#WrestleWarsaw

Live Blog: Poland Open Ranking Series, Day One

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 - 08:40 By Eric Olanowski

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Poland Open Ranking Series begins in Warsaw with five freestyle weight categories in action on Monday.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

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Tuesday's Final Matchups:
57kg: Makhmudjon SHAVKATOV (UZB) vs. Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) (Round 3)
70kg: Alec PANTALEO (USA) vs. James GREEN (USA) 
79kg: Rashid KURBANOV (UZB) vs. Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) 
86kg: Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) vs. Zahid VALENCIA (USA) 
97kg:  Ali Khalil SHABANIBENGAR (IRI) vs. Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) 

13:22: That'll do it for the morning session. We'll see you back here at 18:00 (local time) for the Day One medal matches.

13:13: Aliyev scores five unanswered points in the second period, but Pantaleo's four-point move in the first period pushes him past the three-time world champ, 6-6. He'll wrestle the winner of James Malcolm GREEN (USA) and  Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO), who are wrestling now on Mat B. 

13:08: What a first period for Alec PANTALEO (USA). He scored a four-point move and a two-point takedown and leads three-time world champion Haji Aliyev, 6-1, after the first period. 

13:03: James GREEN (USA) and Iakobishvili are on the clock, too. They'll wrestle at 13:09 on Mat B.

12:57: We'll take a quick seven-minute break to give Aliyev some rest time. When the time is up, he'll take on Alec PANTALEO (USA) for a spot in tonight's 70kg finals. 

12:37: World champs Aliyev and Iakobishvili are wrestling right now on Mat A!

12:27: Mohammadian held on to win a close battle against Karimmachiani. He scored a takedown and gave up a pair of one-point moves in the second period but held the criteria advantage. He'll now take on Ali SHABANIBENGAR (IRI) in tonight's 97kg gold-medal match.

12:22: Mohammadian struck first with the matches only takedown. He leads, 2-0, after the first period.

12:20: HERE. WE. GO! MAT A: Alireza KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI) and Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) are wrestling now!

12:14: World champions  Haji Aliyev (AZE) and Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) are up in three matches on Mat A.

11:56: With Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI) and Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) wrestling in the 97kg semifinals, it's important to note that this plays a major role in who represents Iran at the Tokyo Olympic Games. I spoke with the Iranian Wrestling Federation, and they said, "We have a qualification cycle. This consists of the performances of each wrestler during the last 7 months (in training and competitions) and for sure Poland Rankings will be one part of this cycle."

11:52: Deepak PUNIA (IND) won't compete at the Poland Open. The Indian pulled out of the competition with an elbow injury. That pushes Zahid VALENCIA (USA) into the semifinals. He'll take on the winner of Tokyo Olympians Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI) and Myles AMINE (SMR). 

11:49: Karimmachiani just put on a show! He thumped Conyedo, 11-0, in just five minutes. He'll now take on Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI). 

11:38: It feels like he just wrestled, but Conyedo is up again! He's wrestling two-time world silver medalist Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI).

11:30: That was close, but Zahid VALENCIA (USA) got the job done. He hung on late to defeat Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL), 6-5. He'll square off against '19 world silver medalist Deepak PUNIA (IND).

Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) upset Olympic champion Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE), 2-2, in their opening-round meeting. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

11:21: We're not even one with our first cup of coffee and we already have a massive upset. Italy Abraham Conyedo scored the matches only takedown and upset Olympic champion Sharifov in their opening-round meet.

11:14: This should be a good one on Mat A. It's Olympic champion  Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) and world bronze medalist Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA). They've both qualified their nation's for the Tokyo Olympic Games at 97kg. 

11:13: I spoke too soon! As I wrote Aliyev trailed, 2-1, he strung together seven unanswered points and won the match, 8-2. That win pushed him into his 70kg Round 2 match against Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ). 

11:06: It's still early, but three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE) trails Sirojiddin KHASANOV (UZB), 2-1, with short time left in the first period. They are wrestling on Mat C.

11:00: Good morning, wrestling fans! For those asking about brackets: instead of releasing them all at once, they'll be released each morning after weigh-ins. 

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 2 Highlights: Yazdani in 97kg final

Thursday, February 5, 2026 - 09:21 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The Ranking Series event, Zagreb Open, enters day two and it will be Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) making his 97kg debut for Iran. The Olympic champion at 74kg in 2016, and two-time Olympic silver medalist at 86kg, is chasing that second gold, this time at 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

13:45: 55kg WW semifinals - World silver medalist Verbina EKATERINA (UWW) with a 1-1 victory over Nagisa HARADA (JPN) in the semifinals. She got an activity point in the second period to keep the criteria lead. Ekaterina will face Karla GODINEZ (CAN) in the final after the Canadian defeated Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA), 2-1, in another low scoring semifinal.

13:30: 50kg WW semifinals - Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) with a controlled 8-2 win over Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) at 50kg. She will wrestle NEELAM (IND) for the gold medal. Neelam defeated MUSKAN (IND), 7-4, in an all-Indian semifinal

13:20: 125kg semifinals - A fall for Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) over Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) in just over two minutes as he reaches the final at 125kg. He will face Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) in the final after the U.S. wrestler scored an 11-1 win over Robert BARAN (POL).

13:10: 97kg semifinals - Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) with a quick fall over Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) in the first semifinal. Now he earns himself a chance to wrestle against Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) after Iranian managed another technical superiority win. While it's rare on Yazdani, Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) scored two takedowns on Yazdani but failed to keep the pressure before losing 14-4

12:55: 92kg semifinals - Mobin AZIMI (IRI) gets a dominant 11-0 win over Dustin PLOTT (USA) as he used a double-leg for four to finish. He earns a chance to avenge his 5-5 loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) in the final after the American scored another come-from-behind victory. He defeated Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA), 3-3, to setup the gold medal bout against Azimi

12:40: 79kg semifinals - Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) is back in the Ranking Series final with a 10-1 victory over Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO). He looked in complete control of the bout. Khadjiev will face Dean HAMITI (USA) for the gold medal after he defeated Evan WICK (USA), 6-5, in a thrilling semifinal

12:15: Trent HIDLAY (USA) once again shows how to come back and win a bout. Down 6-0 against Abofazl RAHMANI (IRI), he scores a four-pointer and keeps the pressure on the Iranian to win 11-9 and make his spot in the semifinal at 92kg.

11:45: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) gives up a takedown against Richard VEGH (HUN) but that is the only slip in an otherwise dominant bout at 97kg. Two four point throws for Yazdani as he advances to the semifinals.

11:35: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) with a big four-pointer in her 5-0 win against Beatrice FERENT (ROU) at 55kg. The world silver medalist is the favorite to win gold here.

11:25: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) bounces back from his loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) and beats Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) in his second bout at 92kg round robin. Azimi managed to score a takedown with less than 30 second left to beat Rahmani 4-3.

11:10: Two quick results at women's 50kg. Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) beats Kendra RYAN (USA) 12-1 at 50kg before NEELAM (IND) also wins via technical superiority, 10-0, against Agata GOLUCHOWSKA (POL). 

11:00: 92kg world champion Trent HIDLAY (USA) makes a comeback from 5-0 down to beat Mobin AZIMI (IRI) 5-5 in the group stage bout. Hidlay scored a takedown in the second period before adding two stepouts. Iran challenged the second one but lost which gave the criteria lead to Hidlay

10:50: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) doesn't the trademark jump before entering the mat but his bout against Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) is a typical Yazdani bout. He uses the underhook to start scoring and then rallies to score takedowns at will before turning Suleimanishvili and winning his bout 11-0

10:45: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) wrestled well but it is Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI (UWW) who manages to win 6-4 at 97kg and win the opening bout.

10:30: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will be on Mat B but before that, a few big results in Zagreb. Richard VEGH (HUN) manages to hang on for a 3-0 victory over Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) at 97kg.