2026 U20 European Championships

U20 European Championships 2026 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (June 26) -- The U20 European Championships will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia from July 6 to 12.

More than 500 wrestlers are expected to take part in the tournament which will start with Greco-Roman, then Women's Wrestling and finish with Freestyle.

Note: The entries are subject to change before the draw of respective styles

UWW Plus

Greco-Roman

55kg
Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM)
Emin JAVADLI (AZE)
Stanislav IVANOV (BUL)
Jakub SEDLAK (CZE)
Nolan PISSOCHER (FRA)
Sos KOTANJYAN (FRA)
Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO)
Lenny WOERNER (GER)
Vasileios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Dawid MALIK (POL)
Alexandre DE ALMEIDA (POR)
Vlad TRIP (ROU)
Ilia KANDALIN (RUS)
Denizhan OGUN (TUR)
Bohdan RIZNYCHENKO (UKR)

60kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)
Rasim IBRAHIMAU (BLR)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Kakhaber GOGINASHVILI (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE)
Gabriele PUCHER (ITA)
Emilis NEVERAUSKAS (LTU)
Alin CHITIC (MDA)
Storm RYDEN (NOR)
Kacper SOBCZYK (POL)
Billy MARQUES (POR)
Dragos DRAGA (ROU)
ILIA PANIUTIN (RUS)
Levin MEIER (SUI)
Nikolasz PALENYIK (SVK)
Olivier PEREZ IBARRA (SWE)
Furkan ODEN (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)

63kg
Mikel TROPLINI (ALB)
Aleks MARGARYAN (ARM)
Tural AHMADOV (AZE)
Dzmitry DUDUK (BLR)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Raimond PROUS (EST)
Matias ARPIAINEN (FIN)
Ilies DAHMANI (FRA)
Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO)
Mika LABES (GER)
Marios KAPANTAIS (GRE)
Levente FIGE (HUN)
Riccardo DELLE CAVE (ITA)
Maxim CARAUS (MDA)
Vetle GUNHEIM HATLAND (NOR)
Filip IWASZKO (POL)
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Salim KAZMAKHOV (RUS)
Andrej VELISAVLJEV (SRB)
Balint VARGA (SVK)
Abdul ARSLANTAS (TUR)
Maksut SULTANOV (UKR)

67kg
Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Roman KARIMOV (AZE)
Mikhail MARKOUSKI (BLR)
Kristiyan MILENKOV (BUL)
Tin TURKOVIC (CRO)
Hugo RIEHUNKANGAS (FIN)
Ilian DOUBACH (FRA)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Ilja PAVLENKOV (GER)
Sergios BOULOUTIDIS (GRE)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Alessio ARANCIO (ITA)
Eimantas ANDRIUSKA (LTU)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Ilias LAAOUINA (NED)
Andreas FJELDSTAD (NOR)
Iosif ZLOTAR (ROU)
Amir SOVMIZ (RUS)
Kristian DOBI (SRB)
Roland CSICSO (SVK)
Omer ALTAS (TUR)
Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

72kg
Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM)
Kamran RAJABLI (AZE)
Uladzimir NEHODA (BLR)
Atanas RADEV (BUL)
Jure RAJKOVIC (CRO)
Bruno HANZEL (CZE)
Andreas VAELJA (EST)
Bilel GHARBI (FRA)
Aleksandre RUSITASHVILI (GEO)
Finn KUEHN (GER)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Barna TOPLAK (HUN)
Timur NADORGIN (ISR)
Andrea PROIETTI (ITA)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Mate VAN OS (NED)
Kacper GOLONKA (POL)
Vladislav BYRLIA (RUS)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Alvin THULINDER (SWE)
Salih YAZICI (TUR)
Dmytro DEMIANOVSKYI (UKR)

77kg
Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM)
Lars MATT (AUT)
Javidan NAHMATOV (AZE)
Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL)
Rasmus TONISMAEE (EST)
Luka KAJANNE (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Raphael TITZE (GER)
Adamantios PAPADATOS (GRE)
Zalan TOPLAK (HUN)
Nilo VIRGILII (ITA)
Robertas VOLOTKEVIC (LTU)
Nichita APOSTOL (MDA)
Noe WOLSKI (POL)
Nazar BERKOVSKII (RUS)
Zalan PEK (SRB)
Ruben STRAAKEVED (SWE)
Alkan AKAR (TUR)
Pavlo POSHUTYLOV (UKR)

82kg
Vahe HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Christopher SZENTKIRALYI (AUT)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Kiryl VALEUSKI (BLR)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Petr ZAK (CZE)
Severi MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Haik SARGSYAN (FRA)
Luka PIPIA (GEO)
Bogomir EISMONT (GER)
Vasileios SEMERTZIDIS (GRE)
Szabolcs SZINAY (HUN)
Toms IRKLIS (LAT)
Stanislav MUSABECOV (MDA)
Zaur BESLEKOEV (RUS)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Axel BAFF (SWE)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Yehor LEHKYI (UKR)

87kg
Iurik PETROSIAN (ARM)
Paul MAIER (AUT)
Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE)
Danil SKLIZKOU (BLR)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Josef CERNY (CZE)
Marcus UHTJAERV (EST)
Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO)
Anton BUCHHOLZ (GER)
Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE)
Zalan VARGA (HUN)
Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR)
Olivers IRKLIS (LAT)
Marius STIHARU (MDA)
Stanislaw FUSSY (POL)
Gabriel STAN (ROU)
Mikhail SHKARIN (RUS)
Stevan KOJIC (SRB)
Max HALS (SWE)
Abdulvahab KALAFAT (TUR)
Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR)

97kg
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Mahir GURBANLI (AZE)
Pavel SAVITSKI (BLR)
Martin TITOV (BUL)
Andrej RODIN (CRO)
Vitezslav ZAK (CZE)
Pauli PERKIOE (FIN)
Arman MKRTCHYAN (GEO)
Keymi ROTHWEILER (GER)
Dimitrios PAPPAS (GRE)
Vendel VITAI (HUN)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Alexandr PLESCAN (MDA)
Yassine BEN LABED (POL)
Nikita KATERYNYUK (POR)
Vlad PETREAN (ROU)
Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Emir BOZBAG (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)

130kg
Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM)
Museyi HUSEYN (AZE)
Mihail KRALEV (BUL)
Dominik KOCMAN (CZE)
Tomas RUSI (FIN)
Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Dominik SKOWRON (POL)
Ali ILIASOV (RUS)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

Magomed OZDAMIROV (RUS)Magomed OZDAMIROV (RUS) is a U20 world champion at 57kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Freestyle

57kg
Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM)
Muhammad ISMAYILOV (AZE)
Matsvei SYTSEVICH (BLR)
Nik DOYCHINOV (BUL)
Gaspard CHEYNOUX (FRA)
Danoush JOWKAR (GBR)
Giorgi TSURIASHVILI (GEO)
John KETERLING (GER)
Karoly BARATH (HUN)
Gheorghi GAIDARJI (MDA)
Nikola GICEV (MKD)
Pavlo ILNYTSKYI (POL)
Marian RUSU (ROU)
Magomed OZDAMIROV (RUS)
Kevin BIRCHLER (SUI)
Ebubekir GUR (TUR)
Mykola BRATOV (UKR)

61kg
Ajndi KRYEZIU (ALB)
Gagik GHAZARYAN (ARM)
Kristian CIKEL (AUT)
Jamal ABBASOV (AZE)
Hleb PIATROU (BLR)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Kaspar KOERT (EST)
Deni DAOUDOV (FRA)
Ruben TANGAMYAN (GEO)
Eliah LUCYGA (GER)
Balint NEMETH (HUN)
Pasquale LIUZZI (ITA)
Marcel ANDRONACHE (MDA)
Sufjan SINANI (MKD)
Kajetan WIECZOREK (POL)
Gabriel Florin MIHALCEA (ROU)
Usman INDIRBAEV (RUS)
Nurettin KAPAL (TUR)
Andrii SHOKALIUK (UKR)

65kg
Ervis BARDHI (ALB)
Aren HAYRAPETYAN (ARM)
Bashir VERDIYEV (AZE)
Dzianis KATOK (BLR)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Khizir DASIYEV (FRA)
Joseph MAHONEY (GBR)
Tengiz BARBAKADZE (GEO)
Dominic THIEL (GER)
Pavlos NTIANTIADIS (GRE)
Mozes LASZLO (HUN)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Mario ANANIEV (MKD)
Ivan OKSIUK (POL)
Said GERGOKOV (RUS)
Haci ZADE (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)

70kg
Davit DAVTYAN (ARM)
Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
Movsar CHUPALAEV (BEL)
Vladislav SEIZOV (BUL)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Bayssangour BITMURZAEV (FRA)
Zurab ABALAKI (GEO)
Jason KEIL (GER)
Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)
Ahmad ARSZUNKAEV (HUN)
Daniel KRUTULES (LTU)
Ionut TRIBOI (MDA)
Filip TODOROV (MKD)
Jakub KESY (POL)
David BOICEA (ROU)
Ramazan ABDULKADYROV (RUS)
Aaron ZBERG (SUI)
Dominik ZAVACKY (SVK)
Remzi TEMUR (TUR)
Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR)

74kg
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE)
Artsiom BOLSUN (BLR)
Nikifor PETROV (BUL)
Daniel JASNOV (EST)
Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA)
Luka TATIASHVILI (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Vasileios KESIDIS (GRE)
Mate VARGA (HUN)
Eli SOLTANOV (ISR)
Erand FLUGAJ (KOS)
Oleg KNISEVSKIJ (LTU)
Catalin SPINU (MDA)
Muhamed VESELI (MKD)
Gracjan MATYJASEK (POL)
Inal CHELDIEV (RUS)
Umut USLU (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)

79kg
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Eljan ISMAYILZADA (AZE)
Halil MAGOMADOV (BEL)
Aliaksei KURYLA (BLR)
Yanaki MARCHOKOV (BUL)
David KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Tristan ALEKSANDROV (EST)
Iakobi KOBULASHVILI (GEO)
Felix SCHMITT (GER)
Stefanos VAVILIS (GRE)
Arnold TAKACS (HUN)
Declan BLIGH (IRL)
Daniel SIMONIAN (ISR)
Xander GUATTA (ITA)
Adriatik BERISHA (KOS)
Piotr CARADJOV (MDA)
Trim ISMAILI (MKD)
Kyryll DANDAN (ROU)
Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (RUS)
Jaroslav ZAREMBA (SVK)
Yasin UZUN (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)

86kg
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Mahammad ABASZADA (AZE)
Alan TIGIEV (BUL)
Nikolai TARASSOV (EST)
Dachi PAPINASHVILI (GEO)
Emil ULAMEC (GER)
Tomer DROZHNIAK (ISR)
Aidas SARUNAS (LTU)
Ivan PASLARI (MDA)
Redjep TAIRI (MKD)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Ismail KHANIEV (RUS)
Nick SCHERRER (SUI)
Nikolaj SZILAGYI (SVK)
Sefa CESUR (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)

92kg
Albin PEPOSHI (ALB)
Narek IKILIKYAN (ARM)
Huseyn MAMMADTAGHIZADA (AZE)
Aliaksei KULAKOU (BLR)
Grigor CHERNAKOV (BUL)
Mykola TOLMACHOV (ESP)
Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Youssef SOLIMAN (HUN)
Brando MAGNANI (ITA)
Alexandru BORS (MDA)
Omer MEMEDI (MKD)
Filip NOWAKOWSKI (POL)
Darius SAS (ROU)
Artur TOGOEV (RUS)
Jacek FUDALEJ (SUI)
Eyyup CETIN (TUR)
Yehor HOROKH (UKR)

97kg
Hakob HAKOBYAN (ARM)
Farhad SULEYMANLI (AZE)
Aliaksei KHADUNOU (BLR)
Valentin BORISOV (BUL)
Joona JUNNILA (FIN)
Ashab DADAEV (FRA)
Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Tom ULAMEC (GER)
Robert ERDELYI (HUN)
Vitalie PERCIUN (MDA)
Ilija ATANASOV (MKD)
Balazs LORINCZ (ROU)
Shamil TAMBIEV (RUS)
Suleyman RIZA (TUR)
Rostyslav KURYLIAK (UKR)

125kg
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Yaraslau KOKHAN (BLR)
Dian MANEV (BUL)
Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO)
Ahmet SEKMEN (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Daniel SZILAGYI (HUN)
David ERHAN (MDA)
Piotr GRELA (POL)
Brian TECHEREAN (ROU)
Soslan GABUEV (RUS)
Rusen GULER (TUR)
Ivan MYROSHNYCHENKO (UKR)

Nadiia Sokolovska (UKR)Senior European champion at 72kg, Nadiia Sokolovska (UKR) will be wrestling at 76kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Serineh CRANE (ARM)
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Sviatlana KATENKA (BLR)
Ena ZEMUNIC (CRO)
Rita RANTONEN (FIN)
Josephine WRENSCH (GER)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Lonisa REKA (KOS)
Mihaela BACOS (MDA)
Frosina ATANASOVA (MKD)
Olivia VAN KLEUNEN (NED)
Daniella HOSSEIN BEKY (NOR)
Karolina ZIEN (POL)
Leticia OLIVEIRA (POR)
Diana VOICULESCU (ROU)
Margarita IARYGINA (RUS)
Sally Vega MALMGREN (SWE)
Nil AKTAS (TUR)
Yelyzaveta KULAKIVSKA (UKR)

53kg
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Aliaksandra VISTSIAK (BLR)
Nikol ALEKSANDROVA (BUL)
Anais MARTIN (FRA)
Fiona GASSER (GER)
Evgenia LAMPROU (GRE)
Szonja NEMETH (HUN)
Naomi LIUZZI (ITA)
Dorentina NEZAJ (KOS)
Bojana KOVACHOVA (MKD)
Ilona VALCHUK (POL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Ekaterina CHIKANOVA (RUS)
Remziye KARADAG (TUR)
Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR)

55kg
Garatel GULIYEVA (AZE)
Valeryia MIKITSICH (BLR)
Nataliya BOYADZHIEVA (BUL)
Lisette BOETTKER (EST)
Sara RANTONEN (FIN)
Eleni ZAGLIVERI (GER)
Angela CRAPIO CASAROLA (ITA)
Kanita SPAHIJA (KOS)
Enrika DEVETINAITE (LTU)
Eliza GONTA (MDA)
Sadije DURA (MKD)
Thea BERGERSEN (NOR)
Amelia TOMALA (POL)
Bianca RUSU (ROU)
Olesia MALAKHOVA (RUS)
Milica PEROVIC SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Anja EPP (SUI)
Elif ATAKAN (TUR)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)

57kg
Viktoryia ALISEYENKA (BLR)
Olga POPOVA (BUL)
Théa ROUSSEL (FRA)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Liliana KAPUVARI (HUN)
Fabiana RINELLA (ITA)
Elsa NIKOCI (KOS)
Alexandrina BARBANOUA (MDA)
Angela TRAJKOSKA (MKD)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (RUS)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Lara GORCS (SVK)
Stella Hildur SOEROE (SWE)
Su SOYALP (TUR)
Diana KOTVYTSKA (UKR)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (BLR)
Viktoria BOYNOVA (BUL)
Rosa MOLINA RODRIGUEZ (ESP)
Oona PEKKARINEN (FIN)
Franziska BLAUMEISER (GER)
Eda BALAZS (HUN)
Maria PIRA (ITA)
Madalina PRISACARI (MDA)
Viktorija SPASOVSKA (MKD)
Csilla VAN OS (NED)
Marta MANKOWSKA (POL)
Sofiia CHORNAIA (RUS)
Karin Amelia SAMUELSSON (SWE)
Elif ELMALI (TUR)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)

62kg
Sophia MERANER (AUT)
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Desislava IVANOVA (BUL)
Graciela ENINGO ASAMA (ESP)
Nella HONKANIEMI (FIN)
Violette DUCHET ANNEZ (FRA)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Leonie STEIGERT (GER)
Foteini NALMPANTI (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
Maria DI GIACINTO (ITA)
Gabriela RUDOI (MDA)
Tamara CVETKOSKA (MKD)
Nadia KOCIA (POL)
Ekaterina RADYSHEVA (RUS)
Viktoria FOELDESIOVA (SVK)
Vera STOLTZ (SWE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Albina KLIEFAS (UKR)

65kg
Valeryia KANDZIAKOVA (BLR)
Marijana SUMSKI (CRO)
Anna MAZGAJOVA (CZE)
Eveliina HANHISUANTO (FIN)
Ani CHACHANIDZE (GEO)
Annalena POHL (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Viktoria PUPP (HUN)
Cristina ZAPOROJAN (MDA)
Marija CVETANOVA (MKD)
Mirijam HANSEN (NOR)
Zuzanna HORBIK (POL)
Margarita SALNAZARIAN (RUS)
Linnea SVENSSON (SWE)
Beyza Nur AKKUS (TUR)
Iryna BORYSIUK (UKR)

68kg
Maryana MURADYAN (BLR)
Lise LANDOUZY (FRA)
Chandni BANKS (GBR)
Mina WITT (GER)
Maja MUNK (HUN)
Juliana CATANZARO (ITA)
Raisa SIRBU (MDA)
Melani MITEVSKA (MKD)
Leah SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Aurelia GODZINSKA (POL)
Ana MARIOARA (ROU)
Evangeliia BEREZHNOVA (RUS)
Michaela SEBOEKOVA (SVK)
Tilda WANNGAARD (SWE)
Elif Sevval KURT (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Karalina PAPOVA (BLR)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Melanie LORENZ (GER)
Petra MUELLER (HUN)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Anabela DANILOVA (MKD)
Maia GHERGUT (ROU)
Amina MUSAEVA (RUS)
Ilayda CIN (TUR)
Daryna ZAISHLA (UKR)

76kg
Aliaksandra SIAMIONAVA (BLR)
Lotta ENGLICH (GER)
Stefani NIKOLOVA (MKD)
Dominika POCHOWSKA (POL)
Diana TITOVA (RUS)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Nadiia SOKOLOVSKA (UKR)

#WrestleZagreb

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

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)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)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)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)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)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.

Photo

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