#WrestleBudapest

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

Friday, March 19, 2021 - 10:00 By Eric Olanowski

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

Day One Recap: Armenia Earns Olympic Berths Through Rising Stars Tevanyan and Harutyunyan

Semifinal Matchups:
50kg
SEMIFINAL: Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) vs.Iwona Nina MATKOWSKA (POL) 
SEMIFINAL: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) vs. Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA) 

53kg
SEMIFINAL: Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE) vs. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)
SEMIFINAL: Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) vs. Iulia LEORDA (MDA)

57kg 
SEMIFINAL:  Sara LINDBORG (SWE) vs. Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) 
SEMIFINAL: Bediha GUN (TUR) vs. Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL) 

62kg
SEMIFINAL: Elif Jale YESILIRMAK (TUR) vs. Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
SEMIFINAL:  Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) vs. Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)

68kg
SEMIFINAL:  Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) vs. Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) 
SEMIFINAL: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Dalma CANEVA (ITA) 

76kg
SEMIFINAL: Martina KUENZ (AUT) vs. Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL: Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) vs. Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL)

14:31: That'll do it for the opening session of women's wrestling. We'll see you back here at 14:00 for the freestyle medal matches.

14:26: The final match of the session is a close one.  Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL) leads Georgina NELTHORPE (GBR) by one point with one minute left. The winner will wrestle Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) for an Olympic berth.

14:21: The Turkish upper weight struggle continues. Martina KUENZ (AUT) just pinned world champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR). Adar will have one last opportunity to qualify Turkey for the Olympic Games at 76kg.

14:17: That's back-to-back falls for Olympic champion Vorobieva. She'll wrestle for her

14:01: How about that rollercoaster of a match? Bediha GUN (TUR) led two-time European champion Grace BULLEN (NOR), 2-0, but relaxed on the edge and surrendered a takedown. She trailed, 2-2, but got to her shot with 12 seconds left and scored the match deciding takedown. Gun will wrestle the winner of Emese BARKA (HUN) and Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) in tonight's semifinals.

13:40: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) lead Rio Olympic silver medalist Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR), 2-0, over on Mat A. The first period is about to come to a close.

13:29: Kriszta INCZE (ROU) already took out one world silver medalist today (Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)). Can she make it two? She leads Turkey's Elif Jale YESILIRMAK, 2-0, over on Mat B.

13:15: Mattsson is wrestling at another level. It doesn't make sense. This is her 14th year wrestling on the senior level (made debut in '07) and she's still improving. How is that possible?! She's outscored her first two opponents 21-0 en route to the 53kg semifinals. Mattsson will wrestle the winner of Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) and Jessica BLASZKA (NED) for an Olympic berth.

13:09: There are three matches going on right now and two of them feature world champions. Mattson is wrestling on Mat B and two-time world champion Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) is wrestling on Mat C!

13:01: We're five minutes away from rolling right into the quarterfinals!

12:47: We'll hold all quarterfinal matches until all the 1/8 matches wrap up.

12:34: Starting at Bout 97 on Mat A, world champions Natalia Vorobeva and Yasemin ADAR (TUR) will be up back-to-back.

12:08: Yaneva is absolutely furious, and I would be, too. She's yelling about Tosun's constant hair pulling. The ref looked at her and signaled to quiet down before awarding her a point. Yaneva ends Tosun's day, 5-0.

12:06:  Buse TOSUN (TUR) has been repeatedly yanking on Yuliana YANEVA's (BUL) hair and has been warned several times. Things could get chippy on Mat A!

12:04:  Natallia VARAKINA (BLR) and Emma MALMGREN (SWE) are in a tight battle on Mat C. There's a little less than 90 seconds left in the second period. Malmgren just scored a takedown to take the criteria lead. Things are about to heat up!

11:56:  I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I would have bet that Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) would go big at least once in her opening-round match against Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR). She's so fun to watch compete; she loves letting it fly.

11:50: Elif Yesilirmak is coming up in two matches on Mat B. Through her London Olympic qualification, she became the first Turkish woman to earn an Olympic berth. She then qualified for the Rio Games -- making her the first Turkish woman to qualify for back-to-back Olympic Games. Can she make it a three-peat? 

11:47: Upset of the Day Candidate: Kriszta INCZE (ROU) just demolished '19 world silver medalist Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS), 11-4. She'll face the winner of Katarzyna MADROWSKA (POL) and Elif YESILIRMAK (TUR). 

11:39: Hemmer tried fighting back, but ultimately gave up a last-second takedown and lost to Iulia LEORDA (MDA), 8-6.

11:38: There's been a stop in action on Mat B. Nina HEMMER (GER) suffered a leg injury but it looks like she's going to tough it out wrestle through the pain.

11:29: Although it's still a way out, Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) will wrestle on Mat A in ten matches (Bout 97). The London gold medalist and Rio silver-medal winner is the reigning world and European champion at the non-Olympic weight of 72kg. She’s moving up to 76kg with hopes of becoming the first non-Japanese woman ever to win a pair of Olympic gold medals. 

11:15: Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) is coming up next on Mat B. The six-time world medal-winner and Rio Olympic bronze medalist is coming off winning January's Henri Deglane where she defeated reigning world champion Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) in the finals. But today, she begins her quest to become Sweden's first-ever two-time women's wrestling Olympian.

11:12: Good morning, from beautiful Budapest! Yesterday lived up to the hype. Let's keep things rolling with another great day of action. We'll kick things off with four freestyle repechage matches then roll right into women's wrestling action.

#WrestleSamokov

Kyrgyzstan, Moldova earn chance to end U20 World title drought

Sunday, August 17, 2025 - 18:58 By Vinay Siwach

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SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 17) -- Kyrgyzstan and Moldova earned a chance to end their gold-medal drought at the U20 World Championships.

On the first day of the 2025 World U20 Championships in Samokov, four Freestyle weight classes were in action. Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ) was the surprised finalist at 74kg and will try to become Kyrgyzstan's first gold medal at the U20 World Championships in 20 years. He will take on European U23 champion Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) in the final.

At 70kg, Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) earned the final and will now try to become Moldova's first U20 world champ in Freestyle since 1999. He will take on returning bronze medalist PJ DUKE (USA) in the gold-medal bout.

The 125kg weight class will see an all-Asian final as Asian U20 champion Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) earned a shot for the world title against Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI), a wrestler over whom Kassimbek has a 3-0 head-to-head record.

Two returning bronze medalists, Duke and Justin RADEMACHER (USA), upgrade their bronze medals from last year and earn themselves a chance to win gold on Monday at 70kg and 97kg respectively.

Akylbekov, who had finished at 17th at 79kg last year, had a dream run on Sunday and ended one for Raul CASO (ITA) in the semifinals. Caso had posted two last-second victories, however, he failed to repeat those heroics in the semifinal against Akylbekov.

Caso was 3-2 and went attack-mode in the final 15 seconds. He almost scored a takedown over Akylbekov who managed to sneak out and then Caso jumped over to take control for a takedown. However, the Kyrgyz wrestler stood up to avoid giving up any points. Italy challenged for two points but lost that on review, giving one more point to Akylbekov.

While Caso was leaving it late in his wins, Akylbekov was contrastingly dominating them. He defeated Nicholas HOOPER (CAN), 12-0, in the opening bout, blanked Titas PIJORAITIS (LTU), 10-0 and then handed Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ) a 6-1 loss.

Ismail KHANIEV (UWW)Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) defeated Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN), 7-3, in the semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

He will now face Khaniev, who earned himself his first world medal at any level. Khaniev defeated Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN), 7-3, in a very close semifinal than the scoreline suggests.

Khaniev led 3-3 on criteria but Yamaguchi constantly threatened to score in the final 25 seconds. He hit a double-leg attack and planted Khaniev, who somehow managed to not land in danger. In a counter, Khaniev exposed Yamaguchi for two points and took a 5-3 lead. Yamaguchi tried a desperate throw in the final 15 seconds but Khaniev blocked it for two more points to win.

Earlier in the day, Khaniev avenged his European U20 Championships loss to Manuel WAGIN (GER) with a technical superiority win after he had beaten returning silver medalist Ladrion LOCKETT (USA).

Duke had his first big challenge of the day in the semifinals against former world U17 champion Erfan ELAHI (IRI) at 70kg. Duke scored a takedown while Elahi had a point for stepout and Duke's passivity. Duke's two-point scoring move gave him the criteria.

However, Elahi somehow thought he has the criteria and did not think of attacking in the final 30 seconds. When the bout was over, Elahi celebrated as if he had won only to realize that he has lost 2-2.

Duke will look to win his first a world title before wrestling at the senior World Championships later in September. He will take on Gaidarli for the gold-medal after the Moldovan won his semifinal 7-4 against Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE).

Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) reached the 70kg final in Samokov. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Gaidarli became the first Moldovan Freestyle wrestler to reach the final at U20 Worlds since 2019 after a stunningly good run in Samokov. He defeated European U20 champion Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 13-3, avenging his loss from Carole, Italy.

In the semifinals, he scored three takedowns in the second period against Aghazada to win 7-4, bettering his 18th-place finish from last year and earning a chance to end the gold-medal drought for Moldova.

Returning bronze medalist at 97kg Rademacher defeated European U20 champion Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinals and will now try to win gold. Rademacher led 4-3 at the break extended his lead with a takedown for two points to start the second period, add another go-behind and single-leg to takedown to lead 10-3.

Petriashvili got an attack for two points but Rademacher was relentless in his wrestling and scored three more takedowns to win 16-5.

Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW)Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) survived to win 11-9 against VISHAL (IND) in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

For the gold medal, he will face Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) who survived, with some help, for an 11-9 win over VISHAL (IND) who had Magomedov in all sorts of trouble. Magomedov led 10-4 when Vishal mounted a comeback against an absolutely broken Magomedov. He scored a takedown and Magomedov was cautioned for a singlet-pull foul which made it 10-7.

As the bout was restart in par terre, India challenged for two more points but the referee had blown the whistle before control from Vishal. That challenge gave enough breathing time to Magomedov to managed to hang on to his lead and win 11-9.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) celebrates after winning his 125kg semifinal against Cole MIRASOLA (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kassimbek had a very dominant semifinal as he defeated Cole MIRASOLA (USA), 11-0, inside the first period. He had two excellent counter takedowns and then locked up Mirasola's legs around his head and turns him twice. He finished things with a double-leg takedown.

Kassimbek has lost to two World U17 Championships finals before but he will have a good chance to win his first world title. He will take on Mohammad Nezhad, a wrestler he has defeated three times before.

The Iranian denied former world U17 champion Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) after a 1-1 victory in the semifinal. Mohmmad Nezhad got the one point for passivity in the second period which gave him the criteria.

Mohammad Nezhad lost to Kassimbek for the first time in 2023 Asian U17 Championships final, 8-1, then at the same tournament in 2024, 2-2 in the semifinals. His third loss to Kassimbek came in the semifinals of the 2024 World U17 Championships, 4-3.

RESULTS

70kg
GOLD: PJ DUKE (USA) vs. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) 

SF 1: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE), 7-4
SF 2: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI), 2-2

74kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) vs. Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ)

SF 1: Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ) df. Raul CASO (ITA), 4-2
SF 2: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN), 7-3

97kg
GOLD: Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) vs. Justin RADEMACHER (USA)

SF 1: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO), 16-5
SF 2: Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) df. VISHAL (IND), 11-9

125kg
GOLD: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) vs. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI)

SF 1: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE), 1-1
SF 2: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) df. Cole MIRASOLA (USA), 11-0