#Bishkek2018

Evloev Gives Host Country 74kg Freestyle Gold

Monday, March 5, 2018 - 01:13 By Ken Marantz

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On the night the curtain came down on the Asian Championships in Bishkek, Muslim EVLOEV (KGZ) provided the perfect final act.

Evloev gave the host country a gold medal in 74kg freestyle as the tournament wrapped up its well-supported six-day run at the Kozhomkul Sports Palace with finals in five weight divisions.

Evloev, riding an early 5-point lead, never let up in defeating Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL) by 11-1 technical fall with :24 remaining to give Kyrgyzstan its first Asian freestyle gold since 2015 and fourth in its history.

"It's a great feeling," Evloev said of winning at home to improve on his silver medal he won last year in New Delhi. "The crowd was really supporting me as much as they could and I couldn't fail them, so I did my best."

Iran finished up by capturing two golds, as reigning world and Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANI CHARATI (IRI) cruised to his first Asian title with a victory at 86kg, and Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) followed by winning the 92kg crown.

In a duel between Georgian-born wrestlers for the 125kg title, Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB) defeated Giorgi SAKANDELIDZE (QAT), 5-0, in a tepid match that capped the tournament.

Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ), 61kg champion looking for a gut wrench. Photo Max Rose-Fyne. 

The other gold at stake went to Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ), a New Delhi 2017 bronze medalist who scored two takedowns in the second period of the 61kg final to top Kazuya KOYANAGI (JPN), 6-2.

Uzbekistan, which had won five medals, including two golds, on Saturday, added two bronzes to Modzmanashvili's gold to clinch the team title with 178 points. Iran finished second with 157 and Kazakhstan third with 146.

Evloev acknowledged he was heartened by the Greco victory of compatriot Akzhol MAKHMUDOV on the second day, one of the tournament's iconic moments for the thunderous ovation it elicited from the delirious crowd.

"Of course he did inspire me," Evloev said. "And I also want to say congratulations to Makhmudov because I haven't seen him yet."

In the final, Evloev used a single-leg lift to dump Ganzorig, a two-time world bronze medalist, backwards to the mat for a 4-point move, which became 5 when the Mongolian side's challenge was unsuccessful.

"It made me feel more confident, but I was going to wrestle until the last second," Evloev said of being staked to a big early lead. "That's why I won."

Photo of Hassan YAZDANI CHARATI (IRI) by Max Rose-Fyne. 

Outside of the Kyrgyz wrestlers, the spotlight was squarely on superstar Yazdani Charati.

And he lived up to expectations by overwhelming Uitumen ORGODOL (MGL) in the 86kg final, scoring with a takedown and roll combination right away, and then reeling off three takedowns for a 10-0 technical fall with 36 seconds still left in the first period.

Orgodol added the Asian silver to the one he won in 2016 and his bronze from 2013.

So popular is the Iranian that he had a phalanx of Kyrygz security guards whereever he went, and was whisked pass waiting media and fans without comment after his medal ceremony and completing doping procedures.

In the 92kg final, Ebrahimizivlaei built up a 5-1 lead through the first period against Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ), then gave up a passivity point and nothing else to take the gold with a 5-2 victory.

The plodding end to the final bout of the tournament, the 125kg final, belied the historical significance of it.

Modzmanashvili, a London 2012 Olympic bronze medalist for Georgia, took a 4-0 lead with an early takedown to a roll, then gained a point when Sakandelidze was on the activity clock in the second period, when the two giants seemed to have little desire to expend further energy.  

By winning the silver medal, Sakandelidze became Qatar's first-ever medalist at the Asian Championships. The Gulf nation's best previous showing had been fifth place.

Although it took an import to gain a spot on the medal podium, Qatari officials were ecstatic with the result.

"After a long period, this is a big success for Qatar wrestling federation, for Qatar," said team leader Vardan Ghazaryan. "For the first time in senior championships, after more than 50 years, we take such success. Qatar is very proud and it will advertise wrestling to include more young schoolboys for developing wrestling in Qatar."

Ghazaryan said the federation has high expectations for Sakandelidze, who he said has lived in Qatar for two years.

"This is, of course, his first match for Qatar, but you will see his success and medals, gold medals, in the future."

Among the bronze-medal matches, Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) overcame an 8-3 deficit with 45 seconds remaining, scoring the winning takedown in the final seconds to defeat KIM Daisung (KOR), 11-8, at 74kg.

Kim, who clearly ran out of gas down the stretch, is a 40-something high school wrestling coach who came out of retirement to make the national team, according to a South Korean federation official.

Azizbek SOLIEV (UZB) also notched a last-second takedown to upend Turtogtokh LUVSANDORJ (MGL), 4-3, in their 92kg third-place match.

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and China all came away with two bronze medals on the night, while host Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia had one each.

Freestyle
61kg (12 entries)
Gold - Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) df. Kazuya KOYANAGI (JPN), 6-2

Bronze - Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Sharvan SHARVAN (IND), 6x-6
Bronze - Ulubek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df. Iman SADEGHIKOUKANDEH (IRI), 6-0

74kg (12 entries)
Gold - Muslim EVLOEV (KGZ) df. Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL) by TF, 11-1, 0:24

Bronze - Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ) df. KIM Daisung (KOR), 11-8
Bronze - Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) df. Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM) by TF, 10-0, 4:12

86kg (12 entries)
Gold - Hassan YAZDANI CHARATI (IRI) df. Uitumen ORGODOL (MGL) by TF, 10-0, 3:24

Bronze - Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) df. Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB), 4-0
Bronze - BI Shengfeng (CHN) df. Deepak PUNIA (IND) by TF, 10-0, 3:41

92kg (10 entries)
Gold - Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI (IRI) df. Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ), 5-2

Bronze - LIN Zushen (CHN) df. SUE Changjae (KOR), 2-1
Bronze - Azizbek SOLIEV (UZB) df. Turtogtokh LUVSANDORJ (MGL), 4-3

125kg (13 entries)
Gold - Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB) df. Giorgi SAKANDELIDZE (QAT), 5-0

Bronze - Zolboo NATSAGSUREN (MGL) df. NAM Koungjin (KOR) by TF, 10-0, 4:43
Bronze - Amin TAHERI (IRI) df. Sohbet BELLIYEV (TKM) by TF, 14-4, 3:02

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW World Conference: Lalovic stresses on AI, Amateur MMA and keeping wrestling at the top

Friday, September 26, 2025 - 17:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 24) -- Putting his faith in the ‘young generations’ to use Artificial Intelligence to their ‘benefit’, United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC said that proper use of the ‘modern tools may help coaching, analysis, planning events and being more efficient’. Lalovic called on the wrestling world to ‘adapt’ and embrace AI, ’which is already almost everywhere’.

The UWW President shared these thoughts at the first UWW World Conference 2025, which was held in Zagreb from September 17 to 19. The conference covered a wide array of topics and brought together the best minds in the sport and beyond under one roof on the sidelines of the World Championships.

Expert panelists from all over the world discussed subjects ranging from digital transformation and associated styles to injury prevention and weight management, growing women’s wrestling and career transitions for wrestlers, as well as the future of the sport during the three-day event at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb, Croatia.

The conference started with Lalovic and UWW Secretary General Carlos ROY welcoming the delegates.

Lalovic said in his address: “We had this idea maybe almost a decade ago. We were seeking a platform, how these good relations among wrestlers and the national federations can improve our sport.”

Carlos ROYUWW Secretary General Carlos ROY welcomes the delegates to the World Conference. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Roy added that the ‘rich program was designed to cover wrestling from every angle’. “This conference brings together leaders, coaches, athletes, medical and scientific experts, referees and partners from around the world to exchange knowledge, share experiences and shape the future of our sport,” he said.

Among those who attended the event were leaders from National Federations, members of UWW Commissions, the International Olympic Committee, International Testing Agency and UWW partners like TAISHAN, Rudis and N3XT. Legendary wrestlers including Mijain LOPEZ (CUB), Erica WIEBE (CAN), Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARG), Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) and Marwa AMRI (TUN) also graced the symposium and shared their views during the lively discussions.

While Wiebe spoke about the wrestlers’ transition from actively competing to other jobs in wrestling, Julfalakyan shared insights on how collaboration between different bodies can power the clean sport drive, an important area where the UWW has continued its development work. Mattsson, who is now the head coach of the Swedish team, opened up on ways to support and train women’s wrestlers.

Nenad LALOVICNenad LALOVIC in a Q/A session with UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY.

Lalovic and Deqa NIAMKEY, the UWW Development Director, got the sessions underway with an intriguing discussion on the future of wrestling.

This topic continued to be a recurring theme as the new disciplines and associated styles were passionately talked about during the panel discussions.

Onur SIMSEKUWW Associated Styles Manager of UWW Onur SIMSEK.

Onur SIMSEK, the Associated Styles Manager of UWW, spoke about Amateur MMA, which he said is the 'modern version of pankration, our ancient asset.'

"Technically MMA is wrestling, Pankration is wrestling, traditional styles are wrestling and grappling is wrestling itself," Simsek told the audience. "Pankration is the fundamental of MMA with its philosophy not only in sports but teaching that a wrestler understands the sport. It keeps the richness in wrestling."

Simsek said it was important to govern these styles because the 'aim is to unite towards wrestling.' "So, we will govern all these styles today and in future too."

Lalovic echoed these sentiments, saying that ‘we want to prepare athletes who will one day join professional MMA leagues and competitions.'

"This is why we established a new department almost a year ago. We call this amateur MMA with protections," he said.

Pedro SILVAUWW Beach Wrestling Committee President Pedro SILVA.

Pedro SILVA, the President of the Wrestling Federation of Portugal and a UWW Bureau Member, underlined the growth of beach wrestling. He looked back at President Lalovic’s commitment to develop the style through statements made in 2018.

Acting on Lalovic’s comments, Silva said that in 2019, they went from ‘a yearly one event World Championship to a series of events, a world tour that would at the end produce a new world champion, new heroes.'

"We overhauled the rules, making them easier to understand, not only for the wrestling fans, but specifically for the new fans, the people that know nothing about wrestling," Silva said.

Pedro SILVAPedro SILVA, left, and UWW Sports Director Jean-Daniel REY. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Silva was optimistic that the Beach Wrestling events at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, would drive high engagement.

"Dakar 2026 is the first Olympic Games in Africa, and Beach Wrestling is the UWW style at the Games," he said. "The national sport of Senegal is traditional wrestling, which is very close to Beach Wrestling. We anticipate a big fan engagement and also on TV, on social media due to the specific popularity of the sport within the host country."