BuchaWrestU23

Reigning U23 World Champion Cengiz and Cataraga Reach Semifinals

Monday, November 12, 2018 - 13:39 By Eric Olanowski

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BUCHAREST, Romania (November 12) – The opening day semifinals at the 2018 U23 World Championships are set and four different nations will have a pair of wrestlers competing for a spot in tomorrow night’s finals. The four nations that have two wrestlers taking the mat tonight are Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Turkey. 

Georgia is led by the five-time age level world champion, Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO). Pataridze, who is coming off a thirteenth-place finish at the senior-level world championships is looking to improve on his runner-up finish at last year’s U23 World Championships where he was defeated in the finals by 2018 world champion, Sergey SEMENOV (RUS). 

In the 130kg semifinals, Pataridze will wrestle Finland’s Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN), who is looking to become his nations second U23 world finalist ever. 

Georgia’s second semifinalist is 2018 world bronze medalist, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO). He'll take on Balbai DORDOKOV (KGZ) for a spot in the 55kg finals.

Daniel CATARAGA (MDA) celebrates after making the U23 World semifinals.  (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

Moldova’s pair of finalists are Alexandru BICIU (MDA) and Daniel CATARAGA (MDA). 

In a rematch of the U23 European Championship finals, Biciu will try to avenge that loss to Mihai MIHUT (ROU) with a spot in the 63kg finals on the line, while reigning U23 world champion Daniel Cataraga will see Sajan SAJAN (IND) in the 77kg semifinals.

Russian National champion, Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS), and U23 European bronze medalist, Gazi KHALILOV (RUS), will wrestle in the 55kg and 87kg semifinals respectively. 

At 55kg, Kabaloev will wrestle 2015 junior world bronze medalist Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ), and Khalilov will scrap against Cuba’s 2018 senior-level world team member, Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB), in the semifinals at 87kg. 

Meanwhile, Turkey’s reigning U23 world champion Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) and two-time U23 European finalist Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) will also wrestle for a spot in tomorrow night’s finals. 

In the 87kg semifinals, Cengiz will have to get past Rajbek BISULTANOV (DEN), while Yildirim will be pitted against Egypt's Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) in the 130kg semifinals.

The semifinals are set to begin at 18:00 PM local time at Bucharest’s Polyvalent Hall.

Semifinal Match-ups 
55kg
Balbai DORDOKOV (KGZ) vs. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) 
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) vs. Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS)

63kg
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) vs. Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI) 
Alexandru BICIU (MDA) vs. Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)

77kg
Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN) vs. Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) 
Sajan SAJAN (IND) vs. Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)

87kg
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) vs. Gazi KHALILOV (RUS)

130kg
Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) vs. Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN) 
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) vs. Abdellatif Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)

#development

South Africa Advances National Wrestling System with DNSS Phase 2

Thursday, April 9, 2026 - 07:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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PRETORIA, South Africa (April 8) -- South Africa has reached a decisive milestone in its long-term wrestling development strategy with the successful implementation of Phase 2 of the Development of National Sport System (DNSS) programme, delivered in collaboration with United World Wrestling (UWW) and supported by Olympic Solidarity.

Following the diagnostic and mapping phase conducted earlier, Phase 2 marks a clear transition from analysis to structured implementation, laying the foundation for a sustainable and internationally aligned wrestling system.

Led by UWW Development Officer Vincent AKA, in close cooperation with the South African Wrestling Federation (SAWF), the National Head Coach, Markus DEKKER and Provincial Coordinators, the programme was deployed across multiple provinces through a structured 10-day intervention from March 2 to 13. 

Activities were conducted in key locations including:

· LPWA (Ion Bachu)
· CGWA (Ruiter)
· NGWA (Menlo Park Hall)
· Frank Joubert Tournament (Menlo Park Hall)

This nationwide approach ensured direct engagement with provincial structures, strengthening alignment between national leadership and local associations while promoting inclusive development across the country.

From Talent Identification to System Building

Unlike traditional training camps, DNSS Phase 2 focused on identifying talent and building long-term development systems. Wrestlers and coaches from all age categories -- U13, U15, U17, U20, and Senior -- were actively involved, ensuring a complete pathway approach.

Provincial visits and stakeholder meetings played a key role in assessing facilities and operational structures, strengthening coordination between SAWF and provinces, and identifying emerging wrestlers.

Building Athlete Pipeline

A training camp for different provinces brought together wrestler to consolidate talent identified during Phase 1 and introduce standardized training methodologies.

The training camp included technical sessions, physical conditioning, match simulations and wrestling. The initiative contributed to the creation of an updated national prospect and the foundation of a structured athlete monitoring system.

South Africa

Beach Wrestling Gains Momentum

As part of the DNSS activities, a Beach Wrestling training session in Roodepoort highlighted the programme’s expanding impact.

During the visit, Aka led a specialized session, sharing advanced technical insights adapted to beach wrestling. It included stance and balance adjustments, grip and control techniques, and movement adaptation on sand.

The training programme comes at a crucial time, as South African athletes prepare for African Beach Wrestling Championships in Alexandria, Egypt and other international tournaments.