#Zagreb2018

Three Countries Land Multiple Finalists in First Day of Greco Action at Cadet World C’Ships

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – Iran, Armenia and Georgia each put multiple wrestlers into the first group of Greco-Roman finals, which will be wrestled Saturday night at the Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

At 48 kg, 2018 Cadet Asian champion Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) took out the 2017 Cadet Asian champion Arshad ARSHAD of India to move onto the finals. Tomorrow night, he’ll face 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Abror ATABAEV (UZB).

Iran has back-to-back wrestlers in the finals as 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) advanced at 55 kg. Khounsari edged out Cadet Asian runner-up Amirbek SULTONOV (UZB) in the semis, 6-5.

Tomorrow, he will face Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO), who defeated 2018 Cadet Asian champion Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) with a decisive 10-4 victory.

Tomorrow’s 65 kg matchup will feature a present Cadet Euro champion against a past European champion as 2018 champ Muslim IMADAEV (RUS) and 2016 champ Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) will do battle.

Imadaev trailed late against Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO) but hit a four-pointer with seconds left to pull out a 7-5 win.

At 80 kg, it was a battle of continental champions in the semfinals as Cadet European champion Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) downed Asian champion Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI), 7-1, to move on to the gold-medal match.

Tomorrow night, Tsopurasvili will take on Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM), who took fifth at the European Championships earlier this year.

In the heavyweight finals, two-time Cadet European bronze medalist Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) will go head-to-head with this year’s European champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR).

Mammodaev defeated 2018 European silver medalist Marcel ALBINI (CZE) in the semifinals with a dominant 12-1 tech fall.

The finals will take place Saturday at 12 p.m. ET live on unitedworldwrestling.com.

Finals pairings
48 kg: Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)
55 kg: Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) vs. Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO)
65 kg: Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) vs. Muslim Imadaev (RUS)
80 kg: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) vs. Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
110 kg: Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Wrestlers, coaches successfully complete ITA anti-doping seminars

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 25) -- In it's aim to empower wrestlers and others to play clean, United World Wrestling was of the leading International Federations in the International Testing Agency's IF webinar series on anti-doping.

After the completion of the series, a total of 1906 certificates were delivered to wrestlers, coaches and support staff related to wrestling.

The ITA webinar series consisted of three sessions, held every Wednesday from April 9, moderated by either anti-doping specialists or former Olympians.

UWW made it mandatory for all wrestlers participating in the U17, U23, and Senior World Championships, as well as for wrestlers included in the Registered Testing Pool [RTP] list.

This was a significant jump for UWW in the sheer number of participants of the webinars. Last year, for the first season of the ITA IF webinar series in collaboration with UWW, participation was mandatory for wrestlers competing at the World U20 Championships in Pontevedra.

This was also the first time that UWW asked the athletes participating in Grappling and Pankration/Amateur MMA styles to attended the webinars, another leap in guiding, educating and informing the community on anti-doping rules and responsibilities.

All National Federations were made aware of these webinars through a circular from UWW.

"Clean sport education is a cornerstone for clean sport. UWW is bound by the World Anti-Doping Code to plan, implement and promote education, and it remains committed to safeguarding athletes’ health and the integrity of its sport. As part of the global anti-doping movement led by WADA, UWW is also part of a collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport. In line with this, all associated Grappling & Pankration Federation must understand and recognize their role and put into place the rules, policies and systems necessary to fulfil their duties under UWW Anti-Doping Rules. UWW Associated Grappling & Pankration Federations are also responsible for providing anti-doping education to ensure that athletes receive proper guidance on clean sport," the circular read.