#WrestleBratislava

Milov hands Aleksanyan first European loss since 2017

Saturday, April 12, 2025 - 08:43 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 12) -- Kiril MILOV (BUL) handed seven-time European champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) his first European loss since 2017 as he defeated the Armenian in the 97kg semifinal in Bratislava on Saturday.

Milov blocked Aleksanyan when the latter was going for the turn from par terre and scored a reversal for a 2-1 lead and defended it like his life depended on it to win and reach the European Championships final in which he will face the unheralded Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER).

Aleksanyan last lost at the European Championships to Felix BALDAUF (NOR) at the 2017 edition in Novi Sad when the Norwegian handed him a 2-2 criteria defeat in the quarterfinals.

Milov will now be the favorite for the gold medal, which will be his second if he wins the final on Sunday.

In other semifinals, defending champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) once again tossed Victor CIOBANU (MDA) around, like he did last year in the final.

The 63kg world champion needed only 41 seconds to complete a 8-0 technical superiority win over Ciobanua in the 60kg semifinal. Mammadli scored a takedown, scored a big suplex for four and completed the win with a turn.

Mammadli will take on Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) for the gold medal after the Serbian defeated Sadyk LALAEV (UWW), 1-1, in the other semifinal. Tibilov got the first par terre advantage while Lalaev got the second. According to the new Greco-Roman rules being tested by United World Wrestling, if a match ends 1-1, the wrestler who scored the first point with be awarded the criteria win.

Another defending champion from Azerbaijan Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) showed similar skills and reached the 67kg final after beating Murat FIRAT (TUR), 8-0 in the final.

Jafarov got the first par terre and he turned Firat for two points before completing a massive throw with a perfect back arc to get five points and the win.

The Paris bronze medalist will now take on Abu AMAEV (BUL) who held on for a 4-3 win over Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL). This will be Amaev's first-ever finals appearance at the European Championships.

Salimov was the first to score as he got a stepout and then a par terre advantage for a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Salimov tried an outrageous headlock when the two wrestler were on locked and fell with Amaev on top for two points.

Amaev, with a 2-2 criteria lead, got a point for a stepout to make it 3-2. Salimov needs two points for the win but he only got a stepout as Amaev defended his 3-3 lead and got a point when Poland challenged only in a lost cause.

Rising star Levente LEVAI (HUN) made sure Hungary reaches the final at 72kg after he defeated Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (UWW) in an entertaining semifinal. He got the par  terre in the first period and was awarded the point for Liavonchyk's fleeing. The call got challenged but Liavonchyk lost it and added another point. From par terre, Levai scored a correct throw for two points to make it 5-0. 

When Liavonchyk got he par terre position in the second period, he could only throw Levai out of bounds in standing position which meant only one point. Levai easily maintained his 5-2 lead for the win.

He will face former world champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) for the gold medal who ended Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) dream run with a 4-3 victory at 72kg. Sleiva had rocked the European Championships with 9-0 wins over Olympic silver medalist Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) and world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB).

But Ghanem was having none of that. He got the first par terre and turned Sleiva who blocked Ghanem during the second turn and got two points. When he got the par terre advantage, Sleiva got the 3-3 criteria lead but failed to score from that position. Ghanem immediately answered with a stepout and reclaimed the lead 4-3 to win the semifinal.

Hungary and Azerbaijan will go head-to-head in the 82kg after world silver medalist Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) and Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) made it to the final.

Szilvassy defeated Burhan AKBUDAK by scoring a beautiful arm-drag for takedown and turn to lead 4-3. This was soon after he had given up par terre and a turn. In the second period, he got a point for par terre and defended his 5-3 lead for the win.

Former world U20 champion Gurbanov blanked Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 4-0, in the other semifinal. He scored from par terre and then got the second par terre as well.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) vs. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)

SF 1: Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) df. Sadyk LALAEV (UWW), 1-1
SF 2: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 8-0

67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) vs. Abu AMAEV (BUL)

SF 1: Abu AMAEV (BUL) df. Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL), 4-3
SF 2: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Murat FIRAT (TUR), 8-0

72kg
GOLD: Levente LEVAI (HUN) vs. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)

SF 1: Levente LEVAI (HUN) df. Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (UWW), 5-2
SF 2: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU), 4-3

82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) vs. Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df.  Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 5-3
SF 2: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) df.  Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 4-0

97kg
GOLD: Kiril MILOV (BUL) vs. Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)

SF 1: Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), 2-1
SF 2: Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) df. Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW), 5-1

Morning session results and blog follows below

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 5 RESULTS

14:15: Victor CIOBANU (MDA), returning silver medalist at 60kg, manages to hold on for a 5-1 victory over Nedyalko PETROV (BUL). He moves into the semifinals.

14:05: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) scores a pushout from par terre and defends well when he is in par terre to score a 2-1 victory over Mihail BRADU (MDA) at 82kg.

13:55: Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) with a big upset! He takes out Paris silver medalist Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) 10-0. Sleiva got the par terre first and he comes out with two suplex throws for four points each. Nasibov challenges but loses it to give one more point to Sleiva.

13:45: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) takes only 30 seconds to roll to an 8-0 win over Jakub SIMCIK (CZE) at 72kg.

13:35: Former world and European champion at 72kg Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) comes back and scores a takedown to take a 6-4 lead against Mehmet SAHIN (TUR) who led 4-4 on criteria. One more point for Ghanem as he wins 7-4.

13:27: Alex SZOKE (HUN) holds on for a 4-1 victory over Giorgi MELIA (GEO) at 97kg. Melia got the second par terre and needed one more point for victory but Szoke blocks him during the turn and scores two points. Melia challenges but no change after review. Szoke wins 4-1.

13:25: At 72kg, world champion Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) scores a comeback victory over Levente LEVAI (HUN) who gold gold medal at the Zagreb Open. Levai scored a turn from par terre to lead 3-0 but Ganizade with a stepout to start the second period. He is then awarded a par terre point before he completes a correct throw for two points to lead 4-3. A takedown from Levai with five seconds remaining on the clock to reclaim the lead 5-4. Ganizade challenges for a headbutt. There is no offensive foul on review and Levai will upset the world champ 6-4

13:20: Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) with two big four-pointes and the fall over Arvi SAVOLANIEN (FIN) and advance at 97kg. So far so good for Maskevich in the new weight class.

13:10: Four-time Olympic medalist and seven-time European champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) starts off with a 5-1 win over Richard KARELSON (EST) at 97kg. Two gut wrenches from par terre for the win.

13:05: Kiril MILOV (BUL) and world bronze medalist Artur OMAROV (CZE) are warned by the referee that both will be disqualified if they continued the aggressive wrestling constituting to fouls. Milov gets the first par terre and scores two turns on Omarov before defending his par terre to win 5-1

12:55: Paris Olympic bronze medalist and defending champion Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) rocks Andreas VETSCH (SUI) and wins his first bout at 67kg 8-0.

12:50: Former world champion Sebastian NAD (SRB) with a 3-1 win over Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) at 67kg. A turn from par terre the difference between the two wrestlers. 

12:40: Returning silver medalist Ruslan BICHURIN (UWW) has no trouble seeing off Valentin PETIC (MDA) 5-0 in their 67kg match. He is looking for a revenge match with Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE).

12:30: Paris fifth-placer Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) with a 9-0 win over Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) who is moving up to 67kg from his weight class of 63kg in which he has European medals.

12:15: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), two-time Olympic silver medalist, is hit with an early throw from Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) for four points and then he turns Nasibov for a 6-0 lead. However, Nasibov gets on board with a takedown. Two stepouts later, he makes it 6-4 at the break. Nasibov keeps pushing action in the second period and he finally gets his reward with a four-pointer and then a takedown as Khachatryan struggles for conditioning. Nasibov takes the 10-6 win at 72kg.

12:05: Former world champion Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW), who is moving up to 97kg, begins with a win against Markus RAGGINGER (AUT). 

12:00: Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) stuns Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) at 97kg! That has to be one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Sterkenburg with a big arm throw to get four against Sargsian who later made it 4-4 but Sterkenburg still led on criteria. Sargsian tried a big throw but landed on his back and Sterkenburg got two points. A stepout made it 7-4. A stepout, fleeing caution brough Sargsian back and Sterkenburg's lead was 7-7 on criteria with 40 seconds left. However, there is a technical issue with the scoreboard and there is no power in the arena for 25 minutes. When the bout resumes, Sterkenburg defends his criteria lead and wins 7-7.

Technical issues at the arena have delayed the bouts

11:22: Former champion Kiril MILOV (BUL) starts his European campaign with a technical superiority win over Nicu OJOG (ROU) at 97kg.

11:15: World champion at 63kg Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), wrestling at 60kg, begins with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU) as he hopes to defend his title.

11:00: Remember that 1-1 match in Greco-Roman will end with the winner being the wrestler who scored the first point. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) gets a benefit of this rule as he gets the par terre advantage first against Felix BALDAUF (NOR) at 97kg. Baldauf, who got it in the second period, is down 1-1 on criteria but cannot score. He goes down 1-1 to Kakhelashvili

10:30: Welcome to the full day of action at the European Championships and it's all Greco-Roman. We will run till the semifinals in 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg. The medal bouts in 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg will begin at 18:00 local time.

2026 Muhamet Malo

Muhamet Malo 2026 Day 2 Results: Sadulaev Beats Khaniev; Iran Wins 2 Golds

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 - 23:08 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (February 26) -- The Feti Borova Arena has now witness two of the most epic comeback from Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW).

In 2024, he marked his return from injury with his sixth world title, one which he won by going down to 92kg and shocking the world with a buzzer-beating win over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI).

The second was on Thursday. In his first international tournament since the world title, Sadulaev returned to 97kg and won the gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.

READ MORE: Important Gold for Me, Says Sadulaev

Sadualev's return to competition was much talked about as he entered the tournament which had the likes of his long-time rival and world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA), up-and-coming star Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW), Olympic bronze medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), former world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) and other world medalists.

While his fifth match against Snyder was denied after the American lost to Khaniev in the quarterfinals, Sadulaev was met with a stiffer challenger in Khaniev.

Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW)Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) defeated Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the 97kg quarterfinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The U23 world silver medalist defeated Snyder 10-4 and then took out Magomedov in the semifinal to set up a clash against Sadulaev. The winner would also book his spot for the European Championships, to be held at the same arena in April.

Sadulaev was checked by Khaniev in the first period but a double-leg blast helped the former take a 4-0 lead. Khaniev cut it to 4-2 but a watchful Sadulaev never allowed him to dictate the pace of the bout.

Keeping Khaniev at an arm's length, Sadulaev scored three counter takedowns while giving up two stepouts to win final, 10-4, and lock his spot for the European Championships.

Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW)Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) works on Mason PARRIS (USA) during the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In other Freestyler results, Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) clinched the 125kg gold medal after an impressive 8-5 victory over world bronze medalist Mason PARRIS (USA) in the final.

While the score makes the final look close, Kurbanov was the better of the two wrestlers in the final, managing to tire Parris out in the final. He scored a four-pointer in his eight points and did not let Parris threaten his lead even one.

When the score was 7-3, Parris tried to score a takedown but Kurbanov scored a stepout on counter to make 8-3. He did give up a takedown in the final 10 seconds to avoid further risks in the final.

Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) defeated Dean HAMITI (USA) in the 79kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran Wins 2 Golds

After Yones EMAMI (IRI) won Iran's first gold medal on Wednesday, Iran added two more through Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) and Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) at 79kg and 92kg, respectively.

Nokhodi, who had struggled with a knee injury last season, seemed to have gained full fitness. He had no trouble in seeing off Dean HAMITI (USA), 10-0, in the final at 79kg.

The two-time world silver medalist scored three different takedowns and managed to turn Hamiti twice to accumulate his points in the gold medal bout.

Firouzpour, world bronze medalist in Zagreb, was in similar form as he defeated former world silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 11-1, in the 92kg final.

Photo

RESULTS

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Dean HAMITI (USA) , 10-0

BRONZE: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df. Sagar JAGLAN (IND), 10-4 
BRONZE: Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO) df. Cameron AMINE (USA), 3-3

92kg
GOLD: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 11-1

BRONZE: Ahmed BATAEV (BUL) df. Jacob CARDENAS (USA), 11-0
BRONZE: Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 4-0

97kg
GOLD: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) df. Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW), 10-4

BRONZE: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) df. Jointy KUMAR (IND), 10-0

125kg
GOLD: Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) df. Mason PARRIS (USA), 8-5

BRONZE: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) df. Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) df. Nursultan AZOV (KAZ), 4-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) df. Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND), 13-2

BRONZE: MUSKAN (IND) df. Kendra RYAN (USA), 10-0
BRONZE: Erin GOLSTON (USA) df. Valeriia TIUKPIEKOVA (UWW), 4-2

55kg
GOLD: Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ) df. Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR), 3-2

BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. PUSHPA (IND), 3-2
BRONZE: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Beatrice FERENT (ROU), 10-0

Morning Session Highlights

Women's Wrestling

14:50: 55kg semifinals - Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) with a takedown with four seconds left to beat European champion Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) at 55kg. Trailing 3-1, she got Verbina down on the edge to take a 3-3 criteria lead. Verbina challenged only to lose it and drop the semifinal 4-3.

Malanchuk will face Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ) in the final after the Kazakhstan wrestler pinned Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER).

14:40: 50kg semifinals - Asian bronze medalist Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ) with an excellent win over MUSKAN (IND) at 50kg. She uses the snap to score three different takedowns to lead 8-1 at the break. She shoots an early takedown and then a turn to finish the bout 12-1.

She will another Indian, Priyanshi PARAJAPAT (IND), in the final after the Indian pinned Valeriia TIUKPIEKOVA (UWW)

Freestyle

14:35: 125kg semifinals - Mason PARRIS (USA) dumps Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) for four points to complete a stunning 14-3 win at 125kg. He will face a stiff challenge in the final against Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW), who defeated Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL), 9-1.

14:25: 97kg semifinals - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) is so quick! He opens with a fireman's carry to throw Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) and then turns two times to lead 8-0. A reversal gives Aitmukhan a point before he adds a stepout to make it 8-2. Sadulaev scores a takedown and then manages only a point when Aitmukhan defends a takedown but goes out of bounds. Sadulaev leads 11-2 at the break. Aitmukhan manages a stepout but Sadulaev hits a front headlock turn for two points to complete a 13-3 victory. Aitmukhan asks for a stepout with a challenges but loses it, making Sadulaev's score 14-3

Sadulaev will have Mukhammed KHANIEV (UWW) in the final with spot in the European Championships spot on the line. Khaniev, who defeated Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the quarters, gets a 10-0 victory over Magomedkhan MOGAMEDOV (AZE) in the semifinals.

14:15: 92kg semifinals - Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) works on several different takedowns and shuts down Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 10-0, in the semifinal. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) will challenge Firouzpour in the final after he beats Ahmed BATAEV (BUL), 4-0. Two points for two passivity calls against Bataev and a takedown from Maisuradze to complete the victory.

14:00: 79kg semifinals - Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) takes 35 seconds to beat Sagar JAGLAN (IND), 10-0, using a gut-wrench. Nokhodi will face Dean HAMITI (USA) for the gold medal. Cameron AMINE (USA) and Dean HAMITI (USA) opened the semis with fireworks with the latter taking a 4-2 lead. However, they both wore down. Hamiti hangs on for a 5-3 win.

Semifinals will begin with 79kg. Followed by 92kg, 97kg and 125kg. Women's Wrestling will follow with 50kg and 55kg

13:45: In the last quarterfinal, Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) beats Benjamin HONIS (ITA), 13-0 and sets up a semifinal against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) at 97kg 

So far, Mukhammed KHANIEV (UWW) stunned world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the quarterfinals at 97kg with a 10-4 victory, denying a final between Snyder and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW).

Sadulaev on the other hand has made it to the semifinals with in what has looked like a rather easy outing. If he faces Khaniev in the final, the winner will go the the European Championships.

13:20: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (USA) had worked up an 8-0 lead inside the first minute but Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ) injured his elbow in that exchange with Sadulaev. Initially looked a serious injury but Bekenov manages to stand up, holding his elbow. Sadulaev into the semifinals at 97kg

13:10: Kyle SNYDER (USA) facing Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) in the quarterfinals at 97kg. Khaniev is called passive and he gives up a point but manages to score exposure point in on exchange. Snyder with a stepout but Khaniev holds 2-2 criteria. Snyder open second period with two stepouts to take a 4-2 lead. Khaniev fires a leg-attack and converts it into a takedown to make it 4-4 and lead on criteria. He shoots another similar attack and scores another takedown before countering a fake shot from Snyder to make it 8-4 with less than a minute left. One way traffic as Khaniev manages to hold his ground against Snyder and complete a 10-4 victory to advance to the semifinals.

13:00: Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) got thrown for a four by Giorgi MESHDESHVILI (AZE) but he comes back with a takedown and powerful gut wrench to take an 11-4 lead. He then scores another takedown and turn to win 15-4. All in the first period at 125kg

12:50: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) hands Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) a 7-2 loss at 79kg. Nokhodi led 4-0 at the break before working a takedown and another point. Gadzhiev managed to score a takedown at the buzzer but Nokhodi in total control of that match. 

12:30: European champion and world silver medalist Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) keeps Aleksandra SKIRENKO (UWW) at a distance and wins 6-2 at 55kg. Slow start to the match before Verbina manages to open up and score takedowns.

12:22: World champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) returns to the same venue he won his sixth world title. He is facing Jointy KUMAR (IND) in his first bout. Sadulaev with patiently waits and doesn't get involved much. Kumar gets called passive in the first period and gives up a point. Sadulaev is quick and scores a takedown soon after and turns Kumar to lead 5-0. A fireman's takedown from Sadulaev and he secures the fall over Kumar to win his first bout at 97kg.

12:15: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) with a quick victory over VICKY (IND) at 97kg. Four takedowns and two stepouts for a 10-0 blanking of the Indian wrestlers. Aitmukhan will face Benjamin HONIS (ITA) in the quarterfinals

12:10: Kyle SNYDER (USA) lost his balance and Radu LEFTER (MDA) used that moment to trip him for four which made the score line 5-4, though in favor of Snyder, in their 97kg bout. But Snyder worked on two more takedowns to beat Lefter 9-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

11:50: Former U23 European champion Giorgi IVANOV (BUL) dumps Trent HIGLER (USA) for a four-pointer in the first period and then control the bout thoroughly to win 7-2 at 125kg.

11:40: Mason PARRIS (USA) overcomes a 4-2 deficit in a very draining 125kg bout to beat Omar SAREM (ROU) and advances with a 15-5 victory. Parris was made to work hard for that win.

11:35: World silver medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) uses the gut-wrench and chalks up a 12-2 technical superiority win over Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM) at 125kg

11:25: SWEETY (IND) with a dominant 13-1 victory over Natalia WALCZAK (POL) at 50kg. Sweety in total control of that bout and she moves into the quarterfinals

11:15: Svenja JUNGO (SUI) with a late takedown to get a tough 3-1 victory over Agata GOLUCHOWSKA WALERZAK (POL) at 50kg. The Poland wrestler had a 1-1 criteria lead but Jungo with a match-winning takedown

11:00: At 92kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) starts with a 9-2 win over Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ). Firouzpour hit a four-pointer when Dauletbekov was trying to scamper out of a tie. He then added a stepout to lead 5-0 at the break. No more points in the bout.

10:45: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), a world champion at 92kg in 2023, had built an 8-0 lead against Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) in their 97kg bout but seemed to struggle in the second period. However, he manages to defend that lead and win 8-5

10:40: Kyle SNYDER (USA) was first up on Mat and he warms up with a 3-0 win over Ertugrul AGCA (GER). Takedown in the first period and a stepout in the second as Snyder moves into the second round at 97kg. He can face Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), only if both make the final

10:35: Richard VEGH (HUN) scored nine stepouts against AKASH (IND) and got one point for caution against the Indian as he wins the opening bout at 97kg 10-0. Victory via stepouts if we may

10:20: Welcome to the second day of the Muhamet Malo in Tirana. The Snyder vs Sadulaev chapter five is expected today. Both wrestlers will face each other only if they reach the final.