Sidakov Completes Dream Run to 2nd Straight 74kg Title; Petriashvili 3-peats at 125kg

Saturday, September 21, 2019 - 19:16 By Ken Marantz

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (Sept. 21) --- There will be no need for Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) to pinch himself. This world title is as a real as last year’s, even with its haunting similarities.

Sidakov successfully defended his world title in the freestyle 74kg class by defeating Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) 5-2 in the final, one of two titles won by Russia on Day 8 of the World Championships in Nur-Sultan.

“I can't say it's the same because last year was my first title,” Sidakov said. “After I became a world champion [last year in Budapest], I went to sleep and suddenly woke up at 4 a.m. Is it true that I became a world champion? I started looking for the belt.”

When a Russian journalist suggested now he will need to look for two belts, Sidakov laughed and replied, “Yes, but I have already forgot about this result because I have to prepare for the next competition.”

It will be hard to forget how Sidakov defeated both Chamizo and Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), who between them have accumulated six world titles and two Olympic medals, en route to the gold medal for the second straight year.

“Yesterday, my thoughts were there's only one match left, I have to be ready for it,” Sidakov said, referring to his last-second win over Burroughs in Friday’s semifinals at Barys Arena. “[Chamizo] is a very strong athlete and I respect him. The score [between us] is now 3-1.”

In the final, the 23-year-old Sidakov gained a point with Chamizo on the activity clock for the only score of the first period. Early in the second, Chamizo went ahead with a single-leg takedown.

“I never worried at any time during this match,” Sidakov said. “I just kept working.”

Sidakov scored with a single-leg takedown of his own to go ahead, then added a second in the final seconds to put the match away.

“I didn't have a strategy for this final,” Sidakov said. “Actually, I don't prepare a plan for any match. I just go in and do what I can do. I don't pay attention to my breathing. I just switch on my brain and try to win.”

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) won his third consecutive world title with a 6-6 win over rival Taha AKGAL (TUR). (Photo: Gabor Martin)

In the latest clash of the titans at 125kg, Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) completed a three-peat of world titles when he scored a single-leg takedown with :08 left to edge nemesis Taha AKGAL (TUR) 6-6 on last-point criteria.

Akgal, who won every world and Olympic titles from 2014 to 2016, scored the only points in the first period with a takedown, then doubled the lead with a takedown early in the second.

Midway through the period, Petriashvili got on the scoreboard with a takedown. The two then found themselves with mutual leg holds, then levered each other over in succession, Petriashvili momentarily holding the lead before quickly surrendering it with :39 left.

With the clock ticking down, the Georgian gave it one last shot and came up golden with the winning takedown.

“I didn’t plan anything,” said Petriashvili, who avenged a 7-0 loss to Akgal from the final at the European Championships in April. “The only thing I know is I have to wrestle until the last second.”

J’den COX (USA) defeated Alireza KARAMIMACHIANI (IRI), 4-0, and won his second consecutive world title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

J’den COX (USA) repeated as 92kg champion when he scored two takedowns in the first period, then put up a wall of defense that Alireza KARAMIMACHIANI (IRI) had no means of penetrating for a 4-0 victory.

“I don’t know why, but it feels better,” Cox said of winning a second gold. “It’s a rare thing when people get to go back-to-back. I knew that coming into this, so to be able to do it, I knew the hard work I put in, the sacrifices I made.

“I wanted to do it better. I came here and didn’t get scored on. Great.”

Cox indicated that he would have liked Karamimachiani, this year’s Asian champion who won a world bronze last year, to have been more aggressive and put up more of a challenge.

“No disrespect to Karami, but the whole match, he didn’t want to come get it,” said Cox, a Rio 2016 bronze medalist at 86kg. “He wanted to keep it close and wanted to play the game.

“I think that’s a testament to both my offense and my defense, and a testament of my abilities that some of the best in the world aren’t willing to try to do their best out on the mat against me, as far as their techniques and stuff. I’m excited and I’m ready to move forward.”

David BAEV (RUS) blew through Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ), 13-2 in the 70kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

At 70kg, David BAEV (RUS), two years removed from winning a world junior gold, picked up a senior gold in dominating fashion, overwhelming Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) by 14-2 technical fall in 3:46.

Baev was also a world cadet champion in 2014. Only a loss in the 2018 world U23 final to Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) has prevented him from completing the Grand Slam of age-group titles. At 21, he is still eligible to add that gold to his collection.

In the bronze-medal matches, Burroughs assured he would end a World Championships on a winning note for the seventh time when he outclassed unheralded Mao OKUI (JPN) by 10-0 technical fall at 3:30.

The victory gave Burroughs, the London 2012 gold medalist, his third career bronze to go with his four golds in seven appearances at the worlds.

Host Kazakhstan had two chances for medals but was denied in close matches for both. Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) fell to Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) 4-3 in the other third-place match at 74kg, while Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) beat Nurgali NURGAIPULY (KAZ) 2-1 at 92kg.

Two wrestlers born elsewhere came up short in their bids to give their new homelands---Britain and Syria---their first-ever world medals.

Romanian-born Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR) lost by fall to Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) at 70kg, and Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR) was a 5-1 winner over Russian-born Badzha KHUTABA (SYR) at 125kg.

Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) edged Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) at 70kg in a reversal of the 65kg final in Paris in 2017.

The other bronze medalists were Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) at 92kg and Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB), who denied 2018 silver medalist DENG Zhiwei (CHN) a second straight medal.

Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) won the battle of Olympic champions -- taking down Kyle SNYDER (USA), 5-3, in the semifinals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Sharifov spoils Sadulaev-Snyder party, beats American in 97kg semis
In the semifinals in four weight classes that started earlier in the day, Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) played the role of spoiler at 97kg, knocking off former world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) to prevent a highly anticipated rematch between the American and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS).

Sharifov, a two-time Olympic medalist in his own right who moved up from 92kg to the Olympic weight, scored with a single-leg takedown and a counter exposure in the second period to forge out a 5-2 victory.

In the final, he will face champion Sadulaev, who, like Snyder, was a gold medalist at the Rio 2016 Olympics. The Russian advanced to the final with an 8-1 win over Alisher YERGALI (KAZ).

Snyder had won the world and Olympic golds at 97kg from 2015 to 2017 before yielding the world crown to Sadulaev in last year’s final in Budapest. Sadulaev had previously won the 2015 world and 2o16 Olympic golds at 86kg.

“Of course, they are the leaders in the weight category,” Sharifov said of the hype of a Sadulaev-Snyder clash leading up to the tournament. “The last years they have kept the top spot. I prepared myself to meet either of them.”

Sharifov said he studied Snyder’s matches to devise a winning plan. “My strategy was to protect myself against his leg attack and against his counter-attacks. I stuck to this plan.”

Ironically, Sharifov said he had planned to stay at 92kg, “but at the last training camp, the wrestler at 97kg got injured, so the coach said I will wrestle at 97kg.”

Sadulaev and Sharifov have met twice recently in major competitions, with the Russian winning both---8-1 in the semifinals at the Rio 2016 Olympics and 2-1 in the 92kg final at the 2018 European Championships.

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will look to win his second world title when he wrestles Deepak PUNIA (IND) on Sunday night. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

At 86kg, Rio 2016 champion Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), looking to regain the world title he last won in 2017, won within the distance for the fourth straight match, putting away Myles AMINE (SMR) by technical fall in 1:55.

Yazdani will face Deepak PUNIA (IND), an 8-2 winner in the other semifinal over Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI), who still has a chance to become Switzerland’s first-ever freestyle medalist.

A month after winning the world junior title, Punia headed off any hope of a comeback from Reichmuth by scoring a takedown and tilt in the last minute.

Punia got a taste of the strength of Iran at the Asian Championships in April, when he lost by technical fall in the semifinals to eventual champion Kamran GHASENPOUR (IRI) as Yazdani sat out the tournament.

In the non-Olympic weight of 79kg, Kyle DAKE (USA) and Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) set up a rematch of their final in Budapest, which was won by Dake. Dake scored all of his points in the first period and rolled to a 6-1 win over Rashid KURBANOV (UZB), while Hasanov edged Salkazanov 4-3.

Russia will get a chance to add another gold to its bulging tally in the 61kg final, a clash between Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS) and 2016 silver medalist Beka LOMTADZE (GEO).

The tournament will conclude Sunday with the repechage and medal matches at 61kg, 79kg, 86kg and 97kg.

Day 8 Results

Freestyle

61kg (25 entries)
Semifinal – Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS) df. Behnam EHSANPOOR (IRI), 2-2
Semifinal – Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) df. Rahul AWARE (IND), 10-6

70kg (30 entries)
Gold – David BAEV (RUS) df. Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) by TF, 14-2, 3;46
Bronze – Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) df. Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO), 3-2
Bronze – Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) df. Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR) by Fall, 1:12 (8-0)

74kg (39 entries)
Gold – Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), 5-2
Bronze – Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) df. Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ), 4-3
Bronze – Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) df. Mao OKUI (JPN) by TF, 10-0, 3:30

79kg (23 entries)
Semifinal – Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Rashid KURBANOV (UZB), 6-1
Semifinal – Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) df. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), 4-3

86kg (43 entries)
Semifinal – Deepak PUNIA (IND) df. Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI), 8-2
Semifinal – Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) df. Myles AMINE (SMR) by TF, 11-0, 1:55

92kg (18 entries)
Gold – J’den COX (USA) df. Alireza KARAMIMACHIANI (IRI), 4-0
Bronze – Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) df. Nurgali NURGAIPULY (KAZ), 2-1
Bronze – Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) df. Georgii RUBAEV (MDA), 3-2

97kg (26 entries)
Semifinal – Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) df. Kyle SNYDER (USA), 5-2
Semifinal – Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Alisher YERGALI (KAZ), 8-1

125kg (28 entries)
Gold – Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Taha AKGAL (TUR), 6-6
Bronze – Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR) df. Badzha KHUTABA (SYR), 5-1
Bronze – Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) df. DENG Zhiwei (CHN), 6-1

#JapanWrestling

Olympic Champs Fumita, Higuchi Emerge Unscathed on Return Since Paris 2024

Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 15:09 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 21) -- They both were returning to the mat for the first time since winning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and both moved up a weight class, for now, with the next Olympic qualifiers still far off.

And each was watched and cheered on for the first time by their most precious fan.

Kenichiro FUMITA and Rei HIGUCHI shook off the rust and emerged unscathed on Thursday to advance to their respective finals at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

Fumita, the Paris gold medalist at Greco 60kg, handily won two matches to secure a spot in the 63kg final on Friday, where he will face 2025 world team member Manato NAKAMURA in a bid for his first Meiji Cup title since 2022 and fifth overall.

Higuchi, who struck gold in Paris at freestyle 57kg, needed three wins to set up a showdown in the 61kg final with defending champion and former world bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA.

Arash YOSHIDA, coming off winning a second straight freestyle 97kg gold at the Asian Championships, also advanced to the finals on the opening day of the four-day Meiji Cup, which is serving as the second of two domestic qualifiers for both this year's World Championships and, in the Olympic weight classes, the Asian Games that will be hosted by Japan.

Winners from the first qualifier, the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held in December, can clinch a spot with a victory at the Meiji Cup; if the two champions are different, a playoff will be held at the end of the day.

Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) hits a four-point throw in his round one bout. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

Fumita, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion, had planned to return to competition at the Emperor's Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

As for the move up to 63kg, he said, "Looking at the competitions and my own personal objectives, and my current physical ability, I decided to enter at 63kg. I've really on been on edge up to this point leading up to the competition. It's quite a few years since I've had a match at Komazawa. But I feel great, and was able to enjoy myself."

The return from a long layoff can be as testing mentally as it is physically, and Fumita used the experiences of others to guide him through it.

"I thought I would feel more pressure," said Fumita, who advanced to the final with a 7-1 victory over Kensho NATAMI in the semifinals. "After Paris, I watched [fellow gold medalists] Kotaro [KIYOOKA] and Nao [KUSAKA] up close before their [comeback] matches, and both said they were very nervous.

"Having seen that, it gave me an image of what to expect. I stayed calm and, staying aware of what was going on around me, I felt I was able to control the matches."

Helping calm his nerves was the lilty voice of a child clearly heard amid the sparse crowd on the opening day as she yelled, "Papa, ganbatte (fight hard)!" For the first time, the oldest of his two
daughters, now 3, was old enough to see him compete and understand what he was doing.

Fumita related the emotions he went through seeing fellow Nippon Sport Science University alumnus Shota TANOKURA being inspired by his son loudly yelling that set phrase as he ended his career at the Meiji Cup two years ago.

"I was very moved seeing how he responded," Fumita said. "To continue my career and win with my children with me is really a special feeling. Here, I am wholeheartedly determined to perform for them."

Fumita said there are still aspects of his job about which his daughter is blissfully oblivious.

"Sometimes I take [my daughter] to practice. For her, it is really a fun place. So she thinks I go to a fun place every day and I'm just someone who plays all the time," he said with a laugh.

Fumita already has a memento from his first competition in over two years -- a gash over his left eye that was treated with tape wrapped around his head.

"It happens a lot in practice and in matches," Fumita said. "I have many photos of me in the past with my head taped. It gave me a feeling of going back to my roots, which I thought was great."

Higuchi, who like Fumita is 30, an alumnus of NSSU and is sponsored by children's clothing giant Miki House, was wrestling for the first time in front of his 2-year-old daughter (and like Fumita, he has a second infant daughter).

"She kind of knows what's going on," said Higuchi, who defeated world U23 bronze medalist Akito MUKAIDA 12-1 in the semifinals.

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) reached the 61kg final at the Meiji Cup. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

For Higuchi, a battle with weight loss proved more daunting than any opponent he faced on the mat on Friday. He normally should have had no trouble making weight at 61kg, but said he didn't manage it correctly.

"It was my first competition in awhile, and my preparation did not go so well," he said. "There are parts that I have to work on. All went well in practice, but I need to do better at conditioning and cutting weight or I won't be able to win out in December [at the Emperor's Cup]."

A notoriously slow starter, Higuchi said he gradually began to find his groove, culminating in his one-sided win over Mukaida.

"My first match, my movement was not very good," he said. "The water loss as a I cut weight didn't go so well either, so the first and second matches were touch and go.

"During the second match, I was able to get in gear. In the third match in the semifinals, my opponent was third at the world U23, which normally should have been a close match. But I was able to put on a fairly good performance, which I give a grade of 80 [out of 100]."

Higuchi is looking forward to mixing it up with another high-level opponent, one he knows quite well. Hasegawa is yet another NSSU alumnus who still trains at the facility.

"From an emotional viewpoint, I was really excited about facing tough opponents," Higuchi said. "Tomorrow, Hasegawa is world-class wrestler. I don't know if I will win or lose, but I'm really happy to be able to have such a showdown on this big stage."

Asian champion Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) returned to the final of Meiji Cup at 97kg. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

At 97kg, defending champion Yoshida stormed to a pair of 10-0 victories, defeating Satoshi MIURA, a 2025 world U23 bronze medalist at 86kg, in the semifinals to advance to the final against teenager Noah LEIBOWITZ.

The final will be a repeat of the gold-medal match at the Emperor's Cup, which Yoshida won 11-0.

Leibowitz is now a freshman at Nihon University, from which Yoshida just graduated in March. Since then, he began living on his own for the first time.

"I have to prepare my own meals," Yoshida said on how his life has changed. "Instead of always being with a group, I am living a life on my own. My father brings over dinner every Friday, but other than that, I prepare it myself. My specialty is pork kimchi; actually that's all I can make."

Meanwhile, Taishi NARIKUNI, who attempted a rare freestyle-Greco double at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, advanced to the freestyle 70kg final, where he will face collegiate champion Yuma TOMIYAMA.

In women's action, world U20 bronze medalist Shirin TAKEMOTO pulled an upset of sorts at 72kg, knocking off Asian silver medalist Mahiro YOSHITAKE 11-6 in the semifinals. She will face Chisato YOSHIDA in the final.

At 65kg, Asian silver medalist Nana IKEHATA scored a takedown and stepout in the final 1:10 to edge Misuzu ENAMOTO 4-3 and set up a gold-medal clash with Hiyori MOTOKI, the younger sister of Paris Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI.

Sidakov Completes Dream Run to 2nd Straight 74kg Title; Petriashvili 3-peats at 125kg

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Olympic Champs Fumita, Higuchi Emerge Unscathed on Return Since Paris 2024