#Trnava2018

Three Reigning Greco-Roman Junior World Champions Registered for #Trnava2018

Friday, August 31, 2018 - 02:31 By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (August 31) - The 2018 Junior World Championships kick off September 17-23 and each participating nation has summited their final entries to United World Wrestling. Nearly 265 Greco-Roman wrestlers from 43 nations will make the journey to Trnava, Slovakia with hopes of becoming a Junior World Champion.

Three reigning champions in Kamal BEY (USA), Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) are registered to defend their titles from last years Tampere Junior World Championships.

Aleksander KOMAROV (RUS), the three-time age-level world champion and most dominant age-level wrestler in the world was expected to compete for Russia at 82kg but is not registered for the Junior World Championships. Instead, Russia has entered Shamil OZHAEV (RUS) at GR 82kg.

Greco-Roman wrestling begins on September 17 and will be wrestled through September 19.

ROSTERS
ALG
60kg - Mourtada NAANAA
72kg - Amar MOUMENE

ARM
55kg - Tigran MINASYAN
60kg - Ararat MANUCHARYAN
63kg - Hrachya POGHOSYAN
67kg - Malkhas AMOYAN
77kg - Vahe POGHOSYAN
82kg - Erik ELOYAN
87kg - Hakob BAGHDASARYAN
97kg - Razmik KHACHATRYAN
130kg - David OVASAPYAN

AUT
97kg - Markus RAGGINGER

AZE
55kg - Zulfigar ALIYEV
60kg - Hasan MAMMADLI
63kg - Elnur MUSAYEV
67kg - Mahammadali HASANOV
72kg - Ulvu GANIZADE
77kg - Nasir HASANOV
82kg - Nazarshah FATULLAYEV
130kg - Sarkhan MAMMADOV

BLR
55kg - Aliaksandr NIAHODA
60kg - Ihar DROZD
63kg - Maksim NEHODA
67kg - Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK
72kg - Martun BADALIAN
77kg - Yauheni YUROU
82kg - Kiryl MASKEVICH
87kg - Ihar YARASHEVICH
97kg - Uladzislau PUSTASHYLAU
130kg - Ilya YUDCHYTS

BRA
67kg - Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR

BUL
60kg - Ivo ILIEV
63kg - Nikalas SULEV
67kg - Krasimir DORMUSHEV
72kg - Krasimir KRUMOV
77kg - Zahari ZASHEV
82kg - Svetoslav NIKOLOV
97kg -Delian ALISHAHI
130kg - Ignat MILENOV

CHI
130kg - Diego ALMENDRAS RODRIQUEZ

2016 Junior World Championship arena shot. Photo by Justin Hoch.

CHN
55kg - Liguo CAO
60kg - Libin DING
63kg - Delin WANG
67kg - Xin HUANG
72kg - Chuan ZHANG
77kg - Yilana YILANA
82kg - Wentao SU
87kg - Maimaiti KAISAIER
97kg - Yiming LI
130kg - Lingzhe MENG

CRO
72kg - Pavel PUKLAVEC
82kg - Karlo KODRIC
87kg - Filip SMETKO
130kg - Ante MILKOVIC

CZE
67kg - Denis MERTL
72kg - Jakub BIELESZ
77kg - David PRUSA / Daniel VARGA
87kg - Jakub KROCAK
130kg - Ondrej DADAK

Mohamed ELSAYED, 2016 Cadet World Champion. Photo by Justin Hoch.

EGY
63kg - Hassan MOHAMED
67kg - Mohamed ELSAYED
72kg - Gamal MARZOUK
130kg - Youssef ISSA

EST
63kg - Denis BOLUNOV
67kg - Kristo VIIDAS
72kg - Andris PENT
77kg - Hans Uku LEITHAM
82kg - Ranet KALJOLA
87kg - Ardo PAJUR
97kg - Hendrik KALME

FIN
67kg - Elmer Joakim MATTILA
72kg - Akseli Elias YLI HANNUKSELA
77kg - Waltteri Harri Kristian LATVALA
97kg - Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN

GEO
55kg - Ramaz SILAGAVA
60kg- Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI
63kg - Leri ABULADZE
67kg - Joni KHETSURIANI
72kg - Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE
77kg - Beka GURULI
82kg - Aivengo RIKADZE
87kg - Temuri TCHKUASELIDZE
97kg - Nika LOMIDZE
130kg - Beka MAKARIDZE

GER
60kg - Andrej GINC
63kg - Chlovelle Van MEIER
72kg - Anthony Ezra SANDERS
87kg - Nikolaos PAPADOPOULOS
130kg - Franz RICHTER

HUN
60kg - Tamas TOEROEK
63kg - Krisztian Istvan VANCZA
67kg - Tibor Sandor GYUERKY
72kg - Gergely BAK
77kg - Moric KISMONI
82kg - Istvan TAKACSHUN
87kg - Alex SZOKE
97kg - Balint VATZI
130kg - Roland VATZI

Vijay VIJAY (IND), 2018 Junior Asian Championship runner-up. Photo by Sachiko Hotaka.

IND
55kg - Vijay VIJAY
60kg - Sachin RANA
63kg - Manjeet MANJEET
67kg - Malkit HOODA
72kg - Kuldeep MALIK
77kg - Sajan SAJAN
82kg - Sanjeet SANJEET
87kg - Kumar SUNIL
97kg - Viresh KUNDU
130kg - Aryan PANWAR

IRI
55kg - Pouya NASERPOUR
60kg - Ali NEJATI
63kg - Bahram MAROUFKHANI IMCHEH
67kg - Yousef HOSSEINVAND FATHI
72kg - Amin KAVIYANINEJAD
77kg - Shayan AFIFI
82kg - Hosein FOROUZANDEH GHOJEHBEIGLOU
87kg - Mohammadhadi SARAVI
97kg - Vahid DADKHAH GHASEM ABADI
130kg - Amin MIRZAZADEH

ISR
67kg - Shamil ALAEV

ITA
55kg - Giovanni FRENI
60kg - Jacopo SANDRON
67kg - Ignazio SANFILIPPO
77kg - Mirco MINGUZZI
97kg - Luca SVAICARIITA

JPN
55kg - Shota OGAWA
60kg - Kazuki YABE
63kg - Harushi SHIMAYA
67kg - Taishi HORIE
72kg - Minto MAEDA
77kg- Rai HAYASHI
82kg - Yudai SASAKI / Masao TANAKA
87kg - Ryohta NASUKAWA
97kg - Akira YAMANAKA / Naoki MATSUMOTO
130kg - Sota OKUMURA

Merey BEKENOV (KAZ), 2018 Junior Asian Champion. Photo by Sachiko Hotaka.

KAZ
55kg - Alpamys DASTANBEK
60kg- Galym KABDUNASSAROV
63kg - Madiyar MALTEKBAYEV
67kg - Merey BEKENOV
72kg - Daulet LARIONOV
77kg - Temirlan YESPENBET
82kg - Stanislav RYLSKIY
87kg - Sanzhar TEMIRBEK
97kg - Islam UMAYEV
130kg - Anton SAVENKO

KGZ
55kg - Nurtazin KERIMBERDI UULU
60kg - Dastan KADYROV
63kg - Erbol BAKIROV
67kg - Khalmurat IBRAGIMOV
72kg - Ilim BILIMOV
77kg - Akzhol MAKHMUDOV
82kg - Ilgiz BILIMOV
87kg - Amankeldi TALANTBEK UULU

KOR
55kg - Doohoon KIM
60kg - Seongmin KIM
63kg - Kyoungsub KIM
67kg - Unho HAN
72kg - Jueun JEONG
77kg - Boseong KANG
82kg - Inseob KIM
87kg - Junyeop PARK
97kg - Jeongbin KWON
130kg - Taeho YIM

KSA
55kg - Tuorki Ali M HAZOAZI
60kg - Hassan M WADDAN

LTU
60kg - Gytis KULEVICIUS
77kg - Titas KERSEVICIUS
97kg - Arnoldas BARANOVAS

MDA
67kg - Valentin PETIC
72kg - Anatolie POPOV

NOR
67kg - Haavard JOERGENSEN
77kg - Per Anders KURE

POL
60kg - Sebastian NOWICKI
63kg - Mateusz SZEWCZUK
67kg - Filip PETRONCZAK
72kg - Gracjan GLOGIEWICZ
82kg - Piotr DUK
87kg - Michal DYBKA
97kg - Gerard KURNICZAK
130kg - Patryk KAMINSKI

POR
55kg - Andre CARDOSO OLIVEIRA SILVA
63kg - Daniel DE MATOS OLIVEIRA DE MORAIS CA

ROU
55kg - Florin TITA
60kg - Razvan ARNAUT
82kg - Nicu Samuel OJOG
130kg - Lenard Istvan BEREI

Oleg AGAKHANOV, 2018 Junior European Champion. Photo by Max Rose-Fyne.

RUS
55kg - Emin SEFERSHAEV
60kg- Abu AMAEV
63kg - Azamat KAIROV
67kg - Miakhdi IAKHIAEV
72kg - Sergei STEPANOV
77kg - Islam OPIEV
82kg - Shamil OZHAEV
87kg - Ilia ERMOLENKO
97kg - Artur SARGSIAN
130kg - Oleg AGAKHANOV

SRB
55kg - Sebastian KOLOMPAR
67kg - Adam KATONA
72kg - Sava MIJOKOVIC
77kg - Andrija Luka MALETIN
82kg - Branko KOVACEVIC

SUI
55kg - Dimitar SANDOV
87kg - Ramon BETSCHART
97kg - Damian VON EUW

SVK
63kg - Istvan SLUKA
67kg - Nikolas HULMAN
72kg - Gergely BUERSOELY
77kg - Bence HOLOCSI
82kg - Zoltan MEGALY

SWE
67kg - Elias ANDERSSON
72kg - Mats AHLGREN
77kg - Per OLOFSSON
82kg - Anders OLSSON
130kg - Jacob LOGAARD

TJK
67kg - Faridun AKHMEDOV
72kg - Bakhtovar KHASANOV
77kg - Daler REZA ZADE
130kg - Azmuddin VAKHOBOV

TKM
63kg - Seydylla TAZAYEV

TUR
55kg - Cihat Ahmet LIMAN
60kg - Kerem KAMAL
63kg - Abdullah TOPRAK
67kg - Ismail GUN
72kg - Erkan ERGEN
77kg - Alper Murat ERDURAN
82kg - Muhutdin SARICICEK
87kg - Bedirhan TAN
97kg - Beytullah KAYISDAG
130kg - Fatih BOZKURT

UKR
55kg - Vladyslav KUZKO
60kg- Ihor KUROCHKIN
63kg - Oleksandr HRUSHYN
67kg - Parviz NASIBOV
72kg - Ihor BYCHKOV
77kg - Dmytro GARDUBEI
82kg - Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH
87kg - Dmytro KIIASHOK
97kg - Oleksandr YEVDOKIMOV
130kg - Vladyslav KOVALENKO

Kamal BEY (USA), 2017 Junior World Champion. Photo by Marion Stein.

USA
55kg - Brady KOONTZ
60kg - Taylor LA MONT
63kg - Alston NUTTER
67kg - Peyton OMANIA
72kg - Tyler DOW
77kg - Kamal BEY
82kg - Andrew BERREYESA
87kg - Barret HUGHES
97kg - Chad PORTER
130kg - Cohlton SCHULTZ

UZB
63kg - Turabek TIRKASHEV
67kg - Kamol KUZIEV
72kg - Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV
82kg - Alijon KHUSEYNOV
97kg - Abubakr ALIMOV
130kg - Temur Mirzo MAMAJANOV

#WrestleZagreb

U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 22:40 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- Four months ago, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) seemed untouchable.

He had stunned Arena Zagreb with a victory over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), eventually cruising to 86kg gold at the 2025 World Championships without conceding a single point.

On Wednesday, Valencia returned to Arena Zagreb, but the script flipped. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), a former world silver medalist at 79kg, blanked the world champion 11-0 at the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

While Valencia recovered to claim bronze, it was international debutant Parker KECKEISEN (USA) who rose to the occasion, taking gold after defeating Gamkrelidze.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA), red, tries to fight a gut-wrench against Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Valencia wasn't the only giant to fall during a chaotic Wednesday. Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) was pinned, and Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) left without a medal. Meanwhile, world champion Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) missed the top spot, and Georgios KOUGIOUMSTIDIS (GRE) saw his 86kg debut end in the opening round.

Despite the upsets, the United States dominated, winning four of the six available gold medals. Spencer LEE (USA), David CARR (USA), and Austin DESANTO (USA) joined Keckeisen atop the podium.

At 65kg, U23 world champion SUJEET (IND) continued his rise and captured the gold medal in a dominant fashion.

For Iran, the only gold medal came through Sina KHALILI (IRI) who outscored his opponents 42-3 in four bouts.

Parker KECKEISEN (USA) won gold medal at Zagreb Open, his debut international tournament. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Keckeisen's golden debut

While Zahid Valencia was the heavy favorite at 86kg, it was Keckeisen who stole the spotlight. Keckeisen flew under the radar to reach the final after a gritty 9-5 victory over Ali Savadkouhi (IRI).

In the final, Keckeisen entered as the underdog against Gamkrelidze. He maintained a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining. The match defining moment came when Gamkrelidze scored a stepout and challenged the call, seeking two points instead of one. The lost challenge awarded Keckeisen an extra point, extending his lead to 4-2.

Despite a late stepout from Gamkrelidze with ten seconds left, Keckeisen held on to secure the gold.

With Gamkrelidze making it to the final, Valencia found his form in repechage and won bronze after pinning U17 world champion Abofazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI).

Spencer LEE (USA) scores a takedown before Roman BRAVO YOUNG forfeited the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Lee repeats, Carr shines

Lee repeated as the Zagreb Open champion with a strong performance, just like last year. After dominant wins over Azamat TSUKAEV (SRB) and Fuga SASAKI (JPN), Lee met Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) in the final.

The Olympic bronze medalist opened strong with a takedown and turn, but the match ended prematurely when Bravo-Young forfeited due to injury, handing Lee his second consecutive gold.

Bravo Young was clutching his tapped knee when he got up after the gut-wrench from Lee who helped the Mexican off the mat after enquiring about the injury.

At 74kg, Carr navigated a tactical final against 70kg world champion Aoyagi, who now wrestles at 74kg. Aoyagi led 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers exchanged activity points when he was placed on the 30-second activity clock for a second time.

His failure to score put Carr ahead 2-1 with 30 seconds remaining. A desperate late attack by Aoyagi allowed Carr to score a counter takedown, sealing a 4-1 victory.

In September, Carr missed out on a bronze medal bout at the World Championships after losing to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) in the final five seconds, while Lee was eliminated after losing to Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM).

Austin DESANTO (USA) won the gold medal at 61kg in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Desanto recovers

At 61kg, Desanto recovered after a heartbreaking 11-11 loss to Reza MOMENI (IRI) in the opening bout of the Nordic bracket to win gold. Needing a big win against Aman, Desanto delivered a pin, earning five crucial classification points.

His total of 15 points placed him safely ahead of Momeni, who was mathematically eliminated from gold regardless of his final result against Giorgi GHONIASHVILI (GEO).

Ultimately, DeSanto secured the gold, while Aman took silver, despite being tied with Momeni at 13 points. Aman held the tiebreaker thanks to his head-to-head victory over the Iranian.

SUJEET (IND) tries to finish a takedown on Peyman NEMATI (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet wins gold

U23 World Champion Sujeet continues to demonstrate his growth on the international stage, capturing his second career Ranking Series gold medal.

Sujeet, who took gold in Budapest last year, secured two technical superiority wins over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to reach the final. There, he shut out Peyman NEMATI (IRI) with a disciplined 3-0 victory.

In the final, he was put on the activity clock in the first period but responded quickly with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. When Nemati was placed on the activity clock in the second period, Sujeet extended his lead to 3-0.

Following a series of scoreless scrambles, Sujeet successfully defended his lead until the whistle.

At 70kg, U23 World silver medalist Khalili put on a dominant display in his gold-medal match. Khalili overwhelmed Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), using a series of gut wrenches to secure a 10-0 technical superiority victory.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), via inj. def. (4-0)

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Atish TODKAR (IND), 10-0
BRONZE: Fuga SASAKI (JPN) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), 4-1

61kg
GOLD: Austin DESANTO (USA)
SILVER: AMAN (IND)
BRONZE: Reza MOMENI (IRI)

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Peyman NEMATI (IRI), 3-0

BRONZE: Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO) df. Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN), 11-6
BRONZE: Joseph MC KENNA (USA) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 10-0

BRONZE: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 6-3
BRONZE: Caleb HENSON (USA) df. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 5-4

74kg
GOLD: David CARR (USA) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 4-1

BRONZE: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) df. James GREEN (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) df. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Parker KECKEISEN (USA) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Mukul DAHIYA (IND), 6-5

Three Reigning Greco-Roman Junior World Champions Registered for #Trnava2018

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U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned