#WrestleBaku

European OG Qualifier: Greco-Roman Paris 2024 qualification bouts set

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (April 5) -- European OG Qualifier kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan with Greco-Roman. Six Olympic weight classes will run through on day one with 12 Olympic spots on offer. The six weight classes are -- 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg.

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Here are the Paris 2024 qualification bouts for the evening session

60kg
Victor CIOBANU (MDA) vs. Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) vs. Enes BASAR (TUR)

67kg
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) vs Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) vs. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)

77kg
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Zoltán LÉVAI (HUN) vs. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)

87kg
Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) vs. Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) vs. Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)

97kg
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) vs. Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) vs. Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)

130kg
Jello KRAHMER (GER) vs. Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) vs Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)

15:05: Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN) ends Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) entertaining campaign with a 10-2 win at 87kg. He will wrestle in the semifinals later tonight 

14:50: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) beats Leri ABULADZE (GEO) 4-0 and will move into the semifinals at 60kg. Abuladze was called passive in both periods and Allakhiarov scored a turn as well, winning 4-0.

14:40: Alexandru GUTU (MDA) will wrestle in the 77kg as he beats Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN) 5-3 in the quarterfinals. Tiuliubaev scored only one turn from par terre in the second period and failed to get the lead.

14:35: Enes BASAR (TUR) dashes the hopes of local fans as he beats European champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) 3-1 in the 60kg quarterfinals. He will be wrestling in the semifinals later today

14:30: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) doesn't leave anything to chance this time. He gets a chest wrap and rolls to a 9-0 win over Mihail BRADU (MDA) and moves into the semifinal at 87kg against European champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB).

14:20: Victor CIOBANU (MDA) with another quick win at 60kg. He beats Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU) 14-0 and moves into the semifinal for the evening session.

14:10: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) hits a front five-pointer over Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) before finishing the bout 11-0. He reaches the 77kg semifinals.

14:00: European champion Sergei SEMENOV (AIN) with a 1-1 win over Heiki NABI (EST) at 130kg. He moves into the semifinals for the evening session. One more win to earn a Paris 2024 quota

13:45: Is that the upset of the tournament so far? Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) beats European silver medalist Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) 1-1 in the 97kg 1/8 finals. The result means that Murtazaliev will not be able to win a Paris 2024 quota from Baku

13:30: Victor CIOBANU (MDA) wastes no time beating Melkamu FETENE (ISR) 11-0 and advancing to the quarterfinals at 60kg. Typical Ciobanu big throws.

13:25: Two Norway wrestlers advance to the quarterfinals. Felix BALDAUF (NOR) beats Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) 7-1 at 97kg and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) wins 9-0 against Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU) at 87kg

13:20: Local star and European champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) on the mat for his first bout at 60kg. He is taking on Oleksii MASYK (UKR).  The first par terre advantage goes to Mammadli and he scores four. But Masyk manages to block the second attempt and gets a point for stepout. Mammadli leads 5-1 at the break. Maysk with a par terre advantage in the second period but no points were scored. Mammadli leads 5-2 and will win with that score.

13:15: Leri ABULADZE (GEO) with an effortless 9-1 win over Razvan ARNAUT (ROU). He scores all his points in the second period from par terre to win.

12:55: Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) would be kicking himself as he let go of a 5-0 lead against Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) and lost 7-5. Huklek got the first par terre advantage and two for caution as Komarov blocked his attack. He scored a turn to lead 5-0. But in the second period, Komarov brought out his gut wrench and won 7-5.

12:45: Selcuk CAN (TUR) cannot catch a break from come-from-behind victories. From the brink of defeat, he wins 10-7 against Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN) at 67kg. Bichurin scored three turns from par terre to lead 7-0 but as he was going for a fourth, Can blocked him and tried a pin. Bichurin fouled and was cautioned. Can, from par terre, scored a throw to make the score 7-6. In the second period, Can hit a four-pointer to win 10-7

12:30: Two wrestlers returning from shoulder surgeries, Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Islam ABBASOV (AZE) at 87kg. Bisultanov gets blocked in par terre and Abbasov gets a 2-1 lead. Bisultanov gets close to scoring a takedown twice in the second period but he gets called passive. Abbasov leads 3-1 and scores three turns from par terre to win 9-1. Denmark challenges the call and on review, Abbasov is seen grabbing the singlet. Abbasov's lead back to 3-1. Bisultanov with a takedown to take a 3-3 criteria lead. He scores another takedown and extends the lead to 5-3 and will finish the bout with a win.

12:20: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) is up against Abu AMAEV (BUL) and gets the first par terre advantage. He scores two turns to lead 5-0. Amaev gets the advantage in the second period but fails to score. Nasibov leads 5-1. He wins with the same score to advance at 67kg.

12:00: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) is now in the quarterfinals at 77kg. He beats Oldrich VARGA (CZE) 4-1 and is now two wins away from a Paris 2024 spot. On Mat C, the European champion at 130kg Sergei SEMENOV (AIN) beats Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (AIN) 4-0.

11:50: Alexandru GUTU (MDA) is on Mat B against Patryk BEDNARZ (POL) and he gets his trademark front headlock four-pointer to lead 5-0 at the break. He gets another point for offense in the second period and wins 6-0.

11:35: A 5-1 victory for Leri ABULADZE (GEO) at 60kg. The 63kg world champion is hoping to qualify Georgia for the Paris Games at the new weight class.

11:30: Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) takes out Alex SZOKE (HUN) with a 1-1 win. The wrestlers exchanged passivity points and Kakhelashvili got the advantage in the second period to claim the win

11:19: Two friends Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) and Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) up against each other at 87kg. Sterkenburg leads 1-1 at the break but Mukubu takes a 2-1 lead before adding a takedown and roll for a 6-1 victory.

10:55: Selcuk CAN (TUR) and Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) are coming on Mat C. Sleiva with a four-pointer to begin the match but Can answers with one of his own. Can with a lift but Sleiva blocks his second action and gets two points. Can scores a takedown to take a 6-6 lead at the break. Can scores a takedown but Sleiva asks for a break. Sleiva challenges but the takedown is confirmed and he takes a 9-6 lead with 23 seconds left. Can will advance to the next round.

10:42: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) gets his campaign going with a 7-4 win over Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA) at 77kg. On Mat C, Deni NAKAEV (GER) drops his first bout to Ilie COJOCARI (ROU) and France's 72kg world champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) fails to advance after a 5-1 loss to Adlet TIULIUBAEV (AIN).

10:30: Welcome to the European OG Qualifier in Baku. The competition will run on three mats with the winners of the semifinals qualifying their nations for the Paris Olympic Games. There will be no repechage, bronze or gold-medal bouts.

#WrestleZagreb

Azarpira ends Tazhudinov's two-year dream run in Zagreb

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 15) -- Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) burst on to the wrestling scene with stunning victory over Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) and eventually becoming world champion in 2023.

He followed that up with gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Unbeaten since 2023, it seemed Tazhudinov will dominate the weight classes for the coming years.

Enter Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI).

The Paris Olympic bronze medalist ended Tazhudinov's two-year dream run with victory in the semifinal of the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb on Monday.

During this two-year reign, Azarpira was the only wrestler who came close to beating Tazhudinov. The two faced each other in the Paris Olympics and the Iranian had a 3-0 lead before giving up four points in the second period to lose 4-3.

There were no such comeback in the second period on Monday. Azarpira took a 2-0 lead with two stepouts but Tazhudinov took criteria lead with a takedown. But Azarpira kept his calm and scored a stepout to make it 3-2.  

Tazhudinov tried reaching for Azarpira's legs with his long reach but the Iranian seemed in no trouble at all defending his lead. After one of Tazhudinov's attack, he scored a go-behind and won the bout 5-2.

It is after 12 year that an Iran wrestler has reached the final of the 96/97kg weight class. Reza YAZDANI (IRI) won gold at 96kg at the 2013 World Championships in Budapest.

Azarpira will try to match with Yazdani when he takes on Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the final on Tuesday after the United States wrestler defeated upcoming star Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) in the other semifinal.

Snyder, who had lost to Yoshida at the Tirana Ranking Series, dominated the semifinal, winning 9-1. He scored four different takedowns and looked liked the Snyder of old. Since 2015, Snyder has won a medal at all World Championships including gold in 2015, 2017 and 2022.

Azarpira has two wins over Snyder in the past, the first coming in Zagreb in 2023 at the Ranking Series. The second win came at the Paris Olympics in the bronze-medal bout.

In the other Freestyle weight class -- 65kg -- on Monday, the Olympic final will be replayed after champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and silver medalist Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) made it to the final at the World Championships.

Amouzad saw off Paiman BIABANI (CAN), 5-0, scoring three stepouts and a takedown while Kiyooka managed to score two takedowns in his 5-0 win over Umidjon JALALOV (UZB).

Onishi on track for first gold

A month after winning gold at the U20 World Championships, Sakura ONISHI (JPN) is on the verge of winning her first senior world title after she made it to the final at 59kg.

Like the age-group World Championships, Onishi has not given up a point so far in three bouts in Zagreb. In the semifinals, she wasted no time to secure a fall over Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL).

"While keeping in mind what the opponent would do, I made it clear what I wanted to do," Onishi said. "I was able to execute and that [pin] was the result. I think it creates good momentum going into tomorrow [for final]."

In the final, Onishi will face European U23 silver Maria VYNNYK (UKR) who used a big four-pointer in her 9-5 victory over Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN).

"From the warmup before the first match, I felt like my legs were moving well," she said. "The way I dictated the flow of the matches also was pretty good, so I think I can do it my own way. I feel peace of mind to make it to the final. I came here to become the senior world champion and tomorrow, I want to win and set off on a winning run (around the mat)."

At 55kg, Asian 53kg champion Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) reached the final after pinning Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), who was making her senior debut. Oh scored a huge under-over and kept Uchida on the mat until the fall was called.

The DPR Korea is returning to the World Championships after six years; last appearance coming in 2019. The nation had one champion in women's wrestling in Astana.

For a gold medal on Tuesday, Oh will face European champion Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) who survived a late attack from Andreea ANA (ROU) to beat the Romanian 5-3.

RESULTS

Freestyle

65kg
GOLD: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)

SF 1: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) df. Peiman BIABANI (CAN), 5-0
SF 2: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), 5-0

97kg
GOLD: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) vs. Kyle SNYDER (USA)

SF 1: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), 5-2
SF 2: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), 9-1 

Women's Wrestling

55kg
GOLD: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) vs. Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW)

SF 1: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) df. Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), via fall
SF 2: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 5-3

59kg
GOLD: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) vs. Maria VYNNYK (URK)

SF 1: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL), via fall
SF 2: Maria VYNNYK (URK) df. Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN), 10-5