#Grappling

Kazakhstan Emerges as Top Nation at Asian & Oceania Grappling

Monday, June 8, 2026 - 13:12 By United World Wrestling Press

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DA NANG, Vietnam (June 6) -- Kazakhstan showed up in style at the Asian & Oceania Grappling Championships, held in Da Nang, Vietnam from June 4 to 6. The country won six gold medals and one silver medals at the senior Grappling event and claimed the team title as well.

Out of the 10 weight classes, Kazakhstan entered only seven grapplers with all seven returning home with a medal. Kazakhstan won the team title with 170 points, far ahead of second-placed Philippines which finished with 89 points. India finished third with 64 points in a nine-team competition.

The first gold medal for Kazakhstan was won by former U20 Asian champion Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ) after he won all four of his bouts in round-robin. He won three via submission while one, against J Han TAN (MAS), was by a 3-2 decision. He also won the gold medal at the U20 Grappling event at 71kg, beating Alonso AGUILAR (PHI), 3-2, in the final.

Maral SARTBAEV (KAZ) added the second gold medal by winning all his bouts at 71kg via submission. None of his bouts went the distance and he finished two of the four inside a minute.

Next was Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ) who captured the 77kg with three wins. He won his first two bouts via submission but was checked by Welton WEI (MAS) in Round 3 bout. However, Saidullayev came out victorious 5-2 to capture the gold medal. Saidullayev scored pushout to start the bout before the two got holds on each others legs. Saidullayev managed to escape the control Wei from top for two points.

The bout restarted with Saidullayev on but Wei reversed with an arm lock for two points. As time ran out, Wei asked for two more points but the referees saw no points in the sequence even after the challenge, which was lost.

Three grapplers were entered at 84kg and Darkhan YERENBAYEV (KAZ) easily captured the gold medal by winning his two bouts.

Zhassulan YERMENBET (KAZ), a former U23 Asian silver medalist in Freestyle, won the gold medal at 100kg. He defeated Duy Thanh LE (VIE), 11-0, in Round 1 before an 18-0 technical superiority win over  Callum ROBERTS (PHI). In what was a virtual final, Yermenbet defeated compatriot Madi KABYKBAYEV (KAZ), 2-1, to claim the gold medal.

Yerlan SHAKISHOV (KAZ) defended his 130kg title after he submitted Rustam SARTBAEV (KAZ) as only two wrestlers were entered in this weight class.

The only Kazakhstan grappler who failed to win the gold medal was Gomar SHALTABAYEV (KAZ) as Azizbek SHARIPOV (UZB) defended his 92kg gold, helped by a forfeit from Buyannemekh MUNKHSUKH (MGL).

At 58kg, Lord DEL ROSARIO (PHI) won the gold medal with three victories in three bouts in 19 seconds, four seconds, 15 seconds.

Philippines' second gold medal was confirmed by Denzel ALIPIO (PHI) at 62kg as he also won his two bouts via submission. He won his first bout in 13 seconds and second in a minute 17 seconds.

In the lone women's Grappling weight class that was competed, GOLD: Bless YEAP (MAS) captured the gold medal at 58kg after winning three bouts. Madina UVALIYEVA (KAZ) won silver while Lyubov TEMNIKOVA (KAZ) won bronze.

RESULTS

Men's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Lord DEL ROSARIO (PHI)
SILVER: Yedenkachew TELAHUNE (NZL)
BRONZE: Huynh Tai LE (VIE)

62kg
GOLD: Denzel ALIPIO (PHI)
SILVER: Taller TAMO (IND)
BRONZE: Shivraj CHOUDHARY (IND)

66kg
GOLD: Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ)
SILVER: J Han TAN (MAS)
BRONZE: Joaquin MARTE (PHI)

71kg
GOLD: Maral SARTBAEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Abylaikhan TENGIBAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Ho Yee CHIA (MAS)

77kg
GOLD: Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Welton WEI (MAS)
BRONZE: Maksat ARGYNBAY (KAZ)

84kg
GOLD: Darkhan YERENBAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Rauan ZHAKENULY (KAZ)
BRONZE: Takahisa ODA (JPN)

92kg
GOLD: Azizbek SHARIPOV (UZB)
SILVER: Gomar SHALTABAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Ikram YERSAIYN (KAZ)

100kg
GOLD: Zhassulan YERMENBET (KAZ)
SILVER: Madi KABYKBAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Duy Thanh LE (VIE)

130kg
GOLD: Yerlan SHAKISHOV (KAZ) df. Rustam SARTBAEV (KAZ), via submission (6-0)

Women's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Bless YEAP (MAS)
SILVER: Madina UVALIYEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE: Lyubov TEMNIKOVA (KAZ)

U20 Men's Grappling

62kg
GOLD: Travis RATCLIFF (PHI)
SILVER: Danial BOLAT (KAZ)
BRONZE: Mayank PAL (IND)

71kg
GOLD: Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ) df. Alonso AGUILAR (PHI), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Ilyas SAIDULLAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Aldiyar KARIMOV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Viet Bao BUI (VIE)

84kg
GOLD: Aktilek MARSHALKHAN (KAZ) df. Arlan TAKTAMUSSOV (KAZ), via submission (0-2)

92kg
GOLD: Ilyas ABDULLAYEV (KAZ) df. Ngoc HUYNH (VIE), via submission (3-2)

100kg
GOLD: Yestemir KENZHEGALI (KAZ) df. Ikram YERSAIYN (KAZ), via submission

U20 Women's Grappling

90kg
GOLD: Lily HOUBEN (NZL) df. Kavita CHAUHAN (IND), 15-0

U17 Men's Grappling

54kg
GOLD: Akram TOLEUKHAN (KAZ) df. Muhammad MOHAMED MEERA (MAS), 5-2

58kg
GOLD: Aimurat ONGGARBAYEV (KAZ)
SILVER: Nathaniel NAMA (PHI)
BRONZE: Zun Sin OW (SGP)

63kg
GOLD: Danial BOLAT (KAZ)
SILVER: Zenya SAM (MAS)
BRONZE: Gia Bao BUI (VIE)

69kg
GOLD: Alim ALMATOV (KAZ)
SILVER: Van Toan DOAN (VIE)
BRONZE: Zhen Hoong TAN (MAS)

76kg
GOLD: Shynggyskhan SEIDAKHMET (KAZ)
SILVER: Hassan ALI (PAK)
BRONZE: Angelo SALUD (PHI)

110kg
GOLD: Taylor ROTA (NZL) df. Jie Jun YOU(TPE), via submission (6-5)

U17 Women's Grappling

56kg
GOLD: Charlie RATCLIFF (PHI) df. Thi Ngoc Mai VU (VIE), via submission (11-4)

65kg
GOLD: Thi Loan HOANG (VIE) df. Ruby TAYLOR (NZL), via submission (9-0)

90kg
GOLD: Adel KOMBATUROVA (KAZ)
SILVER: Duong PHAM (PHI)
BRONZE: Zere SYRYMKYZY (KAZ)

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 2 Highlights: Yazdani in 97kg final

Thursday, February 5, 2026 - 09:21 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The Ranking Series event, Zagreb Open, enters day two and it will be Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) making his 97kg debut for Iran. The Olympic champion at 74kg in 2016, and two-time Olympic silver medalist at 86kg, is chasing that second gold, this time at 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

13:45: 55kg WW semifinals - World silver medalist Verbina EKATERINA (UWW) with a 1-1 victory over Nagisa HARADA (JPN) in the semifinals. She got an activity point in the second period to keep the criteria lead. Ekaterina will face Karla GODINEZ (CAN) in the final after the Canadian defeated Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA), 2-1, in another low scoring semifinal.

13:30: 50kg WW semifinals - Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) with a controlled 8-2 win over Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) at 50kg. She will wrestle NEELAM (IND) for the gold medal. Neelam defeated MUSKAN (IND), 7-4, in an all-Indian semifinal

13:20: 125kg semifinals - A fall for Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) over Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) in just over two minutes as he reaches the final at 125kg. He will face Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) in the final after the U.S. wrestler scored an 11-1 win over Robert BARAN (POL).

13:10: 97kg semifinals - Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) with a quick fall over Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) in the first semifinal. Now he earns himself a chance to wrestle against Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) after Iranian managed another technical superiority win. While it's rare on Yazdani, Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) scored two takedowns on Yazdani but failed to keep the pressure before losing 14-4

12:55: 92kg semifinals - Mobin AZIMI (IRI) gets a dominant 11-0 win over Dustin PLOTT (USA) as he used a double-leg for four to finish. He earns a chance to avenge his 5-5 loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) in the final after the American scored another come-from-behind victory. He defeated Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA), 3-3, to setup the gold medal bout against Azimi

12:40: 79kg semifinals - Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) is back in the Ranking Series final with a 10-1 victory over Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO). He looked in complete control of the bout. Khadjiev will face Dean HAMITI (USA) for the gold medal after he defeated Evan WICK (USA), 6-5, in a thrilling semifinal

12:15: Trent HIDLAY (USA) once again shows how to come back and win a bout. Down 6-0 against Abofazl RAHMANI (IRI), he scores a four-pointer and keeps the pressure on the Iranian to win 11-9 and make his spot in the semifinal at 92kg.

11:45: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) gives up a takedown against Richard VEGH (HUN) but that is the only slip in an otherwise dominant bout at 97kg. Two four point throws for Yazdani as he advances to the semifinals.

11:35: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) with a big four-pointer in her 5-0 win against Beatrice FERENT (ROU) at 55kg. The world silver medalist is the favorite to win gold here.

11:25: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) bounces back from his loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) and beats Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) in his second bout at 92kg round robin. Azimi managed to score a takedown with less than 30 second left to beat Rahmani 4-3.

11:10: Two quick results at women's 50kg. Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) beats Kendra RYAN (USA) 12-1 at 50kg before NEELAM (IND) also wins via technical superiority, 10-0, against Agata GOLUCHOWSKA (POL). 

11:00: 92kg world champion Trent HIDLAY (USA) makes a comeback from 5-0 down to beat Mobin AZIMI (IRI) 5-5 in the group stage bout. Hidlay scored a takedown in the second period before adding two stepouts. Iran challenged the second one but lost which gave the criteria lead to Hidlay

10:50: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) doesn't the trademark jump before entering the mat but his bout against Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) is a typical Yazdani bout. He uses the underhook to start scoring and then rallies to score takedowns at will before turning Suleimanishvili and winning his bout 11-0

10:45: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) wrestled well but it is Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI (UWW) who manages to win 6-4 at 97kg and win the opening bout.

10:30: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will be on Mat B but before that, a few big results in Zagreb. Richard VEGH (HUN) manages to hang on for a 3-0 victory over Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) at 97kg.