#WrestleAlmaty

Bolat Turlykhanov Cup day four finals set with Yazdani vs Makoev

By Vinay Siwach

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (June 5) -- The final day of the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Ranking Series event is here. Eight freestyle weights will be in action with multiple World and Olympic medalists taking the mat in Almaty.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

13:45: The finals are set for the night

61kg: Zhassulan TASKUL (KAZ) vs Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
65kg: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) vs Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)
70kg:Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) vs Rodion ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
74kg: Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL) vs Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
79kg: Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ) vs Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
86kg: Boris MAKOEV (SVK) vs Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
92kg: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) vs Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ)
 

13:35: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) has dominated his way to the 92kg final. At 57kg, Aman SEHRAWAT (IND) and Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) are putting up a show. Sehrawat comes back from 6-0 down against a tiring Bazarbayev to win 10-9. He also wins the gold medal after winning all his four bouts.

13:10: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) and Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) on Mat B. The Mongolian leads 1-0 at the break after Jalolov's passivity. But he is hit with passivity as well and Jalolov takes the lead on criteria. Tumur-Ochir with his trademark underhook for four and he wins 5-1 against Jalolov.

13:00: Yazdani gives up a point for stepout but answers that with a takedown and lace. He leads 6-1 at the break. He begins with another takedown and then a stepout to extend his lead to 10-1. A double leg takedown finishes the bout 12-1

12:55: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) is up against Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) in the 86kg semifinal on Mat C while at 74kg, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) is wrestling on Mat B

12:30: Tulga TUMUR-OCHIR (MGL) has set up a semifinal bout against Jalolov at 65kg after beating Komron KHOLOV (TJK) via technical superiority.

12:10: World silver medalist at 70kg Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) has a huge fan base in Kazakhstan and that showed even as he beat Meirzhan ASHIROV (KAZ) 5-3 at 70kg. He moves into the semifinal

11:55: Bajrang PUNIA (IND) faces a familiar opponent in Abbos RAKHMANOV (UZB). He gets two points for Rakhmanov's blocking. The Uzbek also has two cautions against him. But he gets a takedown and leads 2-2 at the break. Punia gets a point for Rakhmanov's passivity. But the Indian gives up a takedown in the final seconds to beat Punia 5-3

11:45: European champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) has to work hard against Ikhtiyor NUVROZOV (UZB) at 74kg. Three stepout points for his 3-0 win against the Uzbek veteran.

11:40: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), in a very Yazdani-way, breaks Fatih ERDIN (TUR) to start his day with a 12-0 win at 86kg. He will wrestle the Asian champion Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) in the semifinals

11:30: Some absolute hammers wrestling at 86kg. Former world silver medalist Boris MAKOEV (SVK) with a dominating win over Nurzhan ISSAGALIYEV (KAZ) in the quarterfinals. On Mat B, Asian champion Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) hands Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) a 8-0 defeat as the Uzbekistan wrestler continues to struggle at 86kg

11:15: Daulet YERGESH (KAZ) trailed Asian silver medalist Gourav BALIYAN (IND) 5-3 at the break but catches the Indian in a leg lace and finishes the bout 15-5 

10:50: Former U17 world champion Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) looks in good touch. He picks up a technical superiority win over Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) who is moving up to 65kg. Jalolov had a four-point move then got exposures to win 13-2 

10:45: What a great start for world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI). He wins via technical superiority against Viky CHAHAR (IND) in two minutes. 

10:30: Welcome to day four of the Ranking Series event in Almaty. Are you excited to see the return of Hassan YAZDANI (IRI).

Esmaeili survives Jafarov shock to win ISG 2025 gold

By Vinay Siwach

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 18) -- He needed some strong defense to win the world title and on Tuesday, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) needed some clutch offense to beat Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) for the second time in two one month.

Esmaeili and Jafarov clashed in the final of the 67kg weight class at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyad, Saudi Arabi and it seemed that the latter was on his way to upset the Olympic champion and avenge his loss from the World Championships final.

Down 3-3 on criteria, all seemed to be over for Esmaeili as the clock ticked down. In the last 10 seconds, Esmaeili worked on a double-arm lock and then managed to throw Jafarov in danger from standing for four points which changed the result and gave him the win.

Azerbaijan challenged the call but there was no change in the result and Esmaeili defeated Jafarov 8-3, to capture yet another gold medal this year after Asian and World Championships.

Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) throws Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) during their 67kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In Zagreb, Esmaeili was put in par terre for third passivity call. Jafarov, down 2-1, needed a point to turn the result but he failed to score any points as Esmaeili defended the par terre position and captured his first world title.

Jafarov blamed a lapse in concentration in the final seconds that costed him the gold medal in Riyadh.

Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) won his fourth gold medal this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's other world champion from Zagreb, Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) made it seem a little easier as he defeated former world U20 champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0, winning his third gold in one month.

Farokhi, who won gold at 82kg at the World Championships, moved to 87kg for U23 World Championships and won gold without giving up a point in Novi Sad. Just two weeks later, he now gold at 87kg on Tuesday.

Against Yevloyev in the final, Farokhi was awarded both par terre position which gave him a 2-0 lead. From the second par terre, he managed to score a point as he threw Yevloyev for a stepout. The Kazakhstan wrestler was docked two points for defensive foul making it 5-0.

Kazakhstan challenged the foul call but Yevloyev had clearly blocked Farokhi using his elbow on the Iranian's face. The lost challenged made it 6-0 for Farokhi, giving him the win.

Farokhi had a tough match in semifinals against world bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) and needed a takedown in the final minute to win 7-6, first time he has shown some difficulty winning bouts.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) won the 77kg gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Two other gold medals were awarded on Tuesday with former U23 world champion Alisher GANIEV (UZB) winning the 60kg one and two-time Olympic medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) marking his comeback with gold medal at 77kg.

Makhmudov, who has not wrestled in a full tournament since winning bronze in Paris, was in some form as he made no mistake in his run to the gold medal. In the final, he wrestled Amir ABDI (IRI) and performed a reverse lift throw for five points before securing the fall in the second period.

Abdi got the par terre position in the first period but Makhmudov defended the position, giving only a 1-0 lead to the Iranian. When he got the par terre position, he jumped to the front before performing the lift and holding Abdi on the mat for fall.

Ganiev, who defeated European champion Nihad MAMMADLI (AZE) in the quarterfinal, defeated Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) in the semifinal and humbled Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0, in the final.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0

BRONZE: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), 3-2
BRONZE: Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ) df. Fergat ABDELKRIM (ALG), 5-1

67kg
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 8-3

BRONZE: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT), 5-2
BRONZE: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) df. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY), via fall (9-0)

77kg
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Amir ABDI (IRI), via fall (6-1)

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE), 2-2
BRONZE: Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT) df. Sami SLAMA (TUN), via fall (8-1)

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0

BRONZE: Sid BACHIR (ALG) df. Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK), 9-0
BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 5-1