#Zagreb2018

Gold Medal Wealth Spread Among Five Nations on First Night of #Zagreb2018 Greco Finals

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – Five different national anthems rang on Saturday night as five countries collected gold medals in the first night of the Greco-Roman finals at the Cadet World Championships in  Zagreb, Croatia.

At 48 kg, Abror ATABAEV (UZB), who took bronze at this year’s Asian Championships, came out on top, defeating Asian gold medalist Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI), 4-4.

Put down for passivity, Atabaev maneuvered his way to a front headlock for a four-point throw, which ultimately gave the Uzbek the win on criteria.

Atabaev became only the third wrestler from Uzbekistan to win a Cadet Greco World title.

2018 Asian bronze medalist Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) scored seven points in his shutout win over Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO) in the 55 kg finals.

Khounsari only led 2-0 at the break but separated himself in the last minute with a takedown and also capitalizing on an attempted throw by Pertaia for exposure en route to his first World title.

Russia won a World title at 65 kg when 2018 European champion Muslim IMADAEV (RUS) defeated 2016 European champion Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) in a 3-0 match.

Imadaev scored on a gut when Khachatryan was put down in par terre. It was an early lead that the Russian held on to for the gold.

At 80 kg, Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM) got behind European champion Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) in the first 30 seconds for a takedown, which would be all he needed to win a Cadet World title.

Khachatryan redeems a fifth-place finish from Euros earlier this year.

To close out the night, European champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) dominated in the 110 kg final over two-time European bronze medalist Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE).

En route to his 9-0 tech fall, Bakir scored on two takedowns and a gutwrench.

The 2018 Cadet World Championships wrap up tomorrow, starting with repechage action at 10 a.m. ET, followed by medal matches at 12 p.m. ET live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Greco-Roman team scores going into final day (top 10)
1. Iran – 75
2. Georgia - 54
3. Russia - 51
4. Uzbekistan - 50
5. Armenia - 45
6. Turkey - 33
7. Azerbaijan - 32
8. Kazakhstan - 32
9. Belarus - 25
10. Moldova - 20

Finals results

48 kg
GOLD - Abror ATABAEV (UZB)
SILVER - Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI)
BRONZE - Arshad ARSHAD (IND)
BRONZE – Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)

1st - Abror Atabaev (Uzbekistan) dec. Sajjad Abbaspourragani (Iran),4-4
3rd - Arshad Arshad (India) fall Leonid Moroz (Moldova), 1:09
3rd - Iskhar Kurbayev (Kazakhstan) dec. Islam Aliev (Russia), 4-2

55 kg
GOLD - Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI)
SILVER - Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO)
BRONZE - Amirbek SULTONOV (UZB)
BRONZE – Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)

1st - Amirhossein Khounsari (Iran) dec. Giorgi Pertaia (Georgia), 7-0
3rd - Amirbek Sultonov (Uzbekistan) dec. Manuel Stoica (Romania), 8-7
3rd - Din Koshkar (Kazakhstan) dec. Niklas Oehlen (Sweden), 6-0

65 kg
GOLD - Muslim IMADAEV (RUS)
SILVER - Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
BRONZE - Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
BRONZE – Hossein GHASEMI (IRI)

1st - Muslim Imadaev (Russia) dec. Shant Khachatryan (Armenia), 3-0
3rd - Samuel Bellscheidt (Germany) dec. Bin Xu (China), 8-2
3rd - Hossein Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Khvicha Ananidze (Georgia), 7-0

80 kg
GOLD - Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
SILVER - Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO)
BRONZE - Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI)
BRONZE – Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN)

1st - Karen Khachatryan (Armenia) dec. Giorgi Tsopurashvili (Georgia), 2-1
3rd - Mohammad Naghousi (Iran) dec. Bekzod Akhmedov (Uzbekistan), 6-1
3rd - Turpan Bisultanov (Denmark) dec. David Zhytomyrsky (Israel), 7-1

110 kg
GOLD - Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
SILVER - Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
BRONZE - Tomasz WAWRZYNCZYK (POL)
BRONZE – Mikita KAVALSKI (BLR)

1st - Muhammet Bakir (Turkey) TF Sarkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan), 9-0
3rd - Tomasz Wawrzynczyk (Poland) dec. Marcel Albini (Czech Republic), 7-1
3rd - Mikita Kavalski (Belarus) dec. Aleksandr Shaposhnikov (Russia), 3-1

 

#WrestleBratislava

Adar, the woman of firsts in Turkiye wrestling, retires

By Vinay Siwach

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 10) -- Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist, first-ever world and European champion in Women's Wrestling, Yasemin ADAR (TUR)retired Thursday after 16 years of international wrestling.

A winner of seven gold medals at the European Championships did not have a fairytale ending as she lost the 76kg final against Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) on Thursday at the European Championships in Bratislava.

Despite the loss, Adar undoubtedly retires the trailblazer in Women's Wrestling for Turkiye. In 2016, she won her first European title to create history before adding the world title in 2017. In 2021, she became the first Turkish wrestler in Women's Wrestling to win the bronze medal when she pinned Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to claim the medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I had an incredible career in the 76kg category," Adar said after the European Championships final. "I had many successes and many firsts. I became a two-time world champion. I was at the Olympics with bronze medal. So I have an incredibly beautiful career and I am proud of myself. I can't believe it. It's very difficult to describe. I am very emotional today."

Adar, who had tears in her eyes while was taking off her shoes on the mat to mark her retirement, is aptly called the "woman of firsts" in Türkiye. With her teammates and family in the stands cheering for her, the final match became even more emotional for Adar.

"I finished my wrestling and believe me it was not easy at all," she said. "I even rehearsed it many times before coming here. I said this is where I will finish my career. In my speech, I always wanted to be considered as the legend of 76kilograms. This match was more nervous for me. I had planned it beforehand, I knew that this match was the last match. Even though I couldn't earn the gold medal, I ended it with silver. But believe me, there are really great successes in my career."

On how she came to the decision of retiring at the European Championships, Adar was clear that she wanted to pass on the baton to the younger generation.

"Even if you don't want it, wrestling starts to leave you," she said. "Although there are those who say I am very good, I try to compare it to a situation like this. I am 34-years-old with an 18-year-old athlete and unfortunately we cannot have the same performance."