#WrestleBudapest

Live Blog: #WrestleBudapest European Championships Day 3

Wednesday, March 30, 2022 - 08:59 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 30) -- The European Championships in Budapest will see women's wrestling in five weight classes with several Tokyo Olympians and World Championships medalists competing.

The five weight classes are 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg and 76kg. Irina RINGACI (MDA), Yasemin ADAR (TUR), Epp MAE (EST), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), Emilia VUC (ROU) and other women's wrestling stars will be on the mat.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

13:05: That's the end of the session for the morning. Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) could not have planned a more thrilling bout. She scored a takedown with four seconds left to win 7-7 to reach the semifinal at 59kg

12:45: Tokyo Olympian Emilia VUC (ROU) moves into the semifinals with an 8-2 win over Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA) at 50kg. On Mat A, Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) gets the first win of the day for Ukraine. She beats Nova BERGMAN (SWE) at 55kg

12:30: At 76kg, world silver medalist Epp MAE (EST) gets the victory via fall over Enrica RINALDI (ITA) and in the next bout, Tokyo bronze Yasemin ADAR (TUR) beats Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL) by technical superiority. 

12:25: Between a battle of world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) and European champion Alla BELINSKA (UKR), Ringaci runs to an easy 10-0 win inside the first period. 

12:15: Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) with a quick pin at 68kg against Amina CAPEZAN (ROU) who was a silver medalist at the U23 European Championships.

12:05: 59kg Round 2 is here. Top seed Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) gets hte win over Elena BRUGGER (GER) 8-4. On Mat B, Solomiaa VYNNYK (UKR) with some late points against Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) to win 5-4 but we have a challenge. Wrzesien gets the takedown and the score is reversed to 5-3 for Poland.

11:55: Bernadett NAGY (HUN) might have pulled off the upset of the tournament. She was trailing 2-0 with five seconds remaining against Martina KUENZ (AUT). But she scores the takedown for the win

11:45: U23 European champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) starts the day with a close 4-2 win over Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) 

11:40: What a start to the day. Morena DE VITA (ITA) pins Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) in Round 1 of the 59kg weight class.

11:30: Big day in Budapest as women's wrestling begins with five weight classes. Ukraine will have a team competing here

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Flashback: Iran, U.S. opened season with success

Monday, January 19, 2026 - 10:21 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (January 18) -- United World Wrestling's 2026 season will kick off with the Ranking Series in Zagreb February 4. The recent memories of Zagreb may be the September World Championships but the 2025 season also kicked off with the Ranking Series in the Croatian capital.

Iran and the United States had strong performances in the first of the four stops of the Ranking Series, a theme which continued throughout the 2025 season as the U.S. dominated Freestyle while Iran dominated Greco-Roman.

Women's Wrestling participants were less in numbers but still saw U.S. and UWW wrestlers share gold medals.

Here's a trip down memory lane of the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series before the 2026 season kicks off:

WATCH ZAGREB OPEN 2025 TOP BOUTS HERE

Freestyle

A young Iranian team snapped four gold medals in Zagreb with Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) winning gold at 61kg, Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) winning at 65kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) became champion at 92kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) winning the 125kg gold.

For the U.S., Spencer LEE (USA) kicked off the season with 57kg with gold, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won at 86kg and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. Both Valencia and Snyder went on to win gold at the World Championships later in the season.

Azerbaijan, Slovakia and France won one gold each, with Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) winning at 70kg for Azerbaijan, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) winning gold at 74kg, and Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) winning at 79kg for France.

Iran dominance began when Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) won gold at 61kg, beating the likes of Nuraddin NUVROZOV (AZE), Nashon GARRETT (USA), Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and Ebrahim KHARI (IRI). Javan would later win a silver medal at the World Championships. At 65kg, Ebrahim held his own in a thrilling final against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to grab the second gold for Iran.

Young superstars Firouzpour and Masoumi put up a show to win gold medals at 92kg and 125kg respectively.

Lee was making a returning to competition six months after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He won the Zagreb Open gold with rather ease. For the U.S., Valencia saw himself win gold at 86kg outscoring his opponents 35-4 in four bouts. In the final, Valencia defeated world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0.

Snyder opened his season with a 33-1 scoring run in three bouts at 97kg in Zagreb. In the final, he easily defeated Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI).

Heybatov gave early warnings to the 70kg field by winning gold in Zagreb, a run which included wins over Austin GOMEZ (MEX), two back-to-back wins over Iranian wrestlers including a 12-1 one again Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final. The two would wrestle again towards the end of the year at the U23 World Championships. Heybatov won that final with a 9-4 score.

Two veterans, Salkazanov and Khadjiev, were at their best in the opening Ranking Series tournament. Salkazanov blanked everyone, including winning 4-0 against David CARR (USA) in the final, to win 74kg gold.

Khadjiev had a tougher bat but managed to win the 79kg gold with a 5-3 win over Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) in the final. The French wrestler would later win silver at the European Championships.