Poland Steals Grappling Team Title from Russia

Monday, June 1, 2026 - 05:12 By Vinay Siwach

YEREVAN, Armenia (May 28) -- Led by former world medalist Justyna SITKO (POL), Poland pipped Russia by a point to win the the women's Grappling team title at the European Championships in Yerevan, Armenia.

In five weight classes in action, Poland and Russia both won two golds but the former had better results in the weight classes it did not win the gold to score 89 points to Russia's 88 points. The fifth gold went to Spain as world champion Carlota PRENDES (ESP) won at 53kg.

Sitko, in a round-robin bracket with four other grapplers, began with a 9-2 victory over Kseniia BUSHKOVA (RUS) before submitting Sara BORTOLAMIOL (ITA) in Round 2. A 7-3 win over Vlada BOIAKHCHIEVA (RUS) and then a submission of compatriot Maja SALAMON (POL) sealed the gold medal for Sitko at 90kg.

The second gold medal for Poland was won by Martyna KAPUSCINSKA (POL) at 71kg after she secured a victory by decision over Snezhana MORAR (UKR) in the final.

Until the last two weight classes, Russia on a rampage. After dominating through the rounds, Olesia ZHURAVLEVA (RUS) met world champion Daria BRZOZOWSKA (POL) in the semifinals and won 2-1. She defeated Emma ROSINI (ITA), 6-2, in the final to win the 58kg gold medal.

Soon after, Alsu IANSHINA (RUS) worked on a submission on Liudmyla TSALAI (UKR) in the 64kg to win in just over four minutes and claim the second gold medal for Russia.

World champion Carlota PRENDES (ESP) is now a European champion as well. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

At 53kg, Prendes once again dominated on the mat, winning yet another gold medal in a United World Wrestling competition. Her loss came in 2023 but since then, she has won four world titles, two each in Grappling and Grappling Gi.

At the European Championships, she won all four of her bouts via submission including a 51-second submission from Giulia ANGIOLINI (ITA) in the final.

Russia Wins Six Golds

In men's Grappling at the European Championships, Russia dominated its way to the team title. It scored 190 points and won six gold medals to finish at the top. Poland was second with 121 points while Spain was third with 86 points.

The Russian team with a mix of experience of youth, ran through its opposition especially two teenagers Shamil GUSEINOV (RUS) at 71kg and Aleksandr KARPENKOV (RUS) at 77kg, both winning gold.

But the gold rush began at 62kg, when Ruslan RADZHABKHANOV (RUS) won gold with a 3-0 decision over compatriot Igor KUZURGASHEV (RUS) in the final. In a low-scoring final, Radzhabkhanov controlled the bout for the entirety of the match.

At 66kg, Magomed SHAKHBANOV (RUS) was up against Yurii CHERKALIUK (UKR) in the final and after getting three points for Cherkaliuk's passivities, Shakhbanov scored a takedown for two points before being awarded three points for control in his 8-0 victory.

Guseinov was facing former world champion Iker CAMARA (ESP) in the final and rocked the arena with a 46-second fall over the Spaniard. He used a front headlock to secure the fall and claim the gold medal at 71kg.

Karpenkov at 77kg had to fight it out against Gazimagomed GAZIEV (RUS) in the final. He opened a 3-0 lead but was penalised twice for stalling as Gaziev closed the gap to 3-2. But as the clock expired, Gaziev challenged for control points but lost it which gave two more points to Karpenkov as he won 5-2.

World champion Mukamed URUSOV (RUS) gave no chance to Aleksandre TEVZADZE (GEO), winning the 100kg final 7-0 with ease. He scored three pushouts in standing to lead 3-0 before score two control takedowns to earn four points and the victory.

A world champion in Grappling Gi, Bilal KURBABAGAMAEV (RUS) earned the title of European champion at 130kg in Grappling after winning gold in Yerevan. After running through the Nordic bracket, he got a walkover from Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA) in the final.

The remaining three golds were shared by Poland and host Armenia. Former European champion Mateusz MAZUR (POL) won the 92kg title with a 5-2 victory over Alibek SULEIMANOV (RUS) while Sebastian PATYK (POL) won 6-0 against Davud MAGOMEDOV (RUS) in the 84kg weight class.

Armenia's golden grappler was Razmik MISAKYAN (ARM) who held on for a tight 2-0 win over Alejandro REYES RODRIGUEZE (ESP) in the 58kg final.

RESULTS

Men's Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Razmik MISAKYAN (ARM) df. Alejandro REYES RODRIGUEZE (ESP), 2-0

BRONZE: Jakub BARDEN (POL) df. Zakhar DREMLIUHA (UKR), 6-5

62kg
GOLD: Ruslan RADZHABKHANOV (RUS) df. Igor KUZURGASHEV (RUS), 3-0

BRONZE: Mateusz HALAS (POL) df. Andrii TSVYK (UKR), 6-3
BRONZE: Loris ZANOLINI (ITA) df. Dmytro BARANOV (UKR), via submission (7-2)

66kg
GOLD: Magomed SHAKHBANOV (RUS) df. Yurii CHERKALIUK (UKR), 8-0

BRONZE: Mykhailo KAZYMERCHUK (UKR) df. Narek AYVAZYAN (ARM), via decision
BRONZE: Magomed KHIRAMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Maximilian REIFF (GER), via submission

71kg
GOLD: Shamil GUSEINOV (RUS) df. Iker CAMARA DOMINGUEZ (ESP), via submission (0-0)

BRONZE: Dzhimsher RAZMADZE (GEO) df. Avelino SANTOS RODRIGUEZ (ESP), via submission (5-3)
BRONZE: Kurban KADIEV (RUS) df. Artur GHERGHILINIC (MDA), 4-0

77kg
GOLD: Aleksandr KARPENKOV (RUS) df. Gazimagomed GAZIEV (RUS), 5-2

BRONZE: Jakub NAJDEK (POL) df. Illia SUKHODIEIEV (UKR), 5-2
BRONZE: Ouassim ADREUACH IDRISSI (ESP) df. Nahapet EKIZYAN (ARM), 7-4

84kg
GOLD: Sebastian PATYK (POL) df. Davud MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 6-0

BRONZE: Cristian TUGULEA (MDA) df. Suren KHURDAYAN (ARM), via submission
BRONZE: Christian FRILLICI (ITA) df. Roger DOMINGUEZ LOPEZ (ESP), 2-1

92kg
GOLD: Mateusz MAZUR (POL) df. Alibek SULEIMANOV (RUS), 5-2

BRONZE: Muslim MALSAGOV (RUS) df. Amirani SVIMONISHVILI (GEO), 8-0
BRONZE: Pablo ESTEPA NIETO (ESP) df. Joris ROOKHUIJZEN (NED), 4-2

100kg
GOLD: Mukhamed URUSOV (RUS) df. Aleksandre TEVZADZE (GEO), 7-0

BRONZE: Antonio SALTUPS CARETTO (ITA) df. Misha DILANYAN (ARM), via submission (6-0)

130kg
GOLD: Bilal KURBABAGAMAEV (RUS) df. Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA), via decision

BRONZE: Aleksander KOLDOVSKI (UKR) df. Liviu MALUDA (MDA), 5-3

Women's Grappling

53kg
GOLD: Carlota PRENDES LARIOS (ESP) df. Giulia ANGIOLINI (ITA), via submission (2-0)

BRONZE: Natalia JAKUBOWICZ (POL) df. Sylwia WELC (POL), via submission (7-0)
BRONZE: Viktoriia ISAIEVA (UKR) df. Evelina FLORIAK (UKR), via submission (6-2)

58kg
GOLD: Olesia ZHURAVLEVA (RUS) df. Emma ROSINI (ITA), 6-2

BRONZE: Daria BRZOZOWSKA (POL) df. Alicja STYPULKOWSKA (POL), via submission (10-0)

64kg
GOLD: Alsu IANSHINA (RUS) df. Liudmyla TSALAI (UKR), via submission (5-1)

BRONZE: Raluca ROSCA (ITA) df. Mendy MACATIS (GER), 6-2

71kg
GOLD: Martyna KAPUSCINSKA (POL) df. Snezhana MORAR (UKR), via decision

BRONZE: Anna REMNEVA (RUS) df. Valentina PAVLOVA (RUS), 3-2

90kg
GOLD: Justyna SITKO (POL)
SILVER: Maja SALAMON (POL)
BRONZE: Vlada BOIAKHCHIEVA (RUS)

#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds

Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 13:44 By United World Wrestling Press

KATERINI-PIERIA, Greece (September 27) -- Iran’s return to Beach Wrestling after an eight-year absence could have been cautious. Instead, it was commanding.

Iran won four medals, including two golds, to claim the men’s team title at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships after a close race with Georgia, which finished second with 75 points to Iran’s 80. Azerbaijan was third with 62 points.

In the women's category, hosts Greece managed to go past France to finish first with 50 points while France ended up second with 42. The United States was third with 32 points.

The U17 World Championships is a significant stop in Beach Wrestling as it will be taken into consideration for while awarding the quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

Iran Iran's two gold medalists in Greece, Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI), left, at 90kg and Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI), right, at 70kg.

Gold medalists for Iran, Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI) at 70kg and Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI) at 90kg, were competing in Beach Wrestling for the first time but never let their inexperience affect their performances.

Hossein, who defeated Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA) in the knockout match, was placed in Group D with Yuki UEDA (JPN), Nikolaos PAPADOPOULOS (GRE) and Ilie TURCAN (MDA). He defeated Papadopoulos 3-1 in the group bout before blanking Turcan 3-0 in just 40 seconds. He was quicker against Ueda, winning in 34 seconds.

Facing Luka MAKHARADZE (GEO) in the quarterfinals, Hossein scored a 3-1 victory and took only 40 seconds to beat Rashad ALIYEV (AZE) in the semifinals.

In an all-Iran final, Hossein fell behind 1-0 against Ilyar VEGHARI (IRI) but stormed back with two straight points with a knee and head touch from Veghari. He used a lateral drop as his final move to win 5-1. Veghari's lost challenge added to Hossein's score and made it 6-1.

Fotouhi was even more dominant at 90kg, winning all three of his group bouts via fall. Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE) survived getting pinned in the quarterfinals but Fotouhi was strong enough to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals.

After winning the semifinal 2-1 against Elgun KARIMLI (AZE), Fotouhi was back to his dominant self and slammed Joni SHAORSHADZE (GEO) to pick his fourth fall in six bouts and the gold medal for Iran.

Fotouhi began with a step out to earn his first point of the final. Both wrestlers arm-locked each other and tried to throw at the edge but it was Shaorshadze who touched outside first which gave Fotouhi his second point.

In one of those moments when his Freestyle instincts took over, Fotouhi went for duckunder and touched his knee on the sand which gave Shaorshadze a point to make the score 2-1. The Georgian tried a fireman carry in the final 10 seconds but Fotouhi pancaked him for a fall.

At 60kg, Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) defeated Rati BERIDZE (GEO) twice, first in the group stages and then in final, to claim the gold medal.

Kuzmenko blanked all his opponents barring Beridze who managed to score one point when the two met in the Group B bout. However, the Ukrainian improved and gave no chance to Beridze in the final, winning 3-0.

The Ukrainian was quick to score two step-outs and lead 2-0 and when Beridze tried to score a point, Kuzmenko snapped him down and scored his third and winning point.

Georgia had another silver medalist, Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), who suffered a one-sided loss in the 80kg final to Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE), who had represented Azerbaijan at the U17 World Championships in Athens in August.

Suleymanli did not give up a single point in the tournament and won the final against Mustafaev 3-0. He scored a step-out to open the scoring in the final before Mustafaev fell on the ground to give a second point. The Georgian wrestler tried tripping Suleymanli but instead gave a takedown for one point to drop the final.

Azerbaijan's first-ever gold medalist Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) with other team members.

Historic golds for Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan

In the women's category, Puerto Rico and Azerbaijan earned historic golds as four different countries crowned champions.

Heklanys RIVERA (PUR), the first woman to compete in Beach Wrestling for her country, made a stunning run to the gold medal at 45kg. She did not give up a single point in six bouts including the final.

Taking on Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA) in the final, Rivera was put on the 30-second activity clock. With eight seconds remaining, Rivera used an underhook to get the first takedown for a point.

The second point was awarded to Rivera when Salissou committed a foul by grabbing Rivera's shorts. The winning takedown was similar to the first one as Rivera moved from underhook to tripping Salissou.

For Azerbaijan, 15-year-old Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) needed only 16 seconds to create history. She defeated last year's champion Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) via fall in the 55kg final. Kojima tried hitting a lateral drop in the final but fell on her back, which gave Musayeva three points for the win.

Earlier, Musayeva had lost one of the group bouts against Mia KOVAC (CRO) via fall but rebounded to win all remaining bouts to make the final and then capture the gold medal.

Hosts Greece, which won the team title, earned the gold medal at 75kg through Elena ZAIMIDOU (GRE) who scored a 32-second victory via fall over Madeline HAYDEN (USA) in the final.

Zaimidou, who has competed and won gold in Grappling at the European level, secured three victories via fall, and a victory via superiority over Merily VAESTER (EST) in the semifinals.

In the gold medal bout, Hayden stunned the local fans when she hit a beautiful over-the-head suplex on Zaimidou. Hayden went for a second suplex, but Zaimidou blocked her, using a headlock, and Hayden fell on her back which gave Zaimidou three points and the victory.

Hayden challenged the scoring but the points were confirmed on review and Zaimidou was awarded a point for lost challenge, which made her score 4-1.

European bronze medalist in Women's Wrestling, Alexandra MOISEI (MDA) earned the gold medal at 65kg after some nervous wins. She defeated Thea ROUSSEL (FRA), 3-0, in the final in 49 seconds using three easy snapdowns.

Poland Steals Grappling Team Title from Russia

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Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds