#Zagreb2019

Five "Must Watch" Matches from the Zagreb Open

By Eric Olanowski

There were countless great matches that took place over the two days of wrestling at the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Zageb Open, and we took the time to compile a list of the ten best matches with the most action and biggest storylines. 

82kg FINALS - Bulgaria's Daniel ALEKSANDROV erased a 7-0 opening-period deficit and scored eight unanswered points in the final period to upend returning world runner-up Emrah KUS (TUR), 8-7 in the 82kg Zagreb Open gold-medal bout. 

Aleksandrov trailed 7-0 after the first two minutes of action. He was dinged for passivity and thrown in the par terre position, where Kus grabbed four-points from a reverse lift and controlled the 5-0 advantage. Aleksandrov found himself down 7-0 after Kus grabbed another two for exposure, but got on the board with a step out point and trailed 7-1 heading into the second period. 

The Bulgarian exploded for seven unanswered points in the closing three minutes and hung on to the one-point lead, knocking off the noticeably deflated returning world runner-up, 8-7.

97kg FINALS - Ilia BORISOV (RUS) knocked off returning Budapest world runner-up Kiril MILOV (BUL) to win the 97kg Zagreb Open title. Borisov, the lone Russian finalist, tossed around the returning world finalist with ease and scored the 9-0 technical superiority victory in the opening period. 

Borisov grabbed the 1-0 lead after Milov was hit for passivity, then went to work in par terre, throwing Milov for four points and used a pair of gut wrenches to close out the 97kg gold-medal match with a 9-0 technical superiority victory. 

77kg QUARTERFINALS - Croatia's Bozo STARCEVIC stunned Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR), 8-2, in the quarterfinals, before ultimately winning his fifth consecutive Zagreb Open title. 

Starcevic avenged his 6-4 2016 Olympic bronze-medal bout loss to Kim, where the Korean wrestler claimed his second overall Olympic medal.

In their quarterfinals meeting on Saturday, Starcevic built a commanding 6-0 lead before Kim used an arm-spin to pick up his lone takedown, closing the deficit to 6-2. Starcevic somehow came away from Kim's arm-spin attempt with an exposure of his own and locked up his semifinals win with an 8-2 victory. 

130kg SEMIFINALS - Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) blasted U23 world silver medalist Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 9-0, in the semifinals, picking up his second consecutive victory over a world medalist. Abdullaev's first win over a world medalist came in the quarterfinals when he knocked off 2017 world bronze medalist Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI), 2-2.

The Uzbek nearly finished the job off and captured the 130kg gold medal but lost to Norway's Oskar MARVIK in the finals, 1-0. 

87kg SEMIFINALS - This all-Hungary semifinals bout was one of the Zagreb Open's most important matches. The reason being, Viktor LORINCZ and Erik SZILVASSY are battling for Hungary's 2019 Astana World Championship spot.

In their Zagreb Open semifinal's meeting, Lorincz scored the critical 3-0 win over the U23 world champion and grabbed a leg up on his fellow Hungarian heading into the second Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Hungarian Grand Prix.  

Lorincz went on to beat Sweden's Kristoffer BERG, 3-1 in the 87kg finals.

#BeachWrestling, #BeachWrestlingWorldSeries

With Dakar 2026 Approaching, UWW Ramps Up Beach Wrestling in Africa

By Vinay Siwach

CASABLANCA, Morocco (July 25) -- With Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games less than 500 days away, United World Wrestling is committed to reinforcing wrestling's presence on the African continent.

As a result, for the first time an African city will host the Beach Wrestling World Series. Casablanca, Morocco will see the third leg of the Beach Wrestling World Series from September 6-7, 2025, at the picturesque Ain Diab beach.

There is more in store for Africa. The final of the Beach Wrestling World Series will be held in Alexandria, Egypt on October 18 and 19, 2025.

UWW is calling for participants. REGISTER HERE!

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)

The World Series participants will be provided with top-class facilities including five-star hotel boarding, food in hotels and transportation to the competition venue. The conditions will therefore be exceptional for a Beach Wrestling event.

Prior to the World Series, the African Championships in U15, U17 and U20 age-groups will also be held in the same venue on September 4 and 5. All wrestlers who are 18 years or older from the African Championships can take part in the World Series as well.

This is not the first time UWW has stepped up its commitment to Beach Wrestling. Along with UWW Africa, UWW provided technical assistance to African wrestlers last year and has now decided to continue that for the U15 and U17 groups.

UWW reminds all countries that the participation in these tournaments is important as the same wrestlers can be considered with priority for the Youth Olympic Games while allotting the decided quotas for Dakar 2026.

UWW's vision is to develop the younger groups who will be part of the Youth Olympics in Dakar. And it was a step in that direction to start U15 competitions in Beach Wrestling from 2025.

Irina RINGACI (MDA)World champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) competes in Beach Wrestling in Porec, Croatia. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

One of the outcomes of its continued efforts was the participation numbers in the U17 Pan-Am Beach Wrestling Championships in Rio de Janeiro and the U17 Asian Beach Wrestling Championships in Vietnam this year.

The local organizing committee in Rio had to add one more ring to accommodate the participants during the event. At the Asian Championships, India, China, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam and other nations participated with full teams.

Similarly, the wrestlers are encouraged to participate in the U17 and U20 World Beach Wrestling Championships in Katerini-Pieria, Greece on September 25 and 26.

Check out beachwrestling.org for all Beach Wrestling News!

UWW's decisions underscore its deep commitment to uplifting and expanding the sport of wrestling across Africa, particularly with the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on the horizon.

For any queries, wrestlers, NFs or organizers can contact -- sports@uww.org.