#WrestleTirana

U23 European Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (February 25)  -- Soon after the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series, Tirana will shift its focus to the first continental championships of 2025.

The U23 European Championships will be held in Tirana from March 8 to 14 with 429 wrestlers entered for the competition.

Freestyle will kick off proceedings on March 8, followed by Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman will finish off things.

UWW+ (uww.org) will bring all the action live and highlights from Tirana.

Freestyle

57kg
Ersjan KASHIKU (ALB)
Norik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Rahman IMANOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Nika ZANGALADZE (GEO)
Danny LUBRANO (ITA)
Ion BULGARU (MDA)
Stefan SHTERJOV (MKD)
Bekir KESER (TUR)
Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR)
Iunus IAVBATIROV (UWW)

61kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM)
Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE)
Denis NAIM (BUL)
Omar GAZASHVILI (GEO)
Dario DITTRICH (GER)
Balazs RACZ (HUN)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Vasile MARCU (MDA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Ivan OKSIUK (POL)
River PERLUNGHER (SUI)
Tolga OZBEK (TUR)
Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR)
Ivan HRAMYKA (UWW)
Akhmed ZUBAIROV (UWW)

65kg
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Hayk ABRAHAMYAN (ARM)
Murad HAGVERDIYEV (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Erdal GALIP (BUL)
Felipe FERRUSOLA MILLA (ESP)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Marcel WAGIN (GER)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
Mattia BIENTINESI (ITA)
Artiom CVETKOV (LTU)
Fiodor CEAVDARI (MDA)
Daniel KULCZYNSKI (POL)
Daniel SANDU (ROU)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR)
Anatoli HRAMYKA (UWW)
Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW)

70kg
Fabian KOCILERI (ALB)
Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM)
Alexander SEIWALD (AUT)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Muhammad ABDURACHMANOV (BEL)
Kaloyan ATANASOV (BUL)
Denis KODAKOV GIL (ESP)
Abdoul NAKAEV (FRA)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Burak SALVIZ (GER)
Marton VARGA (HUN)
Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)
Muhamed FERUKI (MKD)
Mateusz LUSZCZYNSKI (POL)
Umut ERDOGAN (TUR)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR)
Mikita DZEMCHANKA (UWW)
Magomed ELTEMIROV (UWW)

74kg
Devi BARDHI (ALB)
Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM)
Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Stiliyan DZHOROV (BUL)
Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Manuel WAGIN (GER)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Daniel KORKIN (ISR)
Raul CASO (ITA)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Fabian NIEDZWIEDZKI (POL)
Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU)
Ismet CIFTCI (TUR)
Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR)
Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW)
Ismail KHANIEV (UWW)

79kg
Altin GANCI (ALB)
Farid JABBAROV (AZE)
Bogdan DJANDIGOV (BEL)
Aykan SEID (BUL)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER)
Rolan ARNTASEV ARDASHEV (GRE)
Adam GAZDAG (HUN)
Raffaele RAFFAELE MATRULLO (ITA)
Marius RETCO (MDA)
Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Andrija IVANOVIC (SRB)
Umar MAVLAEV (SUI)
Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR)
Bohdan OLEKSIIENKO (UKR)
Aliaksandr VIARBITSKI (UWW)
Arsen BALAIAN (UWW)

86kg
Ibrahim SULA (ALB)
Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM)
Lukas LINS (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV    (AZE)
Umar VELIEV (BEL)
Radomir STOYANOV (BUL)
Gabriel IGLESIAS RAMOS (ESP)
Miko ELKALA (FIN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Georgios KOTANIDIS (GRE)
Zeteny GANGL (HUN)
Kyrylo OHAR (ISR)
Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Wiktor HASA (POL)
Alperen ATAR (TUR)
Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR)
Arslan BAGAEV (UWW)

92kg
Albin PEPOSHI (ALB)
Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)
Sadig MUSTAFAZADE (AZE)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Daniel FISCHER (GER)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Davide COSSU (ITA)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Filip SZUCKI (POL)
David JAKSIK (SVK)
Alperen TOKGOZ (TUR)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Artsiom IHNATSIUK (UWW)
Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW)

97kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Andriyan VALKANOV (BUL)
Ashab DADAEV (FRA)
Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
Nikita GOUBARETS (ISR)
Constantin BUZA (MDA)
Taron SHAHINYAN (POL)
Georgian TRIPON (ROU)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Resul GUNE (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Uladzislau KAZLOU (UWW)
Bady SAMDAN (UWW)

125kg
Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Giga SHAVADZE (GEO)
Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA)
Michal DUBOWSKI (POL)
Efe AL (TUR)
Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR)
Pavel DZIATLAU (UWW)
Artem PUKHOVSKII (UWW)

Iryna BONDAR (UKR)Iryna BONDAR (UKR) is one of the stars entered for U23 European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE)
Maria CAZALLA TORRES (ESP)
Vestina DANISEVICIUTE (LTU)
Natalia WALCZAK (POL)
Ana Maria PIRVU (ROU)
Svenja JUNGO (SUI)
Songul KAVAK (TUR)
Viktoriia SLOBODENIUK (UKR)
Anastasiya YANOTAVA (UWW)
Natalia PUDOVA (UWW)

53kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP)
Maria FERONE (ITA)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Anastasiia LEBEDIEVA (POL)
Ana ROTARU (ROU)
Ellen OESTMAN (SWE)
Remziye KARADAG (TUR)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)
Viktoryia VOLK (UWW)
Ekaterina KARPUSHKINA (UWW)

55kg
Nargiz SAMADOVA (AZE)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Amory ANDRICH (GER)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Kamila KASPROW (POL)
Tuba DEMIR (TUR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)
Aliaksandra BULAVA (UWW)
Anastasiia IANDUSHKINA (UWW)

57kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Fatme SHABAN (BUL)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Inna ALIMOVA (LTU)
Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL)
Georgiana LIRCA (ROU)
Milica SEKULOVIC (SRB)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)
Aryna MARTYNAVA (UWW)
Anastasiia KOZLOVA (UWW)

59kg
Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE)
Desislava IVANOVA (BUL)
Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Julia NOWICKA (POL)
Ana PUIU (ROU)
Jana PETROVIC (SRB)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR)
Marta HETMANAVA (UWW)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (UWW)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Naemi LEISTNER (GER)
Anna FOTIADOU (GRE)
Yasmine SOLIMAN (HUN)
Immacolata DANISE (ITA)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Alicja NOWOSAD (POL)
JOVANA RADIVOJEVIC (SRB)
Annatina LIPPUNER (SUI)
Selvi ILYASOGLU (TUR)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Alesia HETMANAVA (UWW)
Amina TANDELOVA (UWW)

65kg
Ruzanna MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Luisa SCHEEL (GER)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Bianca CONTRAFATTO (ITA)
Olha PADOSHYK (POL)
Viorica ADAM (ROU)
Emilija JAKOVLJEVIC (SRB)
Beyza AKKUS (TUR)
Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR)
Kseniya TSIARENIA (UWW)
Ekaterina KOSHKINA (UWW)

68kg
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Karolina DOMASZUK (POL)
Maria PANTIRU (ROU)
Masa PEROVIC (SRB)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)
Viktoryia RADZKOVA (UWW)
Olesia BEZUGLOVA (UWW)

72kg
Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Jennifer ROESLER (GER)
Noemi OSVATH NAGY (HUN)
Vincenza AMENDOLA (ITA)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Haticenur SARI (TUR)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)
Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW)
Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW)

76kg
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Laura KUEHN (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Patrycja CUBER (POL)
Evelin UJHELJI (SRB)
Anna BRAUN (SWE)
Elmira YASIN (TUR)
Mariia ORLEVYCH (UKR)
Hanna PIRSKAYA (UWW)
Olga KOZYREVA (UWW)

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) is looking for his second U23 European title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Arayik TOPALYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Filip BARTOSIK (CZE)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Vasileios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Peter TOTOK (HUN)
Maxim SARMANOV (MDA)
Mehmet SARP (TUR)
Danylo KORIEIEV (UKR)
Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

60kg
Mikel TROPLINI (ALB)
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Huseyn GARIBOV (AZE)
Alyosha ILIEV (BUL)
Brian SANTIAGO (DEN)
Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA)
Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Georgios PAPAGEORGIOU (GRE)
Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Tommaso BOSI (ITA)
Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Bohdan HRYSHYN (UKR)
Papik DZHAVADIAN (UWW)

63kg
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Davit JOTYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Miroslav EMILOV (BUL)
Diego ESTECHE GOMEZ (ESP)
Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)
Marios KAPANTAIS (GRE)
Daniel RAFAEL (HUN)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Adrian ANTON (ROU)
Alexander VAFAI (SWE)
Furkan ERKEN (TUR)
Vsevolod SAPUN (UKR)
Aleksandr ANDREEV (UWW)

67kg
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Ruben MIRANYAN (ARM)
Farid KHALILOV (AZE)
Antonio HRISTOV (BUL)
William REENBERG (DEN)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)
Janis HEINZELBECKER (GER)
Attila JOZSA (HUN)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Pavel DENISENCO (MDA)
Bredi SLINKERS (NED)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Noe POC (SRB)
Azat SARIYAR (TUR)
Pavlo SOROKOLIET (UKR)
Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW)
Daniial AGAEV (UWW)

72kg
Xhorxh FRROKAJ (ALB)
Ashot KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE)
Dimitar GEORGIEV (BUL)
Luka IVANCIC (CRO)
Dalgat MAGOMEDOV (CZE)
Artur JEREMEJEV (EST)
Anri TAVARTKILADZE (GEO)
Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE)
Rokas CEPAUSKAS (LTU)
Vasile ZABICA (MDA)
Piotr STOLARCZYK (POL)
Eren ULKU (TUR)
Oleh KHALILOV (UKR)
Viachaslau ZHEHALAU (UWW)
Danil GRIGOREV (UWW)

77kg
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Martik PETROSYAN (ARM)
Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)
Albert DOEV (BUL)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Junior BENITEZ ORTIZ (ESP)
Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Benjamin HANSEN (NOR)
Karl BAFF (SWE)
Muslim BARGA (TUR)
Vladyslav IVANINA (UKR)
Illia VALEUSKI (UWW)
Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW)

82kg
Xhord GJONI (ALB)
Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM)
Elmin ALIYEV (AZE)
Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL)
Martin SHISHEKOV (BUL)
Marek VRBA (CZE)
Frederik MATHIESEN (DEN)
Ekke LEITHAM (EST)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO)
Dominik BOTOS (HUN)
Leon RIVALTA (ITA)
Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Ludvig GUNHEIM HATLAND (NOR)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Uros LECIC (SRB)
Alexander JOHANSSON (SWE)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Ramazan PASHAIEV (UKR)
Dzmitry BONKA (UWW)
Gamzat GADZHIEV (UWW)

87kg
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Joju SAMADOV (AZE)
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Jesper HAERKAENEN (FIN)
Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Cristian RUSU (MDA)
Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Milos PEROVIC (SRB)
Hamza SERTCANLI (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ivan CHMYR (UKR)
Baskhan SAIDOV (UWW)

97kg
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Harutyun KIRAKOSYAN (ARM)
Agil MUSAEV (AZE)
Tomislav BRKAN (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Aapo VIITALA (FIN)
Luka GABISONIA (GEO)
Connor SAMMET (GER)
Roman BALCHIVSCHII (MDA)
Sebastian WARCHOL (POL)
Ionut GOSA (ROU)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Muhittin HELVACI (TUR)
Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (UWW)
Mukhammad EVLOEV (UWW)

130kg
Rigers KURTI (ALB)
Razmik KURDYAN (ARM)
Aykhan MARDANOV (AZE)
Alan DZABIEV (BUL)
Artur SARKISJAN (CZE)
Eerik PANK (EST)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Achilleas CHRYSIDIS (GRE)
Koppany LASZLO (HUN)
Cemal BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Aleksandr MELEKHOV (UWW)

#WrestleNoviSad

Yakushenko levels up with first U23 World Championships gold

By Vinay Siwach

NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 22) -- Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) has lost only one bout in 2025 but that one loss remains tied to him when he steps on the mat.

At the U20 European Championships final, Yakushenko lost to Darius KIEFER (GER), 5-3, losing his gold medal to the German wrestler. But using that loss as a lesson and motivation, Yakushenko has now won two world titles in the space of two months.

The 19-year-old won gold at the U20 World Championships in August and on Wednesday at the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Yakushenko won his first U23 world title.

"If I hadn’t lost at the Europeans, I wouldn’t have won at Worlds," Yakushenko said. "Sometimes a loss can be for the better. It motivated me and helped me mentally."

Yakushenko, who avenged that loss to Kiefer at U20 Worlds, wrestled with great temperament at the U23 Worlds despite carrying an injury after his first bout. In four matches, he began with a win over Luka GABISONIA (GEO), held off Abubakar KHASLAKHANU (UWW) and defeated Richard KARELSON (EST) in the semifinals.

Facing senior Asia silver medalist Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) in the final, Yakushenko used a stepout and turn from par terre to lead 4-0. Matsiyev was docked two points for a defensive foul as Yakushenko extended his lead to 6-0.

When Matsiyev got the par terre position in the second period, Yakushenko easily defended it and managed to win the final 6-1, thus claiming gold.

"I’m euphoric right now," he said. "I feel that it really wasn’t that easy. I guess I just worked hard and prepared well, went through good training. My shoulder hurts a little. But I think it’s actually from the rib."

Yakushenko was in Porec, Croatia at the preparatory camp for senior World Championships. Though he did not participate in the tournament, Yakushenko was part of the Ukraine team and watched the matches in Zagreb.

"We had a camp in Croatia, where many countries were present," he said. "I watched, got motivated, I was overwhelmed with emotions. My weight category is very strong, but I think everything is within my reach."

The two-time U20 world champion believes that needs to build more strength to be ready for the senior level but will not shy from a chance to earn his spot on the senior Ukrainian team next year.

"I still need to build more physical strength," he said. "But technically, I don’t think I have problems, and my endurance is good too. 

"There should be the Ukrainian Cup in November, I’m not sure yet. It’s the qualification event for the European Championships. Maybe I’ll compete there, give our senior team a bit of a shake-up. I don’t know yet, I’ll depend on what my coach says. Whatever he decides, I’ll do."

Iran closer to cleansweep

Iran won its third gold medal in Greco at the U23 World Championships and has now all-but-confirmed the team trophy. With the team title in Novi Sad, Iran will assert its domination in Greco as it won team titles in all World Championships -- U17 in Athens, U20 in Samokov and senior in Zagreb -- to go with the one in Novi Sad, Serbia.

It consolidated its position on the top when former U23 world champion at 63kg, Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) won gold at 72kg on Wednesday. Mohammadi defeated Abror ATABAEV (UZB), 5-1, in the final.

Mohammadi was awarded the par terre in he first period and he hit a front headlock which was scored two and one more point was awarded for a stepout. But Iran challenged, claiming four points on the throw, which was confirmed on review but the stepout point was removed as it was a push.

After the challenge, Mohammadi led 5-0 and when Atabaev was given par terre in the second period, Mohammadi defended that position with ease and went on to win the gold medal.

Azerbaijan won its second gold medal in Greco-Roman after Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) held off Alibek AMIROV (UWW), 3-2, in the 55kg final. With the win, he also avenged his U23 European Championships semifinals loss to Amirov.

Egypt got its first world title at any level since 2023 and first at U23 in six years after Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) blanked Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 3-0, in the 67kg. Incidentally, Egypt's other two U23 world titles, both won by Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY) in 2018 and 2019, have come at 67kg.

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) completes a five-pointer. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Gutu in third straight final

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) is a win away from becoming the first three-time U23 world champion after he reached the 82kg final in Novi Sad.

Gutu, wrestling at the U23 Worlds for the fifth time, reached the his fourth straight final after beating Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL) in the semifinals. Gutu won gold medals in 2023 and 2024 and has a silver medal from 2022.

He began with a takedown before adding a stepout for a 3-0 lead. The par terre gave him one more point and he threw Tabaev out-of-bounds for one more point and lead 5-0. The second period saw him add one stepout as he won the semifinal 6-0.

For his third straight gold medal, Gutu will face Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR) who defeated Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO), 1-1, in the other semifinal, thanks to the first-point criteria in a 1-1 finish.

Koto GOMI (JPN)Koto GOMI (JPN) celebrates after winning the 60kg semifinal against Maxwell BLACK (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 60kg, Koto GOMI (JPN) will try to the six-year gold medal drought for Japan after he reached the 60kg final on Wednesday after a dominant performance. He faced Maxwell BLACK (USA) in the semifinals and like his previous bouts, he began by scoring as soon as the match began.

An arm-drag to takedown gave him a 2-0 lead before he got the par terre position and scored three rolls using high gut-wrench and win 9-0.

He will face Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI) for gold after he made a remarkable comeback in the final 20 seconds. Down 3-1 against Mehroj BAKHRAMOV (UZB), Abbaspour scored a stepout which was also called fleeing with 13 seconds left. However, Bakhramov still held the criteria at 3-3 as he had a two-point move.

But Abbaspour did not give up and scored another stepout with five seconds left, giving him a match-winning 4-3 lead. Uzbekistan challenged it but only to lose it and add one more point to Abbaspour's score.

The 5-3 defeat left the teenager Bakhramov in tears while the Iran corner celebrated the unexpected win in the semifinals.

U.S. perfect

Audrey JIMINEZ (USA) will get another chance of winning her first-ever world title after she reached the 50kg finals after posting a controlled 5-2 win against Aida KERYMOVA (UKR) in the semifinals. Jiminez, who had four age-group world silver medals, scored a takedown and one turn in the second period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and post the win.

She will face Jinyue LIANG (CHN) for that much-awaited gold after Liang saw off Natalia PUDOVA (UWW) in the other semifinal. Liang scored a takedown in the second period to lead 2-1 and then got in scramble which that scored two points each. She then hit a headlock for four to make the score 8-3, her winning score in the final.

Former U20 world champion Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) reached the final at 72kg with her third technical superiority win in three bouts. She defeated former U17 world champion Veronika VILK (CRO), 10-0, in the semifinals using her trademark double blasts.

Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) will look to stop Robinson from winning her first U23 world title after she reached the final at 72kg after beating Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN), 6-3.

Returning champion at 72kg, Kylie WELKER (USA), who moved up to 76kg, reached the final after a 16-6 technical superiority win over Edna JIMENEZ VILLALBA (MEX).

Welker began with a four-pointer before two turns made it 8-0. But Villalba also hit a four-pointer to cut the lead to 8-4. She then had Welker in danger to make it 8-6 bit a reversal and three lace turns tilted the semifinal 15-6 in favor to Welker, who scored a stepout in the second period for the win.

She will take on returning bronze medalist Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW) who posted a 4-1 win over Elmira YASIN (TUR) in the other semifinal.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) df. Alibek AMIROV (UWW), 3-2

BRONZE: Khojiakbar KUCHKAROV (UZB) df. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), 8-0
BRONZE: Vishvajit MORE (IND) df. Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ), 5-4

67kg
GOLD: Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) df. Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 3-0

BRONZE: Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 7-1
BRONZE: Otto BLACK (USA) df. Attila JOZSA (HUN), via inj. def.

72kg
GOLD: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Abror ATABAEV (UZB), 5-1

BRONZE: Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE) df. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), 3-1
BRONZE: Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) df. Danil GRIGOREV (UWW), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) df. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ), 6-1

BRONZE: Richard KARELSON (EST) df. Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (UWW), 7-7
BRONZE: Maksim AVERIN (UWW) df. Arshak GEGHAMYAN (ARM), 1-1

Greco-Roman Semifinals

60kg
GOLD: Koto GOMI (JPN) vs. Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Koto GOMI (JPN) df. Maxwell BLACK (USA), 9-0
SF 2: Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI) df. Mehroj BAKHRAMOV (UZB), 5-3

82kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)

SF 1: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Ibrahim TABAEV (BEL), 6-0
SF 2: Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR) df. Data CHKHAIDZE (GEO), 1-1

Women's Wrestling Semifinals

50kg
GOLD: Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) vs. Jinyue LIANG (CHN)

SF 1: Audrey JIMENEZ (USA) df. Aida KERYMOVA (UKR), 5-2
SF 2: Jinyue LIANG (CHN) df. Natalia PUDOVA (UWW), 8-3

72kg
GOLD: Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) vs. Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)

SF 1: Jasmine ROBINSON (USA) df. Veronika VILK (CRO), 10-0 
SF 2: Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN), 6-3

76kg
GOLD: Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW) vs. Kylie WELKER (USA)

SF 1: Valeriia TRIFONOVA (UWW) df. Elmira YASIN (TUR), 4-1
SF 2: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Edna JIMENEZ VILLALBA (MEX), 16-6