#WrestleBratislava

European Championships Day 2: Sidakov beats Salkazanov 4-2

Monday, April 7, 2025 - 21:37 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 8) -- The European Championships enters day two with five Freestyle weight 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg. Olympic champions Zavur UGUEV (UWW), Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) and Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) will be in action.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS | SAITIEV TRIBUTE

Semifinals

61kg
SF 1: Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) vs. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
SF 2: Dzmitry SHAMELA (UWW) vs. Zavur UGUEV (UWW)

74kg
SF 1: Chermen VALIEV (ALB) vs. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
SF 2: Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) vs. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW)

86kg
SF 1: Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) vs. Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
SF 2: Artur NAIFONOV (UWW) vs. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW)

92kg
SF 1: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
SF 2: Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) vs. Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)

125kg
SF 1: Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) vs. Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW)
SF 2: Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) vs. Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)

14:05: In the final match of the session, Artur NAIFONOV (UWW) beats European U23 silver Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA). Naifonov is given a par terre advantage after Magamadov is cautioned for fleeing out-of-bounds on his knees. But Magamadov stunningly escapes from par terre with no damage. He is put on the activity clock and Naifonov gets another point for a 2-0 lead. Naifonov seems to have hit Magamadov in the head as he tried escaping a leg-attack. Magamadov calls for a medical timeout. In the second period, Naidonov gets a stepout and takedown to lead 5-0 and wins. He will face Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) in the semifinals.

13:56: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) puts in the work and beats Benjamin HONIS (HUN) 12-2 to enter the 92kg semifinal and will face Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) for the place in the final. 

13:48: Zavur UGUEV (UWW) had to wait three hours for his first bout at 61kg but he makes sure to not get any surprises from Andrii DZHELEP (UKR). Uguev wins 11-1 to enter the 61kg semifinal.

13:46: Olympic champion Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) books his spot in the 86kg semifinal with a 10-0 victory over Matthew FINESILVER (ISR).

13:40: Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) got Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) in a lace and led 9-0 at the break in their 61kg quarterfinal. Novruzov tried getting back with a takedown but Abakarov sails through with an 11-2 win. He will face Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) for a place in the final.

13:30: No problems for Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) as he laces Leomid COLESNIC (MDA) and wins 12-2 to enter the semifinal at 61kg.

13:25: Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) pulls off a 4-2 win over four-time European champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK). The 74kg marquee match saw Salkazanov begin with a bodylock but Sidakov was quick and defended it. Only a stepout for Salkazanov. Sidakov hits the leg attack which Salkazanov tries to defend with a chestwrap. Sidakov breaks it for takedown and two points. Sidakov leads 2-1 at the break. Second period is off to a flyer -- a leg-attack from Salkazanov, Sidakov with the defense. Both in a tangle and referee calls for the center. After dull phase, Sidakov hits a single leg attack and drives Salkazanov out of bounds which is called par terre but Sidakov challenges and get the stepout point for a 3-1 lead with a minute left.

Sidakov defends his lead but Salkazanov pushes his opponent towards the zone and gets a stepout as the time runs out. He challenges for fleeing but it's a normal defense. Sidakov gets a point for lost challenge and he wins 4-2 to enter the semifinal at 74kg.

13:17: Olympic bronze medalist and the favorite to win gold at 125kg Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) blanks Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN) 5-0 and moves on to the semifinals.

13:10: Olympic bronze medalist Chermen VALIEV (ALB) scores a quick 10-0 technical superiority win over Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL) at 74kg. We now have the big match between Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) and Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK).

13:05: Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) takes out Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW) 7-2 at 125kg. This weight class will have a champion not named Taha AKGUL (TUR) or Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) for the first time since 2012. 

12:50: Former European champion Artur NAIFONOV (UWW) is up against European  U23 champion Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE). Naifonov gets the 1-0 lead after Dzhioev is put on the clock and he fails to score. Dzhioev is put on the clock in the second period as well and Naifonov's lead swells to 2-0. Dzhioev gets a point when Naifonov is put on the clock in the final minute. With 18 seconds remaining, Dzhioev tries to get a move on but Naifonov defends well and scores a 2-1 win.

12:35: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) stuns Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) with an arm-throw for four at the start of the bout but Kadzi throws him off for exposure and two points in the same scramble. Kadzimahamedau seems a little hurt from Mihalcean throw and comes out blazing with a takedown and turn. He then adds a crafty throw for four to lead 10-4 at the break. A takedown and turn to finish the bout 14-4 and he moves into the 86kg quarterfinals.

12:20: Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) defends and defends to beat Benjamin GREIL (AUT) 4-2 at 92kg. Viskhanov must thank Greil who challenged for an extra exposure from takedown but lost which put the French wrestler in a safe position of two-point lead in the final minute.

12:17: Olympic champion Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) and Osman GOCEN (TUR) go head-to-head in the 86kg pre-quarterfinals. Ramazanov gets the first point as Gocen fails to score when put on the activity clock in the first period. Ramazanov was about to be hit with passivity call in the second period but he scores a takedown just on time to stretch his lead to 3-0. Gocen slowly slips in keeping up with Ramazanov and gives up a takedown before going down 5-0.

12:15: World silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) takes his own time but wins 11-0 against Cezary SADOWSKI (POL) to advance at 92kg.

12:11: Olympic 86kg bronze medalist Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) at his best in defense he opens his European campaign with an 5-0 win over Ahmed BATAEV (BUL). He scored a stepout and point for activity in the first period. A stepout and takedown in the second period and won 5-0 at 92kg.

12:10: Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) with a beautiful suplex for five against Besir ALILI (MKD) and quickly rolls Alili to win 10-0 at 61kg. We will get the video of the move soon.

12:07: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) is brutal when it comes to the lace. He marches on at 61kg with a 11-0 victory over Stilyan ILIEV (BUL).

12:00: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), a world 92kg silver medalist in 2023, starts off with a 11-0 victory over Denys SAHALIUK (UKR) and moves into the quarterfinals.

11:50: Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) is at his first European Championships up at 86kg and faces Theodoros SINGIRIDIS (GRE) in first bout. Despite giving up a takedown, Kadzimahamedau looked strong at the weight as he gut wrenched Singridis for a 9-2 lead at the break. He made to work for the rest of the points but he manages to finish 13-2 for a technical superiority win.

11:42: In the first match at 61kg, former world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) rolls to a 10-0 win over Nils LEUTERT (SUI) in just two minutes.

11:30: Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW), world champion at 74kg in 2023 and wrestling only at his second European Championships, begins with a 11-0 technical superiority win over Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD). He gets on the board with a point from activity clock and scored a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. He needed only a minute in the second period to finish the match. He shoots deep and laces Shapiev for an three turns to win 11-0.

11:22: Mohsen SIYAR (GER) holds his head in his hands but he falls 8-8 to Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW) at 125kg despite a resounding comeback and crash into the digital scoreboard. Khizriev led 5-2 and Siyar had him struggling for conditioning. Siyar scored a stepout and both wrestlers crashed into the scoreboard which delayed the action. That proved to be a lifeline for Khizriev who bounced back, scored a out-of-bounds point, a takedown and held on to his 8-8 criteria lead for the win.

11:10: Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) brings down Azamat ZAKUEV (UWW) in the 92kg opening round. Viskhanov got countered every time he scored a takedown but he hangs on for a 7-6 win, thanks to two successful challenges.

11:00: Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN), a mainstay at 97kg, has moved up to 125kg for the European Championships. He begins with a 8-2 victory over European U23 champion Gerogi IVANOV (BUL).

10:30: Welcome to the second day of European Championships. We have three Olympic champions wrestling. After the morning session, the semifinals will begin at 16:45 local time and then the medal bouts will begin at 18:00 local time.

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Kamal survives scare in Ulaanbaatar amid Turkiye gold rush

Friday, May 30, 2025 - 13:58 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (May 30) -- Turkiye captured all three Greco-Roman gold medals on offer on Friday with European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) surviving a tough final to win at 63kg, and Paris Olympians Enes BASAR (TUR) and Hamza BAKIR (TUR) winning at 60kg and 130kg respectively.

Kamal, who won European Championships gold in dominant fashion, could not replicate that performance from April but still managed to win gold. In the final, he survived a scare against Asian Championships bronze medalist Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), winning 6-6 on criteria, thanks to a foul from Chung.

Both had wrestled in the group stages as well as this weight category only had seven wrestlers and were divided into two groups. Kamal came out on top 6-3 in that match.

But the final began with Chung scoring a takedown in the first minute and then adding another point when he was given the par terre advantage. However, he failed to score from that position.

In the second period, Kamal scored a push from par terre and had Chung's back on the mat for two points. He then lifted Chung upside down and completed a throw during which Chung committed a defensive leg foul.

Korea challenged the call but lost which gave Kamal a 6-4 lead. Chung tried to score and during the final 10 seconds, he pushed Kamal to the zone and the Turkish wrestler lost his balance, giving up a takedown.

Chung tied it 6-6 but Kamal led on criteria as Chung had committed the leg foul earlier. Chung realized it later that he was losing the final.

"I think it was a bit of a misjudgment because I thought I was winning and I didn't try hard for last 7 seconds at the end," Chung said. "I'm training hard with [former world champion] Hansu RYU (KOR) as my role model, and I'm trying to copy his style a lot."

For Kamal, the tournament was an eye-opener, especially for his performance against the Asian wrestlers.

"It was a very difficult tournament," Kamal said. "From the first round to the final match, I had very strong and very tough opponents. It was one of the hardest matches I've had this year. Winning is important, but in this tournament I realized that I have many mistakes. I'm thinking that I'm going to watch all my matches over and over again and analyze them and try to wrestle in a way that is more error-free and less pointless."

As he gears up to win his first senior world title in Zagreb later this September, Kamal is now wary of his opponents from Asia and wants to tackle them with more conviction.

"All my opponents are Asian," he said. "Kyrgyz, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Iranian. These are my strongest opponents. When you look at it, most of my opponents are from Asia, so I try to wrestle like Asians. I try to train like them, because they are very difficult to keep up with, they are very active. But as I said, as much as I can stop them, as much as I can do, as long as I can, I will continue to wrestle with them and wrestle like him."

Despite his close matches against Chung, Kamal looked in supreme form, especially while defending on par terre, as he captured his second Ranking Series gold medal of the year. His first gold was in Tirana, Albania.

"I don't think about it there [on the mat], to be honest, because I'm in a completely negative position," he said. "I'm trying to get out of it by doing all the weird things I can. The important thing is that I don't get scored there. It doesn't matter how I do it, what I do, the important thing is not to give points to my opponent and to continue in that way. So I'm very happy that I was able to do that."

Enes BASAR (TUR)Enes BASAR (TUR), blue, won gold medal at 60kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Basar, who was at the Paris Olympics at 60kg, won four bouts in the day to claim the gold medal. He began with an 8-3 win over Kurmanbek ZHAPAROV (KGZ) but his second against Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) tested him to the limits. He made two comebacks to win 16-5, using a strong gut-wrench.

He followed that win by beating SURAJ (IND), 8-0, in a minute and 13 seconds before finishing his campaign with a 10-2 win over Ganbayar NAMSRAI (MGL).

Hamza BAKIR (TUR)Hamza BAKIR (TUR) claimed the 130kg gold medal in Ulaanbaatar. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The most dominant run of the day came from Hamza BAKIR (TUR) at 130kg, as he won all his four bouts via technical superiority.

In his first bout, he gave up a point for passivity but still managed to win 9-1 against Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ). That was the only point he gave in the competition, winning his next three bouts via technical superiority.

He defeated Turbat BATBAYAR (MGL), 8-0, in Round 2, PREM (IND) with identical scoreline in Round 3 and in Round 5, he won against Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 8-0.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Enes BASAR (TUR)
SILVER: SURAJ (IND)
BRONZE: Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)

63kg
GOLD: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 6-6

BRONZE: Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI),

130kg
GOLD: Hamza BAKIR (TUR)
SILVER: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL)
BRONZE: Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)