#WrestleAlmaty

Ryu Grabs Ticket to Tokyo While Kyrgyzstan Secures Three Olympic Spots

Friday, April 9, 2021 - 09:59 By Ken Marantz

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 9) --- Veteran Hansu RYU (KOR) earned another shot at the Olympics, while Kyrgyzstan grabbed three spots at the Tokyo Games as the Greco-Roman competition kicked off the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament on Friday.

Ryu, a 33-year-old former world champion, punched his ticket to Tokyo this summer when he advanced to the semifinals at 67kg, clinching one of the two berth available at the continental qualifier at Almaty's Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports.

Iran's bid to fill out its dance card in Greco-Roman at Tokyo came up one short when 2019 Asian champion Hossein NOURI (IRI) was dealt a heartbreaking 4-4 defeat by Fei PENG (CHN) in the 87kg semifinals.

Iran, which had already secured three Greco berths at the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan, picked up two of the three other spots with semifinal runs by Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) at 67kg and Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) at 97kg.

China and Korea also captured two Olympic berths, while host Kazakhstan, Olympic host Japan and Uzbekistan grabbed one each.

Ryu, last year's Asian champion who placed fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympics, advanced to the final in the night session with an impressive victory by fall over Aram VARDANYAN (UZB), the 2019 world silver medalist at 72kg.

Twice Ryu scored a takedown, then used a high chest wrench to score with a roll and build an 8-0 lead. After the second combination, Vardanyan conceded  allowing the fall at 1:21.

Ryu missed out on qualifying at the Nursultan worlds when he lost close decisions to eventual champion Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) and Frank STAEBLER (GER).

In the final, he will face Geraei, the 2019 world U-23 and Asian champion who advanced with a fall and two technical falls, the last a 9-1 rout of Ashu ASHU (IND) in the semifinals.

"It's great to qualify here and I am ready for the Tokyo Olympics," Geraei said. "It's always great to be a champion. My brother (Mohammadali GERAEI, 77kg) qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and he is a champion as well. He got it in Nursultan and I did it in Almaty. We will now do well in Tokyo."

Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) led the Kyrgyz trio of semifinalists when the 2020 Asian silver medalist upended Gyandender GYANDENDER (IND) 6-1 in the 60kg semifinals.

He will take on 2018 world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN), who capped a 10-0 technical fall victory over Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK) with a mighty 4-point throw.

Later, Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) and Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) joined their compatriot with semifinal victories at 77kg and 97kg, respectively. Makhmudov manhandled Singh GURPREET (IND) with a pair of 4-point bear-hug throws in an 8-2 win, while Dzhuzupbekov unleashed a 4-point throw from par terre position in a 6-0 victory over Seyeol LEE (KOR).

"It was a dream to qualify for the Olympics since childhood," Makhmudov said. "When I was old enough to understand things, I only thought about the Olympics. The semifinal was exactly how I planned to wrestle. I think it was one of my best bouts."

Makhumudov will next face Shohei YABIKU (JPN), who salvaged an otherwise tough day for the Olympic host nation by beating Hujun ZHANG (CHN), 6-2. Coming into Almaty, Japan had qualified in only one Greco weight, 60kg from world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN).

Kyrgyzstan came across the border also having  secured only one Olympic spot in Greco, at 87kg, at the World Championships, and will now return with four, tied with Uzbekistan.

Next up for Dzhuzupbekov will be 2020 Asian champion Saravi, who advanced with a 10-2 technical fall over Yanan CHEN (CHN).

China's Peng will be heading to his second Olympics after a stunning reversal of fortune against Nouri. Trailing 4-0 in the second period, Peng was being driven backward when he hit a last-ditch back drop that sent the Iranian to his back for 4 points and a victory by criteria.

"I didn't plan anything for the semfinal, I just wrestled normal," said Peng, a 2018 Asian bronze medalist. "I have lost to him many times in the past so it was great to win. I am excited for Tokyo."

Awaiting him in the final will be 30-year-old Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), who pulled off a little late-match magic of his own -- not once, but twice. After having to rally to defeat Masato SUMI (JPN) 5-3 in the quarterfinals, Tursynov stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat 2020 Asian champion Kumar SUNIL (IND), 9-5, with a big 4-point throw being the decisive move.

The most dominant performance of the day was turned in by Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) at 130kg. With the weight class split into round-robin groups, Abdullaev made short work of his three group opponents, scoring a fall and two technical falls, then trounced Lingzhe MENG (CHN) by 9-0 technical fall in the semifinals. None of his four matches lasted more than two minutes.

Minseok KIM (KOR) gave Korea a second Olympic spot by defeating Naveen NAVEEN (IND), 7-1, in the other semifinal.

The competition continues with women's wrestling on Saturday and freestyle on Sunday.

Greco-Roman semifinal results:

60kg
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) df. Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK) by TF, 10-0 (4:25)
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Gyandender GYANDENDER (IND), 6-1

67kg
Hansu RYU (KOR) df. Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) by Fall, 1:21 (8-0)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Ashu ASHU (IND) by TF, 9-1 (2:07)

77kg
Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Singh GURPREET (IND), 8-2
Shohei YABIKU (JPN) df. Hujun ZHANG (CHN), 6-2

87kg
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) df. Kumar SUNIL (IND), 9-5
Fei PENG (CHN) df. Hossein NOURI (IRI), 4-4

97kg
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Yanan CHEN (CHN) by TF, 10-2 (4:32)
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) df. Seyeol LEE (KOR), 6-0

130kg
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN) by TF, 9-0 (1:53)
Minseok KIM (KOR) df. Naveen NAVEEN (IND), 7-1

#WrestleNoviSad

Farokhi, Hedayati lead Iran's golden charge at U23 Worlds

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 15:58 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 21) -- Iran’s Greco-Roman dominance shows no signs of slowing down. After winning team titles at the U17 World Championships in Athens, the U20 Worlds in Samokov, and the senior event in Zagreb, Iran looks poised to complete a clean sweep in Novi Sad as Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) claimed gold medals at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2025 on Tuesday.

World champion Farokhi and defending champion Hedayati, who celebrated his birthday as well on Tuesday, won gold medals in dominant fashion at 87kg and 130kg respectively.

"I was able to win two back-to-back tough matches at the World Championships and bring home two gold medals," Farokhi said. "These were high-level competitions."

Farokhi, a gold medalist at 82kg in Zagreb, moved up to 87kg for Novi Sad but had no troubles in switching weights. As he did in Zagreb, Farokhi brought his best game in par terre and rolled to his second gold in one month after a 9-0 victory in the final against Ivan CHMYR (UKR), his fifth technical superiority victory.

After being put on top in par terre, Farokhi launched a trap-arm gut and turned Chmyr four times for the win. Ukraine threw one of those ever increasing challenges for no reason but lost it to add one more point to Farokhi's score.

"When you move up a weight class, the opponents are definitely stronger and tougher," Farokhi said. "It was a good experience, and it gave me a better sense of how I can perform at 87 kg -- an Olympic weight class"

Hedayati, who has not lost an international bout since his 2022 U20 World Championships finals loss, showed why he will dominate the 130kg weight class for years to come.

Up against Razmik KURDYAN (ARM) in the final, Hedayati began with takedown on the edge for two points. Kurdyan was put in par terre and from there Hedayati turned him twice to extend his lead to 7-0. With just 23 seconds left before the break, Hedayati scored a stepout to finish the final 8-0 and claim his second straight U23 world title.

At 63kg, Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) upended returning 63kg U23 world champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3, in the final using a four-point suplex from par terre to score his points.

Eriomenco, who had defeated Babashov in the U23 European finals, looked very dominant in run up to the final while Babashov had some tough bouts on Monday. But the Azerbaijan wrestler began aggressively and managed to earn first par terre advantage.

He performed a suplex for four points to make his lead 5-0 and take huge step towards winning his first ever world title. He further consolidated his position when he defended from par terre in the second period and gave up only stepout to Eriomenco as the score changed to 5-2.

Babashov then countered an attack from the Moldova wrestler and forced him to stepout outside to extend his lead to 6-2. He gave up one more stepout but held on to the 6-3 lead to win the gold medal.

With the win, he now leads the head-to-head against Eriomenco 2-1 as both have traded victories at 2024 U23 European Championships and its 2025 edition with the Moldovan one being the more recent winner.

Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) holds off Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) in the 77kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

A silver medalist from 2023 at the U23 Worlds, Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) managed to win gold at 77kg as he defeated Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1, in the final.

Orjonikidze was himself to blame for the loss as he committed a defensive leg foul in the first period when Mirzoiev got the par terre position and as he was trying to lift, Orjonikidze blocked him with his leg, giving a 3-0 lead to the Ukrainian.

Georgia challenged the decision but on review, it was confirmed that a leg foul was indeed committed. The lost challenge gave one more point to Mirzoiev.

Orjonikidze got the par terre position in the second period but he failed to score any points and Mirzoiev easily defended his 4-1 lead to eventually claimed the gold medal.

Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) defeated Richard KARELSON (EST) in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Yakushenko closer to U23 title

U20 world champion Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) is a win away from winning his second world tittle three months after he reached the 97kg final at U23 World Championships. He defeated European Championships silver medalist Richard KARELSON (EST) 6-3 in the semifinals.

Karelson tried to make a match of it but Yakushenko scored a four-pointer from par terre to lead 5-0 before Karelson scored a takedown. But Yakushenko got a stepout to lead 6-2. He defended his lead despite Karelson getting par terre in the second period.

He will face Asian U23 champion Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) who rolled to a 9-1 win over Maksim AVERIN (UWW), scoring four turns from par terre in the second period.

At 55kg, U23 European champion Alibek AMIROV (UWW) will face Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) in the final after he defeated Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) in the semifinal. Amirov was down 2-1 when he got the 

Aliyev hit a beautiful headlock for four against 2024 U17 world champion Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) before securing the fall in the semifinal.

Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) will take on Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) for the gold medal at 67kg after he defeated Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1, having the criteria from the first point score in a 1-1 finish.

Andelrehim led 4-1 when his opponent in the semifinal, Attila JOZSA (HUN), injury default for a leg injury.

Seven years after winning the U17 World Championships gold medal, Abror ATABAEV (UZB) will have a chance to win a second world title after he reached the 72kg final. After getting the first par terre and 1-1 lead against Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), Atabaev defended his par terre position and kept the 1-1 criteria lead.

Maulitkanov threw everything at Atabaev in the final two minutes but the Uzbekistan defended all the attacks. Atabaev was close to giving up a takedown in the final 15 seconds but he managed to keep himself up and then score a pushout to lead 2-1. Kazakhstan challenged the call but it was a clear stepout and the lost challenge made it 3-1 for Atabaev.

He will face former Asian champion Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) for gold after the Iranian defended his 1-1 criteria lead against Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM). The final will be battle of two Asian champion as Atabaev won that title in 2023.

RESULTS

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3

BRONZE: Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (UWW) df. Servet ANGI (TUR), 6-1
BRONZE: Adham ELSAYED (EGY) df. Kuttubek ABDURAZAKOV (KGZ), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) df. Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), 3-3
BRONZE: Levente LEVAI (HUN) df. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN), 4-2

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Ivan CHMYR (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Payton JACOBSON (USA) df. Lachin VALIYEV (AZE), 5-3
BRONZE: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Yassine BEN LABED (POL), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), 8-0

BRONZE: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Aleksandr MELEKHOV (UWW) df. Artur SARKISJAN (CZE), 9-1

Semifinals

55kg
GOLD: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)  vs. Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

SF 1: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) df. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall (5-1)
SF 2: Alibek AMIROV (UWW) df. Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ), via fall (7-2)

67kg
GOLD: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) vs. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY)

SF 1: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1
SF 2: Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) df. Attila JOZSA (HUN), via inj. def. (4-1)

72kg
GOLD: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

SF 1: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), 1-1
SF 2: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) vs. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)

SF 1: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) df. Richard KARELSON (EST), 6-3 
SF 2: Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) df. Maksim AVERIN (UWW), 9-1