#Bishkek2018

Geraei Leads Trio of Iranians into Greco Finals

Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - 14:23 By Ken Marantz

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Mohommadali GERAEI was among three Iranians to earn spots in the finals of Greco-Roman on the opening day of the Asian Championships. The Paris 2017 world bronze medalist might have felt he's already wrestled a championship-level match.

Geraei opened his bid for a continental gold by having to get past Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ), a gold medalist at last year's tournament in New Delhi and a holder of four Asian medals. 

Geraei scored on a step-out in the first period, then added a takedown in the second for a hard-fought 3-0 victory. He then took care of Bakhtovar KHASANOV (TJK) and Shohei YABIKU by technical falls to advance to the final in the night session against New Delhi 2017 bronze medalist YANG Bin. 

The two other Iranian finalists on the first day of the six-day championships at the Kozhomkul Sports Palace, Hossein NOURI (87kg) and Behnam MEHDIZADEH (130kg), will be aiming for back-to-back titles. 

Well-supported host Krygyzstan, Japan and Uzbekistan all had two wrestlers advance to the finals, while China filled the remaining spot.

Zholaman SHARSENBEKOV (KGZ) advanced to the 55kg gold-medal match against Shota TANOKURA (JPN), who had retired from the sport but returned when the UWW revived the 55kg weight class. 

In arguably the most exciting match of the day, Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) rallied from an 8-3 deficit to defeat Paris 2017 world silver medalist Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ) 13-8 in the semifinals at 63kg. 

Tasmuradov can expect plenty of noise during the final, when he takes on Urmalbek AMATOV (KGZ), who survived a thrilling semifinal encounter himself by beating Takayuki INOGUCHI (JPN) for an 8-7 win. 

At 87kg, Nouri's final hurdle in his bid for consecutive golds will come in the form of Masato SUMI (JPN), who had his first big international success last November with a title at the Dave Schultz Memorial. The 130kg final will pit Mehdizadeh against Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) in a rematch of their semifinal encounter last year in New Delhi won by the Iranian.


Greco-Roman

55kg (10 entries)
Gold - Zholaman SHARSENBEKOV (KGZ) v  Shota TANOKURA  (JPN) 
Bronze –  Khroian ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) v CAO Liguo (CHN) 
Bronze – Javokhir MIRAKHMEDOV (UZB) v Kumar RAJENDER (IND)

Semifinal – Zholaman SHARSENBEKOV (KGZ) df. CAO Linguo (CHN), by TF, 8-0, 2:21
Semifinal – Shota TANOKURA  (JPN)  df. Javokhir MIRAKHMEDOV (UZB), 6-0

63kg (9 entries)
Gold - Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) v  Urmalbek AMATOV (KGZ) 
Bronze –  Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ) v Vikram KURADE  (IND) 
Bronze –  JUNG Dokyung (KOR) v Takayuki INOGUCHI (JPN)

Semifinal – Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) df. Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ), 13-8
Semifinal – Urmalbek AMATOV (KGZ) df. Takayuki INOGUCHI (JPN) 8-7

77kg (12 entries)
Gold - YANG Bin (CHN) v  Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) 
Bronze –  Shermet PERMANOV (TKM) v Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
Bronze – Maxat Yerezhepov (KAZ) v Shohei YABIKU (JPN)

Semifinal – YANG Bin (CHN) df. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), 5-1
Semifinal – Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Shohei YABIKU (JPN), by TF, 8-0, 4:23

87 kg (10 entries)
Gold - Hossein NOURI (IRI) v Masato SUMI (JPN) 
Bronze –  Husham THAALEBI (IRQ) v PENG Fei (CHN)
Bronze – Azai BEISHEBEKOV (KGZ) v Khussein MUTSOLGOV (KAZ)

Semifinal – Hossein NOURI (IRI) df. PENG Fei (CHN)
Semifinal – Masato SUMI (JPN) df. Khussein MUTSOLGOV (KAZ), 4-2
 
130 kg (10 entries)
Gold - Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)  v  Behnam MEHDIZADEH (IRI) 
Bronze –  Murat RAMONOV (KGZ) v Anton SAVENKO (KAZ)
Bronze – Naveen NAVEEN (IND) v NIE Xiaoming (CHN)

Semifinal – Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)  df. Anton SAVENKO (KAZ), by TF, 8-0, :58
Semifinal – Behnam MEHDIZADEH (IRI) df. NIE Xiaoming (CHN), 6-4

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2026 Day 2 Results & Highlights

Thursday, June 4, 2026 - 17:14 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 5) -- The second day of the Ulaanbaatar Open will feature three Greco-Roman and five Women's Wrestling weight classes. Iran, Bulgaria and India won two Greco-Roman gold medals each on day one of the competition.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

Semifinals with Greco-Roman

12:40: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) stuns Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) in Round 3 at 63kg! Sharshenbekov did not score from par terre in the first period. On the other hand, Keshtkar scored an exposure from par terre to lead 3-1 and Sharshenbekov committed a defensive foul to give two more points to Keshtkar which Iran got only after a challenge. As the bout restarted in par terre, Keshtkar lifted Sharshenbekov and threw him for two points while the Kyrgyzstan wrestler committed a leg foul. Kyrgyzstan challenged for no foul but lost it and Keshtkar got another point, taking his score to 10-1.

12:30: Solid match between European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) and MUSKAN (IND). Ana with a takedown and then two trap arm guts to lead 6-0. Muskan got one back and scored a takedown to make it 6-2. But Ana scored another takedown before the break to lead 8-2. Both kept exchange takedowns in the second period but Ana managed to keep her lead at 10-6 with 1:33 left. She then scored a stepout and three different takedown to complete her victory.

12:15: MEENAKSHI (IND) is no match for world champion Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) who gets a 10-0 victory in just over a minute. She scores a takedown and lace to lead 6-0 before scoring another counter takedown and a roll for four more points.

12:10: World silver medalist Il Sim SON (PRK) begins with a 11-0 victory over Danielle LIM (SGP) at 57kg. She needed only a minute and 36 seconds to roll Lim

11:45: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) secures his places in the semifinals with Round 2 victory over Sunny KUMAR (IND). Sharshenbekov did not score from par terre but managed to bring down Kumar for four points using a body lock. He then defended par terre in the second period to complete the win at 63kg

11:35: All-Iranian bout at 63kg in Round 2 between Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) and Erfan JARKANI (IRI). Keshtkar gets the first par terre and he lifts Jarkani, tosses him for four points. Jarkani cannot do the same when he gets the par terre in the second period. He challenges for something not evident but loses it and Keshtkar leads 6-1. Jarkani gets a point for Keshtkar's foul but the latter wins 6-2. The win also confirms Keshtkar's spot on the Iran team for the 2026 World Championships

11:20: World champion at 55kg, Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) was a little rusty in the first period against Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) at 53kg. She tripped the Mongolian for a four-pointer but also gave up for four on a cutback. However, she switches gears in the second period and rolls to a 14-4 victory.

11:05: European silver medalist Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) with a fall in Round 1 of the Nordic bracket at 72kg against HARSHITA (IND). Choler led 4-0 before countering a deep attack from the Indian and sticking her to the mat for the fall.

10:55: Out comes the lace from Pyol HONG (PRK) against Enkhtuvshin BALJINNYAM (MGL) and she rolls to a 10-0 technical superiority win at 59kg.

10:52: Bediha GUN (TUR) scored the opening takedown in her Round 1 bout against Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) at 59kg. But the Mongolia uses an arm-bar to secure the fall over Gun in the second period.

10:45: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) returns to the mat for close to two years and begins with a win. In his 63kg Round 1 bout, Sharshenbekov was up against Erfan JARKANI (IRI) and holds off the Iranian 1-1 on first-point criteria. Jarkani was given par terre twice in the second period, one with 30 seconds remaining, but Sharshenbekov defended both times. Since it's a Nordic bracket, the two can face each other again in the final.

10:30: Ulaanbaatar Open will enter the second day with five Women's Wresting weight classes and the remaining three Greco-Roman weights. Here are the results from day one of the tournament.