#WrestleBucharest

Azerbaijan Leads Russia By Five Points Heading into Day Three

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - 20:17 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

BUCHAREST, Romania (April 9)  -  Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) reached the top of the European podium for the third time in their careers and helped Azerbaijan carry a five-point lead over the Russian Federation into the final day of freestyle wrestling at the European Championships.

Returning European champion Haji Aliyev pitched a shutout against Turkey’s Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN in the 65kg finals and brought his overall continental title total to three. Aliyev now has as many European titles as he does world titles.  


Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) won his third European title after receiving an injury defeat in the 79kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Jabrayil Hasanov was the second Azeri who won a European title on the second day of wrestling at Bucharest’s Pollyvalent Hall. Though it wasn’t the way he wanted to win, the reigning world runner-up won his third European championship with an injury default win over Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) who was unable to compete after injuring his right knee on Monday night in the semifinals.

Azerbaijan also picked up points from Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV'S 70kg second-place finish, and bronze medal finishes from Mahir AMIRASLANOV and Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV at 57kg and 92kg respectively. 

The Russian Federation, thanks to Abdulrashid SADULAEV’s gold-medal performance at 97kg, along with four other medals, head into the last day of freestyle wrestling in second place with 95 points. 

In the 97kg gold-medal bout, Sadulaev scored an opening period stepout, then put his agility and athleticism on display when he nearly jumped over Belarus’ Aliaksandr HUSHTYN, scoring the match-deciding takedown. 

Sadualev’s 3-1 win on Tuesday night gave him back-to-back European titles and brought his overall continental total to four. He also won a European title in 2014 and 2015.

In addition to Sadualev’s 25 points gold-medal finish, Russia grabbed 40 points from two runner-up finishes and 30 points from a pair of bronze medal finishes. 


Suleyman ATLI (TUR) became the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world with his 57kg win on Tuesday night. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

Turkey, who matched Azerbaijan’s pair of gold medals, sits in a close third place with 87 points. Their two champions were Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and Mustafa KAYA (TUR). 

Atli picked up where he left off after the 2018 World Championships, adding a European title to his resume with an impressive 8-3 showing against Russia’s reigning Ivan Yariguin champion Muslim SADULAEV (RUS). 

The turning point in the 57kg gold-medal bout came when Alti, the 2018 world bronze medalist, scored a takedown and transitioned into a pair of gut wrenches. With that six-point exchange, Alti led 6-1, and never looked back. The Turkish wrestler added another takedown to his total and won the match, 8-3. 

With his win on Tuesday night, Atli moves ahead of reigning world champion Zaur UGUEV (RUS) for the top spot in the world at 57kg with 61 Ranking Series points. 


Mustafa KAYA (TUR) outscored Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) 6-0 in the second period and won his first European title. (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

Turkey’s second champion of the day Mustafa Kaya emerged as the victor at 70kg when he outscored Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE), 6-0, in the second period after giving up an opening period takedown.

Turkey also collected 20 points from Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN's second-place finish at 65kg and 15 points from Muhammet KOTANOGLU's bronze-medal finish at 79kg. 

Wrestling resumes on Wednesday morning at 11:30 with women’s wrestling, followed by the final five freestyle weight class medal matches at 18:00.

SCHEDULE
Wednesday (April 10) 
9:30 - Weigh-in FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
11:30 - Qualification rounds WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
11:30 - Repechage FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
14:00 - Draw WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
17:15 - Semi Final WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg 
18: 00 - Finals FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg / Award ceremonies

Thursday (April 11) 
9:30 - Weigh-in WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg page4image2914979424 page4image2914979968
14:00 - Repechage WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg 
14:00 - Draw GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
17:15 - Semi Final WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
18:00 - Finals WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg / Award ceremonies 

Friday (April 12) 
9:30 - Weigh-in WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
11:30 - Repechage WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
15:40 - Draw GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg
17:15 - Semi Final GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
18:00 - Finals WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg / Award ceremonies

Saturday (April 13) 
9:30 - Weigh-in GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
11:30 - Repechage GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
17:15 - Semi Final GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
18:00 - Finals GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg / Award ceremonies

Sunday (April 14) 
9:30 - Weigh-in GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
16:00 - Repechage GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
18:00 - Finals GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg / Award ceremonies

RESULTS

Team Scores
GOLD - Azerbaijan (100 points)
SILVER - Russia (95 points)
BRONZE - Turkey (87 points)
Fourth - Ukraine (43 points)
Fifth - Belarus (38 points)

57kg 
GOLD - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) vs. Muslim SADULAEV (RUS), 8-3 
BRONZE - Mahir AMIRASLANOV (AZE) df. Georgi VANGELOV (BUL), 8-4 
BRONZE - Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) df. Andrei DUKOV (ROU), 7-4

65kg
GOLD - Haji ALIYEV (AZE) df. Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR), 7-0 
BRONZE - Nachyn KUULAR (RUS) df. Maxim SACULTAN (MDA), 5-0 
BRONZE - Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) df. Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL), via fall 

70kg
GOLD - Mustafa KAYA (TUR) df. Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE), 6-2 
BRONZE - Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) df. Semen RADULOV (UKR), 6-0 
BRONZE - Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR), 11-0 

79kg
GOLD - Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) vs. Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS)
BRONZE - Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Andrei KARPACH (BLR), 7-1
BRONZE - Muhammet KOTANOGLU (TUR) df. Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR), 5-1 

97kg
GOLD - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), 3-1 
BRONZE - Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) df. Nicolai CEBAN (MDA), 3-0
BRONZE - Nurmagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD), 5-0 

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series Day 2 Recap

Thursday, February 27, 2025 - 10:32 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

TIRANA, Albania (February 27) -- Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series day two is underway with the four Freestyle and two Women's Wrestling weight classes. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), Kyle SNYDER (USA), Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) in action.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

15:40: Paris Olympic silver medalist Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) is into the 125kg final after a 3-0 win over Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR). Zare was given two points for inactivity from Buyukcingil and he scored a stepout late in the match to make it 3-0. He will face Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW) in the final who defeated Paris Olympic 97kg silver medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) 7-4 in the other semifinal. The finals begin 18:00.

Who is Arash Yoshida who beat Kyle Snyder?

15:25: Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) has done it! He beats Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the semifinals at 97kg. Yoshida, who seems small for 97kg, was in all sorts of trouble for five minutes and 30 seconds of the match. The match saw Snyder score a takedown on the edge and as Yoshida was trying to sneak out of the hold, Snyder scored a pushout, all while Yoshida was on activity time. Snyder led 4-0 before giving up a stepout. Both wrestler continued the pressure in the second period but Snyder's strength and positioning didn't let Yoshida get his on his attacks. However, Yoshida managed to get a cut-back and a turn to lead 5-5 on criteria with 30 seconds on the clock. Despite Snyder's efforts, Yoshida managed to remain in contact and not get scored on. A stunning win for the Yoshida.

Yoshida, whose father is Iranian married to a Japanese national, will face Erfan ALIZADEH MALAFEH (IRI) in the final after he defeated Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK), 3-2, in the other semifinal.

15:10: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) just gut-wrenched Feyzulla AKTURK (TUR) in the 92kg semifinal to win it in a minute and 41 seconds. He will face Alan BAGAEV (UWW) in the final after he defeated Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA). Bagaev came out with a arm throw for four and transitioned into a lace for two turns to lead 8-0. No points scored in the second period as Bagaev moved into the final

15:00: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) is into the 79kg final with a very controlled win over Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN). He scored a takedown, two setpouts and got another point for caution while Saipudinov scored one takedown and got one point for fleeing from Gamkrelidze. His opponent will be Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (UWW), who got a walkover after Evan WICK (USA) pulled out injured.

14:50: Haruna MARUYAMA (JPN) with a 10-0 technical superiority win over Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR). No much to show from Khomenets and she gets rolled over as Maruyama uses a trap-arm gut. She will face Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) in the final after she defeated Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) with a takedown in the last 30 seconds.

14:40: Umi ITO (JPN) gets done with her semifinals at 50kg with a fall over Katie DUTCHAK (CAN). Arm-barred her for the win in a minute and seven seconds. In the second semifinal, Oksana LIVACH (UKR) gets a good win over Erin GOLSTON (USA). After leading 5-0 at the break, Livach scored one more takedown to win 7-0

Semifinals will begin at 14:30

14:15: Kyle SNYDER (USA) with another controlled win over Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW). He kept his distance after leading 3-0 and won to advance to the 97kg semifinals. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) also advances with a big 11-1 win over Dato PIRUZASHVILI (GEO)

14:00: When in full flow, Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) is a delight to watch. He gets four takedowns in his 8-0 win over Mirani MAISURADZE (GEO) at 92kg. Effortless from Ghasempour.

13:55: Feyzulla AKTURK (TUR) with a takedown with seven seconds left on the clock to beat Boris MAKOEV (SVK) at 92kg. Makoev with a meek surrender. Akturk was leading 4-1 but Makoev scored a takedown to cut it to 4-3. Akturk then added a stepout to make it 5-0 with 38 seconds left. With 17 seconds on the clock, Makoev with a takedown to lead 5-5 on criteria but seemed to have been caught off guard by Akturk's quick attack from center and the Turk gets the takedown and the win.

13:45: Umi ITO (JPN) gets to work as soon as she is on the mat but she doesn't get a clean win here against Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW). Two takedowns, a double-leg fireman carry gave Ito an 8-0 lead but Sokolova surprised her with a headlock for four. Ito survived the fall to get a reversal and another takedown later she led 11-4 at the break.

She scores a four-pointer with a cut-back but gives up a reversal. The 15-5 score gives her the win but Sokolova challenges, asking for two points for the cut-back. The challenge is lost and Ito wins 16-5

13:30: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) with a clutch takedown and defense to beat MEIDUOLAJI (CHN), 6-5, at 50kg and advance to the semifinals. Meidoulaji led 5-4 and looked like she would defend her lead with ease but Livach managed to get a takedown in the second period to win.

13:20: At 55kg, Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) with a fall over Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW). Khoroshavtseva was leading only 1-0 at the break but changed levels in the second to lead 8-0 before getting the fall.

13:15: Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) manages to get the job done against Karla GODINEZ (CAN) at 55kg. Not much action in the match but Murayama wins 2-0 to advance to the semifinals.

13:00: Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) with a first-period 10-0 technical superiority over Irena BINKOVA (BUL) at 55kg. Khomenets will most likely face Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) next

12:50: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI), first time on mat since winning silver medal at the Paris Olympics, looks in good form. While he did not go on a rampage, he was content with a 7-0 win over Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) at 125kg.

12:35: 2023 Asian champion Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), wrestling at his first Ranking Series, begins with a fall. He made it 10-0 before pinning Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM). A mix of Iranian underhooks and Japanese speed there. Read more about Arash Yoshida here

12:20: Kyle SNYDER (USA) is a machine! He was down 2-0 at the break but finds a way to break through in the second period to beat Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) 3-2 at 97kg. Huge win for Snyder. Goleij was up 1-0 and then added a stepout to start the second period. Snyder kept his calm and got a takedown by elevating Goleij off the mat to lead 2-2 on criteria with two minutes and 10 seconds remaining. Snyder kept himself away from Goleij for the remaining time but Goleij forced an opening and got a single leg attack going. However, he landed Snyder in the zone and forced a pushout. The referees scored it grounded with no points. That was with nine seconds remaining. Iran challenged after restart but there was no change in decision and Snyder led 3-2. Goleij had four seconds to score a takedown for the win but that never happened.

12:10: Feyzulla AKTURK (TUR) with a great start at 92kg. Samuel SCHERRER (SUI) tried matching the ties but Akturk too good for him and wins 8-1 to advance at 92kg.

11:45: Umi ITO (JPN) at 50kg starts with a first period technical superiority win over Aida KERYMOVA (UKR). Ito was in Tirana for the U23 World Championships last year but was pinned to suffer her first-ever international loss.

11:30: Day two of the Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series and we start at 11:30 as the number of bouts are lesser than Wednesday. Some big names competing today.