#WrestleNewDelhi

Fumita Rolls Into Greco 60kg Final; Korea, Iran Put 3 Each Into Gold-Medal Matches

Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - 10:36 By Ken Marantz

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NEW DELHI (Feb. 19)---World champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) went with what works best to earn a shot at regaining his Asian title, while Korea had a productive day in putting three wrestlers into the five Greco-Roman finals on the second day of the Asian Championships.

Iran also has three finalists, while Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have one each as the Greco-Roman competition will wrap up in the night session Wednesday at New Delhi’s K.D. Jahrav Wrestling Stadium.

Fumita, who added the 2019 world title in Nur-Sultan to the one he won two years earlier in Paris, chalked up a pair of 9-0 technical falls to advance to the 60kg final, where he will face Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ).

In the semifinals, Fumita handily ousted defending champion Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB). Last year in Xi’an, China, Bakhramov won the gold when Fumita, who had trouble making weight, lost in the semifinals and had to settle for a bronze. 

As he did in his opening match Wednesday against Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)—a fellow bronze medalist in 2019—Fumita used a high body lock in the par terre position to score numerous times with a simple tilt or a roll through. 

Against Gyanender, Fumita pulled off the move four times to end the match in 1:38, but could only manage three times against Bakhramov. Fumita concluded the latter match with a flair, executing an arm throw that ended with Bakhramov on top of the Japanese, who only had to buck him off outside the circle for a forceout point at 3:23. An unsuccessful challenge resulted in the final 9-0 score. 

“That’s my specialty,” Fumita said of the high-body lock. “I did it at the World Championships and it worked well. Nobody comes at my in the standing position, so I want to show, hey let’s take it to the ground. If they don’t want to go to the ground, they come at me at standing and I can try my throws.”

Fumita said he started his weight reduction earlier for this year’s tournament and it went well. “I think I can wrestle at my usual level,” he said.

The Japanese star also said he didn’t regard Bakhramov any differently because the Uzbeki had won the gold last year. “I wasn’t thinking about that,” he said. “But I’ve known him for a long time. I’m glad I was able to solidly win.” 

Sharshenbekov, the 2018 world and Asian silver medalist at 55kg, advanced with a 9-2 win over Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI). He survived a scare in the qualification round, when he needed a spin-behind takedown with :14 left to beat Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) 7-6.

RYU Hansu (KOR) will wrestle Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) in the 67kg finals for a chance at retaining his Asian crown. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

In other action, former world champion RYU Hansu (KOR) will get a chance to defend his Asian title at 67kg when he joined the Korean parade into the finals by beating Hossein ASSADI KOLMATI (IRI) 5-1 in the semifinals. 

Ryu took a 1-0 lead into the second period when, gaining a passivity point and put on top in the par terre, he rolled the Iranian, then added an arm-drag takedown to clinch the match. 

In the final, Ryu will face Matteo Pellicone ranking series event winner Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB), who eked out a 4-4 win on criteria over Ashu ASHU (IND).

The other two finals involving Koreans will see them into head-to-head clashes with Iranians. 

At 82kg, which has just seven entries and used the preliminary group system, CHOI Junhyeong (KOR) will face 2018 world U-23 bronze medalist Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI), having beaten current world U-23 bronze medalist Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ), 3-0 in the semifinals. 

Ebrahimi pulled off a mild upset when he held on for a 6-5 victory over Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), a world bronze medalist at 77kg who was competing at the higher weight.

The 97kg final will be clash between LEE Seyeol (KOR) and Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI). Lee topped Muhammadali SHAMSIDDINOV (UZB) 3-1, while Saravi pinned Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in 1:42.

Korean Greco coach JUNG Jihyun chalked up the team’s success to a number of factors. 

“There is a big competition coming up, and some nations didn’t participate in this tournament, so that’s why we did well,” he said, referring to the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament to be held next month and withdrawals here by China and two other countries due to circumstances related to the new coronavirus. 

“And in Korea, we practiced very hard and it was also a reason for our good results today.”

Almin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) will square off against Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) in the 72kg gold-medal match. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

At 72kg, Almin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) edged 2019 bronze medalist Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ) 3-0 to set up a final with Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ), who ended local hopes for a gold by beating Aditya KUNDU (IND) by 9-0 technical fall.

Day 2 results

Greco-Roman

60kg (10 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) by TF, 9-0, 3:23 
SEMIFINAL – Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), 9-2 

67kg (11 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) df. Ashu ASHU (IND), 4-4
SEMIFINAL – RYU Hansu (KOR) df. Hossein ASSADI KOLMATI (IRI), 5-1

72kg (9 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Almin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) df. Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ), 3-0
SEMIFINAL – Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) df. Aditya KUNDU (IND) by TF, 9-0, 1:48

82kg (7 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI) df. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), 6-5
SEMIFINAL – CHOI Junhyeong (KOR) df. Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ), 3-0

97kg (10 entries)
SEMIFINAL – LEE Seyeol (KOR) df. Muhammadali SHAMSIDDINOV (UZB), 3-1 
SEMIFINAL – Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) by Fall, 1:42 (5-0)

#WrestleNoviSad

Farokhi, Hedayati lead Iran's golden charge at U23 Worlds

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 - 15:58 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 21) -- Iran’s Greco-Roman dominance shows no signs of slowing down. After winning team titles at the U17 World Championships in Athens, the U20 Worlds in Samokov, and the senior event in Zagreb, Iran looks poised to complete a clean sweep in Novi Sad as Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) claimed gold medals at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2025 on Tuesday.

World champion Farokhi and defending champion Hedayati, who celebrated his birthday as well on Tuesday, won gold medals in dominant fashion at 87kg and 130kg respectively.

"I was able to win two back-to-back tough matches at the World Championships and bring home two gold medals," Farokhi said. "These were high-level competitions."

Farokhi, a gold medalist at 82kg in Zagreb, moved up to 87kg for Novi Sad but had no troubles in switching weights. As he did in Zagreb, Farokhi brought his best game in par terre and rolled to his second gold in one month after a 9-0 victory in the final against Ivan CHMYR (UKR), his fifth technical superiority victory.

After being put on top in par terre, Farokhi launched a trap-arm gut and turned Chmyr four times for the win. Ukraine threw one of those ever increasing challenges for no reason but lost it to add one more point to Farokhi's score.

"When you move up a weight class, the opponents are definitely stronger and tougher," Farokhi said. "It was a good experience, and it gave me a better sense of how I can perform at 87 kg -- an Olympic weight class"

Hedayati, who has not lost an international bout since his 2022 U20 World Championships finals loss, showed why he will dominate the 130kg weight class for years to come.

Up against Razmik KURDYAN (ARM) in the final, Hedayati began with takedown on the edge for two points. Kurdyan was put in par terre and from there Hedayati turned him twice to extend his lead to 7-0. With just 23 seconds left before the break, Hedayati scored a stepout to finish the final 8-0 and claim his second straight U23 world title.

At 63kg, Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) upended returning 63kg U23 world champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3, in the final using a four-point suplex from par terre to score his points.

Eriomenco, who had defeated Babashov in the U23 European finals, looked very dominant in run up to the final while Babashov had some tough bouts on Monday. But the Azerbaijan wrestler began aggressively and managed to earn first par terre advantage.

He performed a suplex for four points to make his lead 5-0 and take huge step towards winning his first ever world title. He further consolidated his position when he defended from par terre in the second period and gave up only stepout to Eriomenco as the score changed to 5-2.

Babashov then countered an attack from the Moldova wrestler and forced him to stepout outside to extend his lead to 6-2. He gave up one more stepout but held on to the 6-3 lead to win the gold medal.

With the win, he now leads the head-to-head against Eriomenco 2-1 as both have traded victories at 2024 U23 European Championships and its 2025 edition with the Moldovan one being the more recent winner.

Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) holds off Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) in the 77kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

A silver medalist from 2023 at the U23 Worlds, Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) managed to win gold at 77kg as he defeated Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1, in the final.

Orjonikidze was himself to blame for the loss as he committed a defensive leg foul in the first period when Mirzoiev got the par terre position and as he was trying to lift, Orjonikidze blocked him with his leg, giving a 3-0 lead to the Ukrainian.

Georgia challenged the decision but on review, it was confirmed that a leg foul was indeed committed. The lost challenge gave one more point to Mirzoiev.

Orjonikidze got the par terre position in the second period but he failed to score any points and Mirzoiev easily defended his 4-1 lead to eventually claimed the gold medal.

Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR)Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) defeated Richard KARELSON (EST) in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Yakushenko closer to U23 title

U20 world champion Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) is a win away from winning his second world tittle three months after he reached the 97kg final at U23 World Championships. He defeated European Championships silver medalist Richard KARELSON (EST) 6-3 in the semifinals.

Karelson tried to make a match of it but Yakushenko scored a four-pointer from par terre to lead 5-0 before Karelson scored a takedown. But Yakushenko got a stepout to lead 6-2. He defended his lead despite Karelson getting par terre in the second period.

He will face Asian U23 champion Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) who rolled to a 9-1 win over Maksim AVERIN (UWW), scoring four turns from par terre in the second period.

At 55kg, U23 European champion Alibek AMIROV (UWW) will face Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) in the final after he defeated Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) in the semifinal. Amirov was down 2-1 when he got the 

Aliyev hit a beautiful headlock for four against 2024 U17 world champion Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) before securing the fall in the semifinal.

Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) will take on Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) for the gold medal at 67kg after he defeated Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1, having the criteria from the first point score in a 1-1 finish.

Andelrehim led 4-1 when his opponent in the semifinal, Attila JOZSA (HUN), injury default for a leg injury.

Seven years after winning the U17 World Championships gold medal, Abror ATABAEV (UZB) will have a chance to win a second world title after he reached the 72kg final. After getting the first par terre and 1-1 lead against Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), Atabaev defended his par terre position and kept the 1-1 criteria lead.

Maulitkanov threw everything at Atabaev in the final two minutes but the Uzbekistan defended all the attacks. Atabaev was close to giving up a takedown in the final 15 seconds but he managed to keep himself up and then score a pushout to lead 2-1. Kazakhstan challenged the call but it was a clear stepout and the lost challenge made it 3-1 for Atabaev.

He will face former Asian champion Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) for gold after the Iranian defended his 1-1 criteria lead against Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM). The final will be battle of two Asian champion as Atabaev won that title in 2023.

RESULTS

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 6-3

BRONZE: Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (UWW) df. Servet ANGI (TUR), 6-1
BRONZE: Adham ELSAYED (EGY) df. Kuttubek ABDURAZAKOV (KGZ), 3-2

77kg
GOLD: Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) df. Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), 3-3
BRONZE: Levente LEVAI (HUN) df. Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN), 4-2

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Ivan CHMYR (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Payton JACOBSON (USA) df. Lachin VALIYEV (AZE), 5-3
BRONZE: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Yassine BEN LABED (POL), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), 8-0

BRONZE: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Aleksandr MELEKHOV (UWW) df. Artur SARKISJAN (CZE), 9-1

Semifinals

55kg
GOLD: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)  vs. Alibek AMIROV (UWW)

SF 1: Elmir ALIYEV (AZE) df. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall (5-1)
SF 2: Alibek AMIROV (UWW) df. Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ), via fall (7-2)

67kg
GOLD: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) vs. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY)

SF 1: Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (UWW), 1-1
SF 2: Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY) df. Attila JOZSA (HUN), via inj. def. (4-1)

72kg
GOLD: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)

SF 1: Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), 1-1
SF 2: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) vs. Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ)

SF 1: Yehor YAKUSHENKO (UKR) df. Richard KARELSON (EST), 6-3 
SF 2: Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) df. Maksim AVERIN (UWW), 9-1