#WrestleIstanbul: Greco-Roman Bracket Breakdown

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 16:47 By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 23) -- The Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series tournament gets underway with the eight weight classes Greco-Roman. The draws for all 10 GR weight classes were released Wednesday in Istanbul.

Turkey and Kazakhstan have the highest number of participants after the draw with 30 and 28 wrestlers respectively. They are followed by Azerbaijan (12), Uzbekistan (10) and India (9).

The bracket breakdown of the draw explains the possible match-ups and the ranking points on offer at the tournament.

Turkey will have selection bouts at seven weights -- 60kg, 63kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 97kg, and 130kg -- to select the third wrestler in each of those weights. These bouts will take place before the start of the tournament scheduled for 1030 hours local time.

55kg

55kg (7 entries)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

Turkey’s Adem UZUN and Dogus AYAZCI highlight the seven-wrestler Nordic-style bracket. Uzun was last year’s U23 world bronze medalist, while Ayazci is looking to win his Ranking Series.

A third guy to keep an eye on in the 55kg bracket is Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ). The last time he competed was the ’20 Henri Deglane, where he captured a gold medal.

60kg

60kg (10 entries)

Gold – 8000 points
Silver - 6400 points
Bronze - 5200 points

At 60kg, Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) and Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) could clash in a second-round matchup.

The Azeri, who won the ’18 world title at 55kg, would have to get past F. TUKHTAEV (UZB) in his first-round matchup to setup the matchup of ’21 European top-three finishers.

63kg

63kg (12 points)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

Reigning 60kg world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) is moving up a weight and sits on the top side of the chart. If he wins his first bout, he’ll square off with Lithuania’s Justas PETRAVICIUS for a spot in the semifinals.

Ciobanu will likely have defending Asian champion Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) or Turkey’s ’21 U23 world silver medalist Ahmet UYAR (TUR).

On the bottom side, Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) will square off against two-time Ranking Series champion Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB). Mammadov is currently ranked sixth at 63kg with 25000 points. He can jump up to the third spot with a gold or silver medal in Istanbul.

67kg

67kg (12 points)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

The top half of the 12-man bracket is highlighted by 2020 European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR) is likely to make a safe passage to the final. His biggest threat would be former Asian silver medalist Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ).

Another Kazakhstan wrestler who can show up big time is 63kg Asian champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ). A second-round bout against Moldova veteran and continental bronze Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) could be his biggest test to make the final.

72kg

72kg (14 entries)

Gold: 11000 points
Silver: 9400 points
Bronze: 8200 points

Third-ranked Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) opens up his day on the top side against last year’s Vehbi Emre runner up Murat DAG (TUR).

Sleiva has 31000 points and is currently ranked third. A gold-medal finish will give him 11000 points [14 participants] and take him to 42000. He'd move ahead of current second-ranked Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) who has 37000 points. Even if he finishes as low as eighth, the Lithuanian will be ahead of Kutuzov.

Other guys to pay attention to on the top side are Ulvi Ganizadeh (AZE) and Ensar KARABACAK (TUR).

Ganizadeh is a young stud who finished last year’s U23 World Championships with a bronze medal while Karabacak is looking to improve on his bronze-medal finish from last year’s Vehbi Emre.

On the bottom side of the bracket, the most credentialed guy is Poland’s Mateusz BERNATEK. Last year, he fell to Tokyo Olympian Mate NEMES (SRB) in the European finals and finished with a silver medal.

77kg

77kg (13 entries)

Gold: 11000 points
Silver: 9400 points
Bronze: 8200 points

The top side of the bracket will be highlighted by the opening round matchup between Victor NEMES (SRB) and Aram VARDANYAN (UZB). The Serbian was a world champion in ’17 and a world bronze medalist in ’18, while the Uzbekistan wrestler was on the losing end of the world finals in Nur-Sultan.

The bottom side of the chart is highlighted by fifth-ranked Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE). Last season, the Azeri fell in the world finals to two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) and enters into the competition with 37000 Ranking Series points. He can break into top-three with a medal finish. A bronze would take him past third-placed Vlasov, who has 45000 points.

But to do so, he’ll have to get through India’s SAJAN. If he’s successful in that matchup, it would set up a colossal matchup of world runner-ups, where he’ll go toe-to-toe with Kazakhstan’s Demeu ZHADRAYEV.

The winner of Suleymanov and Zhadrayev will likely clash with last year’s world bronze medalist Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) in the finals.

82kg

82kg (10 entries)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

World champion Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) headlines the 11-man bracket. He could meet Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in the semifinals which will be a rematch of the '21 World Championships from Oslo. Emrah KUS (TUR), who had defeated Akbudak at the Turkey national championships, is also on the same side of the bracket.

Huseynov and Akbudak are ranked first and second with 45000 and 37000 points, respectively. Akbudak cannot jump above Huseynov even with a gold medal.

87kg

87kg (12 entries)

Gold: 8000 points
Silver: 6400 points
Bronze: 5200 points

Olympic bronze and world champion Zarubi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) looks like a clear favorite to reach the final in Istanbul. His biggest threat could be 82kg Asian champion Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB). The two are likely to meet in the semifinals.

Datunashvili will be consolidating his top position with gold as he increases his ranking points to 90200.

Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) can also improve his rank from seventh (31000 points) to top-three if he wins gold.

The lower side of the bracket can see a Sunil KUMAR (IND) vs Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) bout with the former hoping to avenge his Asian Olympic Qualifiers loss from 2021.

97kg

97kg (19 entries)

Gold: 13000 points
Silver: 11400 points
Bronze: 10200 ppints

The biggest bracket of Greco-Roman, 19 wrestles, has veteran wrestler Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) wrestling European silver medalist Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) in the first round. The winner will likely be up against former European champion Felix BALDAUF (NOR) in the semifinal.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) and fifth-place wrestler Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) can be the likely semi-finalists from the lower side of the bracket.

The Poland wrestler has a good chance to be in the top four if he can pull out a gold-medal win. He's currently ranked sixth with 34200 points but could jump to fourth with 13000 points. That will raise his tally to 47200 points.

130kg

130kg (14 entries)

Gold: 11000 points
Silver: 9400 points
Bronze: 8200 points

Home star and 10-time European champion Riza KAYAALP is the favorite to win the category. He is likely to face Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) in the quarterfinals, a rematch from the Tokyo Games which Kayaalp won 5-1. Kayaalp, however, should have a smooth-sailing to the gold medal bout.

A gold in Istanbul can give the Tokyo bronze medalist can help him jump from the seventh spot in rankings to fourth. He has 34200 points, and the addition of an 11000-point gold medal will give him 45200 points. That'd place him 200 points ahead of the current fourth placer, Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI).

#BeachWrestling

Algeria sweeps African Beach Wrestling Championships

Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 12:23 By United World Wrestling Press

CASABLANCA, Morocco (September 12) -- Rising African heavyweight prodigies, Skander BENMOHAMED (ALG) and Billel BALI (ALG) guided Algeria to the team title of the U17 African Beach Wrestling Championship.

Algeria also bagged the women’s team title, led by a dominating double gold display by Meriem Safiya GRIB (ALG), thus completing a stellar show at the continental competition held in Casablanca, Morocco, on September 4 and 5.

The serene Ain Diab beach, with its gleaming sands and turquoise waters, hosted the best U15, U17, and U20 African talents for the two-day competition. The age-group tournaments were held before the Beach Wrestling World Series event, which was held for the first time in an African city, underlining United World Wrestling’s commitment to increasing the sport’s presence in Africa.

Over the two days of action, wrestling aficionados got a glimpse of some of the best talent from the continent. For many, this was also a build-up to the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, which are less than 500 days away.

From an African point of view, Algeria set an early marker. With two gold medals in the men’s events, in the 80 and 90 kg, and one in the women’s section, the country’s wrestlers dominated the proceedings and finished on top of the overall team rankings in the U17 age group.

Benmohamed, who won the U17 African Championships bronze medals earlier this year in mat wrestling, reigned supreme in the 90kg category.

In his first bout, the 17-year-old edged out Aboubacar Demba CAMARA (GUI) in a close affair before coming into his own and stamping his authority over Ali OUIDAD (MAR) 3-0 and Rihan BRITS (RSA) 3-0 to finish on top of the four-man round-robin draw. With three wins out of three, Benmohamed finished ahead of Ouidad to win the gold medal.

Benmohamed completed a super double by winning the gold medal in the U20 category as well. The Algerian defeated Lahcen AIT ELASRI (MAR) and Mohamed Amine EL MEKKAOUI (MAR) for a double podium finish.

Bali had a chance to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot. In the U17 80kg, Bali blanked Fahd RAZKANE (MAR) for a win by superiority in less than a minute-and-a-half to win the gold medal. However, in the U20 event, he could win just once and finished fourth in the five-man field.

Elbara BENAMMAR (ALG) added a third medal to Algeria's kitty in the men’s U17 category by winning the bronze in the 60kg category. Benammar began strongly by defeating Ernest DIATTA (SEN) and David Kanyimbu Mputu De DEUS (ANG) on technical superiority. However, he lost to Dan KEGODE (KEN) in the third round and then went down once again to Ibrahim DOSSO (CIV) in the semifinals.

Benammar shrugged off the disappointments to finish his campaign with another win by superiority over Hatim RAJAY (MAR) to take home the bronze medal.

With that, Algeria finished with a total of 77 points, ahead of second-placed Morocco (62) and Angola (35), who finished third.

In the women’s U17 category, Grib won both her bouts without conceding a point to reign supreme in the 45kg weight class. Grib defeated Islam BENZBIRIA (MAR) 3-0 in the first round and then got the better of Tahirisoa Tinah ANDRIANAMBININA (MAD) by a similar margin.

Like Benmohamed, Grib too won two titles as she claimed the gold in the U15 category as well, conceding just one point in the three wins.

Algeria came close to a second women’s gold medal in the U17 category but Dounia ZITOUNI was beaten by Hajar KANEB (MAR) 4-2 in the 55kg final. Zitouni won the gold medal in style, after she remained undefeated throughout the competition.

Jemimah Maghumicha WANJALA (KEN) won the 65kg gold medal without conceding a single point. In the final, which lasted less than a minute, Wanjala beat Malak Khaled Fahmy Abdelhamid ABDELGAUL (EGY) on technical superiority, just like her two wins en route to the title clash.

The gold medal in the 75kg category went to Khady Diandy BADJI (SEN), with Dune van ZYL (RSA) taking the silver while Malak SABRY (MAR) won the bronze.

Algeria were close to a gold medal clean sweep in the U20 category. They won gold medals in three out of the four weight categories in the men’s competition to win the team title. But Omar LAMBARRAA (MAR) halted their juggernaut by winning the 80kg title ahead of Bakary SOM (CIV) and Ivan LOUW (RSA).

While Bali could not finish among the medals in U20, his compatriots looked in sublime form.

Watik Aymen TITOUS (ALG) defeated Luvaan LOUW (RSA) 3-1 in the final of the 70kg category to finish on the top of the podium. Titous was largely untested throughout the competition, beating Eugine Osale OMULULE (KEN) and Saad MARIRE (MAR) without conceding a point to storm into the semifinals, where he defeated Nathan Lee STOLTZ (RSA) by technical superiority.

In the +90kg category, Noureddine BOUROUFA (ALG) won two bouts out of two without conceding a point to take home the gold medal ahead of Ruan BRITS (RSA) and Ayoub BELGADI (MAR).

In the women’s event, Kenyan wrestlers were dominant, winning two out of the three gold medals on offer. Ivyone Lusike MASIBO (KEN) reigned supreme in the 60kg class, defeating Fatima Zahra BOUCHIBI (ALG) and Hiba KABIL (MAR) to finish on top in a tough four-wrestler field. At 70kg, Faith Nanjala WAMALWA (KEN) defeated Dyvonter Ashly ODONGO (KEN) in an all-Kenyan affair to win the gold medal.

Yasmine BOUREGBA (ALG) won the title in the +70kg category, defeating Hafsa ECH CHABBI by technical superiority.

Algerian women and men, meanwhile, won two gold medals each as they won the team titles in the U15 sections to extend their dominance on the beach.

Younes MOUSSI (ALG) set the ball rolling by finishing on top in the 50kg category, winning both his bouts in dominating fashion. Later, Houdaifa BARKAT (ALG) defeated Mignane NDONG (SEN) to win the 55kg gold medal.

Senegalese beach wrestlers showed spunk after Mbaye NIANG and Ibrahima SARR picked up the 60kg and 75kg titles, with Michael OOSTHUIZEN (RSA) rallying to the top of the podium in 65kg.

Senegal won two more gold medals in the women’s section. Fatou Bintou COLY (SEN) ensured Algeria did not complete a golden hat-trick as she defeated Soudjoud BOULEBDA (ALG) in a crucial third-round bout to win the gold medal. Both wrestlers had won their opening two matches. In the winner-takes-all Round 3, Coly beat her Algerian rival on superiority for the title. Similarly, Elisabeth DIATTA beat Tasnim CHOUIHI (ALG) to win the 60kg gold medal.

Algerian wrestlers, meanwhile, won the two lightest weight categories. While Grib opened Algeria’s account with the 45kg gold medal, Maram Yamna BOUKHIBAR (ALG) finished ahead of Shalying JOY (KEN) and Ndeye Codou SENGHOR (SEN) to win the 50kg title.

Kenya’s Janet Inwesi OMUMASABA won the 65 kg gold, beating Higidia Januario De Gouveia LEITE (ANG) by technical superiority.

#WrestleIstanbul: Greco-Roman Bracket Breakdown

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Algeria sweeps African Beach Wrestling Championships