'King Vlad' and Aliyev Highlight Loaded 65kg Euro OG Qualifier Bracket

Thursday, March 11, 2021 - 20:49 By Eric Olanowski

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 11) --- Despite owning a combined four world titles and three Olympic medals – including a London Olympic gold -- European superstars Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) and Haji ALIYEV (AZE) are still looking to book their nation's tickets to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

They'll have to reach the finals at the European Olympic Qualifiers, which kicks off next Thursday, March 18-21 in Budapest, Hungary. But to do so, they'll have to navigate a loaded 65kg bracket that features 17 entries who have claimed a combined 14 world and Olympic medals (11 world / 3 Olympic).

Aliyev won gold at the '15 World Championships and locked up his nations' place at the Rio Olympic Games where he finished with a bronze medal. But, it was a different story after the '19 World Championships. The three-time world champ lost to fellow world champions Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) and Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) in Nur-Sultan and finished in 12th place -- putting himself in unfamiliar territory. For the first time in his storied career, Aliyev is on the outside looking in at an Olympic qualifying event.

Khinchegashvili, on the other hand, is no stranger to missing out on an Olympic berth through the World Championships. Back in '11, "King Vlad" finished in seventh place at the Istanbul World Championships and failed to earn an Olympic berth for Georgia. Khinchegashvili ultimately qualified Georgia for the London Olympics through the '12 Olympic Qualifier and grabbed Olympic silver.

Now, the Rio Olympic champion is in a similar situation as he was back in '11 after he missed out on punching Georgia's ticket to the Tokyo Olympic Games with a 22nd-place finish in Nur-Sultan. In a UWW LIVE interview, Khinchegashvili said, "I will try to get the license at the European Olympic Qualifier. I think it won't be a problem and I'll compete well at the Tokyo Olympic Games." He continued, saying, "It won't be easy to qualify nor compete at the Olympics, but I am always ready for these situations."

Both Aliyev and Vlad will indeed have to be ready for all situations, as they'll share the bracket with loads of talent – including savvy veterans and rising stars.

Vladimir DUBOV (BUL) takes on Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) at the '16 Rio Olympic Games. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Past Olympians Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL), Vladimir DUBOV (BUL) and Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) are entered at 65kg while rising star Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) received the nod for Armenia at 65kg.

Poland's two-time world medalist Gadzhiev will debut down at 65kg for the first time since the '18 World Championships. He's since competed up at 70kg, where he was a '19 world bronze medalist and a '20 Individual World Cup champion.

Two-time world medalist Dubov will try to qualify Bulgaria for the Olympic Games in just his fifth outing at 65kg.

Ukraine pegged '15 world bronze medalist Shuptar as their guy to earn an Olympic berth at 65kg through the European Olympic Qualifier.

Despite his 24th-place finish at the '19 World Championships, Tevanyan earned the right to represent Armenia after his surprising breakout performance at the '20 Individual World Cup. He outscored his five opponents 43-3 and capped off his improbable run to World Cup gold with a 9-1 win over Hungary's '19 world bronze medalist Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV.

Wrestling at the European Olympic Qualifiers gets underway next Thursday (March 18-21) in Budapest and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

65kg OG Qualifier Entries
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Niurgun SKRIABIN (BLR)
Vladimir Vladimirov DUBOV (BUL)
Juan Pablo GONZALEZ CRESPO (ESP)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
George Anthony RAMM (GBR)
Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Georgios PILIDIS (GRE)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Elmedin SEJFULAU (MKD)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
George BUCUR (ROU)
David HABAT (SLO)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)

#WrestleBudapest

Mamedov, Aman Dominate to Gold Amid Surprises in Budapest

Wednesday, July 15, 2026 - 19:11 By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 15) -- On a day that saw multiple surprises at the Budapest Ranking Series, Shamil MAMEDOV (BUL) and AMAN (IND) restored order, winning gold medals at 65kg and 57kg.

The gold medal for Mamedov was significant after his dramatic loss in the 65kg final at the Ulaanbaatar Open to Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI). Though not Amouzad, Mamedov dominated Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) for a 12-0 technical superiority win.

Mamedov led 4-0 at the break and then scored two counter takedown to double the led to 8-0 in the second. A double-leg attack brought Ebrahim straight to his back as Mamedov earned four points for the win. He outscored his opponents 53-1 in bouts, winning the gold medal via five technical superiorities.

"At this tournament I am very satisfied with my wrestling. I gave my best from beginning to the end," Mamedov said. "I learnt a lesson from Ulaanbaatar Open that I should not stop wrestling even if I have a big lead on the scoreboard."

Shamil MAMEDOV (BUL) scores a takedown on Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) during the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

A month ago at the Ulaanbaatar Open, Mamedov took an 8-0 lead over world champion Amouzad but suffered a stunning collapse, dropping the final 17-10.

"I started very well and I was well prepared," he said. "When I took the lead, I stopped attacking and just defended my lead. There was lot of time left and in the end I got very tired because I had to defend a lot and gave up more points."

One of the major talking points after the loss was Mamedov's conditioning, as he slipped further as Amouzad built the pressure.

"One of the reasons I got so tired against Amouzad because I gave up a lot head control to Amouzad, who kept me in head pinch position," he said. "On the way to the World Championships, we will have three stages of preparations. We will have training camps and start getting ready for the World Championships."

AMAN (IND) tries to complete a takedown against Robert DINGASHVILI (GEO) during the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Olympic bronze medalist Aman, wrestling at 57kg for the first time this year, won the gold medal with similar domination, giving himself a birthday gift as he turns 23 on Thursday.

Up against Robert DINGASHVILI (GEO) in the final, Aman did give up three stepouts but piled up takedowns to complete a 13-3 technical superiority win in the 57kg final. In his four bouts, he outscored his opponents 44-6. In the semifinals, Aman blanked European champion Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 11-0.

"The gold medal has given me confidence before some busy months later in the year," Aman said. "This gold is also special because tomorrow [Thursday] is my birthday."

Feng LU (CHN) scores the match-winning takedown against Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) to win gold at 74kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The surprise of the day came at 74kg as Feng LU (CHN) scored a takedown in the last 15 seconds to complete a 3-3 criteria win over former world champion Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) in the final. Kaipanov, leading 1-0, scored a takedown right off the whistle after the break to lead 3-1, with the one point for Lu coming from a reversal.

Lu did quick level change, pushing Kaipanov and then bringing him down for two points to take the criteria lead. Lu defended his lead to claim the gold medal.

Pan-American champion Ridge LOVETT (USA) won gold at 70kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Pan-American champion Ridge LOVETT (USA), who pinned U23 world champion Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the semifinal at 70kg, finished his day with the gold medal after he secured a controlled 6-0 win over Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) in the final.

The weight class did throw a few surprises as Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) defeated Islam DUDAEV (ALB), 4-4, but then he lost to Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL). The Mongolian looked good to win the gold medal but Kemertelidze stunned him 3-2 in the semifinal.

Silver medalist at the Ulaanbaatar Open in June, Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) upgraded the colour of his medal to gold in Budapest after a 2-2 criteria win over U23 world bronze medalist Tolga OZBEK (TUR) in the 61kg final.

Ozbek led 1-1 on criteria after both wrestlers finished their activity periods. But the Türkiye wrestler took the a 2-1 lead with a minute remaining with a stepout. He tried to defend this lead but Aitakyn managed to push Ozbek's head outside to get a point and take the 2-2 criteria lead with 12 seconds remaining and clinch the gold medal.

At 86kg, Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) won the gold medal after Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) pulled off due to a knee injury he suffered while performing a leg lace in the semifinal that he won.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: AMAN (IND) df. Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 13-3

BRONZE: Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 6-1
BRONZE: Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ) df. Timothy LEVINE (CAN), 6-2

61kg
GOLD: Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 2-2

BRONZE: Adilet ALMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ) df. Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO), 6-5
BRONZE: DEEPAK (IND) df. Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE), 9-8

65kg
GOLD: Shamil MAMEDOV (BUL) df. Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI), 12-2

BRONZE: Nachyn KUULAR (KAZ) df. Mohit KUMAR (IND), 12 -2
BRONZE: Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND) df. Ossimzhan DASTANBEK (KAZ), 8-2

70kg
GOLD: Ridge LOVETT (USA) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ), 8-2
BRONZE: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) df. Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), 6-5

74kg
GOLD: Feng LU (CHN) df. Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ), 3-3

BRONZE: William LEWAN (USA) df. Muhammed BESIR (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) df. Ibragim VELIEV (BEL), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) df. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO) df. Abylaikhan UZEMBAYEV (KAZ), 12-2
BRONZE: Alperen ATAR (TUR) df. Nan CAO (CHN), 5-3

'King Vlad' and Aliyev Highlight Loaded 65kg Euro OG Qualifier Bracket

Comments

Mamedov, Aman Dominate to Gold Amid Surprises in Budapest