#WrestleSofia

Live Blog: U20 World Championships, Day 6

Saturday, August 20, 2022 - 07:57 By Vinay Siwach

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SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 20) -- The U20 World Championships are at the business end of the tournament. The final qualification rounds will be held Saturday. The Greco-Roman weight classes in action are 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The semifinals for the evening session are set

60kg
Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) vs. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
SUMIT (IND) vs. Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)

67kg
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) vs. Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) vs. Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE)

72kg
Amir ABDI (IRI) vs. Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) vs. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

82kg​​​​​​​
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) vs. Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR) vs. Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)

97kg​​​​​​​
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) vs. Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
​​​​​​​Richard KARELSON (EST) vs. Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI) 

14:20: Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) began his quarterfinal with a takedown against Robert PEREZ (USA) and that proved crucial as he won the bout 3-3 at 67kg

14:05: The quarterfinals at 67kg

Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) vs. Robert PEREZ (USA)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN) vs. Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Yanis NIFRI (FRA) vs. Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) vs. Ilyosjon ABDINAZAROV (UZB) 

13:55: Alperen BERBER (TUR) over Mihai GUTU (MDA) at 82kg! Berber allows Gutu to take the passivity but then scores four points including a takedown to win 4-1. 

13:30: At 82kg, Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) moves into the quarterfinals after beating Shan LIN (TPE), 9-0. He will face  Fares GHALY (EGY) next.

13:05: Returning silver medalist at 67kg Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) beats Abdelrahman OMAR (EGY) 9-0 as he tries for the second straight final at U20 Worlds.

12:40: U20 European champion Richard KARELSON (EST) beats Harutyun KIRAKOSYAN (ARM) 2-0 at 97kg. He is trying to become Estonia's first-ever U20 World Championships medal

12:20: U17 world champion Alperen BERBER (TUR) makes a big comeback after being down against  Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM). He wins 13-10 at 82kg.

12:05: Marek VRBA (CZE) cannot believe what just happened in the bout against James HOLDER (RSA). The scoreline read 8-0 in Holder's favor after two big throws. But the Czech Republic challenged the final call for a reversal. It was confirmed in the review. Vrba then scored an 18-10 win.

11:52: Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) comes back from a 4-0 deficit to secure an 8-4 win over returning bronze medalist Ankit GULIA (IND). He used a headlock to score a four and held Gulia in danger for 2 minutes 

11:45: At 67kg, Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) with a huge 8-3 win over Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA) in the opening round

11:32: Amir ABDI (IRI) was in some trouble Eito NISHIDA (JPN) scored a takedown but Abdi hangs on for a 4-2 win at 72kg. At the same weight, Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) beats Elsi MARTINEZ (MEX) 9-0

Deepak PUNIA (IND) led 3-0 but Georgios BARBANOS (SWE) hits a four to win 4-4 on criteria.

11:25: The 72kg qualifications will be the first to go on the mat. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) begins his day with a 10-1 win over Omer DOGAN (TUR). 

11:00: Welcome to day six of the U20 World Championships in Sofia. The Greco-Roman wrestlers are ready to get the day going with the qualification bouts.

#UWWAwards

UWW Comebacks of the Year 2025: Uguev, Maroulis, Amoyan

Friday, December 19, 2025 - 10:30 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 18) -- United World Wrestling’s 2025 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year are three wrestlers who refused to let their careers be defined by defeat and setbacks.

Freestyle Comeback Wrestler: Zaur UGUEV (UWW)

There was a time not too long ago where Uguev career trajectory was pointing him in the direction of becoming the greatest lightweight of this generation, but he hit a slump in 2023 and 2024, finishing fifth at the World Championships.

This year, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist returned to top form. He went from an afterthought to one of the sport's most dominant wrestlers -- reclaiming world gold for a third time in his career and first time since the 2019 World Championships with a 11-2 win over Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in the 61kg finals.

"This is a very joyful event in my life -- I am once again on the top of the podium," Uguev said. "I am very happy and grateful to my team, my coach, my sparring partners, our national team -- thanks to everyone who played a part in my victory."

Women’s Wrestling Comeback Wrestler: Helen MAROULIS (USA)

For most, 2021 seems like yesterday. But for Maroulis, it’s been a grueling four years of waiting and working to reclaim her spot a top the world ranks. Despite having to completely change her style of wrestling due to lack of conditioning that stemmed from an allergic reaction to antibiotics before the World Championships, Maroulis found a way to bolster her resume with a fourth world title -- adding to her career wins 2015, 2018, and 2021, not to mention her three Olympic medals.

She did so with three quick pins in Zagreb before inside tripping Il-Sim SON (PRK) in dramatic fashion, stealing the world title as the clock expired.

After the match, the 11-time world and Olympic medalist said, "I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it. It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

Greco-Roman Comeback Wrestler: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

Like Maroulis’ four-year battle to get back to the top, Amoyan found himself fighting an uphill battle to regain world gold since his last title-winning run in Oslo in 2021. But after moving up from 72kg to 77kg, he struggled. He fell one match short of his goal at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, and again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where he settled for a bronze medal.

But 2025 was different as the 26-year-old put on arguably the greatest Greco-Roman performance of the Zagreb World Championships, capping off his run to a second world title with an unexpected 9-1 thumping of reigning Olympic gold medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

"I became a world champion back in 2021 [at 72kg], but I really wanted to become world champion at 77kg. For two years, I struggled with injuries, and nothing was going as it should. Thankfully, at this World Championships I was prepared -- mentally, physically, and functionally -- and by God's grace I managed to triumph and become a two-time world champion."