#WrestleBudapest

LIVE BLOG: European Olympic Qualifier, Day Three (Session Two)

By Eric Olanowski

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 19) --- The third day of wrestling at the #WrestleBudapest European Olympic Qualifier is underway in Hungary.

Day Two Finals Recap: Belarus Crowns Three Champs, Armenia’s Tevanyan Keeps Hot Streak Alive
Day Two Semifinals Recap: Four Nations Earn Pair of Olympic Berths on Friday

19:50: Kiril MILOV (BUL) earns an Olympic berth for Bulgaria at 97kg after walking to a 9-0 semifinals shutout win over Artur OMAROV (CZE).

19:19: Thanks to wins from Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and  Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), Georgia has punched two tickets to the Olympic Games through tonight's Tokyo qualification round. 

19:00: Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) and Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) are leaving everything they have on the mat. What a match with an Olympic spot on the line. 

18:38: Balint KORPASI (HUN) has world medals trickled throughout his resume, but the one thing the former world champion's resume was missing was an Olympic appearance. At 33-year-old, that's all going to change. The Hungarian dominated Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0, and booked Hungary's ticket to the Olympics at 67kg. 

18:25: That was insane! That's not something you see every day. Etienne KINSINGER (GER) trailed Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) with nine seconds left when he left his feet and locked up a side headlock. He threw everything he had into it and scored four points. He won the match 5-4 and punched Germany's ticket to the Olympic Games.

18:14: Next up at 60kg is Etienne KINSINGER (GER) and Murad MAMMADOV (AZE).

18:12: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) had to dig deep in the 60kg semifinals, but the 21-year-old sparkplug earned the narrow 5-4 win over Erik TORBA (HUN) and handed Turkey a berth to the Olympic Games.

Start of the Greco-Roman Tokyo Qualification Matches

17:14: That'll do it for the women's wrestling medal matches. We'll take a short break and see you back here at 18:00 for the Greco-Roman Tokyo Olympic Qualification round. 

17:05: No much to talk about in the final two gold-medal matches. Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) claimed gold after Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) injury defaulted out of the finals and Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) beat Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 2-0.

16:45: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) was the Perfromer of the Tournament. She destroyed everyone she competed against -- including Rio silver medalist Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR) and European champion Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT).

16:28: Bulgaria got a second gold of the night via injury default victory. At 57kg, Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) claimed gold after her Ukrainian finals opponent Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal match.

16:21: That was quick! What a dominating performance by Mattsson as there was still 90 seconds left on the clock when she ended the match with the Belarusian two-time world champion, 10-0.

16:13: It's a battle of world champions for 53kg gold as Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) and Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE) are going toe-to-toe.

16:08: Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) is your 50kg European Olympic Games Qualifier champion. Her finals opponent Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal match. 

Greco-Roman Semifinal Matchups (as they come in): 

60kg
SEMIFINAL - Etienne KINSINGER (GER) vs. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Erik TORBA (HUN) vs. Kerem KAMAL (TUR) 

67kg
SEMIFINAL - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) vs. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) 
SEMIFINAL - Balint KORPASI (HUN) vs. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) 

77kg
SEMIFINAL - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) vs. Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) vs. Oldrich VARGA (CZE)

87kg
SEMIFINAL - Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL -  Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs. Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS)

97kg
SEMIFINAL - Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL) vs. Artur OMAROV (CZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) vs. Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) 

130kg
SEMIFINAL - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. Adam VARGA (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) vs. Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL) 

 

15:38: Smart challenge from Kamal. He asks for an additional two for exposure and wins the challenge. He'll wrestle in tonight's semifinals after collecting the 9-1 victory over the Moldovian.

15:32: Turkey's Kamal was just down 1-0. In the blink of an eye, he's up 7-1 on European champion Ciobanu.

15:16: Switzerland's Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) downed Mihail BRADU (MDA), 10-2, and moved into the semifinals. He's one match away from punching Switzerland's ticket to Tokyo. If he wins his next match, he'd be the 12th wrestler from his country to qualify for the Olympic Games.

15:06: '19 world champ Lasha Gobadze is coming up next on Mat B. Last round, the Georgian defeated Turkey's two-time world champion Metehan Basar

15:00: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) is an interesting guy to watch wrestle. He's at least a head taller than everyone else at 67kg but he's learned to use to height and leverage to his advantage. The Armenian is up now against Islambek DADOV (AZE) on Mat A.

14:50: Chekhirkin just earned a reversal point after he stopped a gut attempt from Nemes. He's leading 3-1 with short time left. It looks like he's going to move into tonight's semifinals. 

14:46: That loud scream you just heard was from Oldrich VARGA (CZE). He edged Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA), 3-2, and is one match away from sending the Czech Republic to the Olympic Games at 77kg. He'll meet Bozo Starcevic in tonight's semifinals.

14:39: Rio Olympian Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) and Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) are tied over on Mat C. The Croatian was just awarded an inactivity point but he's down in par terre with less than a minute to go.

14:32: Coming up next on Mat C, it'll be a battle of world champions Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) and Viktor NEMES (SRB).

14:28: Here we go! The quarterfinals are underway in Budapest. These wrestlers are only two matches away from earning Olympic berths.

14:06: We'll hold the quarterfinal matches until the final pair of 1/8 matches wrap up. It'll probably be 15 minutes until the quarterfinals kick-off. 

14:05: Hungarian wrestlers are ruining Norway's day. First, it was Korpasi knocking out Thoresen, now it's Torba taking down Berge.

13: 52: World champ sighting on Mat C. Sergey Semenov is up 4-0 in the first period against  Luca GODINO (ITA).

13:52: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) trailed 1-0 but just put up five straight and leads Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO), 5-1. 

13:38: Norway has been having a rough few days. Their Rio Olympic bronze Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) has an opportunity to change that. He's wrestling Hungary's Eric TORBA on Mat A in two matches. 

13:37: Ciobanu moves through to the quarterfinals with a 7-1 win over Daurov.

13:30: European champion and world runner-up Victor CIOBANU (MDA) is leading Soslan DAUROV (BLR), 4-0, at the break. That match is taking place on Mat B. 

13:15: Gobadze hangs on to defeat two-time world champion Basar, 1-1. 

13:04: World champions Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and Metehan BASAR (TUR) are wrestling on Mat B. Gobadze is up from his '19 world-title winning weight of 82kg.

12:58: Not much to say about that match. Nemes and Galkinas traded inactivity points, but the Serbian scored last so he moves into the quarterfinals. He'll meet fellow world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) for a spot in the semifinals. 

12:47: Serbian world champion Viktor NEMES will wrestle Paulius GALKINAS (LTU) next on Mat A.

12:40: Thoresen falls to Korpasi, 4-1, ending the European champ's quest at earning an Olympic berth for Norway through this week's qualifier.

12:39: Thoresen gets the inactivity point but is unable to score from par terre. Korpasi's lead is cut to three points with one minute left.

12:35: Korpasi and Thoresen is heading to the second period. The Hungarian picked up four points in the first period and heads into the closing period leading 4-0.

12:31: Chekhirkin pulls out the late 2-1 comeback! Bolkvadze held the criteria advantage but surrendered a stepout with 11 seconds left.

12:28: There's a tight race going on over on Mat C. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) just received an inactivity point with less than two minutes to go, as he leads '18 world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS), 1-1. 

12:17: Keep an eye out for '18 world champion Sergey SEMENOV (RUS). He'll be wrestling on Mat C (Bout 274).

The last time the Russian big man was in Budapest, he had the top performance of his career. He won four matches, one of which was a fall, then outscored his other three opponents 21-0. He closed out the competition with a first-period 9-0 shutout win over  Adam Jacob COON (USA). 

Semenov will wrestle Italy's Luca GODINO.

11:45: Balint KORPASI (HUN) will make his debut down at 67kg in four matches (Bout 225) on Mat B. It'll be the first time Korpasi has competed below 71/72kg since '12.

If you're not familiar with Korpasi, he's built one of the world's best Greco-Roman resumes since '16. He's medaled at four consecutive World Championships -- including winning a non-Olympic weight world gold at the '16 World Championships.

Korpasi will wrestle reigning European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR).

11:27: Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) is coming up next on Mat A. He's a '17 world champion that's "stepping in" for two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS), who was scratched earlier this week. Chekhirkin will square off with European champion Pascal EISELE (GER) in the opening round.

Side note: Eisele fell to Vlasov in the second round at the Individual World Cup in a tight 8-6 battle.

11:10: Top of the morning to you, wrestling fans! Greco-Roman action takes over today. We'll run through a few women's wrestling repechage matches before kicking off the Greco-Roman portion of the competition.

#WrestleZagreb

Azarpira ends Tazhudinov's two-year dream run in Zagreb

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 15) -- Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) burst on to the wrestling scene with stunning victory over Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) and eventually becoming world champion in 2023.

He followed that up with gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Unbeaten since 2023, it seemed Tazhudinov will dominate the weight classes for the coming years.

Enter Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI).

The Paris Olympic bronze medalist ended Tazhudinov's two-year dream run with victory in the semifinal of the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb on Monday.

During this two-year reign, Azarpira was the only wrestler who came close to beating Tazhudinov. The two faced each other in the Paris Olympics and the Iranian had a 3-0 lead before giving up four points in the second period to lose 4-3.

There were no such comeback in the second period on Monday. Azarpira took a 2-0 lead with two stepouts but Tazhudinov took criteria lead with a takedown. But Azarpira kept his calm and scored a stepout to make it 3-2.  

Tazhudinov tried reaching for Azarpira's legs with his long reach but the Iranian seemed in no trouble at all defending his lead. After one of Tazhudinov's attack, he scored a go-behind and won the bout 5-2.

It is after 12 year that an Iran wrestler has reached the final of the 96/97kg weight class. Reza YAZDANI (IRI) won gold at 96kg at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest.

Azarpira will try to match with Yazdani when he takes on Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the final on Tuesday after the United States wrestler defeated upcoming star Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) in the other semifinal.

Snyder, who had lost to Yoshida at the Tirana Ranking Series, dominated the semifinal, winning 9-1. He scored four different takedowns and looked liked the Snyder of old. Since 2015, Snyder has won a medal at all World Championships including gold in 2015, 2017 and 2022.

Azarpira has two wins over Snyder in the past, the first coming in Zagreb in 2023 at the Ranking Series. The second win came at the Paris Olympics in the bronze-medal bout.

In the other Freestyle weight class -- 65kg -- on Monday, the Olympic final will be replayed after champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and silver medalist Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) made it to the final at the World Championships.

Amouzad saw off Paiman BIABANI (CAN), 5-0, scoring three stepouts and a takedown while Kiyooka managed to score two takedowns in his 5-0 win over Umidjon JALALOV (UZB).

Onishi on track for first gold

A month after winning gold at the U20 World Championships, Sakura ONISHI (JPN) is on the verge of winning her first senior world title after she made it to the final at 59kg.

Like the age-group World Championships, Onishi has not given up a point so far in three bouts in Zagreb. In the semifinals, she wasted no time to secure a fall over Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL).

"While keeping in mind what the opponent would do, I made it clear what I wanted to do," Onishi said. "I was able to execute and that [pin] was the result. I think it creates good momentum going into tomorrow [for final]."

In the final, Onishi will face European U23 silver Maria VYNNYK (UKR) who used a big four-pointer in her 9-5 victory over Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN).

"From the warmup before the first match, I felt like my legs were moving well," she said. "The way I dictated the flow of the matches also was pretty good, so I think I can do it my own way. I feel peace of mind to make it to the final. I came here to become the senior world champion and tomorrow, I want to win and set off on a winning run (around the mat)."

At 55kg, Asian 53kg champion Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) reached the final after pinning Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), who was making her senior debut. Oh scored a huge under-over and kept Uchida on the mat until the fall was called.

The DPR Korea is returning to the World Championships after six years; last appearance coming in 2019. The nation had one champion in women's wrestling in Astana.

For a gold medal on Tuesday, Oh will face European champion Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) who survived a late attack from Andreea ANA (ROU) to beat the Romanian 5-3.

RESULTS

Freestyle

65kg
GOLD: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)

SF 1: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) df. Peiman BIABANI (CAN), 5-0
SF 2: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), 5-0

97kg
GOLD: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) vs. Kyle SNYDER (USA)

SF 1: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), 5-2
SF 2: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), 9-1 

Women's Wrestling

55kg
GOLD: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) vs. Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW)

SF 1: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) df. Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), via fall
SF 2: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 5-3

59kg
GOLD: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) vs. Maria VYNNYK (URK)

SF 1: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL), via fall
SF 2: Maria VYNNYK (URK) df. Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN), 10-5