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Sidakov Caps Magnificent Run with Gold, Petriashvili Repeats

Sunday, October 21, 2018 - 20:25 By Andrew Hipps

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BUDAPEST, Hungry (October 21) -- Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) capped off a magnificent performance in Budapest, claiming the 74kg gold medal at the World Championships on Sunday night. 

Sidakov edged Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) 2-2 on criteria in the gold-medal match. On Saturday, Sidakov defeated a pair of multiple-time world champions, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), en route to the finals.  

On Sunday, Sidakov, a 2015 junior world bronze medalist, found himself in an early 2-0 hole against Kentchadze after giving up two first-period step out points in the span of 10 seconds. With just over a minute remaining in the opening period, Sidakov fired off a shot and scored a takedown to grab the lead on criteria. A scoreless final period gave Sidakov the 2-2 victory on criteria. 

In a highly-anticipated bronze-medal match at 74kg, Burroughs edged Chamizo 4-4 in their third meeting of the year. Burroughs scored first off the shot clock and took a 1-0 lead in to the break. A second-period flurry resulted in a 2-2 exchange, which made the score 3-2 in favor of Burroughs. Chamizo took a 4-3 lead after scoring with a step out and unsuccessful challenge by USA. With just under 30 seconds left, Burroughs retook lead on a step out and held for the victory. 

With the victory, Burroughs has now claimed seven world or Olympic medals. It's his second world-level bronze medal to go along with five gold medals. 

Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) picked up his second world bronze medal at 74kg, defeating Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) 3-2. 

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) repeated as world champion at 125kg, shutting out Zhiwei DENG (CHN) 6-0 in the gold-medal match. Petriashvili scored a first-period takedown and led 2-0 at the break. He added two more takedowns in the second period to pull away. 

Last year, Petriashvili stunned Taha AKGUL (TUR) in Paris to win his first gold medal at the senior level. Many expected the two world champions to meet again in Budapest, but Akgul was beaten by Parviz HADIBASMANJ (IRI) in the quarterfinals. 

Petriashvili now has five world-level medals.

Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) defeated Sumit SUMIT (IND) 7-2 to win his second consecutive world bronze medal. Also winning a bronze medal at 125kg was Hadibasmanj.

At 60kg, in a battle of returning world medalists, Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) gave up an early takedown to go down 2-0 in the gold-medal match against Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS). But an explosive five-point throw by Bonne Rodriguez late in the first period gave him a 5-2 lead at the break. 

Rashidov, a returning world silver medalist, kept the pressure on in the second period, scoring with three consecutive step outs, but the 34-year-old Cuban held on for a 6-5 victory

It's the third world medal for Bonne Rodriguez. He won bronze medals in 2015 and 2017. 

In the bronze-medal matches at 61kg, Joe Colon dominated Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI) 13-2, while Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) topped Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) 6-3. 

David TAYLOR captured the gold medal at 86kg, giving USA its first gold medalist in Budapest. He rolled to a 12-2 technical fall in the finals over Fatih ERDIN (TUR). 

Taylor built a 6-2 lead in the first period on the strength of three takedowns. He continued his offensive onslaught in the second period, scoring two more takedowns before ending the match with a gut wrench turn. 

The 27-year-old American outscored his opposition 48-13 over the two days in his first World Championships. 

Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) bounced back from a first-round loss to Taylor to claim a bronze medal at 86kg. He defeated Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) 11-5 in the bronze-medal match. It's Yazdanicharati's fourth senior level medal. Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP) won the other bronze medal at 86kg.

USA leads in both the team race (120 points) and medal count (4) after the second day at the World Championships. Russia sits in second place, followed by Iran. 

61kg
GOLD: Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) df. Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) by VPO1, 6-5
BRONZE: Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) df. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) by VPO1, 6-3
BRONZE: Joseph Daniel COLON (USA) df. Mohammadbagher Esmaeil YAKHKESHI (IRI) by VSU1, 13-2

74kg
GOLD: Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) by VPO1, 2-2
BRONZE: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) by VPO1, 3-2
Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) df. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) by VPO1, 4-4

86kg
GOLD: David Morris TAYLOR III (USA) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR) by VSU1, 12-2
BRONZE: Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) df. Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) by VPO1, 11-5
BRONZE: Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP) df. Gwanuk KIM (KOR) by VPO1, 7-2

125kg
GOLD: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Zhiwei DENG (CHN) by VPO, 6-0
BRONZE: Parviz Khodavirdi HADIBASMANJ (IRI) df. Anzor Ruslanovitch KHIZRIEV (RUS) by VPO1, 11-2
BRONZE: Nicholas Edward GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) df. Sumit SUMIT (IND) by VPO1, 7-2
 

'I was destroyed, couldn't sleep': Ghasempour recalls painful loss to Sadulaev

Monday, March 10, 2025 - 10:53 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 10) -- "I've thought about it a lot. Of course, it's in the past and thinking about it won't change anything. But I've thought a lot about why I made a mistake in those four seconds and I could have managed the wrestling differently and finished it very easily."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) stares at the empty walls of the interview room as he recalls the heartbreaking and shocking 5-3 loss to Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) in the semifinal of the World Championships last October.

The images of Ghasempour holding his head in hands after the loss went viral on social media. Sadulaev was praised for his champion mindset and his ability to script a remarkable late turnaround. Ghasempour was consoled by his fans, who urged him to not lose heart.

Those comforting words felt hollow at that point and Ghasempour felt 'lost'.

"The reality is that the fighting spirit and the feeling I had on the first day of the competition caused all those feelings to disappear and I was destroyed. I couldn't control myself and I just wanted the competition to end and go back," Ghasmepour says, with his voice breaking as he recollects his thoughts.

For 5 minutes and 55 seconds, Ghasempour controlled the 92kg semifinal against Sadulaev, a two-time Olympic champion known for his must-win attitude. A loss would have reinforced the belief that the Sauldaev aura was fading. A win for Ghasempour, a two-time world champion at 92kg, would make him only the third wrestler to beat Sadulaev.

But with five seconds remaining, Sadulaev snapped the Iranian down, spun behind, then managed to fling him to the mat for a 4-point takedown.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), behind, hits the match-winning takedown on Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"It was also very difficult for me to come to terms with the loss," Ghasempour recalls. "After the match, I felt very bad and didn't sleep all night. I was awake from the intensity of thought and pressure, and it was very difficult for me. Due to the pressure I was under, I took four painkillers after the match."

A few hours of sleep was never going to be enough for Ghasempour to return for his bronze-medal bout against David TAYLOR (USA), which he lost 6-2.

Four months have passed since that day in Tirana, a city Ghasempour returned for the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series last week and captured the gold medal. Though not the World Championships and there was no Sadulaev in the field, Ghasempour managed to bring a smile on his face as he stood on the podium.

However, memories flashed back.

"When I was going up to the podium [after winning gold], I thought again that I could have been standing on the Worlds podium a few months ago, not this tournament," he said. "But that's how sports is, and if a professional athlete wants to continue their path, they must know that winning and losing are part of sports."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) won the 92kg gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in February. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Ghasempour did take comfort from the messages he received. Yet, he is unable to move on from those five seconds of lapse in concentration.

"People gave me a lot of good energy and praised me constantly, which shows the kindness of the people," he says. "But what I wanted didn't happen and the result wasn't as I wanted. It would have been better if it ended with a good result."

As the new Olympic cycle begins, Ghasempour wants to make amends. There will be many pit stops before he can be at his first Olympics and he wants to capture every gold medal that comes his way.

"There are three more World Championships left before the Olympics [in 2028]," he says. "The World Championships are very important to me, and after that, it's the Olympic medal that I want to have in my medal showcase. In the year leading up to the Olympics, I will make the decision and compete in a weight class so that I can participate in the Olympics."