Quartet of Russians Reach Tuesday Night's GR Finals

Monday, June 3, 2019 - 18:22 By Eric Olanowski

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (June 3) – The Russian Federation entered Monday night's session at the Junior European Championships undefeated and had all five wrestlers vying for a spot in Tuesday night's finals. They closed out the session by inserting four of five wrestlers into the finals and only dropped one match on the day. In total, they were victorious in 14 of 15 matches and shutout nine of their opponents.

The quartet of Russian wrestlers who'll be wrestling for gold on Tuesday night is Anvar ALLAKHIAROV, Khamid ISAEV, Ilia ERMOLENKO, and Osman SHADOV. They'll compete for the top spot at 55kg, 77kg, 87kg, and 130kg, respectively.

Of the four Russian finalists, Osman Shadov will arguably have the toughest road to winning a gold medal. Shadov, who picked up a 4-0 semifinals win over Raman ULASAU (BLR), will take on defending cadet world champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) in the 130kg gold-medal bout.

Bakir, who remains undefeated during his time representing Turkey at the World and Continental Championships, opened up his day with a 6-0 routing of Poland's cadet world bronze medalist Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL). He followed that victory up with a 6-0 win over Robinzon ESADZE (GEO), then pitched an 8-0 shutout against Hungary's Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN) who was fresh off a surprising 6-2 upset over reigning cadet world silver medalist Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE). In total, Bakir outscored his three opponents on Monday 20-0 and reached his second consecutive age-level continental finals. Last year, Bakir won the 110kg cadet European title.

Khamid ISAEV (RUS) will wrestle returning European bronze medalist Tamas LEVAI (HUN) in the 77kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Khamid Isaev will also have an uphill battle in his finals bout when he takes on Hungary's defending junior European bronze medalist Tamas LEVAI in the 77kg finals. Isaev grabbed the 3-1 victory over Arminas LYGNUGARIS (LTU) to reach the finals, while Levai improved on his third-place finish from last year with a 9-0 semifinals shutout win over Mikita KAZAKOU (BLR).

Russia's 2018 junior world bronze medalist Ilia Ermolenko will also take on a Hungarian opponent when he meets David LOSONCZI (HUN) in the 87kg gold-medal match. Ermolenko reached the finals with an exhausting 2-0 win over Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO), and Losonczi survived a 27-point barn burner against Belarus' Ihar YARASHEVICH to reach his first continental finals in his third attempt.

Russia's remaining finalist is Anvar Allakhirov. In the 55kg semifinals, Allakhirov trailed 1-0, but scored three unanswered points against Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR) and inserted himself into the finals against Pridon ABULADZE (GEO). In his semifinal match, Abuladze also trailed but scored a come-from-behind win to reach the finals. The Georgian wrestler fell behind against Zaur ALIYEV (AZE) but used a high hip shot, then transition to a four-point throw to grab the 8-5 win.

Leri ABULADZE (GEO) handled Adam GAUZHAEV (RUS), 10-1, and stopped Russia from putting five wrestlers into Tuesday night's finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Abuladze Stops Russian Perfection
The lone weight that won't feature a Russian wrestler in the gold-medal bout will be 63kg, where Leri ABULADZE (GEO) will square off against Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR). Abuladze was the man who stopped Russian perfection after bottling up Adam GAUZHAEV (RUS), 10-1, to reach the finals. He'll take on Abdullah Toprak, who narrowly escaped his semifinals bout with a 4-3 win over Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM).

Wrestling resumes tomorrow in Pontevedra, Spain, at 11:30 (local time) and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD - Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) vs. Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) df. Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR), 3-1
SEMIFINAL - Pridon ABULADZE (GEO) df. Zaur ALIYEV (AZE), 8-5

63kg
GOLD - Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) vs. Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM), 4-3
SEMIFINAL - Leri ABULADZE (GEO) df. Adam GAUZHAEV (RUS), 10-1

77kg
GOLD - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) vs. Khamid ISAEV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Mikita KAZAKOU (BLR), 9-0
SEMIFINAL - Khamid ISAEV (RUS) df. Arminas LYGNUGARIS (LTU), 3-1

87kg
GOLD - David LOSONCZI (HUN) vs. Ilia ERMOLENKO (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Ihar YARASHEVICH (BLR), 18-9
SEMIFINAL - Ilia ERMOLENKO (RUS) df. Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO), 2-0

130kg
GOLD - Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) vs. Osman SHADOV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) df. Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN), 8-0
SEMIFINAL - Osman SHADOV (RUS) df. Raman ULASAU (BLR), 4-0

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOV Khadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)

Quartet of Russians Reach Tuesday Night's GR Finals

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Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships