#IranLeague

Sanaye Win Iranian Freestyle League Title

Saturday, December 11, 2021 - 13:24 By Ali Feizasa

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TEHRAN, Iran (December 11) --- Sanaye Mazandaran captured the '21 Iranian freestyle wrestling league team title, while 13 world and Olympic medalists competed in the final day at the Azadi Sport complex in Tehran, Iran.

Cornered by former world champion Reza Yazdani as their head coach, Sanaye Mazandaran enjoyed wins from Russian world champions Abasgadghi MAGOMEDOV and Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV. which helped their team beat Amol team, 6-4 in the final match. 

Meanwhile, Iran's '21 world bronze medalist Mojtaba GOLEIJ and Amouzad brothers were key wrestlers for the champion team. Despite the Sanaye team missing 92kg world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR for the finals due to injury, '20 Asian silver medalist Ahmad BAZRI was a worthy successor for him and achieved two important victories.

In third-place match, Sahand Aras defeated Mazandaran Azad University, 9-1. World champion Zagir SHAKHIEV and three time world and Olympic bronze medal winner Artur Naifonov were Russian stars of Aras team.

Russian world champion Shakhiev loses to Iranian Olympian
During the semifinal match, current 65kg world champion Zagir Shakhiev from Aras team had a tough rival as Iranian Tokyo Olympian Morteza GHIASI succeed to the earn 6-4 victory. Shakhiev beat Hassan MORADGHOLI, helping his team to place third.

“Yesterday I had an injury during the training and I didn’t want to wrestle against Ghiasi but the team decided to send me on mat.” Shakhiev said. He added, “Everything is in high level in Ira's  league but I am upset no to see Iranian fans in the hall. My motivation for coming Iran league was to wrestle in front of Iranian fans. Many expected to see my match with Amir Mohammad YAZDANI but his weight has moved up.” 

Olympic 74kg silver medalist suffers deficit in 79kg
In the 79kg bout of the final match, '20 Olympics silver medalist in 74kg, Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU suffered a narrow loss against Ali SAVADKOUHI and couldn’t help his team's chance at winning the team title. “I liked to compete with Kadzimahamedau. Today I had a good day and I was motivated for this match.” Savadkouhi said.

But, the Dagestani-born wrestler of Belarus won the battle against 2021 world silver medalist Mohammad NOKHODI from Aras team, 8-7 in the semi final match.

Easy day for heavy weight world champion, Zare
Reigning heavyweight world champion Amirhossein ZARE appeared on mat for Amol team and had an easy day. The Iranian wrestler who had been named United World Wrestling’s Breakthrough Performance of the Year award winner, had a 5-0 victory against Esmaeil NEJATIAN but it was not enough for his team to win the final match. Zare was also the winner of the semi final by forfeit.

“It was a great sense to win the award of Breakthrough Performance of the Year. It was my first year in senior level and I am glad for winning Olympic medal and world heavy weight title. I hope to repeat it for many years” Zare said. 

Four Russians remained invincible
Four Russian wrestlers remained invincible during the final day of the '21 season of Iran league.

The veteran Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (2015 & 2018 world champion) earned two victories for the championship Sanaye while his team member, 61kg world champion Abasgadghi Magomedov competed in 57kg and had two technical Fall victory over Iranian Olympian wrestler Reza ATRI and Reza MOMENI.

This year's world bronze medalist at 74kg, Timur BIZHOEV and Olympic bronze medalist Artur NAIFONOV were other Russian wrestlers who downed their rivals.

“There were good wrestlers in Iran league and the organization of that was in high level. I'd like to compete again in the Iran league.” Bizhoev said. Asking about his future in the world of wrestling, he answered: “There is no difference where I compete. I want to be champion in all upcoming events.”

Two Technical Fall Victory for Naifonov in absence of Yazdani
Despite the contract of Iranian superstar Hassan Yazdani with Amol team, he didn’t step on mat during the final day while, his Russian rival Artur Naifonov celebrated two technical fall victories. “Yazdani suffered some injuries after two high level events, so we preferred not to see him on mat during the final day of the league” said Iranian freestyle head coach Pejman DOROSTKAT.

Final Match: Sanaye Mazandaran df. Fooladin Zob Amol, 6-4
57kg: Abasgadghi Magomedov (Sanaye) TF. Reza Atri (Amol), 10-0
61kg: Rahman Amouzad (Sanaye) TF. Peyman Nemati (Amol), 10-0
65kg: Farzad Amouzad (Sanaye) df. Morteza Ghiasi (Amol), 2-2
70kg: Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (Sanaye) df. Erfan Elahi (Amol), 6-0
74kg: Timur Bizhoev (Amol) df. Jamal Ebadi (Sanaye), 6-0
79kg: Ali Savadkouhi (Sanaye) df. Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau (Amol), 6-5
86kg: Ahmad Bazri (Sanaye) df. Hadi Vafaeipour (Amol), 11-0
92kg: Amir Hossein Firouzpour (Amol) df. Mohammad Javad Ebrahimi (Sanaye) by forfeit
97kg: Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian (Amol) df. Mojtaba Goleij (Sanaye), 2-2
125kg: Amirhossein Zare (Amol) df. Esmaeil Nejatian (Sanaye), 5-0

Third place match: Sahand Aras df. Mazandaran Azad University, 9-1
57kg: Alireza Sarlak (Aras) TF. Erfan Aeini (Azad Uni.), 10-0
61kg: Mohammad Ramezanpour (Aras) df. Mehdi Shirazi (Azad Uni.), 3-1
65kg: Zagir Shakhiev (Aras) df. Hassan Moradgholi (Azad Uni.), 6-2
70kg: Mohammad Bakhshi (Azad Uni.) df. Amirhossein Hosseini (Aras), 4-2
74kg: Mostafa Hosseinkhani (Aras) df. Sobhan Yari (Azad Uni.), 5-0
79kg: Mohammad Nokhodi (Aras) df. Bahman Teymouri (Azad Uni.), 4-0
86kg: Artur Naifonov (Aras) TF. Alireza Saberian (Azad Uni.), 10-0
92kg: Amirali Azarpira (Aras) df. Amir Mohammadi (Azad Uni.), 2-1
97kg: Danial Shariatinia (Aras) df. Meysam Abdi (Azad Uni.), 7-0
125kg: Amin Taheri (Aras) df. Ali Akbarpour (Azad Uni.), 3-0

Semifinals:
Match 1: Fooladin Zob Amol df. Sahand Aras, 8-2
57kg: Reza Atri (Amol) df. Alireza Sarlak (Aras), 4-4
61kg: Majid Ramezanpour (Aras) df. Peyman Nemati (Amol), 2-1
65kg: Morteza Ghiasi (Amol) df. Zagir Shakhiev (Aras), 6-4
70kg: Erfan Elahi (Amol) df. Amirhossein Hosseini (Aras), 7-4
74kg: Timur Bizhoev (Amol) df. Mostafa Hosseinkhani (Aras), 2-2
79kg: Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau (Amol) df. Mohammad Nokhodi (Aras), 8-7
86kg: Artur Naifonov (Aras) TF. Hadi Vafaeipour (Amol), 12-1
92kg: Amirhossein Firoozpour (Amol) df. Alireza Karimi (Aras), 2-1
97kg: Mohammadhossein Mohammadian (Amol) TF. Amirali Azarpira (Aras), 10-0
125kg: Amirhossein Zare (Amol) df. Amin Taheri (Aras) by forfeit

Match 2: Sanaye Mazandaran df. Mazandaran Azad University, 9-1
57kg: Abasgadghi Magomedov (Sanaye) TF. Reza Momeni (Azad Uni.), 12-1
61kg: Rahman Amouzad (Sanaye) TF. Mehdi Shirazi (Azad Uni.)
65kg: Farzad Amouzad (Sanaye) df. Hassan Moradgholi (Azad Uni.), 5-2
70kg: Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov (Sanaye) Tf. Farhad Nouri (Azad Uni.), 14-3
74kg: Jamal Ebadi (Sanaye) df. Hamed Rashidi (Azad Uni.), 7-3
79kg: Ali Savadkouhi (Sanaye) df. Bahman Teymouri (Azad Uni.), 4-3
86kg: Ahmad Bazri (Sanaye) TF. Alireza Saberian (Azad Uni.), 10-0
92kg: Amir Mohammadi (Azad Uni.) df. Sajad Gholami (Sanaye). 5-1
97kg: Esmaeil Nejatian (Sanaye) df. Meysam Abdi (Azad Uni.), 3-2
125kg: Mojtaba Goleij (Sanaye) df. Ali Akbarpour (Azad Uni.), 6-0

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 2 Highlights: Yazdani in 97kg final

Thursday, February 5, 2026 - 09:21 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The Ranking Series event, Zagreb Open, enters day two and it will be Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) making his 97kg debut for Iran. The Olympic champion at 74kg in 2016, and two-time Olympic silver medalist at 86kg, is chasing that second gold, this time at 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

13:45: 55kg WW semifinals - World silver medalist Verbina EKATERINA (UWW) with a 1-1 victory over Nagisa HARADA (JPN) in the semifinals. She got an activity point in the second period to keep the criteria lead. Ekaterina will face Karla GODINEZ (CAN) in the final after the Canadian defeated Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA), 2-1, in another low scoring semifinal.

13:30: 50kg WW semifinals - Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) with a controlled 8-2 win over Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) at 50kg. She will wrestle NEELAM (IND) for the gold medal. Neelam defeated MUSKAN (IND), 7-4, in an all-Indian semifinal

13:20: 125kg semifinals - A fall for Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) over Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) in just over two minutes as he reaches the final at 125kg. He will face Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) in the final after the U.S. wrestler scored an 11-1 win over Robert BARAN (POL).

13:10: 97kg semifinals - Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) with a quick fall over Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) in the first semifinal. Now he earns himself a chance to wrestle against Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) after Iranian managed another technical superiority win. While it's rare on Yazdani, Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) scored two takedowns on Yazdani but failed to keep the pressure before losing 14-4

12:55: 92kg semifinals - Mobin AZIMI (IRI) gets a dominant 11-0 win over Dustin PLOTT (USA) as he used a double-leg for four to finish. He earns a chance to avenge his 5-5 loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) in the final after the American scored another come-from-behind victory. He defeated Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA), 3-3, to setup the gold medal bout against Azimi

12:40: 79kg semifinals - Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) is back in the Ranking Series final with a 10-1 victory over Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO). He looked in complete control of the bout. Khadjiev will face Dean HAMITI (USA) for the gold medal after he defeated Evan WICK (USA), 6-5, in a thrilling semifinal

12:15: Trent HIDLAY (USA) once again shows how to come back and win a bout. Down 6-0 against Abofazl RAHMANI (IRI), he scores a four-pointer and keeps the pressure on the Iranian to win 11-9 and make his spot in the semifinal at 92kg.

11:45: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) gives up a takedown against Richard VEGH (HUN) but that is the only slip in an otherwise dominant bout at 97kg. Two four point throws for Yazdani as he advances to the semifinals.

11:35: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) with a big four-pointer in her 5-0 win against Beatrice FERENT (ROU) at 55kg. The world silver medalist is the favorite to win gold here.

11:25: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) bounces back from his loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) and beats Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) in his second bout at 92kg round robin. Azimi managed to score a takedown with less than 30 second left to beat Rahmani 4-3.

11:10: Two quick results at women's 50kg. Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) beats Kendra RYAN (USA) 12-1 at 50kg before NEELAM (IND) also wins via technical superiority, 10-0, against Agata GOLUCHOWSKA (POL). 

11:00: 92kg world champion Trent HIDLAY (USA) makes a comeback from 5-0 down to beat Mobin AZIMI (IRI) 5-5 in the group stage bout. Hidlay scored a takedown in the second period before adding two stepouts. Iran challenged the second one but lost which gave the criteria lead to Hidlay

10:50: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) doesn't the trademark jump before entering the mat but his bout against Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) is a typical Yazdani bout. He uses the underhook to start scoring and then rallies to score takedowns at will before turning Suleimanishvili and winning his bout 11-0

10:45: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) wrestled well but it is Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI (UWW) who manages to win 6-4 at 97kg and win the opening bout.

10:30: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will be on Mat B but before that, a few big results in Zagreb. Richard VEGH (HUN) manages to hang on for a 3-0 victory over Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) at 97kg.