#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

Monday, August 19, 2024 - 20:29 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0

#WrestleTirana

European Championships Day 2 Greco-Roman Results & Highlights

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 06:37 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- The European Championships 2026 enters day two with five Greco-Roman weight classes - 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg. All five weight classes have their defending champions in action in Tirana on Tuesday.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | KAYAALP REACHES FINAL

14:27: Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) ends Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW) debut at the European Championships with a 7-1 defeat. Hrushyn, a former silver medalist at 63kg, scored two turns from par terre in the second period to lead 5-1. Zakriev tries some desperate throws but ends up giving a takedown.

14:22: In another rematch of the final from last year, Kiril MILOV (BUL) beats Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER), this year 8-1 to enter the semifinal at 97kg. Milov with two turns from par terre before starting the second period with a takedown and lead 7-1. Germany challenges but that's lost which gave one more point to Milov.

14:20: Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) will wrestle for a European medal for the first time. He beats world bronze medalist Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) 4-0 in the 97kg quarterfinals. Given both par terre positions in the match, Sargsian scores step out in first but fails to do much int eh second. He also gets a point for lost challenge from Azerbaijan to win 4-0.

14:11: Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), who began this season with two silver medals at the Ranking Series events, is into the semifinals at 67kg after a 6-1 victory over Dominik ETLINGER (CRO).

14:10: In a rematch of last year's final which Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) won, the defending champion once again beats Abu Muslim AMAEV (BUL), this year in the semifinals. Jafarov got two turns from par terre in the first period to lead 5-0. In the second period, he caught Amaev from behind and pinned him to enter the final

14:00: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) defends with all might to beat Mihail BRADU (MDA) 5-4 at 82kg as he moves into the semifinals of his title defense. Leading 3-0, he got par terre and used a front head roll exposure for two points but lost control and gave up two points as well. Gurbanov, leading 5-2, challenged the call but lost it. He was then called passive which gave one more point to Bradu but Gurbanov held on for the win. 

13:40: Defending champion at 60kg, Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) makes no mistake in a 5-0 victory over Vladyslav KUZKO (UKR). He did not let Kuzko take any par terre while being active enough to get it twice in the match.

13:30: Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), returning silver medalist, moves into the semifinals with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Denis MIHAI (ROU) at 60kg. All points scored from par terre

13:20: Returning silver medalist at 97kg Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) gets a turn from par terre and beats Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 3-1, after the Italian wrestler failed to score points.

13:05: Anti-climatic between defending champion Kiril MILOV (BUL) and world bronze medalist Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) as Milov wins 10-0 at 97kg. He begins with an arm throw for two points before getting the par terre from which he gets Maskevich in danger. When the referee asks them for neutral, Milov leads 7-0. Maskevich tries a big throw using body lock but Milov blocks him for two points. A lost challenges adds one more point to his score.

12:55: Artur SARGSIAN (UWW), world silver medalist but never won a medal at the European Championships, begins with an explosive 9-0 victory over Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU). He lifts the Lithuanian for a body throw for four before turning him twice for two points for each turn.

12:50: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), defending champion at 67kg, scores two two-point takedown against Jan OEHLEN (SWE) to secure a 5-1 victory and moves into the quarterfinals.

12:48: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) gets four turns from par terre to beat Andreas VETSCH (SUI), 9-0 and advance to the quarterfinal at 67kg against Murat FIRAT (TUR).  

12:40: Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW) continues his good form and gets a win over world champion Sebastian NAD (SRB) at 67kg. Zakriev gets the first par terre but cannot score from there. He gets the par terre in the second period as well, making his lead 2-0, before he hits a throw for four points. Serbia challenge the decision but lose it. A takedown to finish the bout 9-0.

12:20: World bronze medalist Karlo KODRIC (CRO) turns Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR) once from par terre and then holds the Ukrainian off to win 3-1 to advance at 82kg.

11:45: Defending champion at 82kg Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) needed a big front headlock throw for four to break the 3-3 criteria and beat Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL) in his opening bout.

11:25: Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW), a U20 world silver medalist, starts his senior European Championships debut with an clinical 8-0 win over Mateusz SZEWCZUK (POL) at 67kg. Two big four-point throws for Zakriev

11:05: Defending champion Kiril MILOV (BUL) kicks off his 97kg gold medal defense with a dominant 9-0 technical superiority win over Gerard KURNICZAK (POL). Next up is the big match against world bronze medalist Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW).

10:50: Returning silver medalist at 67kg Abu Muslim AMAEV (BUL) keeps it simple in his first bout and beats Andrea SETTI (ITA), 4-0, and advances. 

10:30: Welcome to day two of the European Championships! After a dramatic day one to kick off the tournament, five more Greco weight classes in action in Tirana.