#WrestleZagreb

LIVE BLOG: European Championships, Day 6

Saturday, April 22, 2023 - 07:09 By Eric Olanowski

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ZAGREB, Croatia (April 22) -- The sixth day of the European Championships in Zagreb, Croatia will see the second day of Greco-Roman action. We will start off with 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 87kg and 97kg.

Saturday night's semifinals:
60kg
Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL) vs. Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM) 
Georgii TIBILOV (SRB) vs. Victor CIOBANU (MDA) 

67kg
Murat FIRAT (TUR) vs. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) 
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) vs. Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) 

72kg
Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) vs. Selcuk CAN (TUR) 
Ali Feizollah ARSALAN (SRB) vs. Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed Hassan GHANEM (FRA) 

82kg
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) vs. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) 
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) vs. Mihail BRADU (MDA) 

97kg
Artur OMAROV (CZE) vs. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL) vs. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) 

15:17: That was the best Greco match I've ever seen. Ciobanu was up 17-8 before halting a Kamal throw attempt and picking up the fall. 

15:11: Kamal and Ciobanu are in a war over on Mat A. They combined for 17 points in the opening three minutes. This is one you leave your seat and head mat side for.

15:01: We'll start setting our Saturday night semifinals. I'll list them as they come in.

14:41: Since winning his 2021 U23 world champion Tamas LEVAI (HUN), has moved up from 77kg to 97kg. That is not a typo. He's moved up 20kg in under two years.

Levai just beat Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE), 8-0, setting up a match with Olympic champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM). 

14:32: Two reigning world champions are up right now. 

At 97kg, Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) is wrestling Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO), and at 72kg, Ali Feizollah ARSALAN (SRB) is wrestling Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM).

13:47: How about this quarterfinal match at 60kg? Kerem KAMAL (TUR) downed  Bajram SINA (ALB), 8-0, setting up a matchup with 2021 world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA). 

Kamal and Ciobanu have met three times. Ciobanu owns the 2-1 advantage, picking up an 8-0 win at the Olympic Games.

13:33: World and European runner-up Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL) and fellow youngster Nihat Zahid MAMMADLI (AZE) are making their way to Mat C right now. This one should be fun if Mammadli can stay away from giving up the reverse lift in par terre.

12:28:Filip SACIC (CRO) brings the hometown crowd to their feet with a 9-1 win over Ranet KALJOLA (EST). He moves into the 82kg quarterfinals, where he'll meet Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) and Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE).

13:15: Defending champion Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) tech'd Marc WEBER (SUI), 8-0, and will meet the winner of Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR). 

12:56: Turkish spark plug and fan favorite Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will be up in five matches on Mat A. 

12:52: Last year's European champion  Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN) is down 7-0 to Selcuk CAN (TUR). They are on Mat B.

12:43: As if one upset wasn't enough for the qualification round, Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) just knocked off European champion Felix BALDAUF (NOR), 10-3.

12:40: Joergensen knocks off Nad, 4-4. And In my opinion, that ends the debate for who Serbia should put in at 67kg for the World Championships, and that's Mate Nemes. It's a tough decision, but a great problem to have.

12:30: Joergensen and Nad are in a battle over on Mat C. There's a minute left and the Norwegian just took the lead on criteria on the reigning world champion.  

12:00: Reigning 63kg world champion Sebastian NAD (SRB) is back up at 67kg, replacing world champion Mate NEMES (SRB) in the Serbian lineup. He'll wrestle Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR), who is replacing 2020 European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR) in Norway's lineup. 

While talking to someone within the Norwegian Greco-Roman, Joergensen was described as "The most promising wrestler Norway has had in the last decade."

11:35: We'll run through two repechage matches per mat before rolling into Saturday's qualification rounds.

#WrestleTirana

Ukraine Puts Four in Women's Finals at Europeans

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 - 19:09 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (April 22) -- Ukraine kicked off Women's Wrestling at the European Championships with four finalists in five weight classes, including two defending champions in Tirana.

Oksana LIVACH (UKR), defending champion at 50kg, and Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), defending champion at 76kg, returned to the finals, while Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) made it to the 55kg and 59kg gold-medal bouts.

At 68kg, the only weight class in which Ukraine did not get a finalist, a blockbuster final is set between U23 world champion Nesrin BAS (TUR) and defending champion Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW).

Livach used her aggressive style to score multiple stepouts in her 6-2 victory over Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW), setting up a rematch of the 2025 European final against Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), who was at her defensive best against Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU) and won 6-0.

Alpyeyeva reached the final after a clinical 4-0 victory over Martina KUENZ (AUT) in the semifinal. She will now face former European champion Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), who moved past Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 3-1, in a low-scoring semifinal.

Malanchuk at 55kg came alive in the second period, scoring six points and securing a fall over U23 world silver medalist Tuba DEMIR (TUR). She led 1-1 on criteria at the break, then hit a double-leg attack and tried to hold Demir on the mat for a fall, but she survived.

Demir tried a leg attack, but Malanchuk countered and held her on the mat to secure the fall with 1:45 remaining.

She will now face former European champion Andreea ANA (ROU), who saw off Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 10-0, in the other semifinal.

Vynnyk, who was all but beaten in the semifinal against Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), 6-2, tripped the Azerbaijan wrestler with less than 10 seconds remaining to claim a stunning victory and reach the 59kg final. After the trip, Vynnyk also scored exposure points.

She will now face Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), who defeated Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW), 4-2, in a low-scoring bout. Wrzesien led 3-1 and was in danger of giving up a takedown when Lipatova attacked on a single leg. However, the Polish wrestler defended well and gave up only a stepout. Lipatova challenged but lost, conceding one more point to Wrzesien.

Bas vs Shauchuk

Defending champion at 68kg, Shauchuk defeated Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 4-3, scoring two second-period takedowns. She had beaten the Romanian in last year’s final. For gold this year, Shauchuk will face Bas, a U23 world champion and returning silver medalist from 72kg.

Bas had no trouble completing a 12-1 technical superiority win over Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) in the other semifinal.

RESULTS

50kg
SF 1: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU), 6-0
SF 2: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW), 6-2

55kg
SF 1: Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) df. Tuba DEMIR (TUR), via fall
SF 2: Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 10-0

59kg
SF 1: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), 6-2
SF 2: Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (UWW), 4-2

68kg
SF 1: Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) df. Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 4-3
SF 2: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), 12-1

76kg
SF 1: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 4-0
SF 2: Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) df. Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 3-1