European Games

Aleksanyan Looks to Add European Games Gold to Resume

Saturday, June 29, 2019 - 18:06 By United World Wrestling Press

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MINSK, Belarus (June 29) - Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) has won gold medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Games. Now the 27-year-old Armenian stands one win away from winning a gold medal at the European Games.

Competing in his first European Games, Aleksanyan won three matches on Saturday to earn a spot in the 97kg finals. He trailed in his first two matches before battling back to win. In his semifinal match, Aleksanyan faced two-time U23 world champion Aleksandr GOLOVIN (RUS). 

This time Aleksanyan led the entire time, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period, scoring off a passivity and then a gut wrench. He held on to win 3-1. Aleksanyan will face Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) in the gold-medal match at 97kg. Hrabovik shut out Olympic bronze medalist Cenk ILDEM (TUR) 2-0 in the semifinals.

Two world No.1's competed in Saturday's semifinals, with one winning and the other losing. 

World No. 1's Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), a 2015 world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist, came back to defeat Radzik KULIYEU (BLR) 3-1 in the semifinals at 87kg. Kuliyeu led 1-0 at the break after scoring with a passivity point, but Beleniuk battled back in the second period to win, scoring off a passivity point and then with a gut wrench. He will meet Islam ABBASOV in the 87kg finals. Abbasov, a two-time U23 world medalist, shut out Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) 5-0 in the semifinals. 

At 130kg, Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR) stunned world No.1 Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) 3-1 in the semifinals. The Russian Olympic medalist scored first off a passivity and held a 1-0 lead at the break. But with the home crowd cheering on Hryshchanka, the Belarusian Greco-Roman heavyweight scored three points in the final period to secure a spot in Sunday's gold-medal. He will face Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the finals. Kajaia, a European silver medalist, advanced to the finals with a fall over world No.7 Oskar MARVIK (NOR).

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

87kg
GOLD - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) vs. Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Ivan HUKLEK (CRO), 5-0
SEMIFINAL - Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) df. Radzik KULIYEU (BLR), 3-1

97kg
GOLD - Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) vs. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)
SEMIFINAL - Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) df. Cenk ILDEM (TUR), 2-0
SEMIFINAL - Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Aleksandr GOLOVIN (RUS), 3-1

130kg
GOLD - Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR) vs. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (BLR) df. Sergey SEMENOV (RUS), 3-1
SEMIFINAL - Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) df. Oskar MARVIK (NOR), Fall (1:02)
 

#development

Bulgaria hosts OLYMP to increase media literacy

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 09:49 By United World Wrestling Press

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BULGARIA (October 15) -- Bulgaria hosted a seminar on the OLYMP project, funded by the European Union's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme, at Diana National Wrestling Hall on October 9. The project aims to improve the media literacy of athletes, coaches, and sports managers.

The seminar was led by Georgi BANOV, one of the doyens of Bulgarian sports journalism, who has covered 14 Olympic Games in winter and summer sports, as well as a number of world and European Championships in wrestling, weightlifting, athletics, biathlon, and more.

The seminar was organized for the athletes of the national wrestling teams. The event was hosted by Belcho GORANOV, Chairman of the Ethics and Legal Commission of the United World Wrestling (UWW) and project manager on behalf of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by bgolympic (@bgolympic)

The team emphasized that the seminar is part of a six-month cycle of informal training under the OLYMP project, which covers a total of 110 young athletes. The program includes weekly sessions in small groups focusing on media and information literacy, critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as developing the participants' confidence and ability to defend their positions with reasoned arguments.

The weekly classes will include readings and discussions on biographies, novels, sports magazines, as well as topics related to sports management and economics. Additional informal activities -- meetings with prominent athletes and film screenings -- will be held twice a month, with each event featuring moderated debates and practical challenges for “fact checking” and ethical behavior on social media.

Banov drew the athletes' attention to how to verify the information they receive through social media and other sources, how to recognize fake news, how to search for reliable information, and how to use social networks correctly, avoiding hate speech.

At the end of the media literacy program, a combined (formal and informal) assessment is planned – short tests and case studies, observation of group work, participant portfolios, and satisfaction surveys—to report on the specific results of the training and its impact on the engagement of young athletes in public life.

Read more on BOC website