#WrestleAlmaty

LIVE BLOG: Senior Asian Championships, Day Two

Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - 04:51 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

Day two of the Asian Championships in Almaty as Greco-Roman rolls into the second day of action. Five new Asian champions will be crowned on Wednesday in 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg. DAY 1 FULL RECAP

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

2020 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI) claims the final gold medal of the day with a 9-5 win over Seungjun KIM (KOR). He is the Asian champion at 130kg

1950 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) has done it! He gets the fall over Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ) and will be an Asian champion!

1930 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Hansyu RYU (KOR) will win the gold medal at 72kg. The Tokyo Olympian shows why experience matters most. He beats Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ) 6-5

1930 hrs: Final bout of the 77kg as Hansyu RYU developing a big 5-0 lead but Tsarev comes back after to level it 5-5. Tsarev wants two for that lift. Challenges. The challenged is lost and Ryu leads 6-5.

1900 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Big win for Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN). He comes back from 0-4 to beat four-time world medalist Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) via fall. Huge win for the Japan wrestler

1830 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) avenges his lost from last year's Asian Championships and beats Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) 8-4

1800 hrs: Welcome back to the final session of day two at the Asian Championships. We will have five new champions 

1250 hrs: We are close to the semifinal bouts on day two. Mat A and Mat B will see all the action

1240 hrs: Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) scripts an epic comeback after being thrown for a five-pointer. He beats  Azat SADYKOV (KAZ) 8-6 to advance to the semifinal

1235 hrs: Hansyu RYU (KOR) has a good outing in his first bout of the day. He storms to a technical superiority win over HORIE (JPN)

1210 hrs: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) goes back-to-back headlocks and drops Seunghak KIM (KOR) at the 60kg quarter-final. Technical superiority for the Kazak wrestler

1200 hrs: Iraq has a winner! Karrar Abbas Mukasr ALBEEDHAN (IRQ) with a fall over GYANENDER (IND) at 60kg to advance to the semifinal

1144 hrs: Stunning show from Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) on Mat B. He takes only 42 seconds to win 8-0 against Kuttubek ABDYKERIM UULU (KGZ)

1141 hrs: World Championships bronze medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) does it in style. He beat the defending Asian champion Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI) at 82kg Round 1

1140 hrs: Interesting start to the day as Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) pulls out injured in his first bout at 82kg against Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ)

1130 hrs: All set for day two of the Asian Championships as five more Greco-Roman weight categories will see the champions 

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Tazhudinov Shows No Rust on His Way to Gold

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 21:32 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 17) --  Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) gave an early preview to what to expect from him at the World Championships in September.

The Paris Olympic champion won the gold medal in the 97kg weight class at the Budapest Ranking Series, outscoring his opponents 44-2 in four bouts and never appearing in trouble on the mat.

"I feel very good," Tazhudinov said. "I'm very happy to be back on the mat. It’s been almost a year I haven’t been competing  and it’s such a pleasure for us when you come back and win a gold medal."

The final Ranking Series event of the season kicked off in Budapest on Thursday with several familiar names winning gold medals. Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN), world silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) and SUJEET (IND) were among the gold medalists on day one.

But none were as dominant as Tazhudinov.

The Bahrain star returned to competition for the first time since Paris Olympics competing last week in Madrid, where he won gold at the Grand Prix of Spain. In Budapest, he followed it up with another flawless run, claiming his second gold medal in as many weeks.

"Overall I’m satisfied with my performance. I would say I’m not yet in full form, so I’m pleased with how I did. I’ll reach 100% form by the World Championships," he said.

Wrestling in just his third career Ranking Series, Tazhudinov capped the day with an 11-0 technical superiority win over veteran Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) in the final.

He opened the tournament with a 14-2 win over Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA), who clearly looked smaller for the weight class and had trouble matching Tazhudinov in every aspect of the game.

Tazhudinov hit a big double-leg attack for four points but Viskhanov got two points for exposure. But that was only opening Tazhudinov allowed for the rest of the bout. Viskhanov tried a few leg attacks but Tazhudinov scored a takedown and two turns to be up 10-2 before an arm-bar attempt turned into takedown for his win.

In the quarterfinals, Tazhudinov needed just one minute to defeat Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW). In the semifinals, he dispatched Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) in 1:48, winning 10-0.

Despite the dominant performance in Budapest, Tazhudinov admitted the World Championships would present a tougher challenge. He’s expected to defend his 97kg world title in Zagreb.

"We’ll have two training camps leading up to the World Championships, and I think after those camps I’ll be fully ready," he said. "There will be very strong, tough opponents. So I’ll prepare thoroughly and focus on performing even better."