#WrestleZagreb

WATCH: 10 women's wrestling finals from Zagreb

Thursday, February 9, 2023 - 10:27 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 9) -- The Zagreb Open marked the start of the 2023 season and some of the biggest names in women's wrestling took the mat. Japan returned to the ranking series after a gap of four years. China, the USA, Azerbaijan and other strong nations too sent their teams to the competition.

Here are the 10 women's wrestling finals from the Zagreb Open

50kg: GOLD - Jiang ZHU (CHN) vs. Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 

53kg: GOLD - Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) vs. Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)

Round 5: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) vs. Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)

57kg: GOLD - Yongxin FENG (CHN) vs. Sae NANJO (JPN)

59kg: Round 2 • Yui SAKANO (JPN) vs. Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)

GOLD: 62kg - Grace BULLEN (NOR) vs. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

65kg: GOLD - Mallory VELTE (USA) vs. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)

72kg: GOLD -  Skylar GROTE (USA) vs. Dalma CANEVA (ITA)

76kg: GOLD - Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) vs. Yelena MAKOYED (USA)

Obituary

Habibi, Iran's first Olympic champion, dies aged 94

Monday, August 25, 2025 - 09:42 By United World Wrestling Press

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TEHRAN, Iran (August 24) -- Emamali HABIBI (IRI), Iran's first-ever Olympic gold medalist and United World Wrestling Hall of Fame member, passed away Sunday aged 94.

Habibi was born Babol in 1931 and won the first Olympic gold medal for Iran in 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Facing Alimbeg BESTAEV in the final round to decide the gold medalist, Habibi secured a fall in the 67kg final and etched his name in history, became first Olympic champion for Iran.

It was a rare feat in those times as he had never wrestled at an international event before the Olympics. He would make his World Championships debut in 1959, winning gold medal at 73kg. He defended his title in 1961 and added a third gold medal in 1962 at 78kg.

Emamali HABIBI (IRI)Emamali HABIBI (IRI) with his World Championships gold medal.

He participated in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome at 73kg and finished fourth. Habibi also has a gold medal at the 1958 Asian Games, held in Tokyo, Japan.

Habibi's legacy also includes his diverse wrestling techniques and speed on the mat which allowed him to win bouts with domination. He is widely considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of his times. He was included in the UWW Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contribution to wrestling.

UWW offers its condolences to Iran Wrestling Federation and the Habibi family.