#Grappling

Uzbekistan shines at Andijan Open Grappling

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 - 12:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan (June 11) -- The Grappling season is back. Andijan Open was organized in Andijan, Uzbekistan on June 1 and 2 in U17, U20 and Senior age-groups.

Host country Uzbekistan had the most grapplers entered in the competition which also serves as the test event for the World Grappling Championships to be held in Novi Sad, Serbia in October.

Out of the six weight classes competed in senior men's grappling, Uzbekistan won four gold medals. Avzal AKHMETOV (UZB) won the gold medal at 66kg, Janobiddin SATTAROV (UZB) won at 84kg and Azizbek SHARIPOV (UZB) defeated Alisher NEMATJONOV (UZB), 18-0, at 92kg, a weight class in which only two entries were received.

Asrorbek ANVARJONOV (UZB) won the gold medal at 100kg after he was the only grappler entered in the weight class.

At 62kg, Kiryl AHEIKA (UWW) won the gold medal after winning all his round-robin bouts. Zojiakbar KAMOLOV (UZB) was silver medalist while Avrangzebmirzosulton TORAQULOV (UZB) won bronze medal.

Nico PULBERMUELLER (GER) won the gold medal at 71kg after he won three bouts in round-robin. Makhmudjon ODILOV (UZB) won silver while Muhammad MAHSUDXOJAYEV (UZB) was bronze medalist.

In women's competition, only 64kg weight class was competed and Zebiniso OTAQULOVA (UZB) submitted Khilola SOBIROVA (UZB) to win the gold medal.

At the U20 level, Uzbekistan won four of the five gold medals on offer in men's grappling and Heorhi HLAZKO (UWW) won the gold medal at 77kg to break the cycle.

For detailed results of the U17, U20 and Senior Grappling Andijan Open, click here.

RESULTS

Senior Men's Grappling

62kg
GOLD: Kiryl AHEIKA (UWW)
SILVER: Xojiakbar KAMOLOV (UZB)
BRONZE: Avrangzebmirzosulton TORAQULOV (UZB)

66kg
GOLD: Avzal AKHMETOV (UZB)
SILVER: Umidjon ABDURAXIMOV (UZB)
BRONZE: Muhammad MAHSUDXOJAYEV (UZB)

71kg
GOLD: Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER)
SILVER: Makhmudjon ODILOV (UZB)
BRONZE: Khusniddin JURABOEV (UZB)

84kg
GOLD: Janobiddin SATTAROV (UZB)
SIVER: Azizbek MIRZAEV (UZB)
BRONZE: Ahmadullo NUMONOV (UZB)

92kg
GOLD: Azizbek SHARIPOV (UZB) df. Alisher NEMATJONOV (UZB), 18-0

100kg
GOLD: Asrorbek ANVARJONOV (UZB)

Senior Women's Grappling

64kg
GOLD: Zebiniso OTAQULOVA (UZB) df. Khilola SOBIROVA (UZB), via submission (9-0)

Men's U20 Grappling

58kg
GOLD: Farrux ERGASHEV (UZB) df. Abror SAIDGANIYEV (UZB), via submission (6-4)

62kg
GOLD: Egamberdi SOLIYEV (UZB)
SILVER: Temur UMARALIYEV (UZB)
BRONZE: Shuxratbek YUNUSJONOV (UZB)

66kg
GOLD: Abduraxmon XAYITOXUNOV (UZB)
SILVER: Muhammad MAHSUDXOJAYEV (UZB)
BRONZE: PRINCE (IND)

77kg
GOLD: Heorhi HLAZKO (UWW)
SILVER: Dostonjon MAMASHARIPOV (UZB)
BRONZE: Muhakammadali HAMIDJONOV (UZB)

84kg
GOLD: Firdavsbek GOFURJONOV (UZB) df. Ruslan PLOTNIKOV (UZB), 10-1

Men's U17 Grappling

50kg
GOLD: Shoxboz ABDUXARIMOV (UZB)
SILVER: Ibrokhimjon BOTIROV (UZB)
BRONZE: Ozodbek ABDUSAMADOV (UZB)

54kg
GOLD: Gofur ISMOILOV (UZB) df. Raxmatillo RUSTAMJONOV (UZB), via submission (8-3)

58kg
GOLD: Mikita KAPYCHKA (UWW)
SILVER: Holid ARABBOYEV (UZB)
BRONZE: Abdulaziz MAMATIMINOV (UZB)

69kg
GOLD: Elbek ERKINOV (UZB)
SILVER: Dzianis FEDARTSOU (UWW)
BRONZE: Asilbek MAHAMMADAMINOV (UZB)

Women's U17 Grappling

49kg
GOLD: Rayhona ISLOMBOYEVA (UZB)

#development

Afghanistan Coaches Build Skills at UWW Level 1 Coaching Course

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 - 06:58 By United World Wrestling Press

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (June 30) -- Eleven coaches from Afghanistan were among 21 participants who completed a United World Wrestling Level 1 Coaching Course in Almaty, strengthening the country's coaching capacity while building closer ties with neighboring Kazakhstan.

Organized through a partnership between Olympic Solidarity, the Kazakhstan National Olympic Committee, the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation, and United World Wrestling, the course focused on developing internationally recognized coaching competencies while fostering collaboration between the two wrestling nations.

Apart from the 11 coaches from Afghanistan, coaches from Kazakhstan also joined for a comprehensive program. The curriculum covered coaching responsibilities, skill development using UWW's Key Factors teaching methodology, athlete-centered learning through discovery games, coaching self-reflection, risk management, and practical coaching assessment.

Afghanistan

UWW Educator and former world champion Mohammed ABDELFATTAH praised the participants for their commitment throughout the program.

"I was very impressed with the overall level of the participants," Abdelfattah said. "The coaches were highly motivated, actively participated in every session, and continuously asked thoughtful questions throughout the course."

Abdelfattah was particularly encouraged by the technical level demonstrated by the Afghan coaches.

"The Afghan coaches demonstrated a strong technical understanding of wrestling." he said. "After speaking with several participants, I learned that traditional wrestling is extremely popular in Afghanistan and shares many technical similarities with Olympic wrestling. This provides coaches with an excellent technical foundation for further development."

The practical sessions proved to be a particular highlight, with coaches working through technical demonstrations, problem-solving exercises, and athlete-centered coaching activities designed to strengthen both technical instruction and coaching methodology.

The Afghanistan Wrestling Federation views the course as an important step in its long-term development strategy. Dr. Yonus POPALZY, an Afghan NOC and Olympic Council of Asia member, was instrumental in the development, organization, and success of the course.

Participants highlighted the practical nature of the course and the opportunity to exchange ideas with coaches from different backgrounds.

"The course exceeded our expectations. The practical sessions and interactive teaching methods gave us new ideas that we can immediately apply in our daily coaching."