#kaspeuro2018

Azerbaijan and Russia Send All Five to Day Five Semifinals

Friday, May 4, 2018 - 12:07 By Eric Olanowski

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KASPIISK, Russia (May 4) - Azerbaijan and Russia ended session one undefeated at 2018 European Championships in Dagestan, Russia. Each nation will have five wrestlers represented in tonight’s semifinals which begin at 5:15 PM (local time). 

Poland and Belarus each have a pair of wrestlers vying for a spot in tomorrow’s championship match, while six other nations will be represented by at least a solo competitor. 

The highlight of the day came in what many consider to be the deepest weight class of the tournament, 65kg. Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS), the 2017 65kg European Champion scored two takedowns and a counter exposure to shut out 2016 Olympic champion and reigning 61kg European champion, Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO), 6-0. 

Also of note at 65kg, Slovenia’s David HABAT (SLO) picked up two wins and will wrestle three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE) for a spot in tomorrow’s #KaspEuro2018 finals. If Habat is able to pull out a win in tonight’s semifinals, he would be Slovenia’s first European finalist ever. 

SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS
57kg 
Semifinal - Uladzislau ANDREYEU (BLR) vs. Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) 
Semifinal - Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP) vs. Zavur UGUEV (RUS)

65kg
Semifinal - Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) vs. Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) 
Semifinal - David HABAT (SLO) vs. Haji ALIYEV (AZE)

70kg 
Semifinal - Murtazali MUSLIMOV (AZE) vs. Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
Semifinal - Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) vs. Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS)

79kg
Semifinal - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) vs. Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) 
Semifinal - Mihaly NAGY (HUN) vs. Martin OBST (GER)

97kg
Semifinal - Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE) vs. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR) 
Semifinal - Vladislav BAITCAEV (RUS) vs. Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

#wrestlemanama

World C'ships 2026 to be held in October; U20 Worlds in Bratislava

Monday, December 8, 2025 - 07:56 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 8) -- United World Wrestling has officially confirmed the host city for the 2026 U20 World Championships and finalized the competition dates for the 2026 Senior World Championships.

In addition, the host for 2026 Asian Championships has also been shifted from Amman, Jordan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Bratislava, Slovakia, has been selected to host the 2026 U20 World Championships. Bratislava had successfully hosted the 2025 European Championships in April with sellout stadium. The U20 World Championships in 2026 are scheduled to take place from August 17 to 23 and a similar crowd is expected for the competition.

UWW also confirmed the competition window for the 2026 Senior World Championships to be hosted in Manama, Bahrain, which was announced as hosts during a ceremony held in Zagreb in September.

The World Championships are set to run from October 24 to November 1, providing nine days of action featuring the world’s top wrestlers.

No Arab country has ever hosted a World Championships but Bahrain will etch its name in history with the 2026 edition.

"Bahrain has a superstar in wrestling," UWW President Nenad LALOVIC had said. "They probably want to use this opportunity to promote the sport through this superstar [Akhmed] TAZHUDINOV (BRN). But he's not the only one.

"They also want to develop the local Bahrain born athletes to compete because they have the role model of the top achievement in wrestling. This is something that we considered and that is why we made this decision."

The Asian Championships, originally scheduled in Amman will now be hosted by Bishkek from April 6 to 12.

The 2026 U15 & U20 Asian Championships have been moved from Bangkok to Pattaya.

The U17, U20 and senior African Championships will be held in Alexandria, Egypt from April 28 to May 3. In addition, the dates for the 2026 Pan-American Championships were also modified. The competition will now be held from May 7 to 10 in Coralville, Iowa, United States.

For the full 2026 calendar, visit uww.org/events.