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Russia Leads Ukraine by Four-Points After Day Four

Friday, June 18, 2021 - 03:09 By United World Wrestling Press

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SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (June 16) --- Russia leads Ukraine by four points heading into the closing day of women’s wrestling action at the Cadet European Championships.

They both had four wrestlers win medals on Thursday, but Russian one-upped Ukraine after Millena VINOGRADOVA (RUS) and Mariia AKULINCHEVA (RUS) outnumbered Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) in the winner’s circle. Vinogradova pinned Martha Silvia FRANK (GER) in the 43kg finals, while Akulincheva scored a controlled 10-4 win over Patrycja Dorota CUBER (POL) in the 73kg finals.

Ukraine’s lone champion, Yefremova, tallied an eight-point win over Sevim AKBAS (TUR) and claimed the 49kg gold medal.

Romania and Hungary were the final two nations who crowned a champion on Thursday.

Romania’s Georgiana Carla LIRCA (ROU) stopped Russia from winning a third gold on the day after beating Angelina PERVUKHINA (RUS), 10-5, in the 57kg finals. Hungary’s Eniko ELEKES (HUN) was the fifth and final champion. She beat Daria KONSTANTYNOVA (UKR), 11-1, for the 73kg title.

Wrestling resumes tomorrow at 11:30 (local time) and can be followed on www.uww.org.

RESULTS
43kg
GOLD - Millena VINOGRADOVA (RUS) df. Martha Silvia FRANK (GER), via fall
BRONZE - Yelyzaveta KULAKIVSKA (UKR) df. Isabela Cristina MARIN (ROU), 10-0
BRONZE - Krasimira Plamenova DIMITROVA (BUL) df. Eda Nur ERSOY (TUR), 4-3

49kg
GOLD - Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) df. Sevim AKBAS (TUR), 10-2
BRONZE - Nikola Monika WISNIEWSKA (POL) df. Darya KLIMOVICH (BLR), 10-7
BRONZE - Svenja JUNGO (SUI) df. Leonie Yvonne WOLF (GER), 6-1

57kg
GOLD - Georgiana Carla LIRCA (ROU) df. Angelina PERVUKHINA (RUS), 10-5
BRONZE - Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR) df. Lotta Amanda VETTENRANTA (FIN), 6–3
BRONZE - Uladzislava KUDZIN (BLR) df. Nazar KAYA (TUR), 10-6

65kg
GOLD - Eniko ELEKES (HUN) df. Daria KONSTANTYNOVA (UKR), 11-1
BRONZE - Alisa CHERNYSHKOVA (RUS) df. Alicja NOWOSAD (POL), 10-2}
BRONZE - Aliaksandra ZHUK (BLR) df. Vanja GERSAK PEREZ (GER), 4-3

73kg
GOLD - Mariia AKULINCHEVA (RUS) df. Patrycja Dorota CUBER (POL), 10-4
BRONZE - Veronika NYIKOS (HUN) df. Kseniya PATAPOVICH (BLR), 8–2
BRONZE - Ambre Oriane CHEVREAU (FRA) df. Mariia ZENKINA (UKR), 5-2

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UWW Most Dominant Wrestlers 2025: Amouzad, Motoki, Esmaeili

Thursday, December 25, 2025 - 11:08 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 24) -- There were several dominant performances in 2025 on the wrestling mat. But it was three wrestlers who remained at the top of their weight classes and racked up dominant wins one after another. Two were Olympic champions while one was an Olympic silver medalist. All three became world champions in Zagreb.

Freestyle Most Dominant Wrester: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)

- 14–0
- Rank 1 at 65kg 
- 58,000 RS points 
- Outscored world and Olympic medalists 42–4
- World Championships, Tirana RS and ISG golds

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) was about as perfect as you could be in a season, returning to prominence with title-winning efforts at the World Championships, Islamic Solidarity Games and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event and finishing the season as the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world at 65kg with 58,000 Ranking Series points.

The Paris silver medalist, collected an unblemished 14-0 record in 2025 -- with five of those wins coming against top-level opponents who have world or Olympic medals on their resumes in Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Real WOODS (USA). The craziest part about those five matches against the world’s best, Amouzad outscored 42-4.

But without a doubt, the highlight of Amouzad’s season came in Zagreb when he finally got his long awaited rematch, beating Kotaro KIYOOKA in a revenge match from the Paris 2024 Olympic finals.

The scariest part about Amouzad’s dominance -- he’s only 23 years old and he’s still getting better.

Women's Wrestling Dominant Wrestler: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

- 9-0
- Five pins, two technical superiorities
- 45,000 RS points 
- 8/9 bouts finished before regulation
- Completed Golden Grand Slam (U17, U20, U23, Senior World and Olympic gold)

Coming into the 2025 season, Motoki made her goals crystal clear -- become the third wrestler in history of the sport to win wrestling’s Golden Grand Slam -- and for those who don’t know, that is gold medals at the U17, U20, U23, Senior World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The only two missing from the Olympic champ's resume were the U23 and Senior World golds.

At the 2025 U23 and senior World Championships, Motoki showed that she’s in a league of her own, as she went 9-0, with eight  matches finishing before time expired. She scored five falls and two technical superiority wins.

Her win in the final of the World Championships will be one that will be talked about for ages as the most dramatic win of the season. Motoki scored a buzzer-beating takedown against Ok Ju KIM (PRK) with a 10-second flurry that consisted of a head outside single, arm throw, over-under knee pick, before head locking Kim with four tenths of a second left to keep her history making hopes alive.

In the end, Motoki’s heart and courage under fire helped her close out the year as the third wrestler to complete the Golden Grand Slam and she did it with a level of dominance we may not see again for a very long time.

Greco-Roman Dominant Wrestler: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)

- Rank 1 at 67kg 
- 58,000 RS points  
- 11–0 Record
- World Championships, Asian Championships and  ISG golds

In a 2025 campaign that saw him become a world champion, Esmaeili's season was immaculate, as he cemented his place among the sport’s top pound-for-pound wrestler with a season full of titles, stacking gold-medals at the World Championships, Asian Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games, rounding out the season ranked No. 1 in the world at 67kg.

The Paris Olympic champion remained unbeaten in 2025, winning all 11 bouts of his bouts in dominant fashion -- scoring eight shutout wins, with seven technical falls -- including a pair of 9-0 win against world champions Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) and Sebastian NAD (SRB). The reigning Olympic gold medalist also collected two victories over Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), one in the world final and one in the Islamic Game gold-medal match, where he tossed his Azeri opponent for four as time expired to rob his rival of the title.

His opponents should not ease up because at just 22 years old, Esmaeili is still sharpening his tool set and leveling up his skills.