#Bishkek2018

Yang Stuns Geraei to Give China 1st Greco-Roman Gold Since 2012

Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 18:20 By Ken Marantz

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YANG Bin gave China its first Greco-Roman gold medal at an Asian Championships in six years with a stunning victory, while host Kyrgyzstan's vocal fans were twice denied a title to highlight the opening night of finals in Bishkek.

Yang surprised favorite and Paris 2017 world bronze medalist Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) in the 77kg final by grinding out a hard-fought 7-6 win.

"I was very confident, and I thought I was the best in this category," said Yang, a bronze medalist a year ago in New Delhi.

The match that began and ended with flurries of action was decided when Yang scored with a step-out with :13 left in which Geraei went sprawling awkwardly into the referee.

That tied the match at 6-6 and would have given the Chinese the win on criteria, but he received another point when Geraei's challenge that Yang had grabbed his singlet was rejected.

"At the very end, I used my technique and got the point, and I believed that the referee would give a fair judgement," Yang said of the call.

That made Yang the first Chinese to win an Asian gold in Greco-Roman since Zheng Pan took the 66kg title at Gumi 2012.

"Actually we have been working so many years to get an Asian champion," Yang said. "Sometimes, we had second or third, we just need some luck, because they are similar levels. Today we are happy to see this result."


Kyrgyzstan had wrestlers in the first two finals of the night, and neither could come away victorious, much to the chagrin of the packed house of 3,000 at the Kozhomkul Sports Palace.

First, teenager Zholaman SHARSHENBAKOV's late rally in the 55kg came up just short in a 5-4 loss to Shota TANOKURA (JPN). Then Urmalbek AMATOV was overwhelmed by veteran Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB), who ended their 63kg final with an 8-0 technical fall with 1:49 remaining.

Despite Geraei's defeat, Iran still came away with two golds, as New Delhi 2017 champions Hossein NOURI (87kg) and Behnam MEHDIZADEH (130kg) both posted tepid yet solid victories. Mehdizadeh had also won in 2014.

Nouri, the Paris 2017 world bronze medalist, notched a 3-0 victory over unheralded Masato SUMI (JPN), while Mehdizadeh followed by beating Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) 3-1.

Japan's Tanokura took an unusual path to a continental crown. An Asian medalist in both 2012 and 2013, he struggled to find success when the 55kg weight class was eliminated and he had to face naturally bigger opponents. Two years ago, he retired to become a high school physical education teacher.

But when the lighter weight class was reinstated, his college coach and current Japan national team coach Shingo Matsumoto persuaded him to return during nights out for Korean barbecue.

His victory at the Japan championships in December vindicated his decision and put him on the team to Bishkek, where he added the gold medal to the silver and bronze medals he had previously won. It also makes him eye bigger things.

"Of course, my goal is to be world champion," Tanokura said. "In Asia, the level is high in the lighter weights, so to win the Asian title this time is a step ahead. There is still progress to be made."

Against Sharshenbekov, Tanokura used a front headlock throw and a penalty point to build up a 5-0 lead going into the second period. But the Krygyz wrestler gradually whittled away at the gap, cutting it to one with a takedown with :40 remaining. But with the deafening crowd urging his opponent on, Tanokura managed to hold on for the win.

"It was something else," Tanokura said of the crowd noise. "It's unusual for the Asian Championships to draw such a big crowd. I knew it wouldn't be easy to win. But I stayed aggressive and that led to coming away with the victory."

At 63kg, Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Tasmuradov quieted the crowd with his one-sided win over Amatov, scoring with push-outs, rolls and a takedown for his fourth Asian title overall and first since 2015. He also has three world bronze medals.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan, which had been shut out of the finals, came away with three bronze medals from Khorian ZHAKANSHA (55kg), Mirambek AINAGULOV (63kg) and Maxat YEREZHEPOV (77kg).

It was the fifth Asian medal for Yerezhepov, who last year defeated Yang in the semifinals en route to the 75kg gold.

Kyrgyzstan and China both claimed two bronzes, while India, South Korea, and Turkmenistan had one each.

Greco-Roman
55kg (10 entries)
Gold - Shota TANOKURA  (JPN) df. Zholaman SHARSENBEKOV (KGZ), 5-4

Bronze –  Khorian ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) df. CAO Liguo (CHN), 7-4
Bronze – Kumar RAJENDER (IND) df. Javokhir MIRAKHMEDOV (UZB), 3x-3

63kg (9 entries)
Gold - Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) df.  Urmalbek AMATOV (KGZ) by TF, 8-0, 1:44

Bronze –  Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ) df. Vikram KURADE  (IND) by TF, 9-0, 3:39
Bronze –  JUNG Dokyung (KOR) df. Takayuki INOGUCHI (JPN), 2-0

77kg (12 entries)
Gold - YANG Bin (CHN) df.  Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI), 7-6

Bronze –  Shermet PERMANOV (TKM) df. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), 7-3
Bronze – Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ) df. Shohei YABIKU (JPN), 3-2

87 kg (10 entries)
Gold - Hossein NOURI (IRI) df. Masato SUMI (JPN), 3-0

Bronze –  PENG Fei (CHN) df. Husham THAALEBI (IRQ), 3-0
Bronze – Azai BEISHEBEKOV (KGZ) df. Khussein MUTSOLGOV (KAZ), 5-2

130 kg (10 entries)
Gold - Behnam MEHDIZADEH (IRI) df. Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), 3-1 

Bronze – Murat RAMONOV (KGZ) df. Anton SAVENKO (KAZ), by Fall, 4:24 (4-0)
Bronze – NIE Xiaoming (CHN) df. Naveen NAVEEN (IND) 3-1

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships 2026 Day 1 Greco-Roman Highlights

Sunday, April 5, 2026 - 19:41 By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 6) -- For the first time, the Asian Championships will be held in two-day format. The edition in Bishkek will begin with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and then Freestyle. Five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg -- are in action on Monday.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

The semifinals will begin at 18:00 local time

55kg
SF 1: Huoying SHI (CHN) vs. LALIT (IND)
SF 2: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) vs. Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)

63kg
SF 1: Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM) vs. Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
SF 2: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) vs. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

77kg
SF 1: Ali OSKOU (IRI) vs. AMAN (IND)
SF 2: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) vs. Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)

87kg
SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
SF 2: Sunil KUMAR (IND) vs. Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)

130kg
SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Minseok KIM (KOR)
SF 2: Yuta NARA (JPN) vs. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB)

13:10: World champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) begins his Asian title defense with a 10-0 win over Roman KIM (KGZ) and advance to the semifinals. He will face Minseok KIM (KOR)

13:03: Returning bronze medalist Yuta NARA (JPN) gets the winning score with a slow-motion gut wrench in the second period, prevailing on last-point criteria 3-3 over two-time Asian U23 silver medalist Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ) to advance to the 130kg semifinals.

12:58: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) gets a gut wrench to the back upgraded to a 4-point move upon his opponent's challenge, giving him a 10-0 victory over two-time bronze medalist Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) and moving him a step closer to a second straight gold, this time up at 87kg after winning at 82kg last year.

12:57: World bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) with some big throws and a fall against Dovletmyrat BAYRAMOV (TKM) at 87kg in just 30 seconds. Zhanyshov vs Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) final will be a treat.

12:50: Sunil KUMAR (IND), the last Indian to win a Greco gold when he did on home soil in New Dehli in 2020, reeled off two gut wrenches from par terre in the second period for a 5-1 victory over Shichang ZHENG (CHN) and a place in the 87kg semifinals. Kumar is also going for his fourth career Asian medal.

12:42: Kaisei TANABE (JPN), last year's champion at freestyle 65kg looking to make history with a victory at Greco 63kg, minimized the points scored by Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), but failed to get enough of his own and came out on the short end of a 4-3 score. Taalaibek Uulu had the first chance in par terre, but even though he lifted Tanabe off his feet, he could only get a 1-point throw out of it. Taalaibek Uulu then got in on a bear hug and lifted Tanabe again, but only got a takedown out of that situation to lead 4-0 at the break. Tanabe got a chance at par terre and hit a gut wrench to cut the gap to 1, but could not pull out the win.

12:32: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), aiming to improve on his two bronze medals from 2023 and 2025, rips off four straight rolls from par terre and he's into the 55kg semifinals with a 10-0 win over Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI). The Iranian side pushed the challenge button before the first roll, looking for a leg foul, but the scoring was upheld.

12:25: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), a bronze medalist in 2024, makes short work of Amro SADEH (JOR), storming to a quick 9-0 win to earn a semifinal date with Makhmudov.

12:23: There cannot be a better way to find a way to win a Greco-Roman bout that a five-point throw! AMAN (IND) does exactly that in his quarterfinal against Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) at 77kg. Aman was down 4-1 but got on a duckunder and locked Bahejiang and completes a perfect throw for five points and wins 6-4

12:20: Ali OSKOU (IRI), Zagreb Open Ranking Series champion at 77kg, defends from par terre twice, against Yeonghun NOH (KOR) and he does that well, once with 25 seconds remaining to win 5-2 and advance to the semifinals.

12:18: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) with another spectacular throw as he defeats Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) 9-1 to gain a place in the semifinals. Makhmudov is put on the bottom of par terre, but wiggles his way out and gets behind for a takedown. Then the fun starts, as he hits a high-flying 4-point throw to lead 6-1. In the second period, Makhmudov gets the top position, and he quickly executes a gut wrench that ends the proceedings.

12:10: Roman KIM (KGZ) gets the home crowd going, getting four straight rolls from par terre to knock off Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) 9-0 at 130kg. Batbayar is one of a few wrestlers who will be doing the Greco-Freestyle double in Bishkek — he's the Asian U23 champion in freestyle!

12:08: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI), the reigning world champion at 82kg, has moved up to the Olympic weight of 87kg and gets off to a good start, overwhelming Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK) 9-0 in less than two minutes.

12:05: Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR) survives a battle against Huangsheng WU (CHN) at 63kg. He was leading 11-6 when Wu scored a huge four-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it 11-10. But the last desperate attempt ended with Choi getting two points and a 13-10 win

12:02: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), an Asian champion in 2019 and world bronze medalist in 2023, is looking to regain the magic up a weight at 63kg. He cruises through his opening match, handily defeating  Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA) 8-0.

11:51: Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI), winner at the Zagreb Ranking Series tournament, advances at 55kg with a 4-0 victory over Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ). Hosseinvand chalks up three points in the first period, then adds a stepout in the second.

11:41: Local star Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) gets the tournament off to an exciting start with a 4-point bear hug en route to a 7-3 victory over a spunky Isami HORIKITA (JPN) in the opening match at 77kg. Makhmudov, a two-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion aiming for his fourth career Asian gold, used a bear hug to power Horikita to the mat, then added a 2-point roll for 6-1 lead. In the second period, Makhmudov got the passivity point, but when he tried a gut wrench from par terre, Horikita stepped over for a 2-point exposure. But that was the end of the scoring and Makhmudov was safely through. 

11:15: The Asian Championships will get underway in Bishkek with Greco-Roman. Five weight classes with local hero Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in action as well.