#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Tynybekova beats Motoki; Tosun, Losonczi stunned

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 12) -- The Zagreb Open enters day three with Greco-Roman in 77kg and 87kg. The Women's Wrestling will continue in four weight classes with Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) hoping to avenge her World Championships final loss to Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ).

Watch the Zagreb Open live on UWW+ for free using promo code ZAGREB100.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

The finals for the evening session

Women's Wrestling

62kg: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) vs Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
68kg: Forrest MOLINARI (USA) vs Feng ZHOU (CHN)

Greco-Roman

77kg: Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) vs Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
87kg: Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) vs Alireza MOHAMADIPIANI (IRI)

16:45: Alireza MOHAMADIPIANI (IRI) enters the 87kg final with a 2-1 victory over Alan OTSAEV (AIN). Mohamadipiani scored a stepout from par terre and then defended his par terre position to win 2-1 and enter the final.

16:35: Feng ZHOU (CHN) takes out the world silver medalist Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) 9-5 in the semifinal at 68kg. Strong gut wrench in the action again as she built a 9-1 lead before a reversal and a gut closed the score to 9-4. A late passivity warning cost her a point but not the bout.

16:25: Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) enters the 77kg final against Zoltan LEVAI! He gets the better of Yunus BASAR (TUR) 3-3. Both wrestlers scored a turn from par terre but Suleymanov with the last-point criteria.

16:20: Absolute madness in that Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN)-Daniel HECHAVARRIA (CUB) semifinal at 87kg. Alirzaev scored a four-pointer from par terre and a takedown to lead 7-0. But Hechavarria made a comeback in the second period to tie it 7-7 before Alirzaev scored a reversal to lead 8-7 with 40 seconds remaining. He kept that lead.

16:05: Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) with a 3-1 victory over Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in the 77kg semifinals. Levai scored a turn from par terre in the second period to enter the final.

15:55: A big throw from Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) saves him in the 87kg quarterfinal against Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB). Alirzaev got the first par terre advantage and hit a four. In the second period, Komarov scored two turns from par terre and made it 5-5 with Alirzaev leading on criteria. The score and lead remained that way till the end.

15:50: Time for the big semifinal at 62kg. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) on Mat B. Tynybekova put on the activity clock. She fails to score and Motoki gets a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. Remember Tynybekova defeated Motoki in the 62kg final at the World Championships. Motoki keeps stepping back in the second period and is hit with the 30-second activity period. Tynybekova catches Motoki off guard and scores exposure along with the activity period point to win 3-3. That was stunning from Tynybekova.

15:45: Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) ends world bronze medalist Nao KUSAKA's (JPN) run. He gets a reversal from par terre and then traps the arm to score a turn. A big lift and huge four plus another turn gives him a 9-1 victory at 77kg. In 87kg, Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) scores from par terre in the second period to beat Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) 3-3.

15:30: Yunus BASAR (TUR) gets the better of Ali ARSALAN (SRB) at 77kg. Basar was the better and more active wrestler. He won 8-1. A little later, Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) won his 77kg bout with a fall.

15:15: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) continues her solid run and is now in the semifinal. She defeated Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) 7-3. She will face Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

15:10: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) with a takedown to open the scoring against Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) who managed to survive a pin as well. Motoki with a double-leg and takes a 2-2 criteria lead at the break. Motoki with another takedown and one point for the activity clock. She now leads 5-2. She wins and will wrestle Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) in the semifinal.

14:55: Alan OSTAEV (AIN) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) put on a show! Mukubu opened with a big four-pointer and one stepout but Ostaev had a takedown, four-pointer and a stepout to lead 7-5. Mukubu added a takedown but that was not enough as Ostaev hit a huge four and won 11-8

14:40: World bronze medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN) beats 72kg world champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) 10-0 after a huge throw for four. Kusaka flexes to show his domination. On Mat C, Idris IBAEV (GER) has two big throws to win 10-0 against VIKAS (UWW).

14:30: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) is solid in par terre and Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) can't break his defense. Komarov moves into the quarterfinals at 87kg with a 6-2 win.

14:20: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) with a 9-0 win at 77kg over Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO). He moves into the quarterfinals. On Mat C, Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) beats Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) 2-0.

13:50: Clutch from Feng ZHOU (CHN)! Trailing 3-1 with 10 seconds on the clock, Zhou gets Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) in a headlock and rolls to get two points and wins 3-3 on criteria. Poland challenges, asking for two points for Choluj as well for exposure but that is not the case. A 4-3 win for Zhou.

13:40: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) is wrestling  Yaru WU (CHN) and trailing 5-0 at the break. On the adjacent mat, Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) is wrestling LILI (CHN) and leading 4-0. Tynybekova with a go-behind to cut the lead to 5-2. She picks a cross-ankle and takedown to make it 5-4 with a minute left. Wu with a one-on-two but Tynybekova slips out and scored a takedown to take a 6-5 lead. Wu with another attempt but Tynybekova held on for a 6-5 win. Motoki got a leg lace on Lili to stretch her lead to 8-0. A throw from Lili got her two but a reversal and two for Motoki who now leads 11-2 and will win with the same score.

13:15: Another world champion falls in the first bout! David LOSONCZI (HUN) falls 9-0 to Alan OSTAEV (AIN) in the first period itself. Ostaev with an arm spin for four and then a correct throw for two to lead 6-0. Losonczi tries to do the double-arm lock throw but falls on his back, giving Ostaev two more. Hungary challenges the call but it stands and Ostaev wins 9-0

13:00: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB), wrestling his first tournament for Serbia, with a quick 9-1 win over Spencer WOODS (USA) at 87kg. On Mat C, Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) took his own time to beat Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN) 12-4.

12:30: Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) with a victory via fall over Yoan DIMITROV (BUL) at 87kg and then Istvan TAKACS (HUN) beats Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 3-2.

12:10: World champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), Yunus BASAR (TUR), Ali ARSALAN (SRB) and VIKAS (UWW) all begin their tournament with convincing wins at 77kg.

11:50: Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) used a second period takedown to beat Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) 3-1 at 77kg. Turkiye is trying to find their wrestlers for the Olympic qualifier and Yilmaz, with that loss, may well be out of that race.

11:30: World champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) gets rolled by Feng ZHOU (CHN) who has a solid gut wrench! Zhou with a 10-0 win at 68kg.

11:20: SONAM (UWW) has to forfeit her bout Iryna BONDAR (UKR) after she fell during the bout. Bondar declared winner by injury but seems like Sonam was had a bad weight cut.

11:10: Typical Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) match there. She led 2-0 against Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA) after two activity points and when Nwachukwu tried an attack in the final few seconds, Tynyebkova scored to win 4-0. 

11:00: A two-minute pin for Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) over Eniko ELEKES (HUN) at 62kg. Motoki and Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) are on the path to meeting in the semifinals.

10:50: Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) warms up with a 9-0 win over Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU) Both passivities were won by Alirzaev and he gave little opening to Nemsevicius.

10:30: First big match of the day and world bronze medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN) comes back from 3-0 down to win 8-7 against Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL) at 77kg. On Mat B, Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN) gets going with an 8-3 win over Khasay HASANLI (AZE).

10:00: Welcome to day three of the Zagreb Open with women's wrestling in four weight classes and two Greco-Roman weight classes.

Iran strikes three golds to close ISG 2025

By Vinay Siwach

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 21) -- World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) led an inspiring performance from Iran which captured three out of four gold medal on the final day of the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyadh on Friday.

Zare, who won gold medal at 125kg in Zagreb in September, dominated his way to the gold in Riyadh outscoring his opponents 28-0 in three bouts.

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) scores a takedown on Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) during the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Facing Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) in the final, Zare combined his skills to score stepouts at win and also scored two takedowns to finish the match 10-0, capturing his fourth gold medal of the season.

Sharipov reached the final after securing a shocking win over world silver medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) 7-6 in the semifinal. Meshvildishvili had to mount a comeback in the second period after he was down 5-1 in the match. He managed to make it 6-6 but trailed on criteria and as he tried to score a stepout in the final 10 seconds, Sharipov managed to remain inside the zone to survive attack.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) tries to control Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) during the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 97kg, a rematch between Olympic champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) was on the cards but Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) denied that as he defeated Tazhudinov 14-3 in the semifinals.

Azarpira and Aitmukhan faced each other in the final but the former was clearly the better wrestler as he blanked Aitmukhan 5-0 to win the gold medal. He scored three stepouts and Aitmukhan was cautioned when aggressively pushed Azarpira. One more stepout was enough for Azarpira to win the gold medal.

Tazhudinov declared himself injured in the bronze medal bout which gave Olympic bronze medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) the medal.

Younes EMAMI (IRI)Younes EMAMI (IRI) reaches for the leg of Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) during the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's gold rush began when former Asian champion Younes EMAMI (IRI) completed a 5-0 victory over Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) at 74kg. Emami scored a takedown to take a 2-0 lead against Novruzov before pushing the Azerbaijan wrestler out of bounds twice before the break.

With a lead of 4-0, Emami began the second period on the aggressive and Novruzov was called passive. He failed to score in the 30-second period and Emami got another point to lead 5-0 which remained the winning score.

To reach the final, Emami had to go through 2024 world 70kg champion Norkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) in the quarterfinals. The Iranian defeated the Kazakhstan wrestler 6-5 in a thriller.

With the three golds, Iran finished the tournament with four gold medal while Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan won one each.

Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) celebrates after beating Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) in their opening bout at 86kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Dzhioev's impressive gold

One of Iran's favorite to win gold medal, Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), suffered a heartbreaking loss at 86kg to Arsenii DIZHOEV (AZE) who capped off an incredible day with gold after beating Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) 5-1 in the final. 

The win over Ghasempour was quite impressive from Dzhioev. Down 3-0, he scored two takedowns and one point for Ghasempour's passivity to win the bout 5-3.

In the final against Saipudinov, he opened scored a takedown in the opening period after being called passive and giving up a point. He scored two stepouts and one point for passivity in the second period to win the final.

Ghasempour returned to win the bronze medal by beating Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 7-0, in the bronze-medal bout.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Younes EMAMI (IRI) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 5-0

BRONZE: Orozbek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) df. Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ), 4-2
BRONZE: Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) df. Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), 4-3

86kg
GOLD: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN), 5-1

BRONZE: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 7-0
BRONZE: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Bekzat RAKHIMOV (KGZ), 10-2

97kg
GOLD: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), 5-0

BRONZE: Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Muhammad GULZAR (PAK) df. Rifat GIDAK (TUR), via fall (4-5)

125kg
GOLD: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) df. Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN), 10-0

BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ), 14-3
BRONZE: Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) df. Abdelrahman SHEYATAN (EGY), 5-0