#WrestleIstanbul

#WrestleIstanbul: Burroughs Takes 79kg Gold; Turkey Wins Team Title

Sunday, February 27, 2022 - 20:38 By Vinay Siwach

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 27) -- Istanbul couldn't have asked for a better ending at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event -- even after a long day of wrestling, the best was yet to come. 

Turkey and Iran had a pair of gold-medal winners out of the eight contested weights on Sunday.

Five-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) claimed his third Ranking Series gold medal after an All-USA final at 79kg, while his teammate James GREEN (USA) ended with silver after Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) scored an 8-2 win at 70kg.

The Russian Wrestling Federation got their heir-apparent to world champion Gazdhimurad RASHIDOV (RWF) as junior world champion Shamil MAMEDOV (RWF) defeated Oslo gold winner Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) in the 65kg final.

Wrestlers from Kyrgyzstan and India won the 57kg and 61kg gold medals, respectively.

Burroughs' rise to the top of the podium four months after he won his fifth world title in Oslo was a testimony to the longevity and high-class wrestling that he still possesses. After overcoming Chance MARSTELLER (USA), 8-0, in the final, Burroughs said that he never felt better, thanks to not reducing weight to wrestle at 74kg.

"Yes, 79kg is comfortable for me," Burroughs said. "I am going to stay here until 2024 when I make my way down to 74kg to make the US Olympic team.

"People don't take it [79kg] seriously because it's not an Olympic weight. It's given me some rejuvenation late in my career. I'm 33-years-old and will be 34 in four months. I don't have to cut [too much weight]. I get to eat the things I want and training is more fun for me."

But come the '24 Paris Games, Burroughs will be back to his most successful weight, 74kg, in an attempt to win a second Olympic gold after the '12 London Games.

"I am going to be moving down," he said. "I cannot promise that I will make the [USA] team, but you know that I am going to give my best. It's effort, attitude and a warrior-like spirit. I am going to do my best to make the team. It's going to be a tough cut for me, but I'm committed."

Burroughs' stellar career began in Istanbul when he won his first-ever world gold medal in 2011. Reminiscing the memories, he said it is always great to be back.

"I didn't know what to expect in Istanbul 11 years ago, wow," he said. "The blessing was that I was young and naive and knew what I had. Denis TSARGUSH (RWF) was a reigning world champion at the weight class, and I had not wrestled him before. I had him in the second round.

"I was little nervous to be honest. Going to that tournament gave me a lot of confidence going forward because after winning that with very little freestyle experience, I thought about what I can do if I really train full time. The body of work has been something I have been grateful for. There are not a lot of people from that tournament that are competing and winning."

In the final Sunday, he began with an ankle pick, then added a stepout. A two-on-one to takedown transition gave him a 5-0 lead going into the break. In the second period, Burroughs scored another stepout before closing out the match with a takedown. 

In his five bouts, Burroughs outscored his opponent 35-2. He got going with a 14-0 win over Meiir KOSHKINBAYEV (KAZ), then teched another Kazakhstan wrestler, Zhiger ZAKIROV (KAZ), 10-0. Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (RWF) pushed him a little more than the others, but Burroughs was happy to outscore him 4-1.

"It [the tournament] was good," he said. "I think I got progressively better throughout the day. It was a tough tournament. I haven't wrestled five matches in a day since like 2015. I feel good about the bodywork I put in and feel blessed I am sore."

But the real drama occurred in the semifinal against junior Asian champion Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI). The two were tied 1-1 with a minute remaining when Burroughs was put on the activity clock, meaning he had to score inside 30 seconds.

But midway after the clock began, the referee called Savadkouhi for a singlet-pull when Burroughs was in the middle of an attack, giving the USA wrestler a direct caution-and-one. Burroughs defended the final 10 seconds and won, 2-1.

"The semifinal was crazy," he said. "I've never wrestled him before. He's tough and I am sure I'll see him again in the future. He did a really good job of slowing me down."

"For me to get to guys that are intent on playing the shot clock passivity battle, I got to find a way to evolve on offense and find ways to score. The double wasn't there, and really no straight attacks. So getting angles and staying engaged with my hands and feet. "

Another Iran-USA bout of the day was the 70kg final in which Yazdani began with a slide-by to a gut for a 4-0 lead before Green hit a double-leg to make it 4-2 at the break.

The second period began with Yazdani being more aggressive and faking Green a few times before a single leg to a gut wrench gave him four more points. Leading 8-2, Yazdani brought the traditional Iranian underhook defense, and Green got no space to complete his attacks.

The gold ended a long drought for Yazdani, who had won four silver medals at different international tournaments in seven years.

"This is the first gold medal for me at any international tournament, and I cannot tell you how happy I am," Yazdani said. "I hope I made the Iranian fans happy."

Earlier, Green eliminated RWF national champion Rassadin with a 3-2 win. Rassadin's loss meant that world silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) returned home empty-handed.

"Green is a tough wrestler, but I was confident and had faith in my defense as well," Yazdani said.

Iran's second gold came at 92kg as Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) stopped Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) from winning a third Turkish gold of the night. He scored a couple of stepouts and a takedown for his four points, while Yaylaci scored only one takedown.

The RWF got their answer to who would represent them at 65kg at the senior European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, next month after Mammedov stunned world champion Shakhiev with a 23-second fall in the final.

The 21-year-old locked Shakhiev's hands and spun him on his head to get two points. In the same sequence, he managed to roll Shakhiev and put both shoulders to the mat for the pin.

"I am very happy with the way I wrestled the world champion and secured a fall," Mammedov said. "In the whole tournament, I was constantly improving and my confidence was increasing.

"Now we will have a mini-trial for European Championship, but this gold against Shakhiev has helped me a lot in confidence."

But making the Russian Wrestling Federation team is one thing. The 65kg weight class is stacked with prime wrestlers from across the world with Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), Tokyo silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE), bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and 2019 world champion and perhaps RWF's best 65kg wrestler Rashidov.

Mammedov said he's not afraid of any name in the lot and was looking to wrestle some of those guys in Istanbul.

"I was waiting for Punia here," he said. "Sad he did not wrestle, but now I have planned for every wrestler, and I am not afraid to wrestle anyone. It's just a matter of time before I beat them."

At 61kg, a rematch of the Poland Open Ranking Series final between Ravi KUMAR (IND) and Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) saw frantic back-and-forth action in which the former came out on top, 11-10.

Abdullaev outclassed Kumar in Warsaw last year, and it looked like Sunday would be a similar story. The Uzbek scored early with a duck under, but as the bout progressed, Kumar upped the pressure and scored from double-leg attacks twice to lead 4-2 at the break.

A kip over to a high-crotch made it 4-4 for Abdullaev, and in the same sequence, he exposed Kumar on the edge to extend the lead 6-4.

Kumar then hit a four using a cradle to lead 8-6. But once again, Abdullaev came back and scored two points, and at the end of the scramble, the referees gave two for both guys, bringing the score to 10-8. Uzbekistan challenged and it was back to 8-8 with Kumar leading.

Kumar looked to take a clean lead when he shot for Abdullaev's leg but got countered and gave up two points with 22 seconds remaining.

As Abdalluev tried to catch his breath after a stunningly high-paced bout, Kumar used that as an opportunity and blasted a double-leg to make the score 10-10, taking the criteria advantage. A lost challenge from Uzbekistan made it 11-10.

"I had wrestled him in Ranking Series in Warsaw and lost," Kumar said. "But this time, it was better, and I was able to beat him. The bout was stopped several times, which I think worked against me because that gave him [Abdullaev] a lot of rest, and he was visibly tired."

Kumar has now wrestled at two tournaments this year. Apart from the Yasar Dogu, he won a silver medal at the Dan Kolov tournament in Bulgaria last week.

"I am coming after Tokyo, and it feels that I am in good shape," he said. "This final also helped me assess myself. Now the focus is on Asian Championships."

Turkey's two champions came in the role of veteran Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) at 74kg and Osman GOCEN (TUR) at 86kg.

Demitras defeated Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), 11-0, in the final. The two exchanged ties early, but Demitras came out with a takedown and leg lace to lead, 7-0.  He added another takedown after the break to increase it to 9-0, the final score of the bout.

The 86kg home stars Gocen and Fatih ERDIN (TUR) slugged it out with the latter getting put on the activity clock. After giving up that point, he quickly scored a takedown to take a 2-1 lead, but a scramble resulted in Erdin's 4-2 lead at the break.

The second period saw more action as Gocen mounted a comeback. He scored two, bringing Erdin down in reverse, then gave up a point for reversal as the score changed to 5-4. Erdin scored another takedown and exposure to finish the bout 8-5.

At 57kg, Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) brought home gold after Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) conceded a walkover via injury default in the final.

United World Wrestling's action will now move onto the U23 European Championships that will begin March 7 to 13 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) df Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO), via injury default
BRONZE: Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR) df Saban KIZILTAS (TUR), 7-0
BRONZE: AMAN (IND) df Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL), 10-5

61kg
GOLD: Ravi KUMAR (IND) df Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), 11-10
BRONZE: Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df Recep TOPAL (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Nicholas MEGALUDIS (USA) df Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI), 6-4

65kg
GOLD: Shamil MAMEDOV (RWF) df Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF), via fall
BRONZE: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), 5-4
BRONZE: Joseph MCKENNA (USA) df Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ), via forfeit

70kg
GOLD: Amirmohammad  YAZDANI (IRI) df James GREEN (USA), 10-2
BRONZE: Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) df Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO), 2-1
BRONZE: Viktor RASSADIN (RWF) df Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI), via fall

74kg
GOLD: Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) df Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), 9-0
BRONZE: Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) df Mohmmad FIROUZPOUR (IRI), via injury default
BRONZE: Islambek OROZBEKOV (KGZ) df PRITAM (IND), 11-0

79kg
GOLD: Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) df Chance MARSTELLER (USA), 8-0
BRONZE: Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) df Nuri TEMUR (TUR), via injury default
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (RWF), 5-4

86kg
GOLD: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df Fatih ERDIN (TUR), 8-5
BRONZE: Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE) df Lars SCHAEFLE (GER), 7-0
BRONZE: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA), 4-4

92kg
GOLD: Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) df Erhan YAYLACI (TUR), 4-1
BRONZE: Deepak PUNIA (IND) df Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ), 7-1
BRONZE: Ahmet BILICI (TUR) df Guram CHERTKOEV (RWF), via fall

#WrestleZagreb

Komarov upends Mohamadi to make history, spoil Iran celebrations

Sunday, September 21, 2025 - 20:47 By Ken Marantz

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Note: An earlier version of this article mentioned Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) as the first male wrestler to have won the "Grand Slam". Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) was the first. The error is regretted.

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 21) -- Olympic silver medalist Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) was set to put the cherry on top of Iran's dominant performance in Zagreb, but Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) had a recipe for disaster.

Komarov pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory in the 87kg final that left Mohamadi inconsolable, while earning himself a unique place in wrestling history as the curtain came down on the World Championships on Sunday with the last three Greco titles decided.

"I’m very happy," Komarov said. "The final was really tough, and I believed I could succeed. In the end I managed it, and I’m very glad about that."

In other finals, teenager Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) gave Uzbekistan just its second world Greco title -- more than two decades after the first -- with a victory at 63kg, while Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) triumphed at 67kg to become the Iran's second Olympic champion in two nights to add the senior world gold.

Iran easily won the team title with 180 points, nearly twice as much as the runner-up, to complete the freestyle-Greco double for the first time. The Asian powerhouse finished with four golds and eight medals overall in Greco. Azerbaijan placed second with 89 points, followed by Uzbekistan with 72. Both nations had one champion.

With his triumph in Zagreb, the Russian-born Komarov became the second male wrestler to complete the "Grand Slam" of world titles -- winning all three age-group titles as well as the senior gold.

Komarov, who began competing for Serbia in 2024, previously won the first of two cadet (U17) titles in 2015, the world junior (U20) in 2017 and 2018, then added the world U23 in 2021.

He joins Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) as the lone men to achieve the Grand Slam. Mirzazadeh, who won a second career Greco 130kg title two days earlier in Zagreb, become the first when he won his first senior gold in 2023, adding to world titles at U17 in 2015, U20 in 2018 and U23 in 2021.

A handful of women, including Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Amit ELOR (USA), have achieved the slam. Three other male greats came close, but fell just short by taking silvers on either the U17 or U20 levels -- Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) in freestyle and Leri ABULADZE (GEO) in Greco.

"I’ve collected the whole set of medals," said Komarov, who has also completed the Grand Slam on a European level. "My coach, my journey -- everything I did was right. I have success, so I’m very happy. My goal and my dream are the Olympic Games. I think about it. It’s too early to talk about that now, but I hope everything works out."

Even with his past glory, not everything had worked out for Komarov in his run-up to Zagreb. In fact, it was less than spectacular.

Eighth at the Paris Olympics, this year the 26-year-old relinquished the European title he had won in 2024, having to settle for a bronze, and placed fifth at all three Ranking Series events he entered, in Zagreb, Tirana and Budapest.

In fact, it was in Tirana that he clashed with Mohamadi, who handed him a 5-1 defeat in the semifinals en route to the gold.

"It was a very hard road to get here -- it’s been a very difficult year and I lost all the ranking series. I lost at the Europeans," Komarov said. "Of course I had doubts in myself, but I believed I could do it and I succeeded. I’m always mentally ready -- I didn’t change anything, just worked a lot and tried to wrestle without mistakes and give my best."

But Komarov made all the right moves in Zagreb to beat Mohamadi, who reluctantly settled for his second world silver, adding to one at 82kg in 2023.

The difference came down to what each wrestler did from par terre. Mohamadi, who won the Tirana Ranking Series title, could only manage a stepout on a throw
attempt. Komarov, on the other hand, got the traditional roll, which put him up 3-2 in the second period.

The key moment of the match came in the final minute, when Mohamadi pressed forward in a tackle position and had Komarov backpedaling out of the ring.

But the stepout -- nor a potential fleeing point -- was not awarded when it was determined on a lost Iranian challenge that Mohamadi's hands had dropped below Komarov's waist, which made it 4-2.

Mohamadi needed a takedown to win, but could only manage a late stepout. At the final whistle, he dropped to the mat in total despair, and had be propped up as he
walked dejectedly from the main floor.

Meanwhile, Komarov's celebrations took a odd twist when it was discovered there was no Serbian flag for him to hoist for his victory lap. Instead, he circled the mat on the shoulders of his coaches.

"Nobody believed I would win," Komarov said with a smile. "Many Serbians came to support me, but nobody brought a flag."

While Komarov chose to relocate his life to Serbia and has a Serbian wife, his family remains in Russia. His younger brother, Ilya KOMAROV (UWW), won a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in August.

At 63kg, Khalmakhanov's victory on the senior stage came just over a month after winning the gold at the World U20 Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria.

Khalmakhanov, who also won the senior Asian title in March, looked like a seasoned veteran in the final against Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), dominating in a 6-0
victory.

Khalmakhanov wasn't able to turn in par terre in the first period, but added a stepout to take a 2-0 lead at the break. In the second, he shrugged Chung down for a takedown, then added another stepout while attempting a throw.

The Korean side challenged the original takedown, but it was denied, giving Khalmakanov a 6-0 lead that he defended to the end. 

Perhaps the only person more ecstatic over Khalmakanov's victory was his coach, the indefatigable Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), who finally retired at age 40 after the Paris Olympics, having won two world medals but no golds.

Uzbekistan's only previous gold in Greco came in 2001, when Dilshod ARIPOV (UZB) won the 58kg title in Petras, Greece.

Chung was denied in his bid to give Korea its first world Greco gold since his senior teammate and longtime training partner at Kyungsung University, the now-retired Hansu RYU (KOR), won the second of his two world golds in Paris in 2017.

At 67kg, Esmaeili got a stepout to start the match, and that proved the difference in a 2-1 victory over reigning European champion and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE).

"With a smart plan, I beat him 2–1 and became the champion of this weight class," said Esmaeili, who won the gold in his senior world debut.

Each wrestler had a chance in par terre, but neither could turn the other, giving Esmaeili his closest victory of the tournament. He had cruised into the final with four consecutive wins by technical superiority.

"Anyone who makes it to the final is obviously a good wrestler, but I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks in the final," Esmaeili said. "We had a clear plan to win, and thank God it worked out -- we came out on top."

Esmaeili has been on quite a run in recent years. He has suffered just one loss since 2021, a 9-7 defeat at the hands of Luis ORTA (CUB) in the semifinals of the Budapest Ranking Series event in June 2024.

His accolades, in addition to the Paris gold, include back-to-back Asian titles in 2024 and 2025. Having already won golds at the world U17 and U20, he needs just the world U23 to complete a "Golden Grand Slam," which includes the Olympics.

His victory came a day after fellow Paris champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) won the title at 97kg.

"This was my first time competing in the [senior] world championships," Esmaeili said. "Before this, I had competed in the Olympics, where thankfully I won gold, and here I was able to repeat that Olympic gold to prove myself once again."

Keshtkar tops Emelin for 63kg bronze

In the bronze-medal matches, Asian silver medalist Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) stormed out a big lead, then fought fatigue to hold off a late surge from former world champion Sergey EMELIN (UWW) to take his first world medal with a 6-4 victory at 63kg.

Keshtkar used an arm spin for an opening takedown, then added a stepout off a whizzer. Another stepout, combined with an unsuccessful challenge, put him up 5-0 at the break.

After Keshtkar padded his lead with another stepout, Emelin went on the offensive as the Iranian began to run out of gas. A stepout, takedown and fleeing penalty point cut the gap to two points, but the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist couldn't apply the coup de grace and fell short of a third world medal.

European bronze medalist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), last year's world U23 champion, was able to complete his comeback to defeat Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) 6-5 for the other 63kg bronze.

Hrushyn, a two-time European medalist, had two stepouts and led 3-0 in the second period when Eriomenco gained a stepout, then was put in par terre. He took full advantage, executing a trap arm roll, then going back the other way to go ahead 6-3.

Hruyshyn scored a takedown with :37 left to pull within one, but Eriomenco conceded nothing the rest of the way to secure the medal.

At 67kg, lanky Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) fell into a five-point hole early against Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), but used his elongated limbs to maximum advantage in ground wrestling to rally to a big lead before securing a late fall.

Two-time Asian silver medalist Beishekeev uncorked a 4-point throw from par terre in the first period to lead 5-0, with Galstyan picking up a stepout before the break.

Galstyan started his comeback by shrugging Beishekeev to the mat for a takedown, then getting behind again to tie the score at 5-5, although he still trailed on criteria. But he wrapped his long arms around Beishekeev and scored two exposures to go ahead 9-5.

An arm spin gave him another takedown, then he stopped an attack for another 2. That would have ended the match, but Galstyan put an exhausted Beishekeev on his back for a fall with :18 left.

At 87kg, Asian U23 champion Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) defeated David LOSONCZI (HUN) 4-2 to deny the former world champion a third career world medal.

Zhanyshov stopped a lateral drop attempt in the first period for a 2-point score, then added a passivity point to lead 3-0 at the break.

Losonczi, who took silver medals at three ranking series events this year, had a chance at par terre, but could not turn Zhanyshov. He did manage a stepout to cut the gap, but Zhanyshov shut him down the rest of the way, while a late caution point added to his tally.

Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW) stepped over on a gut wrench attempt by Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) and secured a fall to take home the other 87kg bronze.

Alirzaev took a 3-0 lead with an exposure from par terre in the first period. In the second, he was on the bottom when he deftly stuck Yevloyev for the fall in 4:08.

Day 8 Results

Greco-Roman

63kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 6-0

BRONZE: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) df. Sergey EMELIN (UWW), 6-4
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), 6-5

67kg (34 entries)
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Daniial AGAEV (UWW) df. Sebastian NAD (SRB), 7-1
BRONZE: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) by Fall, 5:42 (15-5)

87kg (30 entries)
GOLD: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI), 4-3

BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 4-2
BRONZE: Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) by Fall, 4:08 (5-1)