Three Defending Champs Upended on Quest to Repeat as European Champions

Thursday, February 13, 2020 - 21:30 By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (February 13) --- Miglena SELISHKA (BUL), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) and Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS) halted Thursday night’s trio of returning European champions from defending their crowns from a year ago.

At 50kg, Selishka scored the two-point victory over defending European champion Oksana LIVACH (UKR) and flip-flopped the first and second positions on the podium from last year’s European Championships.

“I feel fantastic; I feel good. I can’t say it with words,” Selishka said after her European finals win.

She trailed 1-0 after the first four minutes of wrestling but adjusted mid-way through the second period and solved the Ukrainian puzzle that stumped her for over half the match. “I was just thinking that I need to keep wrestling and try to score points.”

Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) and her coach celebrate her 50kg gold-medal win. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

That’s precisely what she did, starting her five-point scoring run with a referee-given inactivity point.

Selishka added a stepout point and a takedown and extended her lead to 4-1. She surrendered a two-point takedown and only led by a point, but capitalized on a Livach slip and scored her fifth and final point of the match. Selishka avenged her 2019 European finals loss and improved on that 2019 runner-up finish with the 5-3 win over third-ranked Livach.

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) celebrates after picking up a last-second takedown over Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) in the 59kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Anastasia Nichita scored a dramatic comeback win over Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) and became the first Moldovan woman ever to win a European title.

“Firstly, for me, it means a lot because I train hard every day. I have done everything I could to win that medal,” said Nichita. “I was dreaming of it for so long. It means everything to me.”

Nichita trailed 2-0 after the first three minutes after she gave up the period's only takedown. The 21-year-old Moldovan evened the match with a takedown of her own with two-minutes left in the second period.

But Nichita fell behind again after Dudova gained two points from a stepout and a failed challenge.

When asked what her plan was heading into the final 25 seconds down by two points, Nachita said, “Honestly, I didn’t have any plans. I just wrestled till the very end. I only stopped when I saw 00:00 on the scoreboard.”

She fired off attack after attack, and with three seconds left, finally got to the legs of Dudoba. Nichita snuck behind Dudova and ended her hopes of repeating as European champion. “I didn’t expect it to happen,” Nachita said after scoring the takedown with three seconds left.

Nichita qualified Moldova for the Olympic Games with a fifth-place finish in Nur-Sultan and will move back down to the Olympic weight of 57kg. “I will go on training hard. I want to win an Olympic medal for our country, for the Republic of Moldova.”

Ekaterina Bukina finally captured her long-awaited European gold medal with a 4-3 victory over reigning champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR).

Bukina fell in her previous three trips to the European finals and stopped Adar from adding a fifth consecutive continental crown to her resume.

“It’s my first win at the European Championships. Even though I have the Olympic bronze, first place is always the first,” Bukina said after her big win.

In the finals, Bukina blasted Adar in the opening period with an unexpected ankle pick and led 4-0. She said she saw the ankle pick present itself and capitalized on her one opportunity. “I saw that she put her foot close; I tried the chance that was given to me and it was successful.”

She surrendered three points in the second period but stayed composed and stood atop the European podium for the first time in her career with her one-point finals victory. “I was very happy to win. I was happy that they played the Russian national anthem and gave me the medal,” said Bukina.

Bukina’s European title run puts the Russian coaching staff in a tough position moving forward. London Olympic champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) is moving up from her 2019 world-title winning weight of 72kg to the Olympic weight of 76kg.

Bukina said she's not sure where this win puts her in the race to represent Russia at the Olympic Games. “It depends on who will be in better shape. Right now, she is wrestling in the other weight category, but we will decide later when it’s closer to the Olympics. It’s too early to talk about it.”

Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) was one of three Russian women who won gold medals on Thursday night. She won the 68kg title with a 10-0 win over Dalma CANEVA (ITA). (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Russia Leads Team Race After Winning Three Golds on Thursday Night
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) and Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) joined Bukina as European champions on Thursday night. The trio of champions helped the Russian Federation (105 points) carry a 31 point lead over Ukraine (74 points) into the final day of women’s wrestling.

At 55kg, Khoroshavtseva only needed less than two minutes to pick up the 10-0 technical superiority victory over Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) in the 55kg gold-medal match. She kickstarted the match with a slide-by and ended the match with back-to-back four-point throws.

Khoroshavtseva's win handed Russia their first gold medal in any style of these European Championships.

Velieva was Russia’s second champion of the day. She put on a dominant display in the 68kg finals and joined Khoroshavtseva atop the continental podium with an 11-0 technical superiority victory over Dalma CANEVA (ITA).

Bukina rounded out the three Russian gold medalists with her win over world champion Yasemin Adar in the 76kg finals.

The European Championships resume on Friday morning at 11:30 (local time) and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS
50kg
GOLD - Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL) df. Oksana LIVACH (UKR), 5-3
BRONZE - Milana DADASHEVA (RUS) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 10-4
BRONZE - Kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR) df. Emilia CIRICU BUDEANU (MDA), 10-0

55kg
GOLD - Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) df. Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR), 10-0
BRONZE - Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE) df. Ellen RIESTERER (GER), 10-0
BRONZE - Bediha GUN (TUR) df. Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), 11-4

59kg
GOLD - Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) df. Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL), 6-5
BRONZE - Anhelina LYSAK (UKR) df. Laura MERTENS (GER), via fall
BRONZE - Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS) df. Elif YANIK (TUR), 14-3

68kg
GOLD - Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 11-0
BRONZE - Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) df. Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR), via fall
BRONZE - Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) df. Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER), 9-0

76kg
GOLD - Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS) df. Yasemin ADAR (TUR), 4-3
BRONZE - Iselin SOLHEIM (NOR) df. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 6-6
BRONZE - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) df. Pauline LECA

#WrestleZagreb

Kayaalp Returns with Gold at Zagreb Open; Gomi stuns Ganiev

Monday, February 9, 2026 - 01:45 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 8) -- Wearing gold medals is nothing new for Riza KAYAALP (TUR), an Olympic, world and 12-time European champion with a career spanning more than 15 years.

But wearing the Zagreb Open gold on Sunday felt different for Kayaalp.

Returning to the mat after a hiatus of 18 months, Kayaalp wrestled at the Ranking Series event and claimed the 130kg gold medal. The 36-year-old looked sharp in Zagreb, repeatedly using the trademark gut-wrench to win his bouts. He showed no signs of fading in any bout and remained in complete control throughout.

Kayaalp opened with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Aden ATTAO (USA) and followed with another 9-0 victory against Rati TALIKISHVILI (GEO). In the semifinals, he was content with winning 4-0 against Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ), getting both passivity advantages.

Facing Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) in the final, Kayaalp scored three turns from par terre to lead 7-0. Schultz was given par terre advantage in the second period but failed to score as Kayaalp secured a 7-1 victory.

"It has been a day full of pride and joy for me to return to this beautiful mat," Kayaalp said. "I returned to the place that has been a part of my life, and to wear the gold medal here again."

At the 2023 European Championships at the same Arena Zagreb, Kayaalp had won his record-tying 12th gold medal. Later that year, he qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a silver medal at the World Championships.

However, his career stalled in 2024 when he received a competition ban. Following a lengthy appeal process, Kayaalp cleared his name and returned to the sport, with the Zagreb Open being his first tournament.

"It was a stressful time. Things I never wanted happened to me," he said. "There is nothing worse in life than not being able to explain yourself. But we still have something to live for."

Kayaalp had planned to retire after the Paris Games. After missing the event, however, he returned with renewed motivation to win medals at the Olympics, World Championships and the European Championships.

"There is great fire, ambition and renewal within me," he said. "That old boredom in my mind is gone. I got angry, very angry. But now I hope to have good goals."

Riza KAYAALP (TUR) receives the gold medal from Taha AKGUL (TUR). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Taha AKGUL (TUR), a long-time teammate of Kayaalp but in Freestyle and now the President of the Turkish Wrestling Federation, called Kayaalp the magician.

"He came here with around twenty percent preparation," Akgul said about Kayaalp. "We have the European Championship ahead and we will prepare well. Hopefully, he will break Karelin's record by becoming European champion for the thirteenth time."

Kayaalp and Aleksandr KARELIN are tied at 12 European gold medals, and the former nearly broke the record in 2024. However, he got pinned by Sergey SEMENOV (UWW) in the final.

"He is the brother, the captain, the magician of the team," Akgul said. "We set out on this journey as two brothers. It was the same when I was an athlete. We won our gold medals together. Now, we want to represent Turkish wrestling in the same way."

Turkiye won the second gold medal of the day through Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) who denied Mihail BRADU (MDA), 5-0, in the final.

As soon as the second period began, Bradu tried hitting an arm-throw on Saricicek but the Turkiye wrestler countered and flung Bradu and got four points.

That was the only action in the second period as Saricicek claimed the gold medal. Saricicek survived a tough semifinal against Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) but managed to scrap past 4-3.

Alex SZOKE (HUN) tries to score against Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Alex SZOKE (HUN) took a step closer to making the Hungarian team at 97kg for the European Championships after winning gold medal at the same weight here in Zagreb.

Facing former U20 world champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) in the final, Szoke managed to get both par terre position and also a turn to lead 4-0, which was also the winning score for him.

Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI) emerged as the latest entry in Iran for a weight class. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) had long been Iran's go-to at 55kg but then emerged Payam AHMADI (IRI) who won gold at U20 World Championships and silver at the senior level.

Now, Hosseinvand defeated Dad Marz in the semifinal in Zagreb and later went on to win the gold medal, defeating Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), 2-0, in the final.

Hosseinvand got both par terre advantages in the match. While he did not score any points in the final, he defended his positions and did not give any either to claim the gold medal.

At 72kg, former U20 world champion Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY) controlled his final against Nika BROLADZE (GEO) and won the gold medal, posting a 4-1 victory.

Alameldin was put in par terre in the first period which gave Broladze a point. As he was unable to score any points, Broladze led only 1-0 at the break.

Broladze gave up a point via stepout at the start of the second period which gave Alameldin a 1-1 criteria lead. Alameldin then got the par terre advantage, making the score 2-1.

In the final 30 seconds, Broladze tried some desperate moves but Alameldin bodylocked him and brought him down for two points which sealed the win for him.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI) df. Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), 2-0

BRONZE: Omer RECEP (TUR) df. Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ), 8-0
BRONZE: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. LALIT (IND), 5-3

60kg
GOLD: Koto GOMI (JPN) df. Alisher GANIEV (UZB), 10-0

BRONZE: Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) df. Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), 1-1
BRONZE: Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ) df. Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI), via fall

72kg
GOLD: Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY) df. Nika BROLADZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ) df. Abror ATABAEV (UZB), 3-3
BRONZE: Shakhzod KUCHKOROV (UZB) df. Alejandro SANCHO (USA), 11-0

82kg
GOLD: Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) df. Mihail BRADU (MDA), 5-0

BRONZE: Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) df. Beka MELELASHVILI (USA), 10-1
BRONZE: Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) df. Jesse PORTER (USA), 7-2

97kg
GOLD: Alex SZOKE (HUN) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 4-0

BRONZE: Hadi SEYDI AVENDI (IRI) df. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ), 1-1
BRONZE: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Mihail KAJAIA (SRB), 2-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA), 7-1

BRONZE: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Artur SARKISJAN (CZE), 1-1
BRONZE: Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ) df. Rati TALIKISHVILI (GEO), 6-1

Three Defending Champs Upended on Quest to Repeat as European Champions

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Kayaalp Returns with Gold at Zagreb Open; Gomi stuns Ganiev