#WrestleTirana

Tuesday's U23 World Championship semifinals set

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 - 08:34 By Eric Olanowski

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TIRANA, Albania (October 24) --- Welcome back to Tirana for the second day of freestyle action at the 2023 U23 World Championships. Tuesday's qualification-semifinal action will include 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg. 

Stars in Action (Tuesday):
79kg - Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) - '22 U23 world champion, '23 senior world silver
57kg - Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) - '22 U23 world bronze 
92kg - Islam ILYASOV (AZE) - '22 U23 world bronze

Semifinal matches as they come in:
57kg
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) vs. Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) vs. Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN)

65kg
Kumar MOHIT (UWW) vs. Ibragim Charaputinovitch IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)

70kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) vs. Douglas Weber ZAPF (USA)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) vs. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)

79kg
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) vs. Shamsat TAIR (KAZ)
Dzmitry DZENISENIA (AIN) vs. Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN)

97kg
Isaac Whitman TRUMBLE (USA) vs. Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Sahil SAHIL (UWW) vs. Radu LEFTER (MDA)

15:14: Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Brock David HARDY (USA) are in a tight race over on Mat B. Bayramov was up 4-2, shot a head outside single, and exposed Hardy twice, extending his lead to 8-2. The American corner challenged one of the exposures, sending it to referee review. 

After review, the call on the mat was reversed, but it didn't matter. Bayramov went on to score eight additional points in the final minute, grabbing the semifinal berth with a 14-11 win.

14:36: Sorry for the delay as I was working out some technical issues. I'll be posting the semifinals as they come in. 

14:24: This'll be the last 1/8 final match before we roll into the quarterfinals.

14:14: Below, you'll find the 35-point match between Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ) and Frederik NORTJE (RSA) that I was talking about earlier. Watch and enjoy!

13:56: Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN) continues to roll through the 57kg field, scoring a 7-1 win over Yerassyl MUKHTARULY (KAZ) in the 1/8 finals.

13:41: In the battle of U23 world champs, four takedowns--one in the first and three in the second--propelled Magomaev past Gamkrelidze.

13:14: Defending champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) will make his '23 U23 world debut on Mat C next. He'll wrestle '21 U23 world champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN).

13:02: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN), the ’22 Russian National champion and ’23 Russian National silver medalist, picked up a 10-0 first-round win over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA). He’ll wrestle Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) in the 65kg 1/8 finals on Mat B in about an hour.

12:26: I've been around the sport for a long time, and I don't think I've ever seen one individual score 24 points in a six-minute bout, but Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ) just did so against Frederik NORTJE (RSA). The pair combined for 35 points, trading blows back and forth in their qualification-round meeting, but it was Sakybaev who ultimately came out on top, 24-11.

12:03: Although he's not a world medalist just yet, Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN) is a guy we'll be keeping an eye on today. He's a guy who has been working his way into the second tier of 57kg guys on Russia's depth chart. In 2021, he fell to Olympic champion Zaur UGUEV in the Russian National finals, which helped book his ticket to the post-COVID European Championships in Warsaw. In Poland, he reached the gold-medal bout but fell to Turkiye's Suleyman ATLI and settled for silver.

Today, Mongush opened up his day with a 10-0 win against Luka GVINJILIA (GEO).

11:47: That's what wrestling fans pay to see. I'll have the match up shortly, but Sagar JAGLAN (UWW) and Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) just combined for 28 points, with the United World Wrestling athlete coming out on top, 16-12.

11:19: The biggest star that we'll be watching today is Georgia's budding star Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), who returns to the U23 World Championships looking to defend his title from a year ago.

Since winning that U23 world title, Gamkrelidze has really emerged as one of wrestling's brightest young stars will loads of potential. Fellow Georgian great Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) told me in our hotel lobby at the World Championships, "This guy is going to be great. He's good right now, but ge needs to have confidence in his wrestling--then he will be great."

Here's Gamkrelidze's resume over the last year:
- '23 Zagreb Open Ranking Series bronze 
- '23 Kyrgyz Ranking Series gold 
- '23 Hungarian Ranking Series silver 
- '23 Senior world silver 

11:13: This will be our final repechage bout of the morning, and we'll get back to championships action.

10:30: Good morning again, wrestling fans. We're going to run through some repechage bout before welcoming in today's competitors. It should take another half hour or so.

#WrestleNoviSad

U23 Worlds: U.S. and Iran tied in Freestyle team race

Monday, October 27, 2025 - 10:11 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 26) -- Like it has been the story at every World Championships this year, Iran and the United States are locked in a tight race for the Freestyle team trophy yet again.

The U.S. and Iran are tied 102 points at the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad with just one more day of competition left. The scores tied after U.S. won two golds on Sunday while Iran managed only one along with one silver. Azerbaijan won the gold at the expense of Iran.

World silver medalist Levi HAINES (USA) became a U23 world champion one month after missing the title at the senior event with yet another dominant win. He faced Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) in the final and came out on top 11-1.

Yaprak got the first stepout of the bout but it was all Haines from there on. He used a lateral drop to get four points and lead 4-1. The second four-pointer for Haines came when Yaprak tried to throw him using a chestwrap but Haines easily blocked him and landed on top to lead 8-1. A head outside takedown and one stepout was enough for Haines to complete the technical superiority win.

Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) added a U23 world gold to go with his U17 and U20 golds. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 57kg, U17 and U20 world champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) added a U23 world title to his name with a clinical 4-0 victory over Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) in the final.

Kikuchi was called passive twice in the match and both times Lilledahl got a point. During the second activity period, Lilledahl hit a sweep single and converted it into a takedown to lead 4-0 with a minute remaining in the final. Lilledahl then defended that lead despite Kikuchi's smart movements to earn his third age-group world title.

Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI)Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) celebrates after beating Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)  

Iran's gold medal came at 125kg as U20 world silver medalist Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) dominated Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 11-0, in the final. Mohammad Nezhad moved more swiftly than he did in the final at the U20 Worlds.

Karsanov was called passive in the first period and then he gave up a stepout along with fleeing and Mohammad Nezhad was up 3-0. He scored a nice takedown to extend his lead before two go-behinds to be up 9-0.

Karsanov tried hitting a desperate throw only to fall on his own back and give Mohammad Nezhad the winning two points and the gold medal.

Iran could have managed to win a second medal gold of the night but Sina KHALILI (IRI) got clutched by Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the 70kg final.

Khalili began on a good note, getting a point for passivity and then a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. Heybatov managed to find an opening in the second period with a fireman's carry and transitioned the move, lifting Khalili and dropping him on the mat in danger for four points and take a 4-3 lead.

Iran challenged the decision, perhaps asking for two points for Khalili, but lost it. The 5-3 lead for Heybatov left Khalili to score at least three point for victory with two points remaining.

He got one point for Heybatov's fleeing but he still needed two points to overturn the deficit with 27 seconds remaining. Khalili took a fake shot and Heybatov countered with a takedown and turn to make it 9-4 for the win.

A gold for Khalili would have been Iran a lead of five points over the U.S. but now both countries are tied.

On Monday with medal bouts in four weight classes, the U.S. has one in Jaxen FORREST (USA) while Iran has one wrestler in bronze medal bouts and second in repechage. While Iran needs to win all, it has to also have that Forrest loses his final to win the team title.

Incidentally, the U.S. needed to win all its bouts on the final day at the U17 World Championships in Athens and also hope that Iran loses all its bouts. That actually happened.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN), 4-0

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Aiandai ONDAR (UWW), 10-1
BRONZE: Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB) df. Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR), 5-0

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. Sina KHALILI (IRI), 9-4

BRONZE: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Maiis ALIYEV (KAZ), 10-3
BRONZE: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Davit MARGARYAN (ARM), via fall (7-2)

79kg
GOLD: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR), 11-1

BRONZE: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. Davud DAUDOV (UWW), 13-3
BRONZE: Geannis GARZON (CUB) df. Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW), 4-0

125kg
GOLD: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 11-0

BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Daniel HERRERA (USA), 14-3
BRONZE: Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (UWW) df. Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 9-5

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ) vs. Jaxen FORREST (USA)

SF 1: Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 12-1
SF 2: Jaxen FORREST (USA) df. Akito MUKAIDA (JPN), 15-5

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) vs. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

SF 1: SUJEET (IND) df. Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN), 3-2
SF 2: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ), 5-2

86kg
GOLD: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) vs. Arsen BALAIAN (UWW)

SF 1: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) df. Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI), 2-1
SF 2: Arsen BALAIAN (UWW) df. Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) vs. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)

BRONZE: Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), via fall (10-0)
BRONZE: Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) df. Soslan DZHAGAEV (UWW), 16-5