#WrestleSofia

U20 World Championships day two semis set

Tuesday, August 16, 2022 - 07:22 By Vinay Siwach

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SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 16) -- After the USA dominated day one of the U20 World Championships, it's time for the second day with five more freestyle weight classes in action in Sofia. Wrestlers from 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

14:21: The 92kg last four

Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) vs. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM) vs. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) 

14:15: The semifinals pair at 86kg

Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR) vs. Bennett BERGE (USA)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) vs. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) 

14:05: The 74kg semifinals for the evening session

Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) vs. Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND) vs. Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN) 

14:00: Here are the semifinals for 61kg

Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI) vs. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) vs. Mohit KUMAR (IND) 

13:53: The 125kg semifinals are set

Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND) vs. Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Nicholas FELDMAN (USA) 

13:43: Erfan ELAHI (IRI) up against '21 U17 world champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND) in the quarterfinals. Elahi with two quick stepouts to lead 2-0. But Jaglan with a takedown and lace to make it 8-2 at the break. Jaglan is cautioned for feeling and the score is cut to 8-4. But he scores a takedown and makes it 10-4. Huge win for Jaglan over returning world champion

13:40:  Another Iran win. At 125kg, '21 U17 world champion Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) beats Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO) 14-4 to enter the semifinal. He will wrestle Nicholas FELDMAN (USA)

13:37: The 61kg quarterfinal between Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI) and Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) is living up to the expectation. Bouzakis had a 6-4 lead but Habibzadeh managed to get a takedown to lead 6-6 before another double leg shot made it 9-7. Both wrestlers continued to go but Habibzadeh managed to win 13-11

13:30: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) has done it! He leg laces Aref RANJBARI (IRI) to 10-0. A scream to confirm how important that was for him.

13:25: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) is having a field day in Sofia. He now wins 10-0 against Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB) to enter the semifinal at 74kg. He will wrestle the winner of  Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO) vs. Tymur HUDYMA (UKR) 

13:15: A 10-0 win for Firouzpour at 92kg and he will wrestle Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN) who had to battle Kutman TOLOBALDIEV (KGZ) before winning 15-12. Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) also comes from 5-2 down against AKASH (IND) to win 7-6

12:45: Jaxon SMITH (USA) with a big 8-1 win over Ion DEMIAN (MDA) at 92kg. Senior Asian champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) is wrestling Satoshi MIURA (JPN). He leads 3-0 at the break 

12:35: Here are the quarterfinals matchups at 125kg:

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO)
Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB) vs. Roger Rujie LI (CAN) 
Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND) vs. Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL) vs. Nicholas FELDMAN (USA) 

12:25: Will Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) win the gold at 86kg this year? The returning silver medalist has reached the quarterfinals with an 11-0 win over Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)

12:00: At 61kg, Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) trailed early but secures a fall over Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) while Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE) wins 10-0 over Mika LEHMKUEHL (RSA)

11:45: Erfan ELAHI (IRI) and Alexander FACUNDO (USA) coming up on Mat D. Elahi scores a stepout but Facundo answers with a takedown. Elahi gets the single leg and adds 2 more to lead 3-2 at the break. The two trade a takedown each in the second period as Elahi keeps the 5-4 lead with over a minute left. Facundo gets a double leg but the time runs out.

11:30: At 74kg, returning silver medalist from 70kg Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) begins with a 13-0 win over Ulukbek ASILBEKOV (KGZ). He will be the favorite to reach the final from one side of the bracket.

11:10: The first qualification bouts are at 125kg. Home wrestler Georgi IVANOV (BUL) starts the day with a win for Bulgaria. He beats Ryusei FUJITA (JPN) 8-2. In a 34-point slugfest, Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO) comes back from 6-0 down to beat Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM) 13-11. On Mat B, Adil MISIRCI (TUR) beats Bekzat TAZHI (KAZ). 

11:00: Welcome to the second day of the U20 World Championships. The repechage rounds will kick off the day before we move on to the qualification rounds of the five weight classes

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran shines, U.S. surprises in Greco-Roman on Day 1

Monday, September 2, 2024 - 17:46 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 2) -- Seven years after it crowned a world champion at U20 level, the United States will have a chance to end that drought on Tuesday.

Two wrestlers, Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) and Otto BLACK (USA), reached the finals of 55kg and 63kg in Greco-Roman at the U20 World Championships which kicked off in Pontevedra, Spain on Monday. Kamal BEY (USA) won the gold medal in 2017 at 74kg and since then the U.S. has been looking for a world champion. It was also the last time the U.S. had two wrestlers in the final.

Cortez had three back-and-forth bouts in the morning session but was at his best in the semifinal against Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ). He took the par terre position in the first period and finished the bout 9-0 after getting four turns over Aitbekov using the trap-arm.

In his earlier bouts, Cortez pulled off a 9-8 win against Anil MOR (IND), and defeated Peter TOTOK (HUN) 7-4 before going past Maxim SARMANOV (MDA) 9-6.

He will wrestle former U17 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) for the gold medal. Ahmadi Vafa overcame Alibek AMIROV (AIN), 6-3, in the other semifinal at 55kg.

Black took out Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM) in the semifinal at 63kg after battling hard to keep his 3-2 lead. Hoveyan tried jumping over Black to get a four-pointer but Black defended it and slammed Hoveyan on the mat for four points to win 7-2.

For the gold, he will face Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) who had to win the semifinal twice. Zakriev pinned Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) very early in the semifinal but Georgia challenged and won as Khozrevanidze's head was outside the zone when Zakriev was trying to pin him.

Khozrevanidze used his second life in the bout to perform a headlock and got four points. However, Zakriev avoided any fall position and reversed the position and turned Khozrevanidze three times. After a challenge and consultations from referees, Zakriev led the bout 11-4.

He scored four points using a big throw and a lost challenge from Georgia gave him another point as he won 16-4.

Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) will wrestle for the 77kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran had two other finalists, taking the total to three. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) scored a controlled 3-1 win over Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO) at 77kg and will take on Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) for the gold. Iarbilov defeated Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 6-4, in the other semifinal.

At 130kg, Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) joined a long list of top Iranian super heavyweights in Greco-Roman as he reached the final after beating Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) 2-1 in the semifinal. He scored a takedown against Harutyunyan's point for forced par terre.

For the gold medal, he will face former U17 world champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) who won 3-1 against Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN) in the other semifinal.

Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) defeated returning champion Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Kyrgyzstan, a country that has grown leaps and bounds in wrestling over the last decade, sent one wrestler in the final. Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) had an epic run at 87kg to reach the final. In the semifinal, he took less than two minutes to beat Patrik GORDAN (ROU) 8-0.

Joju SAMADOV (AZE) will look to stop him from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first U20 world champion in Greco-Roman since 2018. Samadov had a close semifinal against Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ) but managed to win 4-2.

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) vs. Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)

SF 1: Isaiah CORTEZ (USA) df. Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ), 9-0
SF 2: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Alibek AMIROV (AIN), 6-3 

63kg
GOLD: Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) vs. Otto BLACK (USA)

SF 1: Erzu ZAKRIEV (AIN) df. Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 16-4
SF 2: Otto BLACK (USA) df. Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM), 7-2

77kg
GOLD: Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) vs. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI)

SF 1: Magomed IARBILOV (AIN) df. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 6-4
SF 2: Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) df. Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Joju SAMADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Patrik GORDAN (ROU), 8-0
SF 2: Joju SAMADOV (AZE) df. Temirlan TURDAKYN (KAZ), 4-2

130kg
GOLD: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) vs. Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI)

SF 1: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Aleksandr MELEKHOV (AIN), 3-1
SF 2: Abolfazl FATHITAZANGI (IRI) df. Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 2-1