#WrestleHangzhou

Asian Games Wrestling: Yazdani vs Punia, Tazhudinov vs Goleij in finals

Saturday, October 7, 2023 - 01:42 By Vinay Siwach

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LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 7) -- The Asian Games in Hangzhou will see the final day of wrestling at the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Center. Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) are wrestling today as wrestlers in Freestyle 74kg, 86kg, 97kg and 125kg

LIVE MATCH ORDER | BRACKETS | DAY 3 RESULTS

That's it for the session before repechage begins. Here are the finals for the evening session

74kg
Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) vs. Yones EMAMI (IRI)

86kg
Deepak PUNIA vs Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)

97kg
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) vs Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)

125kg
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) vs. Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)

12:55: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returns to the 86kg final at the Asian Games with yet another 10-0 victory in the semifinal. He will take on Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) who manages to score a late exposure against Deepak PUNIA to win 3-2. Wait we have challenge... Punia is asking for two points as well. The jury awards two points to Punia and he wins 4-3 against Shapiev.

12:48: Asian Championships silver medalist Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) takes out defending champion Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) 6-0 to enter the final at 74kg. A top win for the Japanese. He will face Yones EMAMI (IRI) who defeats Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) 9-3.

12:45: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) final set at 97kg. The two wrestled at the Asian Championships with Tazhudinov scoring a 13-8 win over Goleij.

12:33: Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) with a fall over Khusanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) in the 125kg semifinals. Munkhtur will wait for the winner of Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) to know his final opponent. 

12:25: Azamat DALUETBEKOV (KAZ) is absolutely livid with his coach who challenged a stepout call with 30 seconds on board. Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) led 2-1 when he forced the stepout to make it 3-1. Kazakhstan corner decided to challenge the call and as Daluetbekov had put his hand out first, it was called a stepout and Kazakhstan lost the challenge, giving Shapiev an extra point. Daluetbekov scored the takedown but that made it only 4-3.

Just two weeks back, Daluetbekov had scored a final-second takedown against Shapiev to win the World Championships bronze medal.

12:15: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) has still got it. The defending champion puts himself in the 74kg semifinal after beating Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) 3-1. On Mat C, Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) scores the winning takedown to beat Bali SOU (CAM) 5-1 at 125kg.

12:12: A stepout, takedown, stepout, takedown, turn, turn. That's the scoring pattern Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) used to beat in the first period and reach the 86kg semifinal.

12:05: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) scored a takedown in each of the two periods to beat Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) 4-2 at 97kg. He moves into the semifinals.

12:03: Deepak PUNIA gives up three stepouts against Shota SHIRAI (JPN) but his two takedowns, one stepout and two caution points against Shirai are enough to help him move into the semifinals with a 7-3 win.

11:48: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) takes a minute and 56 seconds to beat Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ) at 86kg. Yazdani is the defending champion at the Asian Games.

11:40: World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) on Mat A wrestling BUHEEERDUN (CHN) in the 125kg quarterfinals. Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) wrestling Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) at 97kg on Mat B. Zare works to a 10-0 win while Yergali holds off Ishiguro for a 4-2 victory.

11:35: Azamat DALUETBEKOV (KAZ), the 86kg world bronze medalist, is made to work hard by Gwanuk KIM (KOR) in the opening bout but he gets the job done 6-0.

11:30: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) with a go-behind to open the scoring against Kanybek  Abdulkhairov. He adds exposure and an activity period point to lead 5-0. An arm-bar to get the fall just at the break!

11:22: Defending champion Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) with two activity points in either period to win 2-0 against Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) at 74kg. 

11:15: Yones EMAMI (IRI) will feel the heat of this bout against Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) perhaps later in the day. Emami scores a 7-2 win but Toktomambetov brought the pace with him and Emami looks a little tired here.

10:55: World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) with a composed 10-0 win over Zaman ANWAR (PAK) at 125kg. He will have a 10-minute break before the next round of matches. 

10:50: Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) and Feng LU (CHN) roll to technical superiority wins on Mat C. The Kazakhstan wrestler beats Farkhod ANAKULOV (TJK) at 125kg while Lu thrills the crowd by beating Inayat ULLAH (PAK) at 74kg.

10:35: Omar SAREM (SYR) got a big four against Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN) to lead 4-4 on criteria but the Japanese wrestler scored a takedown to make it 6-4. A reversal for Sarem but that doesn't change the final result.

10:25: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) with a 10-0 win over VICKY to advance. Next up on Mat C is Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) and SUMIT at 125kg. Sumit qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in Sofia but was later found to have failed a dope test. His place was awarded to Lazarev.

10:20: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) built a 2-0 lead over Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) but the Uzbek with a counter four! Goleij with a stepout to lead cut the lead 4-3 at the break. Ibragimov with a takedown in the second period to lead 6-3 now. Both wrestlers are on the edge and it's a stepout for Ibragimov who now leads 7-4. Well, that was it for Ibragimov as Goleij scored a takedown and three turns to make it 13-7 and advance.

10:14: Deepak PUNIA lost to Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) in the Asian Championships in 92kg but he avenged that loss with a 3-2 win at 86kg. Bost wrestlers had a takedown each but Punia with an activity point in the second period to win the bout.

10:00: World champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) is on Mat A against Awusayiman HABILA (CHN), a rematch of the Asian Championships final in which Tazhudinov won. The Bahrain wrestler with a big attempted lift but gets only two points. A takedown for Tazhudinov but Habila scores a reversal just before the break. The second period begins with Habila go behind and he cuts Tazhudinov's lead to 5-3. Tazhudinov answers with a takedown to lead 7-3 and is happy to keep it as the clock expires.

2026 U17 World Championships

U17 World Championships 2026 Preview

Thursday, July 23, 2026 - 06:57 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 22) -- Records are usually made at the U17 World Championships. In Baku, one has been broken before the opening bout.

The tournament will have 675 wrestlers, the most-ever for a U17 World Wrestling Championships -- 242 Greco-Roman, 242 in Freestyle and 191 in Women's Wrestling, breaking the record of the 2017 edition in which 186 women participated.

From July 27 to August 2, the U17 World Championships will be live on UWW+. Subscribe to UWW+ using the code BUNDLE20 and get 20 percent off for all age-group World Championships - U17, U20 and U23.

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The competition is also set to return to Baku after 14 years and as it always does, it will be dramatic.

For instance, last year, the United States and Iran were locked in a tight race for the Freestyle team title. The former edged Iran in a dramatic final-day comeback, and the rivalry is expected to continue in Baku. Russia, which was not allotted team points last year, will be back in the race and with a strong team.

Russia will have most of its U17 national champions including Aldar BADMAEV (RUS), the first-ever national gold medal from Kalmykia, at 45kg. Five wrestlers hail from Dagestan and the team also includes four U17 European champions from 2026.

The U.S. will be led by returning silver medalist Arseni KIKINIOU (USA) at 65kg. In 2025, Kikiniou became the first wrestler in history to win a medal in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman since it was restarted in 2011, and he will attempt to repeat in Baku as well, perhaps with a gold medal.

Iran has four U17 Asian champions in its squad but to challenge for the team title, it will need its wrestlers to step up and not tank like they did in Athens last year, when the country did not win a single gold medal.

Hosts Azerbaijan, which had an exceptional U17 European Championships with seven medals including three golds, will hope to repeat the performance at home and stand among the top teams.

Here's a breakdown of 10 Freestyle weight classes:

45kg: Since this weight class was introduced in 2018, the U.S. and Iran have won all the golds. The former has won five golds while two have gone to Iran, one being Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in 2018.

This year will be no different as Iran bring U17 Asian champion Mahdi DAMERCHELI (IRI) and the U.S. is going with U17 Pan-Am champ Rylen WAX (USA). Badmaev from Russia will have his first taste of international wrestling. U17 European champion Marko KVASNIUK (UKR) is also in the entries.

48kg: The best chance for hosts Azerbaijan will be Huseyn RZAZADE (AZE), the U17 European champion. He will likely have a rematch with Volodymyr BOIKO (UKR) from the final in Samakov, Bulgaria.

Both finalists from U17 Asia are also in the fray with the champion Farrukh MAKHMUDOV (UZB) hoping to add a world title to his name. Iran has silver medalist Amirali RAGHEB (IRI). But expect a tough challenge from Kirill KONDRASHOV (RUS) who won the U15 Europeans in 2025.

51kg: Ibrahim HASANOV (AZE), the U17 European champion, has the home crowd behind him as he tries to add a world title to his name. But in his part will be U17 Asian champion Benyamin ASHOFTEH (IRI), silver medalist Masamune USHIMADO (JPN) and Pan-Am champion Evan RESTIVO (USA).

Russia is going with Islam KURAKHMAEV (RUS), a rising prospect from Dagestan.

55kg: Can Chase KARENBAUER (USA), who made the team after beating Keegan BASSETT (USA), match the likes of wrestlers from Asia and Europe? He will be up against Arman ELAHI (IRI) won gold at the U17 Asian Championships, silver medalist Kyosuke IKEDA (JPN) and bronze Temirlan MURAT (KAZ), getting a chance to wrestle various styles.

Mustafa BERSANUKAEV (RUS) will make his U17 debut after making the team by winning the national championships. European bronze medalist Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO) is also in the mix along with Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB) who gave Elahi the toughest match in Da Nang.

60kg: The only weight class in which the defending champion is returning - SITENDER (IND). He won the gold medal in Athens but had close matches with wrestlers from Iran and Japan. To defend his title, Sitender will have to go through U17 European champion Sergei KARMRIAN (RUS), silver Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) and even U17 Asian champion Bekzodbek IBROHIMOV (UZB).

Among one of the toughest weight categories, the 60kg also includes U17 Asian silver Mardan ORYNBASSAR (KAZ), bronze medalists from Europe and Asia. Joseph BURKE (USA) will also be a tough bet.

65kg: Arseni KIKINIOU (USA) created history in Athens by winning medals in both styles. Now, he would like to repeat with at least one gold medal. He finished with a silver medal in Athens in Freestyle. Unless a huge upset, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to stop the American.

Sam ARSHADGH (IRI) will throw a challenge from Iran but while Jovani SOLIS (PUR) is the U17 Pan-Am champion but Kikiniou did not participate in the tournament. Russia will be represented by Magomed IBRAGIMOV (RUS), who finished 10th last year.

71kg: In a very open weight class, U17 Asian champion Adilet RYSBAY (KAZ) and U17 European champion Nikolay ILIEV (BUL), both will fancy their chances to win gold. Iran has Reza SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) who will also be in the race to win along with Mokhmad BAISULTANOV (RUS).

Camryn HOWARD (USA) will be representing the challenge from the U.S.

80kg: Hosts Azerbaijan will hope that U17 European champion Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE) can give it a home world gold and also improve on his 13th place finish from last year. The route, however, may be a tough one. Amirali FERASATI (IRI), the U17 Asian champion, dominated his way to gold in Da Nang and is expected to have good result in Baku.

The weight class also has returning bronze medalist from 71kg Ayubjon BOZORZODA (TJK) and Arshavir DARAKHSHANIFARA (FIN), who won U17 European bronze and will now try to give Finland its first Freestyle medal at the U17 Worlds.

The U.S. challenge comes from Jayden OFARRILL (USA), while U17 European bronze medalist Rati REVAZASHVILI (GEO) will be at his third U17 Worlds, hoping for his first medal and Kantemir ELMESOV (RUS) will also be in the mix.

92kg: U17 European champion Abdurazak SHABANOV (RUS) is a favorite to win gold in the weight class. However, Ali DADAEV (FRA), silver to him, will try to avenge the loss from Bulgaria.

Iran, among the best as the weights get heavier, will be represented by Reza ISAZADEH (IRI), with U17 European bronze Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), U17 Pan-Am champion Salah TSARNI (USA) and U17 Asia silver Amirbek FAZLITDINOV (UZB) also entered.

110kg: Returning bronze medalist Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE) will try to improve his medal but will have to be wary of U17 European champion Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO) and silver medalist Stefan STEFANOV (BUL), both lost the bronze-medal bouts in Athens.

Arush RANA (IND), U17 Asian champion, and silver medalist Amirhossein ESMALI (IRI) will also be top prospects. Magomed OMAROV (RUS) and Peter MOCCO (USA) can make the run as well.