Beach wrestling

Georgia Shines in ‘Beach Wrestling World Series’; Qatar and 2020 Season on the Horizon

By United World Wrestling Press

VEVEY, Switzerland (October 11) -- The 2019 Beach Wrestling World Series concluded last month in Zagreb with several of the world’s top beach grapplers wrestling for gold and securing top billing in the overall rankings.

Led by enigmatic Olympic bronze medalist Dato MARSAGISHVILI (90kg), Georgia captured a whopping three out of a possible four top place finishes in men’s beach wrestling.

Marsagishvili, Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (70kg), and Davit KHUTSISHVILI (80kg) earned the top ranking in their respective weight categories by winning each event they entered. Each of the three wrestlers claimed three gold medals in three attempts and scored 50,000 points.

Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE) finished No.1 at +90kg. The heavyweight wrestler competed in all four events, winning three gold medals and one silver to finish with 58,000 points.

Despite a runner-up finish in the rankings Semen RADULOV (UKR) wow'ed fans across the world with his big throws (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Two Ukrainian women, Kateryna MASHKEVYCH (50kg) and Anna MAZURKEVYCH (70kg), finished No. 1 in their respective weight categories. Both Mashkevych and Mazurkevych earned a pair of gold medals, competing in Odessa and Zagreb and finished with 40,000 points.

Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA) earned the No.1 ranking in the women's competition at 60kg after winning two gold medals and a silver medal in the World Series. Her golds came in Rio and Zagreb.

Aikaterini PITSIAVA (GRE) won three golds in three attempts and finished No.1 at +70kg.

Many of the top finishers, including Georgia’s World Series champions, will be in Doha October 15-16 to compete at the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games.

The 2020 Beach Wrestling World Series will again consist of four stops, with dates and locations to be announced in the coming weeks. At a meeting last month in Nur-Sultan more than 30 national federations from across all continents attended an informational session to help answer questions about the growing style.

National federations or wrestlers interested in learning more details about the 2020 events are asked to reach out to sports@unitedworldwrestling.org.

2019 Beach Wresting World Series Results

Men

70kg

1. Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO) 50,000

2. Semen RADULOV (UKR) 42,000

3. Michael PETERS (USA) 19,500

4. Miljan DUKANOVIC (SRB) 17,400

5. Luka MALOBABIC (CRO) 15,000

 

80kg

1. Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO) 50,000

2. Georgios KOULOUCHIDIS (GRE) 42,800

3. Aleksandar NIKOLIC (SRB) 19,500

4. Timotej TRBULIN (SLO) 17,400

5. Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE) 16,000

 

90kg

1. Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) 50,000

2. Christos SAMARTSIDIS (GRE) 34,500

3. Strahinja DERMANOVIC (SRB) 19,500

4. Domenik ANDREIC (CRO) 17,400

5. Murat OZKAN (TUR) 13,000

 

+90kg

1. Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE) 58,000

2. Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE) 44,300

3. Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) 35,300

4. Sabolc HORVAT (SRB) 17,400

5. Dorde PESUT (SRB) 15,000

 

Women

 

50kg

1. Kateryna MASHKEVYCH (UKR) 40,000

2. Carmen GOMES TEIXEIRA VIEIRA (POR) 31,000

3. Kristal BETANZO (USA) 24,000

4. Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA) 18,000

5. Stefania PRICEPUTU (ROU) 10,000

 

60kg

1. Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA) 48,000

2. Valeriia SEMONKINA ZLATOVA (UKR) 34,000

3. Isabel RODRIGUES (POR) 31,100

4. Pia KOCBEK (SLO) 17,400

5. Georgiana FILIP (ROU) 10,000

 

70kg

1. Anna MAZURKEVYCH (UKR) 40,000

2. Sonia PEREIRA BRAZIO (POR) 34,000

3. Diana BETANZO (USA) 24,000

4. Sara TRBULIN (SLO) 17,400

5. Adina Elena POPESCU (ROU) 10,000

 

+70kg

1. Aikaterini PITSIAVA (GRE) 50,000

2. Iryna PASICHNYK (UKR) 24,000

3. Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) 10,000

4. Halyna KOVALSKA (UKR) 8,000

5. Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR) 8,000

2026 U23 European Championships

Eriomenco, Amirov Return to U23 European Finals

By Vinay Siwach

ZRENJANIN, Serbia (March 13) -- World bronze medalist and returning champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) will try to defend his 63kg Greco-Roman title at U23 European Championships on Saturday.

Eriomenco reached the final in Zrenjanin, Serbia after a dominated performance on Friday, winning three bouts with little trouble. In the semifinals, Eriomenco blanked Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 4-0.

But standing between him and a second straight gold medal is Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (RUS), bronze medalist at the 2025 U23 World Championships, in which Eriomenco won silver.

Shungurtsikov did not have a smooth passage to the final but managed to hold off Jan GAMELIUS (SWE), 4-3, in the semifinal. Both wrestlers scored one turn each when put in par terre but Shungurtsikov did it in the second period to hold 3-3 criteria lead. Sweden challenged the correct throw but lost which made the score 4-3.

Russia was the most successful country on Friday with four finalists. Apart from Shungurtsikov, Alibek AMIROV (RUS), Imam ALIEV (RUS) and Danil GRIGOREV (RUS) will also wrestle for gold.

Defending champion Alibek AMIROV (RUS) will look to repeat after he sailed through to the 55kg final and will take on Farid SADIKHLI (AZE). Amirov used a gut-wrench to beat Sercan KESGIN (TUR), 9-0, in the semifinal.

Sadikhli managed to turn Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO) and take a 3-3 criteria lead for scoring the last point and won with the same score.

Returning silver medalist at 87kg Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA) will look to win gold this time when he takes on Imam ALIEV (RUS) in the final. Karchaidze dominated the semifinal, winning 11-1 against Yassine BEN LABED (POL), who earlier defeated Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO).

Aliev faced tough challenge from Martin LJOSAAK (NOR) in the other semifinal and needed more than a few stepouts to win 13-7.

For Grigorev, the semifinal against U17 world champion Kiryl VALEUSKI (BLR) was a low scoring one as he won 3-0. Interestingly, there was no par terre in the second period of the bout.

He will face Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM) in the final after the Armenian held off former U17 world champion Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA), 1-1, winning the match on criteria of scoring first point.

At 130kg, U20 world and European champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) entered his first U23 European Championships final after a 6-0 shutout victory over Sebastian WARCHOL (POL) in the semifinal.

For the gold medal, Darabos will face Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), a surprise finalist. He defeated Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR), 6-0, after two counter attacking takedowns. Yankovskyi was hit with a leg foul when defending during the second takedown.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Farid SADIKHLI (AZE) vs. Alibek AMIROV (RUS)

SF 1: Alibek AMIROV (RUS) df. Sercan KESGIN (TUR), 9-0
SF 2: Farid SADIKHLI (AZE) df. Koba KARUMIDZE (GEO), 3-3

63kg
GOLD: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) vs. Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (RUS)

SF 1: Dordzhi SHUNGURTSIKOV (RUS) df. Jan GAMELIUS (SWE), 4-3
SF 2: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO), 4-0

77kg
GOLD: Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM) vs. Danil GRIGOREV (RUS)

SF 1: Danil GRIGOREV (RUS) df. Kiryl VALEUSKI (BLR), 3-0
SF 2: Samvel TERTERYAN (ARM) df. Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA), 1-1

87kg
GOLD: Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA) vs. Imam ALIEV (RUS)

SF 1: Imam ALIEV (RUS) df. Martin LJOSAAK (NOR), 13-7
SF 2: Vladimeri KARCHAIDZE (FRA) df. Yassine BEN LABED (POL), 11-1

130kg
GOLD: Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) vs. Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)

SF 1: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Sebastian WARCHOL (POL), 6-0
SF 2: Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR), 6-0