U23 World C'ships

Greco Giants Pataridze and Semenov to Clash in Finals

By Taylor Miller

BYDGOSZCZ, Poland – Wednesday night’s Greco-Roman finals of the U23 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, promise to be exciting with several past Junior and Cadet World medalists in the mix.

Perhaps the most anticipated match is at 130 kg, where Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) looks for his sixth World title. Pataridze won his third-consecutive Junior World title this summer in Tampere, Finland. He also owns Cadet World gold from 2013 and 2014.

Standing in his way is 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time Junior World champion Sergey SEMENOV (RUS).

It’s a rematch of the 2015 Junior World finals, where Pataridze kept Semenov from three Junior golds, defeating him in a 3-1 battle.

Another exciting final will take place at 80 kg, where 2015 Senior World bronze medalist Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) will face Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), who took third at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games.

Both wrestlers have collected World medals at the Junior level. Gobadze won bronze in 2014, while Akbudak earned silver in 2015.

The final at 59 kg will pit Junior World bronze medalists Masuto KAWANA (JPN) and Sergey EMELIN (RUS) against each other.

Recently, Kawana, a 2015 Junior World medalist, has been victorious at the 20th Annual Dave Schultz Memorial International and the Grand Prix Zagreb, claiming gold.

2014 Junior World bronze winner Emelin was the 2016 U23 European champion.

The 66 kg final features Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, 2014 Junior World champion and 2013 Junior World silver medalist.

Bolkvadze will go head-to-head with 2017 Russian Championships bronze medalist Alen MIRZOIAN (RUS).

The gold and bronze-medal finals are set for 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. U.S. ET).

FINALS MATCHES
59 kg
Gold - Sergey EMELIN (RUS) vs. Masuto KAWANA (JPN)
Bronze - Avgustin Boyanov SPASOV (BUL) vs. Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Bronze - Przemyslaw PIATEK (POL) vs. Sakit GULIYEV (AZE)

66 kg
Gold - Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) vs. Alen MIRZOIAN (RUS)
Bronze - Abylaikhan AMZEYEV (KAZ) vs. Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Bronze - Gaoquan ZHANG (CHN) vs. Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)

80 kg
Gold - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Bronze - Stanislau SHAFARENKA (BLR) vs. Rosian Ognyanov DERMANSKI (BUL)
Bronze - Andrii ANTONIUK (UKR) vs. Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS (SWE)

130 kg
Gold - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO)
Bronze - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) vs. Amin Mohammadzaman MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Bronze - Arata SONODA (JPN) vs. Jello KRAHMER (GER)

#WrestleZagreb

World Championships 2025 Fan Guide

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 11) -- The World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia will be held from September 13 to 21 at Arena Zagreb. Here's a fact sheet for the World Championships

World Championships

Dates: September 13 to 21, 2025

Venue: Arena Zagreb

Competition format & schedule

The competition will follow standard UWW format across three styles with qualification rounds, repechage, semifinals and finals across the nine-day competition .

Date Qualification (10:30 hours) Evening Session
September 13, Saturday FS: 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 125 kg Semifinals (18:00): FS 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 125kg
September 14,
Sunday
FS: 57kg, 74kg, 79kg, 92kg
Repechage (61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 125kg)
FS Semifinals (16:45): 57kg, 74kg, 79kg, 92kg
FS Medal Bouts (18:00): 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 125kg
September 15,
Monday
FS: 65kg, 97kg & WW: 55kg, 59kg
Repechage: FS 79kg, 92kg, 57kg, 74kg
Semifinals (16:45): FS: 65kg, 97kg & WW: 55kg, 59kg
Medal Bouts (18:00): FS 57kg, 74kg, 79kg, 92kg
September 16,
Tuesday
WW: 50kg, 57kg, 65kg, 76kg
Repechage: FS: 65kg, 97kg & WW: 55kg, 59kg
Semifinals (16:45): WW: 50kg, 57kg, 65kg, 76kg
Medal Bouts (18:00):  FS: 65kg, 97kg & WW: 55kg, 59kg 
September 17,
Wednesday
WW: 53kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Repechage: 50kg, 57kg, 65kg, 76kg

Semifinals (16:45): 53kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Medal Bouts: 50kg, 57kg, 65kg, 76kg

September 18,
Thursday
GR: 55kg, 77kg, 82kg, 130kg
Repechage: WW 53kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
Semifinals (16:45:): 55kg, 77kg, 82kg, 130kg
Medal Bouts (18:00): WW 53kg, 62kg, 68kg, 72kg
September 19,
Friday
GR: 60kg, 72kg, 97kg
Repechage: GR: 55kg, 77kg, 82kg, 130kg
Semifinals (16:45): GR 60kg, 72kg, 97kg
Medal Bouts (18:00): 55kg, 77kg, 82kg, 130kg
September 20,
Saturday
GR: 63kg, 67kg, 87kg
Repechage: GR 60kg, 72kg, 97kg
Semifinals (16:45): GR: 63kg, 67kg, 87kg
Medal Bouts (18:00): GR 60kg, 72kg, 97kg
September 21,
Sunday
Repechage (16:30): GR 63kg, 67kg, 87kg Medal Bouts (18:00): GR 63kg, 67kg, 87kg

Entries and Seeds:

Freestyle Entries and Seeds

Greco-Roman Entries and Seeds

Women's Wrestling Entries and Seeds

Previews:

Freestyle Preview

Women's Wrestling Preview

Greco-Roman Preview

Where to Watch: UWW+ will have all the live coverage and highlights. For the United States, follow FloWrestling

Social Media: Follow United World Wrestling on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube

Tickets: Public tickets are sold via Eventim. Click here to buy tickets.

Fan experience: Hospitality packages and official hospitality providers CoSport and Jet Set packages

Nearest airport: Franjo Tudman Airport Zagreb (ZAG)