#WrestleBelgrade

WATCH: WW 10 Finals from U23 World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (November 8) -- Women's wrestling saw 10 new world champions crowned at the U23 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Ukraine became the best team of the tournament with three gold medals, two silver and a bronze medal. The USA, France Canada, Romania, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan and Poland had one champion each. Russia finished with five silver and two bronze medals to be number two in the rankings.

1. WW 50kg -- Shivani PAWAR (IND) vs Emily SHILSON (USA)

 

2. WW 53kg -- Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS) vs Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)

 

3. WW 55kg -- Andreea ANA (ROU) vs Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)

 

4. WW 57kg -- Kristina MIKHNEVA (RUS) vs Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)

 

5. WW 59kg -- Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) vs. Anhelina LYSAK (POL)

 

6. WW 62kg -- Ana GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) vs Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)

 

7. WW 65kg -- Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RUS) vs. Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR)

 

8. WW 68kg -- Vusala PARFIANOVICH (RUS) vs Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)

 

9. WW 72kg -- Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) vs Kendra DACHER (FRA)

 

10. WW 76kg -- Tatiana RENTERIA RENTERIA (COL) vs Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)

#WrestleBelgrade

Unheralded Tazhudinov stuns Olympic champs Snyder, Sadulaev

By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 18) -- The 97kg hegemony has been broken. Unheralded Akhmed TAZHIDUNOV (BRN) stunned two Olympic champions in Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) in back-to-back matches to confirm a first World Championships final since 2014 which will not feature one of the two.

The 19-year-old Asian champion was a shocker no one saw coming as he made it to the final and also confirmed a Paris Olympic quota for Bahrain. He will take on Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) for the gold medal.

Magomedov avenged his European Championships final loss to Givi MATCHRASHVILI (GEO) to make it his first World Championships final. He also earned a Paris Olympic quota for Azerbaijan.

In the other Olympic weight class in action in Belgrade, Olympic and world champions fell like nine pins as Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) and Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) made it to the gold medal finals and earning Paris Olympic spots for Hungary and Puerto Rico respectively.

Muszukajev took out Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), Shamil MAMEDOV (AIN) and world champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in three absolute stunners to get to the final.

Rivera, a fifth-placer last year, got a buzzer-beating lace to beat European champion Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) 10-9 in the other semifinal.

In the two women's wrestling weight classes that were in action, Yuliia TKACH (UKR) returned to the World Championships final after nine years, reaching the gold medal about at 59kg. She will take on Qi ZHANG (CHN) who beat Jennifer PAGE (USA). Zhang's win over Page means that Sae NANJO (JPN) will return empty-handed.

At 55kg, two-time world champion Haruna OKUNO (JPN) also returned to the final. Her last gold came in 2018. She will take on 2019 world champion Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), who is also returning to the final for the first time in four years.

Winchester won 10-0 against Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) in the semifinal while Okuno won over Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) 6-0.