time U23 world bronze medalist added three more points, finishing the first period with the 9-0 advantage. Taheri earned two points by takedown and won the match, 11-0.

Third place match: Setaregan Sari Iran df. Raindi Georgia, 9-1
57kg-Amir PARASTEH (Setaregan)df. Lasha TALAKHADZE (GEO), 5-4
61kg- Younes SARMASTI (Setaregan) df. Otari GOGAVA (GEO) by forfeit
65kg- Abolfazl HAJIPOUR (Setaregan) df. Giorgi REVAZISHVILI (GEO) by forfeit
70kg- Mehdi YEGANEH JAFARI (Setaregan) df. Levani KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO),6-3
74kg- Hossein ELYASI (Setaregan) df. Daviti TLASHADZE (GEO), 12-9
79kg- Hamidreza ZARRINPEYKAR (Setaregan) df. Aleksandre SATHVADZE (GEO)
86kg- Masoud MADADI (Setaregan) df. Giorgi KVATADZE (GEO) by forfeit
92kg- Arashk MOHEBI (Setaregan) df. Mukhran NARSAVIDZE (GEO) by Tech Fall, 10-0
97kg- Amir MOHAMMADI (Setaregan)df. Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO), 6-3
125kg- Rolandi ANDRIADZE (GEO) df. Yadollah MOHEBI (Setaregan) by forfeit

Fifth place match: Ukraine df. Kyrgyzstan, 7-3
Seventh place match: India df. Hungary, 7-3

#WrestleZagreb

U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 22:40 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- Four months ago, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) seemed untouchable.

He had stunned Arena Zagreb with a victory over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), eventually cruising to 86kg gold at the 2025 World Championships without conceding a single point.

On Wednesday, Valencia returned to Arena Zagreb, but the script flipped. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), a former world silver medalist at 79kg, blanked the world champion 11-0 at the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

While Valencia recovered to claim bronze, it was international debutant Parker KECKEISEN (USA) who rose to the occasion, taking gold after defeating Gamkrelidze.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA), red, tries to fight a gut-wrench against Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Valencia wasn't the only giant to fall during a chaotic Wednesday. Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) was pinned, and Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) left without a medal. Meanwhile, world champion Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) missed the top spot, and Georgios KOUGIOUMSTIDIS (GRE) saw his 86kg debut end in the opening round.

Despite the upsets, the United States dominated, winning four of the six available gold medals. Spencer LEE (USA), David CARR (USA), and Austin DESANTO (USA) joined Keckeisen atop the podium.

At 65kg, U23 world champion SUJEET (IND) continued his rise and captured the gold medal in a dominant fashion.

For Iran, the only gold medal came through Sina KHALILI (IRI) who outscored his opponents 42-3 in four bouts.

Parker KECKEISEN (USA) won gold medal at Zagreb Open, his debut international tournament. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Keckeisen's golden debut

While Zahid Valencia was the heavy favorite at 86kg, it was Keckeisen who stole the spotlight. Keckeisen flew under the radar to reach the final after a gritty 9-5 victory over Ali Savadkouhi (IRI).

In the final, Keckeisen entered as the underdog against Gamkrelidze. He maintained a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining. The match defining moment came when Gamkrelidze scored a stepout and challenged the call, seeking two points instead of one. The lost challenge awarded Keckeisen an extra point, extending his lead to 4-2.

Despite a late stepout from Gamkrelidze with ten seconds left, Keckeisen held on to secure the gold.

With Gamkrelidze making it to the final, Valencia found his form in repechage and won bronze after pinning U17 world champion Abofazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI).

Spencer LEE (USA) scores a takedown before Roman BRAVO YOUNG forfeited the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Lee repeats, Carr shines

Lee repeated as the Zagreb Open champion with a strong performance, just like last year. After dominant wins over Azamat TSUKAEV (SRB) and Fuga SASAKI (JPN), Lee met Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) in the final.

The Olympic bronze medalist opened strong with a takedown and turn, but the match ended prematurely when Bravo-Young forfeited due to injury, handing Lee his second consecutive gold.

Bravo Young was clutching his tapped knee when he got up after the gut-wrench from Lee who helped the Mexican off the mat after enquiring about the injury.

At 74kg, Carr navigated a tactical final against 70kg world champion Aoyagi, who now wrestles at 74kg. Aoyagi led 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers exchanged activity points when he was placed on the 30-second activity clock for a second time.

His failure to score put Carr ahead 2-1 with 30 seconds remaining. A desperate late attack by Aoyagi allowed Carr to score a counter takedown, sealing a 4-1 victory.

In September, Carr missed out on a bronze medal bout at the World Championships after losing to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) in the final five seconds, while Lee was eliminated after losing to Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM).

Austin DESANTO (USA) won the gold medal at 61kg in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Desanto recovers

At 61kg, Desanto recovered after a heartbreaking 11-11 loss to Reza MOMENI (IRI) in the opening bout of the Nordic bracket to win gold. Needing a big win against Aman, Desanto delivered a pin, earning five crucial classification points.

His total of 15 points placed him safely ahead of Momeni, who was mathematically eliminated from gold regardless of his final result against Giorgi GHONIASHVILI (GEO).

Ultimately, DeSanto secured the gold, while Aman took silver, despite being tied with Momeni at 13 points. Aman held the tiebreaker thanks to his head-to-head victory over the Iranian.

SUJEET (IND) tries to finish a takedown on Peyman NEMATI (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet wins gold

U23 World Champion Sujeet continues to demonstrate his growth on the international stage, capturing his second career Ranking Series gold medal.

Sujeet, who took gold in Budapest last year, secured two technical superiority wins over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to reach the final. There, he shut out Peyman NEMATI (IRI) with a disciplined 3-0 victory.

In the final, he was put on the activity clock in the first period but responded quickly with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. When Nemati was placed on the activity clock in the second period, Sujeet extended his lead to 3-0.

Following a series of scoreless scrambles, Sujeet successfully defended his lead until the whistle.

At 70kg, U23 World silver medalist Khalili put on a dominant display in his gold-medal match. Khalili overwhelmed Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), using a series of gut wrenches to secure a 10-0 technical superiority victory.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), via inj. def. (4-0)

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Atish TODKAR (IND), 10-0
BRONZE: Fuga SASAKI (JPN) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), 4-1

61kg
GOLD: Austin DESANTO (USA)
SILVER: AMAN (IND)
BRONZE: Reza MOMENI (IRI)

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Peyman NEMATI (IRI), 3-0

BRONZE: Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO) df. Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN), 11-6
BRONZE: Joseph MC KENNA (USA) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 10-0

BRONZE: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 6-3
BRONZE: Caleb HENSON (USA) df. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 5-4

74kg
GOLD: David CARR (USA) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 4-1

BRONZE: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) df. James GREEN (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) df. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Parker KECKEISEN (USA) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Mukul DAHIYA (IND), 6-5

Iran's Bimeh Razi Wins FS World Clubs Cup Title for the Third Time

Comments

U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned