#WrestlePlovdiv: Greece, Germany End Freestyle U23 Title Drought

Saturday, March 12, 2022 - 19:05 By Vinay Siwach

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria (March 12) -- Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) has been close to the gold medal. He finished with silver at the cadet World Championships and the Junior European Championships. But crossing the final hurdle needed something special.

In the 79kg final at the U23 European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the 21-year-old was once again headed for a second-place finish. He trailed 8-2 against Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO) and was subjected to a flurry of attacks.

But just before the break, he brought his opponent's lead down to 8-4 and then worked on his attacks. A final that was in Shvelidze's hands suddenly lit up as Kougioumtsidis scripted a comeback as Shvelidze failed to keep up with the pace of the bout.

“At the start of the second period I realized that he is tired,” Kougioumtsidis said. “Even I was tired but tried my best and I think that was the difference.”

The Greece wrestler scored 14 straight points to change the lead to 16-8 and gave a non-consequential step out.

“It's just a different feel to win the gold,” he said. “It was a little hard, especially in the first period. But in the second period, I tried my best.”

Despite the gold medal, the Greece wrestler is taking a lesson home as he aims to qualify for the Olympics.

“I can improve my defense,” he said. “I will try my best to qualify for the next Olympics. I can't say anything because I don't know.”

Horst LEHR (GER) celebrates after winning the 57kg gold medal in Plovdiv. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Germany also got its first U23 European champion in freestyle after senior World Championships bronze medalist beat Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO), 2-2 in the 57kg final. No German freestyle wrestler had reached the final at the U23 level before Lehr, who now has the record to his name.

Gegelashvili perhaps expected more attacks from Lehr to counter but he had to work harder for his points. Lehr was called passive in the final period and gave up a point but he scored a stepout at the stroke of the break.

“I wanted to keep the match open and not take any risks,” Lehr said. “I knew that I will be able to score if I needed to. So I waited.”

Using a similar game plan, Lehr frustrated his Georgian opponent with defense and despite giving up a point for another passivity, he scored a point via another stepout from a counter.

Leading 2-2 on criteria, Lehr made sure he defends all other attacks on him and ends the drought for Germany.

“I was nervous for the final and I did not want to do anything which would take it away from me,” he said. “It's the best feeling that I have been waiting for a long time.

“The journey has been long. I have been injured a lot but I stay focused and trained hard.”

Lehr has a bronze medal at the senior European as well but has been struggling with various health problems including recurring fever and knee injuries. But a bronze medal in Oslo gave his career a second wind.

"Wrestling is my life and I was mentally very pressurized to win,” he said. “But after having the health problems, I changed. I put my health first and realized that wrestling is not everything. I brought my health to a good level and that made me mentally free. That has helped me a lot.”

Keeping that in mind, Lehr has decided to skip the senior European Championships in Budapest, Hungary later this month.

“I have a history of injuries and these two tournaments are very close,” he said. “I will wrestle at the senior Worlds this year.”

Islam ILYASOV (AZE) defeated Johannes MAYER (GER) in the 97kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

It could have been a double-delight for Germany had Johannes MAYER (GER) held on to his 4-3 lead for one more second in the 97kg final.

Islam ILYASOV (AZE) claimed the gold medal by scoring a takedown in the final second of the bout, giving Azerbaijan a second gold of the night.

He led 2-0 at the break after a point for Mayer's passivity and stepout. But he went on the defensive in the second period and gave up a point for passivity,

Mayer then attacked and scored a takedown with 16 seconds left to lead 3-2. The final push from Ilyasov with a duck under helped him get two points.

Germany challenged the call but it was confirmed on the review that Mayer did have three points touching the mat before the clock expired.

Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) improved to U23 European gold from his bronze last year. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Azerbaijan's second gold came from the rising star at 65kg Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE). He continues his rapid rise in the weight class, dominating his competition in Plovdiv.

In the final, his impeccable ability to control the center made it an easy one for him. He defeated Hrachya MARGARYAN (ARM) 4-1.

His was slow to start and was but on the activity clock but he scored via a double leg attack in that period to lead 2-0. In the second period, a single-leg takedown made it 4-0. Before the end of the bout, he gave up a point for stepout.

Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) scored six unanswered points in the 70kg final to win the gold. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

A humdinger of a bout saw Georgia steal the gold at 70kg. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) conceded a five-point throw and was staring at defeat but blasted a double-leg from nowhere against Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), ultimately winning the final 6-5.

Harutyunyan was called passive in the second period and Elbakidze's attack was in the activity period. But despite that, he trailed 5-5 on criteria. But Harutyunyan gave up a stepout with 24 seconds left and saw the gold slip out of his hands.

Azerbaijan has a chance to win two more gold Sunday as the remaining five weight classes in freestyle will be decided on the final day of the competition in Plovdiv.

RESULTS

Day 6 Medal Bouts

57kg
GOLD: Horst LEHR (GER) df Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df Yusuf DEMIR (TUR), 10-0
BRONZE: Tofig ALIYEV (AZE) df Ivaylo TISOV (BUL), 18-8

65kg
GOLD: Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) df Hrachya MARGARYAN (ARM), 4-1

BRONZE: Ayub MUSAEV (BEL) df Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER), 9-1
BRONZE: Hamza ALACA (TUR) df Marwane YEZZA (FRA), via inj. def.

70kg
GOLD: Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) df Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 6-5

BRONZE: Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA) df Benedikt HUBER (AUT), 10-0
BRONZE: Ivan STOYANOV (BUL) df Fati VEJSELI (MKD), 1-1

79kg
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO), 16-9

BRONZE: Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) df Oktay HASAN (BUL), 14-3
BRONZE: Abdulvasi BALTA (TUR) df Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM), 2-1

97kg
GOLD: Islam ILYASOV (AZE) df Johannes MAYER (GER), 5-3

BRONZE: Radu LEFTER (MDA) df Stole EFTIMOV (MKD), 10-0
BRONZE: Richard VEGH (HUN) df Riveri MTSITURI (GEO), 7-4

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) vs Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)

SF 1: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) df Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO), 5-2
SF 2: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df Besir ALILI (MKD), 5-2

74kg
GOLD: Krisztian BIRO (ROU) vs Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)

SF 1: Krisztian BIRO (ROU) df Dimitar ANGELOV (BUL), 11-0
SF 2: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df Ismet CIFTCI (TUR), 7-3

86kg
GOLD: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) vs Lilian BALAN (MDA)

SF 1: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df Emre CIFTCI ((TUR), 14-2
SF 2: Lilian BALAN (MDA) df Bagrati GAGNIDZE (GEO), via fall

92kg
GOLD: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) vs Joshua MORODION (GER)

SF 1: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO), 11-0
SF 2: Joshua MORODION (GER) df Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA), 14-4

125kg
GOLD: Milan KORCSOG (HUN) vs Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)

SF 1: Milan KORCSOG (HUN) df Adil MISIRCI (TUR), 9-2
SF 2: Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) df Aydin AHMADOV (AZE), 9-5

#WrestleTirana

Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion

Sunday, April 26, 2026 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 26) -- Zavur UGUEV (UWW) became a two-time European champion in Tirana on Sunday. For a wrestler of Uguev's pedigree, the number looks bleak.

But the 31-year-old, who will turn 32 on May 21, doesn't rue the missed golds but says those were the experiences that helped him win gold later.

"Last year I won my first European gold medal," Uguev said. "My first two or three medals, I was still young and things didn’t work out. There were very experienced athletes competing, and I gained experience from them."

In his two appearances at the European Championships in 2017 and 2018, Uguev suffered losses to Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE). In the 2018 final, Edisherashvili scored a takedown in the last seven seconds to win.

"[From] losing in the finals in the last 7 seconds in Kaspiysk, I gained great experience," he said. "But last year, I was in great shape and I’m happy that in my career I now have two European Championship gold medals."

His second gold in Tirana may have gone under that radar given the return and dominance of Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), who won his sixth European gold on Saturday and first in six years.

However, if there was an award for the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament, Uguev would handsomely beat all others wrestlers to it.

On Sunday, Uguev defended his 61kg gold medal in Tirana with rather ease after defeating former world champion and home-favorite Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB). The 4-0 win over Abakarov consisted one activity clock, one stepout and a two-point takedown from Uguev.

Even the low-scoring final was a masterclass from Uguev, one of the few who still mixes the art of defense and positioning to win bouts.

At one point, Abakarov would keep trying the two-on-one on Uguev's arm and instead of panicking, Uguev would casually block Abakarov using his head. After the two-minute mark in the match, Abakarov had a similar grip and Uguev was blocking using his head and grip one of Abakarov's wrist.

Abakarov moved to a position from which he could either whizzer or wrist snap Uguev. However, as soon as Abakarov moved sideways, Uguev placed his foot behind Abakarov and let go off his grip, quickly switching to a leg-attack. He scored a stepout to lead 2-0 after one activity period point.

Uguev set up his takedown in the second period when Abakarov took a shot from space and Uguev blocked it using a chest wrap. Instead of scoring exposure from front, Uguev jumped behind and locked Abakarov who tried to break the grip. But Uguev scored a takedown on the edge to lead 4-0, his winning score.

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) pins Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) in the 61kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was in the semifinals against Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), Uguev fell behind 3-2 but he brought down Harutyunyan in danger for two points before holding the Armenian in such a grip that he failed to move despite having split hands. Eventually, he gave up to Uguev's pressure who won via fall.

"The final is always a tough contest, both last and this year," Uguev said. "Last year it was Harutyunyan, a four-time European champion, and this year it’s Abakarov, the world champion. It’s a real pleasure to compete against them. I’ve come here solely to compete against them."

Two months ago, Uguev was in Tirana and he put on a wrestling masterclass, winning the 61kg gold medal. However, it was in Tirana that he lost to phenom Masanosuke ONO (JPN) and Vitali ARUJAU (USA) and finished fifth at the World Championships.

"I was here at the start of February for the ranking tournament, and I suppose I had some thoughts about it [losing World Championships in Tirana]," he said. "But I managed to win that tournament, and I came here with the sole intention of winning. The first attempt [2024 World Championships] didn’t go to plan."

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) after winning the 61kg gold medal in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist at 57kg has been competing at 61kg for three years now. While he will eventually move to 57kg for a run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Uguev says he is enjoying wrestling at a higher weight and not dieting during competitions.

"I’ll be wrestling in 65kg soon," he said jokingly. "I’ll probably be dropping down to 57kg. I’ll probably compete for another year or so [at 61kg], and then I’ll keep dropping down. I’m not actually that heavy to begin with, and I reckon anyone competing at 57kg is roughly the same weight as me. For now, I don’t see the point in cutting weight, and I think it’s better to stay as I am for the time being, compete for another year or so. I think that this year, or early next year, we’ll start thinking about which weight class to move to.

"Now that I’ve moved up to 61kg, I’m really enjoying the competition. When I was competing at 57kg, I struggled so much. Now, when I watch the wrestlers like Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW), for example, I’m reminded of my own days on the mat. It’s just that when you’re on a diet, you don’t want to think about anything else. All you can think about is food. Now I feel comfortable. I’m not dieting; I enjoy wrestling and I’m managing to do well at it."

As for European Championships golds, Uguev isn't stopping.

"I'm not going to stop here," he said. "I'm not chasing numbers, I'll keep wrestling as long as I have the strength."

#WrestlePlovdiv: Greece, Germany End Freestyle U23 Title Drought

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Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion