Potential Russia and Iran World Cup Final Looming

Saturday, March 16, 2019 - 14:30 By Eric Olanowski

YAKUTSK, Russia (March 16) – The Russian Federation went 17-3 in their 20 individual bouts and won their pair of Group A matches on the opening day of wrestling at the 2019 Freestyle World Cup in Yakutsk, Russia. The host nation is expected to take on Iran, who went 2-0 in Group B action, in Saturday night’s first-place match.

In Group A, Russia opened up with a 9-1 routing of Cuba, then defeated Japan, 8-2.

In their dual against their Cuban opponents, Aryian TIUTRIN (RUS) kicked things off (at 57kg) for Russia by upsetting U23 world champion Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA, 8-3, giving Russia the 1-0 lead. Reigning 61kg world champion Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) put Cuba on the board with a 5-5 win over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV(RUS), which tied the dual at one match apiece. But Russia never looked back and went on an eight-match win streak, ultimately taking the match, 9-1.

In their second match, the Russians beat a Japanese squad who was without 2018 world champion Takuto OTOGURO, 8-2. The reigning world runner-ups trailed 2-0 after Japan's 2017 world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) and Yudai FUJITA (JPN) scored back-to-back wins at 57kg and 61kg but rattled off eight straight wins for the second time on Day One and picked up the 8-2 victory.

Though they both lost to Russia, Cuba and Japan both scooped up wins against Turkey and head into the final group-stage matchup with 1-1 records. They’ll wrestle each other on Saturday morning (at 11:00) for the second place spot in Group A, with the winner heading to the third-place bout.

Japan, in their match with Turkey, won eight of ten matches, including a win via fall for Sohsuke TAKATANI over current world No. 1 and 2018 world runner-up Fatih ERDIN (TUR) at 86kg. The two were in a scramble when Takatani caught Erdin on his back and flattened him for the fall. Erdin later injury defaulted out of his second match.

Cuba also picked up a win over Turkey. The final score of that match was 6-4.

They did so on the backs of four consecutive Cuban wins after Turkey's Nazim KARA and Abdulkadir OZMEN broke the matches 2-2 tie and handed Turkey the commanding 4-2 advantage with four matches left. The Cuban quartet of Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA, Lazaro HERNANDEZ LUIS, Reineris SALAS PEREZ, and Oscar PINO HINDS picked up wins and closed out the dual on a four-match win streak, helping Cuba grab the 6-4 team victory.

Group B

In Group B action, Iran is the favorite to meet the Russian Federation for the gold medal after their undefeated 2-0 record after the first day of wrestling. They started the day off with a 9-1 thumping of Mongolia before upending the defending champion, the United States, 5-5 on classification points.

For Iran to meet the Russian Federation for the Freestyle World Cup title, they'll have to avoid a loss to a Georgia team that has lost both of their opening day matches.

The United States and Mongolia went 1-1 on the day and will wrestle Sunday afternoon (at 12:15) to determine Group B’s second-place finisher. That match will determine who wrestles the winner of Cuba and Japan in tomorrows bronze-medal match.

Results

Session One

Group A

Russia df. Cuba, 9-1
57kg - Aryian TIUTRIN(RUS) df. Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA(CUB), 8-3 (Russia 1-0)
61kg - Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) df. Zelimkhan ABAKAROV(RUS), 5-5 (Tie)
65kg - Gadshimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) wins via inj. def. (Russia 2-1)
70kg - David BAEV(RUS) df. Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB) (10-0) (Russia 3-1)
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB), via fall (Russia 4
1)
79kg - Husej SUUNCEV (RUS) df. Reinier PEREZ ABREU (CUB), 12-1 (Russia 5-1)
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) df. Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB), 4-0 (6-1)
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB), 9-7 (Russia 7-1)
97kg – Vladislav BAITSAEV (RUS) df. SALAS PEREZ R. (CUB), 4-0 (Russia 8-1)
125kg - Zelimkhan KHIZRIYEV (RUS) df. Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB), 10-0 (Russia 9-1)

Japan df. Turkey, 8-2
57kg - Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Ali KARABOGA (TUR), 11-2 (Japan 1-0)
61kg - Yudai FUJITA (JPN) df. Munir Recep AKTAS (TUR), 5-1 (Japan 2-0)
65kg - Daichi TAKATANI (JPN) wins via inj. def. (Japan 3-0)
70kg - Serhat ARSLAN (TUR) df. Kojiro SHIGA (JPN), 7-2 (Japan 3-1)
74kg – Yuto MIWA (JPN) df N. KARA (TUR), 4-3 (Japan 4-1)
70kg - Yuta ABE (JPN) df. Abdulkadir OZMEN (TUR), 3-0 (Japan 5-1)
86kg - Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN) df Fatih ERDIN (TUR), via fall (Japan 6-1)
92kg - Atsushi MATSUMOTO (JPN) df Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR), 2-1 (Japan 7-1)
97kg - Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN) df. Ali BONCEOGLU (TUR), 6-3 (Japan 8-1)
125kg - Abdullah OMAC (TUR) df. Nobuyoshi ARAKIDA, 3-0 (Japan 8-2)

Group B

USA df. Georgia 7-3

57kg - Lasha LOMTADZE (GEO) df. Zach SANDERS Z. (USA), 3-1 (Georgia 1-0)
61kg - Nicholas MEGALUDIS (USA) df. Tornike KATAMADZE (GEO), 10-0 (Tied)
65kg - Zain RETHERFORD (USA) df Amiran VAKHTANGASHVILI (GEO), 9-2 (USA 2-1)
70kg - Jason CHAMBERLAIN (USA) df. Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO), 10-0 (USA 3-1)
74kg - Isaiah MARTINEZ (USA) df. Zurabi ERBOTSONASHVILI (GEO), 10-6 (USA 4-1)
79kg - Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) df. Thomas GANTT JR (USA), 11-0 (USA 4-2)
86kg - Samuel BROOKS (USA) df. Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO), via fall (USA 5-2)
92kg - Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) df. Hayden ZILLMER (USA), 3-0 (USA 5-3)
97kg - Kyven GADSON (USA) df. Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO), 2-0 (USA 6-3)
125kg - Anthony NELSON (USA) df. Rolandi ANDRIADZE (GEO), 6-0 (USA 7-3)

Iran df. Mongolia, 9-1
57kg - Alireza SARLAK (IRI) df TUMENBILEG Tuvshintulga (MGL), 3-2  (iran 1-0)
61kg - ERDENEBAT Bekhbayar (MGL) df. Iman SADEGHIKOUKANDEH (IRI), 4-0 (Tied)
65kg - Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI) df. BATCHULUUN Batmagnai (MGL), 7-3 (Iran 2-1)
70kg - Meisam NASIRI (IRI) df. GANZORIG Mandakhnaran (MGL), 7-2 (Iran 3-1)
74kg - Reza AFZALIPAEMAMI (IRI) df. BAT ERDENE Byambadorj (MGL), 7-0 (Iran 4-1 )
79kg - Mojtaba ASGHARI OSMAVANDANI (IRI) df. B. BYAMBASUREN (MGL), 11-0 (Iran 5-1)
86kg - Mersad MARGHZARI (IRI) df. ORGODOLUitumen (MGL), 5-3 (Iran 5-1)
92kg - Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) df. BAASANTSOGT Ulziisaikhan. (MGL), 10-0  (Iran 7-1)
97kg -  Alireza GOODARZI (IRI) df. LUVSANDORJ Turtogtokh (MGL), 10-0 (Iran 8-1)
125kg -Komeil GHASEMI (IRI) df. DORJKHAND Khuderbulga (MGL), via fall. (iran 9-1)

Session Two
Group A

Russia df. Japan 8-2
57kg - Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) , 2-1 (Japan 1-0)
61kg - Yudai FUJITA (JPN) df. Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (RUS), 2-2 (Japan 2-0)
65kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) df. Daichi TAKATANI (JPN), 11-0 (Japan 2-1)
70kg - Anzor ZAKUEV (RUS) df. Kojiro SHIGA (JPN), 11-0 (Tied)
74kg - Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) df. Yuto MIWA (JPN) , 11-0 (Russia 3-2)
79kg - Magomed Eldarovitch RAMAZANOV (RUS) df. Yuta ABE (JPN), 10-0 (Russia 4-2)
86kg - Vladislav VALIEV (RUS) df. Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN), 6-4 (Russia 5-2)
92kg - Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) df. Atsushi MATSUMOTO (JPN) 10-0 (Russia 6-2)
97kg - Vladislav BAITCAEV (RUS) df. Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN), 6-2 (Russia 7-2)
125kg - Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS) df. Katsutoshi KANAZAWA (JPN), 11-0 (Russia 8-2)

Cuba df. Turkey, 6-4
57kg - Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) df. Ali KARABOGA (TUR), 5-2 (Cuba 1-0)
61kg - Munir Recep AKTAS (TUR) df. Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB), 7-1(Tied)
65kg - Cengizhan ERDOGAN (TUR) df. AlejandroVALDES TOBIER (CUB), via disq. (Turkey 2-1)
70kg - Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB) df. Serhat ARSLAN (TUR), via fall (Tied)
74kg - Nazim Selami KARA (TUR) df. COLOMBAT RIVERA Cristian Reinier (CUB), 12-2 (Turkey 3-2)
79kg - Abdulkadir OZMEN (TUR) df. Reinier PEREZ ABREU (CUB), via fall (Turkey 4-2)
86kg - Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), via inj. def (Turkey 4-3)
92kg - Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB) df. Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR), 4-4 (Tied)
97kg - Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) df. Ali BONCEOGLU (TUR), 11-7 (Cuba 5-4)
125kg - Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) df. Abdullah OMAC (TUR), 8-1 (Cuba 6-4)

Group B
Iran df. USA, 5-5
57kg - Alireza SARLAK (IRI) df. Zachary SANDERS (USA), 4-3 (Iran 1-0)
61kg - Nicholas MEGALUDIS (USA) df. Iman SADEGHIKOUKANDEH (IRI), 12-0 (Tied)
65kg - Zain RETHERFORD (USA) df. Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI), 6-1 (USA 2-1)
70kg - Meisam NASIRI (IRI) df. Jason CHAMBERLAIN (USA), 3-0 (Tied)
74kg - Isaiah MARTINEZ (USA) df. Reza AFZALIPAEMAMI (IRI), 8-2 (USA 3-2)
79kg - Thomas GANTT JR (USA) df. Mojtaba ASGHARI OSMAVANDANI (IRI), 11-6 (USA 4-2)
86kg - Mersad MARGHZARI (IRI) df. Samuel BROOKS (USA), via fall (USA 4-3)
92kg - Hayden ZILLMER (USA) df. Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI), 6-4 (Tied)
97kg - Alireza Mohammad GOODARZI (IRI) df. Kyven Ross GADSON (USA), 4-0 (Iran 5-4)
125kg - Komeil Nemat GHASEMI (IRI) df. Anthony NELSON (USA), 6-2 (Tied)

Mongoloa df. Georgia, 5-5
57kg - Lasha LOMTADZE (GEO) df. TUMENBILEG Tuvshintulga (MGL), 8-8 (Georgia 1-0)
61kg - GANSUKH Otgonbaatar (MGL) df. Tornike KATAMADZE (GEO), 10-0 (Tied)
65kg - BATCHULUUN Batmagnai (MGL) df. Amiran VAKHTANGASHVILI (GEO), 9-2 (Mongolia 2-1)
70kg - ENKHBAYAR Byambadorj (MGL) df. Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO), 16-5 (Mongolia 3-1)
74kg - Zurabi ERBOTSONASHVILI (GEO) df. BAT ERDENE Byambadorj (MGL), 6-4 (Mongolia 3-2)
79kg - Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) df. BYAMBASUREN Bat-Erdene (MGL), 6-2 (Tied)
86kg - ORGODOL Uitumen (MGL) df. Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO), 4-3 (Mongolia 4-3)
92kg - Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) df. BAASANTSOGT Ulziisaikhan (MGL), 11-0 (Tied)
97kg - Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) df. ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul (MGL), 3-1 (Georga 5-4)
125kg - MUNKHTUR Lkhagvagerel (MGL) df. Rolandi ANDRIADZE (GEO), 1-1 (Mongolia 5-5)

#WrestleTirana

Kayaalp Breaks European Record with 13th Gold Medal

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 18:25 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- "I truly believe I’ve set a record that will be very difficult to break."

Riza KAYAALP (TUR) knows the true effort it takes to win 12 gold medals at the European Championships. It took him 13 years. Now, on Tuesday, he won his record-breaking 13th gold medal at the European Championships in Tirana, moving past Aleksandr KARELIN.

With that, Kayaalp became the first wrestler in any style to win 13 golds in Europe. He defeated Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, in a dominant 130kg final.

Apart from Tuesday's gold, Kayaalp has won European titles in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

"It’s an incredible feeling," Kayaalp said. "This was my 15th final, and in my 15th final, I achieved my 13th title. This title is especially valuable to me because achieving such long-term and consistent success -- especially in Europe, where there are very strong nations -- is not easy. I’m very proud to have broken such a big record."

Wrestling Vitek in the 130kg final, Kayaalp got the par terre position in the first period and brought the strong gut-wrench he has made his own to turn Vitek three times for six points. He went into the break leading 7-0. Vitek got the par terre position in the second period but he failed to move the mountain-of-man Kayaalp.

With chants of "Riza, Riza" reverberating at the Feti Borova Hall, Kayaalp defended his lead and despite a few instances of him slipping, Vitek could not inflict any sort of danger to score any points. After six minutes of the final and history created, Kayaalp celebrated the 13th gold medal and took his own time with the fans.

"The matches were not easy. I had tough matches," he said. "One of my matches ended 1–1. In the semifinal, I can say I was subjected to some disrespect from a strong opponent in a very intense bout. But compared to those, the final match was more meaningful for me.

"When it became 7-0, well, I’m an athlete who doesn’t like to concede points," he said. "I don’t like giving points away, so I managed to protect that score. I can say I went through the second period quite comfortably, and having a 7–0 lead helped."

The last time Kayaalp built a 7-0 lead was back in 2017, when he pinned Balint LAM (HUN) in the 130kg final after a 7-0 lead.

Kayaalp's gold is a testimony to his longevity having won his first European title in 2010, a year in which his opponent in the final, Vitek, was 10 years, five months and 12 days when Kayaalp achieved his first gold.

"When you look back, you realize you’ve made 15 finals," Kayaalp said after winning the 130kg gold medal in Tirana. "Back then, I was just thinking whether I could win one or two medals. But then, making the final every time at the European Championships, it’s like a child being born and growing up to 15 years old."

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) df. Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), 2-1

BRONZE: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Omer RECEP (TUR), 8-0
BRONZE: Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 3-1

63kg
GOLD: Sergey EMELIN (UWW) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 9-0

BRONZE: Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Mairbek SALIMOV (POL), 11-0
BRONZE: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Pridon ABULADZE (GEO), 6-2

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 1-1

BRONZE: Edvin BAFF (SWE) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), 2-1
BRONZE: Robert FRITSCH (HUN) df. Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO), 1-1

87kg
GOLD: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), via fall (8-4)

BRONZE: Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) df. Ihar YARASHEVICH (UWW), 1-1
BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Dogan KAYA (TUR), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1

BRONZE: Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW) df. Marat KAMPAROV (UWW), 10-5
BRONZE: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 3-1

Potential Russia and Iran World Cup Final Looming

Group B

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Kayaalp Breaks European Record with 13th Gold Medal