#WrestlePontevedra

Georgia and Hungary Win Two Golds; Russia Claims Team Title

Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 18:50 By Eric Olanowski

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (June 5) –  The Russian Federation, who had a solo champion and medaled at eight of ten weight classes, won the Greco-Roman team title at the Junior European Championships with 159 points; but it was Georgia (151 points) and Hungary (124 points) who finished in second and third place respectively that stole the show on Day 3 – each claiming a pair of Greco-Roman gold medals. 

Chkhikvadze and Shotadze Boost Georgia to Second-Place Finish 
A very familiar scene filled Pabellón Municipal De Los Deportes De Pontevedra during the Greco-Roman gold-medal finals – the Georgian faithful on their feet, waving flags and cheering for their wrestlers to come out on top of their gold-medal bout. 

Their support pushed three Georgian’s to gold medals and helped their nation to a second-place finish, eight points behind eventual champions Russia.  

On Tuesday night, it was 55kg champion Pridon ABULADZE who brought the crowd to their feet with 7-6 come-from-behind win, and on Wednesday, it was Diego CHKHIKVADZE and Giorgi SHOTADZE who carried the Georgian flag around the mat after winning the 60kg and 67kg titles, respectively. 

Chkhikvadze controlled the 60kg finals against Asgar ALIZADA (AZE) by one point after the first period, then tossed the Azeri wrestler for four points in the second period and closed out the finals with a five-point victory. Chkhikvadze’s run to the 60kg title is a major improvement from his 2018 cadet European performance when he finished in 14th place. 

Georgia’s second champion of the day and third overall gold-medal winner was Giorgi Shotadze, who had an easier time winning a gold medal than his fellow Georgian countrymen. Shotadze handled Hayk MELIKYAN (ARM), 9-0 in the 67kg finals. The Georgian carried the 6-0 lead into the second period, then scored a step out and a defensive takedown, and closed out the match, 9-0.

Istvan TAKACS (HUN), the 82kg champion, was one of three Hungarian gold-medal winners. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Takacs and Szoke Help Hungary to Third Place Finish Gives
Istvan TAKACS and Alex SZOKE joined fellow Hungarian Tamas LEVAI (77kg champion) in the winner’s circle after claiming the 82kg and 97kg gold medals, respectively. Their three gold medals helped Hungary move ahead of Turkey for the third-place spot on the team podium with 124 points. 

It was Takacs’ first appearance in the European finals and he made the most of it. The Hungarian, whose highest previous finish came in 2017 when he finished in third place, caught Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH (UKR) on his heels and scored the match's first takedown. Takacs quickly transitioned into a pair of guts and had the 6-0 lead after the first 60 seconds. Takacs finished the match with an underhook throw by and gave Hungary 25 additional team points with his 8-0 destruction Andriiovych. 

Hungary’s second champion of the day was Alex SZOKE (HUN). Szoke was tied with his 82kg finals opponent Patrick NEUMAIER (GER) heading into the final minute after the pair traded inactivity points; but the Hungarian struck at the one-minute mark, scoring the match-deciding takedown to win the bout, 3-1.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) ended the 72kg finals match early after scoring eight quick points against Mihai PETIC (MDA). (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

World Champion Amoyan Annihilates Petic in 72kg Finals 
Armenia’s reigning junior world champion Malkhas AMOYAN emptied the tank on Tuesday night and used up the entire six minutes just to make the finals. He trailed by three points with 15 second left but scored a takedown and stepout and stole the 72kg finals spot from 2016 cadet world silver medalist Sergei STEPANOV (RUS). 

The story was completely different for Amoyan on Wednesday night. There was still 30 seconds left in the first period when the Armenian picked up the technical superiority victory. Amoyan annihilated Mihai PETIC (MDA), 8-0 in the opening period with a pair of takedowns and a pair of lifts and won his first junior European title after finishing in third place the past two years. Although this was his first junior-level European title, Amoyan did win the 2016 69kg cadet European title in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Women's wrestling takes over on Thursday. Action begins at 11:00 (local time) and can be followed on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

RESULTS

Final Team Scores 
GOLD - Russia (159 points)
SILVER - Georgia (151 points)
BRONZE - Hungary (124 points)
Fourth - Turkey (95 points)
Fifth - Armenia (93 points)
 

60kg 
GOLD - Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) df. Asgar ALIZADA (AZE), 8-3 
BRONZE - Anar MANSUROV (RUS) df. Ivo Krasimirov ILIEV (BUL), 6-4
BRONZE - Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM) df. Myroslav SOLOVIAN (UKR), 9-0

67kg
GOLD - Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Hayk MELIKYAN (ARM), 9-0 
BRONZE - Eldar HASANAU (BLR) df. Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR), 3-1 
BRONZE - Aker AL OBAIDI (AUT) df. Abdulvakhab Riachitovitch ASAINOV (RUS), 7-2 

77kg
GOLD - Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) vs. Mihai PETIC (MDA)
BRONZE - Ismail GUN (TUR) vs. Sergei STEPANOV (RUS) 
BRONZE - Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO) df. Ihor BYCHKOV (UKR), 7-3 

82kg
GOLD - Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Vitalii ANDRIIOVYCH (UKR), 8-0 
BRONZE - Karlo KODRIC (CRO) vs. Lucas Alexandros LAZOGIANIS (GER) 
BRONZE - Stanislav PSEUNOV (RUS) df. Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE), 3-0 

97kg
GOLD - Alex SZOKE (HUN) vs. Patrick NEUMAIER (GER)
BRONZE - Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR) vs. Gerard Cyprian KURNICZAK (POL) 
BRONZE - Uladzislau PUSTASHYLAU (BLR) df. Koka GARIBADZE (GEO), 7-1  

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Double delight for Japan, Sujeet gives India gold

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 22:39 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 17) -- Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) and world silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) showed on Thursday why they will be prime contenders for gold medal at the World Championships in Zagreb in September.

Suda and Aoyagi earned two gold medals at 61kg and 70kg respectively, and reminded the world about Freestyle powerhouse Yamanashi Gakuin University in Japan.

Suda, who has not lost a match this year, won his second Ranking Series gold medal in 2025, adding to his gold from Tirana. But he needed a big comeback in the 61kg final against Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) in the dying seconds, winning 5-3.

Zhumashbek Uulu led 3-1 with 13 seconds remaining in the match when Suda used a snap to off balance Zhumashbek Uulu and go behind. He tried a takedown but then switches the direction and brings Zhumashbek Uulu to the mat, back first.

Zhumashbek Uulu tried to defend it with a whizzer but failed and Suda turned on his head without any danger to get the two points and win 3-3 on criteria. Kyrgyzstan challenged the call but on review, Suda was awarded four points and the scored changed to a 5-3 win for the Japanese.

In February, Suda won the gold medal in Tirana after an 8-8 victory over Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) and then won the Asian Championships gold medal over UDIT (IND) 6-4 in March.

Zhumashbek Uulu, who won Mongolian Open in June at 65kg, returned to 61kg after an year of competing at 65kg. He defeated Udit earlier in the day and reached the final but failed to cross the final hurdle.

With the win, Suda has clearly shown signs that he will be a gold-medal threat in Zagreb at 61kg, a weight class won by his high school and university teammate Masanosuke ONO (JPN) in 2024.

Aoyagi, who had also won gold medal in Tirana, was more dominant in his gold medal run. In Tirana, European silver medalist Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) had pulled out injured in the final.

Incidentally, he made the final against Aoyagi in Budapest on Thursday and this time he decided to wrestler. However, the winner was the same.

Aoyagi used a head-in-the-hole move to score four points in his 8-0 victory in the final of the 70kg weight class. Andreasyan had no answer to Aoyagi's attack despite being in advantageous positions during the final.

The Armenian was put on the activity clock during which he failed to score and gave up four points. Aoyagi, leading 5-0, won a challenge when Andreasyan was awarded two points for a takedown but on review, it was clear that Andreasyan had both his feet outside before completing a takedown.

With a 6-0 lead, Aoyagi scored a beautiful duck-under for two points and lead 8-0, the final score for the winner.

SUJEET (IND)SUJEET (IND) celebrates after beating Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet ends Indian drought

India failed to win any gold medals at the senior level in 2025 as it drew blank at the Asian Championships in March and Mongolian Open in June. However, Asian U23 champion SUJEET (IND) ended that curse for India by winning the 65kg gold medal in Budapest.

While he has age-group world and continental medals, Sujeet's run in Budapest and gold medal can be considered his biggest medal yet as he defeated Paris bronze medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB) in the first bout, European U23 silver medalist Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) in the quarterfinal and world medalist Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) in the semifinal.

Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) was up in the final and Sujeet, who showed glimpses of Tokyo bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND), made sure he doesn't let his guard down in the last match.

Sujeet conceded an activity point in the first period and was down 1-0 at the break against Rahimzade. But as soon as the second period began, Sujeet put pressure on Rahimzade, who kept dropping on his knees in the zone to avoid the pushout.

But Sujeet did not back down and scored a takedown when Rahimzade was on the activity clock. Leading 3-1, Sujeet added another takedown and completed a 5-1 victory over Rahimzade and captured the gold medal, his first of Ranking Series events.

At 57kg, world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) needed three straight comebacks to win the gold medal. He defeated Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) 3-1 in the final to capture his first gold at the senior level.

Lilledahl scored a takedown using a reattack with 20 seconds remaining in the match against Bazarganov to clinch a 3-1 win. His semifinal victory over RAHUL (IND) was even more dramatic as he managed to come back from 6-2.

Rahul used a leg-turk to score six point and lead 6-2 but Lilledahl scored a stepout and then blocked an attempted duck-under and put Rahul's back on the mat for two points. In the final 20 seconds, he threw off Rahul when the Indian was trying to hit a double-leg attack and won 7-6. In his first bout of the day, he scored a pushout with just 0.01 seconds left on the clock and dashed the dreams of Niklas STECHELE (GER).

World silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) returned to 79kg from 86kg and instantly showed results, winning the gold medal in Budapest. He blanked Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 5-0, in the final

At 125kg, Bahrain won its second gold of the tournament as Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) defeated Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW), 5-3.

Photo

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 3-1

BRONZE: RAHUL (IND) df. Niklas STECHELE (GER), 4-0
BRONZE: Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW) df. Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 10-0

61kg
GOLD: Takara SUDA (JPN) df. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ), 5-3

BRONZE: Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) df. Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR), 4-3
BRONZE: Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) df. Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE), 5-1

BRONZE: Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO) df. Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN), 7-7
BRONZE: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 9-0

70kg
GOLD: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), 8-0

BRONZE: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Austin GOMEZ (MEX), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) df. Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI), 11-4

79kg
GOLD: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) df. Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 5-0

BRONZE: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Lucas KAHNT (GER), 10-0
BRONZE: Fariborz BABAEI (IRI) df. Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ), 2-0

97kg
GOLD: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) df. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), 11-0

BRONZE: Jonathan AIELLO (USA) df. Juhwan SEO (KOR), 10-0
BRONZE: Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) df. Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), 9-4

125kg
GOLD: Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW), 5-3

BRONZE: Robert BARAN (POL) df. Demetrius THOMAS (USA), 6-0
BRONZE: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Vladislav BAJCAJEV (HUN), 3-0