#WrestleNice

LIVE BLOG: Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France (Day Three)

By Eric Olanowski

The third day of wrestling at the #WrestleNice Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France is headlined by Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), the reigning world champion at 55g. 

WATCH: Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France 

Match Order + Brackets

4:22: What a way to kick off the '21 season! That'll do it for our coverage of the  Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France. Until next time, wrestling fans!

Greco-Roman Gold-Medal Match Results:
55kg: Serif KILIC (TUR) df. Elcin ALI (TUR), 4-3
60kg: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 4-0
63kg: Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR) df. Mehmet CEKER (TUR), 5-3
67kg: Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) df. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA), via default
72kg: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 3-3
77kg: Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) df. Yunus BASAR (TUR), 8-0
82kg: Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE), 1-1
87kg: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR), 8-4
97kg: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Murad LOKIAEV (AZE), via inj. default
130kg: Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 3-1


Kerem KAMAL (TUR) was one of six Turkish wrestlers to claimed #WrestleNice gold. He claimed his gold at 60kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

4:15: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) scored an open-period four-point throw and defeated Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 4-0, in the 60kg gold-medal match. Kamal's win gave Turkey their sixth gold medal of the night.

4:00: That's how it'll end. After a scoreless second period, Abbasov upsets two-time world champion Basar, 8-4, for the 87kg crown.

3:56: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) leads two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR), 8-4, at the break!

3:50: Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) cruised to the 77kg title with an 8-0 shutout win over Yunus BASAR (TUR). 

3:43: In the battle of world silver medalists, Emrah KUS (TUR) edged Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE), 1-1, in the 82kg finals. 

3:40: Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) was awarded the 67kg after Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) defaulted out of the gold-medal match. 

3:35: These guys came to scrap! In the action-packed 63kg finals, Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR) edged Mehmet CEKER (TUR), 5-3, and claimed Turkey's second gold of the night.

3:21: Next up will be Mehmet CEKER (TUR) and Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR), who are wrestling for the 63kg gold.

3:16: What a way to kick off the finals! Serif KILIC (TUR) dug deep and fought off a late flurry of attacks and defeated  Elcin ALI (TUR), 4-3, in the 55kg finals. He led 4-0, but gave up three unanswered points before ultimately winning gold with the one-point victory.

3:13: How about the day that the Turkish Greco-Roman team is having. Of the six non-Nordic-style bracket finals, Turkish wrestlers occupy 7/12 gold-medal spots. 

3:10: Tune in to Mat A for the Greco-Roman finals!

2:53: We're keeping things rolling! The first medal matches are underway on Mat A, while the remaining semifinals are wrapping up on Mat B.

2:36: Basar has his dancing partner for tonight's 87kg finals. The two-time world champion will battle two-time U23 world bronze medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE) in the gold-medal match. The Azeri shutout USA's John STEFANOWICZ, 6-0, in their semifinal meeting. 


Two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) will wrestle for 87kg gold on Sunday night. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

2:29: It wasn't anything special but Basar got the job done and moved into the 87kg final with a 3-1 win over Zaleski.

2:21: Two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) is making his way to Mat B for his semifinals meeting with Terrence ZALESKI (USA). 

The semifinals are ongoing, so as they wrap up and the finals berths are locked in, I'll continue to update the list below! 

Sunday Night’s Final Matches
55kg: Serif KILIC (TUR) vs. Elcin ALI (TUR)
60kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 
63kg: Mehmet CEKER (TUR) vs. Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR)
67kg: Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) vs. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
72kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 
77kg: Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) vs. Yunus EMRE BASAR (TUR)
82kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 
87kg: Metehan BASAR (TUR) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
97kg: Murad LOKIAEV (AZE) vs. Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
130kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 

1:38: Semifinal matches are starting to get called to the mats. Yunus BASAR  (TUR) and Johnny BUR (FRA), who are wrestling for a 77kg finals berth, are the first semifinal match that we'll see,

1:05; Bout 33 on Mat B should be a good one. Acosta will face Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sabah SHARIATI (AZE). 

12:41: World runner-up Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE0 and Individual World Cup runner-up Salih AYDIN (RU) are up next on Mat A. That match is at 82kg.

12:08: The quarterfinals matches are started to come on the match order chart.

 

11:28: Chile's first-ever world medalist Yasmani ACOSTA is set to take on Sulkhani BUIDZE (GEO) at 130kg. That match will be Bout 19 on Mat B. 

11:23: Kamal leads Albert BAGUMYAN (ESP), 7-0, after the opening period. An inactivity, followed by a two-point gut and a four-point throw gives Kamal the 7-0 advantage. Kamal scored a takedown from a high-hip shot and won the match, 9-0.

11:19: We had a short wait for Kamal to get to the mat, then the mats needed to be cleaned. We should be good now! Either way, Kamal is wrestling now on Mat B.

11:09: Turkey has a few heavy hitters coming up. We'll see world silver medalist Emrah KUS wrestle in Bout 16, and on Mat B, one of my personal favorites, Kerem KAMAL, will wrestle in Bout 14.

10:58: Tsurtsumia is rolling in his first match. He's up 7-0 heading into the second period and hasn't been tested yet in his opening-round match. He closed out the match with an early second-period takedown and earned a spot in tonight's 55kg semifinals.

10:33: Reigning world champion Nugzari Tsurtsumia is coming up shortly on Mat A. He'll be up in five matches (Bout 10)  on Mat A. 

10:17: Selcuk CAN (TUR), the reigning European bronze medalist, is looking for his third consecutive medal finish. Last year, he finished the Matteo Pellicone, European Championships and Zagrebb Open with a silver and two bronze medals, respectively. He's coming up on Mat A. 

10:10: Let's get things rolling. The third and final day of wrestling is underway and we'll start our day by watching two-time U23 world bronze medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE). He'll wrestle Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) in Bout 8 on Mat B,

Saravi, Hedayati win gold to cap Iran's dominance at ISG 2025

By Vinay Siwach

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 19) -- If there was battle for the most dominant wrestler among the Iranian wrestlers, it would be a close one. Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) won Asian and World Championships and a Ranking Series gold before winning the gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 on Tuesday.

Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) won gold at Zagreb Ranking Series, gold at senior and U23 World Championships and like Esmaeili, gold at ISG 2025.

On Wednesday, Olympic and world champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) also joined that list as he won gold medal at 97kg at ISG in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Saravi has been unstoppable this year, just like Esmaeili and Farokhi, winning Ranking Series gold, and gold medals at the Asian and World Championships. In Riyadh, he showed why he has been so good this year.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) turns Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) from par terre in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In one of the marquee matches of the night, Saravi held his own to beat world bronze medalist Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) in the 97kg final.Saravi and Ahmadiyev were clearly a notch up the field in Riyadh in their weight class and reached the final with ease. But when the two clashed, Saravi clearly had a gameplan to not get caught in any upset.

Ahmadiyev had pinned Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) at the World Championships after a block when the Armenian was trying a gut wrench. So when Saravi got the chance in par terre in the final, he only tried a gut wrench once and then let the referee call neutral.

Saravi went into the break leading 3-0. He was called passive in the second period and put in par terre but he defend the position and gave only one point. As Ahmadiyev struggled with his conditioning, Saravi managed to score two stepouts and win the gold medal with a 5-1 score.

The Iranian has now not lost since the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, extending his winning run to over two years.

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) prepares to throw Mohamed ABDELLATIF (EGY) during the 130kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 130kg, rising star Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) too has a great winning run. Since his U20 World Championships final loss in 2022, Hedayati has not lost an international bout and capped his 2025 season with gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025.

Placed in Group A of the Nelson bracket, Hedayati topped his group before winning the semifinal with ease. In the final, he faced Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY), who the Iranian defeated in the first group bout 3-0.

If that was a warm-up win, Hedayati showed what he is capable of, winning the final in just 35 second via fall against Abdellatif. He began with a four-point throw which was challenged by Egypt only to lose the challenge.

Leading 5-0, Hedayati hit an arm-throw for two points before dragging Abdellatif for another takedown with his back on the mat. Hedayati held the Egyptian in that position and secured the fall to end the match and capture the gold medal.

Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB)Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) celebrates after winning the 50kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Three women's wrestling weight classes were also in action on Wednesday in Riyadh and three different countries won gold medals.

At 50kg, Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) needed a hip-toss in the last 30 seconds to score four points against Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) and take a 5-1 lead. The Uzbekistan wrestler led 1-0 at the break after Geneisi's passivity. But the Nigerian took an 1-1 criteria lead in the last minute when Keunimjaeva was called passive.

Desperate to find an opening, Keunimjaeva locked both of Geneisis' arms and tossed her for four points, taking a 5-1 lead and defending it to win the gold medal.

Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) won the gold medal at 53kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The winning country was reversed in the 53kg final as Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) defeated Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB), 11-1, to win the gold medal.

Akhmedova failed to match the power of Ogunsanya who kept scoring with counter takedowns. She scored a takedown and a turn using lace to win the bout 11-1.

The final gold medal of the night went to former U23 world champion Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) who defeated European silver medalist Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR) in the 57kg final.

Aliyeva, who had defeated Suleyman in Round 1 bout as well, faced the Turkish wrestler again and kept it simple. She scored three takedown before giving up one in the final few seconds. She managed to hold on to her 6-2 lead for the win.

Photo

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), 5-1

BRONZE: Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR) df. Mohamed GABR (EGY), 3-1
BRONZE: Rouabah FADI (ALG) df. Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA), 8-0

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY), via fall (9-0)

BRONZE: Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) df. Roman KIM (KGZ), 11-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) df. Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR), 5-1

BRONZE: Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE) df. Chebila CHEIMA (ALG), 7-0

53kg
GOLD: Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) df. Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB), 11-1

BRONZE: Aruuke KADYRBEK KYZY (KGZ) df. Yusma DESWITA (INA), via fall (3-0
BRONZE: Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) df. Vatansulton SHAKARSHOEVA (TJK), 14-3

57kg
GOLD: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR), 6-2

BRONZE: Tekouk ACHOUAK DJAMILA (ALG) df. Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), via fall (14-3)