#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 1) -- The new season kicks off in Zagreb, Croatia with the Zagreb Open. The Ranking Series event from January 10 to 15 will begin with Freestyle, followed by Women's Wrestling and end with Greco-Roman.

The biggest names in wrestling will look to begin the Olympic year in their respective Olympic weight class along with a two-kilogram weight allowance.

Former world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) will be returning to action after nursing an injury. He will be at 97kg.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is entered at 74kg for Zagreb Open. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Freestyle

57kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Brandon COURTNEY (USA)
AMAN (UWW)

61kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Michael MCGEE (USA)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Baowen WEI (CHN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Abbas EBRAHIMZADEHSAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Nahshon GARRETT (USA)
Joseph MCKENNA (USA)

70kg
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Douglas ZAPF (USA)

74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Feng LU (CHN)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
Amr REDA (EGY)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Hossein ABOUZARIPASHKOLAEI (IRI)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Quincy MONDAY (USA)
Jason NOLF (USA)
YASH (UWW)
Anthony MONTERO (VEN)

79kg
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Abdollah SHEIKHAZAMI (IRI)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)
Evan WICK (USA)
Joseph LAVALLEE (USA)

86kg
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Suhe GANG (CHN)
Peilong LI (CHN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Hadi VAFAEIPOUR (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA)
Maxwell DEAN (USA)
Deepak PUNIA (UWW)
Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN)

92kg
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Balazs JUHASZ (HUN)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Eric SCHULTZ (USA)
Taylor LUJAN (USA)
Nathan JACKSON (USA)

97kg
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)
Isaac TRUMBLE (USA)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
VICKY (UWW)
Cristian SARCO (VEN)

125kg
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)
Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)
Christian LANCE (USA)
Mason PARRIS (USA)
SUMIT (UWW)
Jose DIAZ (VEN)

Luis ORTA (CUB)World Championships finalists Luis ORTA (CUB) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) are entered at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Bohdan HRYSHYN (UKR)
Hayden TUMA (USA)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
GYANENDER (UWW)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

63kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Matej REBIC (CRO)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)

67kg
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Luis ORTA (CUB)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
David MANYIK (HUN)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Faisal E ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Saud ALSUBAIE (KSA)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Peyton OMANIA (USA)
Robert PEREZ (USA)
NEERAJ (UWW)

72kg
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (AIN)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Calebe CORREA FERREIRA (BRA)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Zsolt TAKACS (HUN)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR)
Murat DAG (TUR)

77kg
Pavel LIAKH (AIN)
Tsimur BERDYIEU (AIN)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Hassan A BARNAWI (KSA)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Volodymyr YAKOVLIEV (UKR)
Elmar NURALIIEV (UKR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Ravaughn PERKINS (USA)
VIKAS (UWW)

82kg
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Mahmoud HAWSAWI (KSA)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Timmy SKOELD (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Ihar YARASHEVICH (AIN)
Alan OSTAEV (AIN)
Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN)
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Jose MORENO BUSTOS (CHI)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Dogan KAYA (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Mahmoud Fawzy SEBIE (USA)
Sunil KUMAR (UWW)
Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Kevin CASTILLO (HON)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Serhii OMELIN (UKR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)
Josef RAU (USA)
Alan VERA GARCIA (USA)
Narinder CHEEMA (UWW)
Luillys PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (AIN)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Delian Hossein ALISHAHI (SUI)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Vladyslav VORONYI (UKR)
Adam COON (USA)
NAVEEN (UWW)
Moises PEREZ (VEN)

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) is returning to the Zagreb Open to defend her 50kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN)
Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (AIN)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Chun LEI (CHN)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Mariana DIAZ MUNOZ (MEX)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Agata Marta WALERZAK (POL)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Mariana ROJAS DIAZ (VEN)

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Antonia VALDES ARRIAGADA (CHI)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Min ZHANG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Haley AUGELLO (USA)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

55kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)

57kg
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)
Betzabeth SARCO (VEN)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Virginia JIMENEZ (CHI)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Yaru WU (CHN)
Lili LILI (CHN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
SONAM (UWW)
Astrid MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN)

65kg
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

68kg
Hanna SADCHANKA (AIN)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
RADHIKA (UWW)
Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN)

72kg
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)

76kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Adeline GRAY (USA)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)
Kylie WELKER (USA)
Maria ACOSTA (VEN)

#WrestleBratislava

Valiev tops Sidakov; Uguev, Ramazanov win European golds

By Vinay Siwach

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 9) -- It took Chermen VALIEV (ALB) five bouts, a tense European Championships final, a challenge decision in his favor and a some incredible skill but he finally managed to beat world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW).

Valiev and Sidakov clashed in the final of the European Championships in Bratislava on Wednesday, and the Albanian came out as a 4-2 winner, winning for the first time against Sidakov in five bouts and becoming a European champion at 74kg.

"I've faced Zaurbek before," Valiev said. "Until now, he always came out as the winner. Today, I managed to win, and I'm really happy about that. Zaurbek and I have been good friends since childhood, I have a lot of respect for him. But today, I guess luck was more on my side."

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)The final sequence between Chermen VALIEV (ALB) and Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) which resulted in a Valiev win. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The two last clashed in the Russian National Championships which Sidakov won 3-2. But Valiev has since moved to Albania, won a bronze medal at 74kg at the Paris Olympics and emerged as one of the biggest names at 74kg.

Sidakov, world champion in 2023 at the weight class, had wrestled at the European Championships once before -- in 2016 at 70kg but did not win a medal.

In the final, Sidakov held the criteria lead 1-1 when Valiev was put on the activity clock again but he managed to drive Sidakov out of bounds during the 30-second period and get a point for a 2-1 lead.

With 50 seconds left on the clock, Sidakov went for a deep ankle pick, but got countered by Valiev for two-point exposure. Both continued the scramble and Sidakov managed to get a reversal for one point. However, it was initially scored two points for Sidakov which made it 3-2 for Sidakov before the referees awarded two for Valiev and a reversal point for Sidakov. That made the score 4-4 with Sidakov leading on criteria with six seconds remaining.

However, Albania challenged the call and on review, the 44-second scramble was awarded as two points for Valiev and a reversal point for Sidakov which gave Valiev a 4-2 lead to defend which he did. Sidakov limped off the mat which was later confirmed as a knee injury.

"The final was really tough for me, very intense match right up until the last second," he said. "Even at the end, it wasn’t clear who would get the score. But the score was given in my favor. I prepared hard and gave it 100 percent, put everything into my training. And today, God rewarded me with a gold medal."

Valiev, a former world U23 champion, is now focused on winning the senior world title and said that the gold medal in Bratislava will be a motivation to win in the Zagreb event in September.

"I’ll start preparing for the next competition," he said. "The main goal this year is the World Championships, and I hope to get there healthy and ready. I’ll keep that gold medal in my mind and keep pushing forward."

With that loss Sidakov, Tokyo Olympic champion at 74kg, suffered his first since 2018 when he lost Hetik CABALOV (SRB) in the Ivan Yaryguin Ranking Series.

While Sidakov suffered a loss, fellow Tokyo Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (UWW) pulled off another last-second thrilling win over Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) to win his first-ever European gold medal.

Uguev, who was struggling with form in recent past and finished without a medal at the World Championships last year, rebounded with a 7-5 victory in the 61kg final to win gold.

"I’m truly happy," Uguev said. "I had even forgotten what it feels like to be called up to the top of the podium."

The final got off to a mesmerizing start with Uguev suplexing Harutyunyan during the Armenian's activity period. He was awarded two points for the move but he challenged for four points but lost, making the score 3-1.

In the second period, Uguev tried to pass behind for a takedown but Harutyunyan got hold of his leg and tripped him for four points to claim a 5-3 lead. Uguev was not giving up though. As Harutyunyan tried pushing him out, Uguev hit a underhook throw for two points to make the score 5-5 but Harutyunyan led on criteria for his bigger technique.

This was settled in the final minute when Uguev got on a single leg attack, elevated and finished with a takedown with 25 seconds left. He defended his 7-5 lead to win the gold medal.

"I had said it was going to be an interesting match and it really was," he said. "I got thrown unexpectedly early on and had to catch up. I was working, pushing forward, but I wasn’t worried — I believed I could close the gap, even though I couldn’t at first."

Uguev had three European medals, a bronze and silver, in the past having lost to Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) in 2017 and 2018. But he came a two-time world and Olympic champion. 

"I was lying down and a thought came to me," he said. "I looked back and realized -- I didn’t actually have a European medal yet. And I thought, “Now it’s time. I have to win one.”

Since winning the gold at 57kg at the Tokyo Games, Uguev has two fifth-place finishes at the World Championships internationally. But with the win on Wednesday, Uguev put his hat in the ring for the world title later this year.

Denis TSARGUSH, who was in the corners of both Sidakov and Uguev, said that Sidakov's loss a bit difficult to digest.

"We performed well overall. It’s just that the final match with Zarubek left a bit of a bitter aftertaste," he said. "He could have won but Chermen also wrestled really well."

Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL), Paris 2024 Olympic champion was also in action on Wednesday and he scored a thrilling 9-5 win against Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) in the 86kg final.

Kadzimahamedau was leading in 5-1 after he had scored two takedowns and Ramazanov got going only in the final minute. He scored a takedown with a leg-hold before turning Kadzimahamedau four times to make it 9-5. Ramazanov got Kadzimahamedau.

"All my thoughts were about winning — I really didn’t want to lose," Ramazanov said. "If the match had ended like that, without me giving it my all, it would’ve been incredibly disappointing. That’s why I switched into full gear — I wasn’t thinking about tactics anymore, I was just pushing forward. I would rate my performance around 6 out of 10. There were a lot of strong athletes."

Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) gut wrenches Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) for the win in the 86kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

With the win, Ramazanov won his second European title and he also avenged his 2019 79kg final loss at the European Championships.

"I wanted to avenge for past losses, but it wasn’t about proving anything," he said. "I just always try to choose the toughest opponents — especially the ones I’ve lost to before."

Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) won his fourth European Championships gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 92kg, three-time European champion Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) added a fourth after he sneaked through the final against Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 6-5.

Kurugliev, who also has a European Games gold medal, opened the final with an ankle pick for a takedown in the first thirty second of the bout and maintained till the break. There was no points scored in the bout until the last 25 seconds.

Nurmagomedov asked for a takedown but he lost the challenge which gave Kurugliev another point. He soon scored a stepout to cut the lead to 3-1 and as he tried to score another, Kurugliev circled and scored a go-behind as Nurmagomedov thought he completed the stepout.

A challenge would have helped Nurmagomedov at this point but he had already used it and Kurugliev's lead swelled to 5-1.

Nurmagomedov got a takedown with a ankle pick for two point and he got another point for Kurugliev's fleeing, making the score 5-4. The bout resumed in par terre with four seconds on the clock but Nurmagomedov failed to score a turn and lost the final.

 Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) scores the winning throw against Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) during the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The European Championships had a different winner at 125kg in 13 years as Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) needed a buzzer-beating front body throw for four to defeat Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 7-7, in the final.

Meshvildishvili thus became the first wrestler not named Taha AKGUL (TUR) or Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) to win the 125kg gold medal since 2012.

Manashvili was  leading 7-3 with seven seconds remaining when Meshvildishvili scored a reverse exposure throw for four, awarded only after the Azerbaijan side challenged.

Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) with Taha AKGUL (TUR) during the European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The win also captured the Freestyle team title for Azerbaijan over Georgia. The two countries were tied at 94 points and the winner of 125kg would take his country to the top of the podium.

Meshvildishvili's win gave Azerbaijan 119 points for the top spot while Georgia was second with 114 points. Turkiye finished third with 73 points.

 

Photo

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Zavur UGUEV (UWW) df. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 7-5

BRONZE: Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) df. Dzmitry SHAMELA (UWW), 3-1
BRONZE: Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) df. Leomid COLESNIC (MDA), 11-0

74kg
GOLD: Chermen VALIEV (ALB) df. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW), 4-2

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL), 6-4
BRONZE: Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN), 3-0

86kg
GOLD: Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) df. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), 9-5

BRONZE: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL), 4-2
BRONZE: Artur NAIFONOV (UWW) df. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) df. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 6-5

BRONZE: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (UWW), 5-0 
BRONZE: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df. Ahmed BATAEV (BUL), 8-6

125kg
GOLD: Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) df. Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 7-7

BRONZE: Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) df. Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN), 5-2
BRONZE: Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) df. Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE), 8-0