#UWWRankings

Greco-Roman stars maintain top spot in rankings

By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (May 28) -- No other style saw as many changes in rankings as Greco-Roman. With intense battles at the European and Asian Championships, wrestlers saw big movements in the rankings.

A few world champion lost their top spots while others consolidated their ranks as the senior World Championships approached in September. Only three more events are remaining in which wrestlers can obtain ranking points.

Here are the big changes in the Greco-Roman rankings after the four continental championships that were held over the last three months. The full rankings can be accessed at uww.org.

Ken MatsuiKen MATSUI (JPN) won the 55kg title in Oslo. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

55kg
World champion in 2021 Ken MATSUI (JPN) still holds the top rank at 55kg with 43000 points. This despite him missing the Asian Championships after failing to win the Japan selection trials.

Bronze medalist at the same Worlds Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) added a European gold medal to take his tally to 39000 points and move past Emin SEFERSHAEV (RWF) who has now slipped to fourth with his 35000 points. The third spot is taken by Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) with 37000 points as he won a silver medal at the European Championships.

Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) and Norayr HAKHOYAN (ARM) had finished fifth at the '21 Worlds and each has 23000 points to be ranked fifth and sixth respectively.

Carrying over 16200 points from the Worlds, Sardarbek KONUSHBAEV (KGZ) takes the seventh spot 

He finished 10th at both the World and European Championships which takes Fabian SCHMITT (GER) to the eighth position with 15400 points.

In a close race from there, Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) takes the ninth spot with 15000 points, followed by Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) who won the Istanbul Ranking event and a silver medal at the Asian Championships. He has 14400 points.

Max NOWRY (USA) won 5000 points for his Pan-Am title which helped him to 13500 points and 11th spot. Koriun SAHRADIAN (UKR) has 10600 points at 12th.

Asian champion Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) is 13th with 10000 points followed by Hyeokjin JEON (KOR) at 14th with 8800 points, and Adem UZUN (TUR) at 15th with 8000 points.

Victor CIOBANU (MDA)Victor CIOBANU (MDA) has 68000 points at the top at 60kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

60kg
Victor CIOBANU (MDA) finished at the Olympics and later won the World Championships to claim the top rank at 63kg. He has not competed in this weight class since but still remains the top wrestler with 68000 points. World silver and Asian champion Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) is a close second with 63200 points.

Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB) has slipped to third with 51000 points as he has not competed since winning the gold medal in Tokyo. Neither has Tokyo silver Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) as he is fourth with 41400 points.

Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) won bronze medals at the World and European Championships which have helped him climb to the fifth spot with 40500 points while another European bronze medalist Gevorg GHARIBYAN is sixth with 34500 points.

Bronze medalists in Tokyo Sergey EMELIN (RWF) and Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) have 34200 points each and are ranked seventh and eighth respectively. Stepan MARYANYAN (RWF) silver-medal run at the Worlds earned him the ninth spot with 31000 points before Maksim KAZHARSKI (BWF) finishes off the top-10 at the 10th spot with 25000 points.

Ayata SUZUKI (JPN) won a bronze at the Asian Championships to be ahead of Gyanender DAHIYA (IND) by 200 points as Suzuku has 24700 points to Dahiya's 24500 points.

At the 13th spot comes Lenur TEMIROV (UKR) with 23000 points as he had finished fifth at the Olympics followed by Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI) at 14th with 17000 points.

European champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) breaks into the ranking at 15th as he has 16800 points.

Leri ABULADZELeri ABULADZE (GEO) is the top ranked wrestler at 63kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

63kg
He could not beat Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) in the World Championships final but Leri ABULADZE (GEO) has beaten the Iranian for the top spot. He now has 50000 points after winning the European title while Dalkhani has 45000 points.

Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) finished fifth at the Worlds, and won a bronze in Istanbul and silver at the European Championships to accumulate 41200 points and reach the third spot in rankings.

World bronze medalist Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN) was expected to improve his ranking at the Asian Championships but he finished eighth and got only 4000 points. He now has 35000 points to be ranked fourth.

Lenur TEMIROV (UKR) features in the rankings at 63kg as well as he won a bronze medal at the World Championships at this weight. He has 31000 points in the fifth spot. Erik TORBA (HUN) is ranked sixth with 25000 points which he got for his fifth-place finish at the Worlds.

Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) was seventh at the Worlds and has 18200 points at the seventh spot followed by Deniz MENEKSE (GER) at eighth with 17000 points, Mihai MIHUT (ROU) at ninth with 15500 points and Ahmet UYAR (TUR) at 10th with 14700 points.

Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) missed out on the top-10 as he has 14600 points at 11th. Ibragim LABAZANOV (RWF) is 12th with 14300 points.

Victor CIOBANU (MDA) won a bronze medal at the Istanbul Ranking event at 63kg and finished eighth at the Euros to claim the 14th rank with 13400 points.

Gold medalist in Istanbul finished fifth at the Asian Championships Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) jumped to 14th as he now has 13000 points.

African champion Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) and Asian champion Tynar SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) have 10000 points each to be ranked 15th and 16th respectively.

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) and Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) are one and two in the 67kg rankings. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

67kg
An Olympic and World title in the same year had propelled Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) to the top spot at 67kg and he continues to maintain it with 98000 points. He has since not competed but it is mathematically not possible to remove him from the top.

Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) finished fifth at the Olympics but later returned to win a bronze medal at the World Championships before finishing fifth at the European Championships. He is the closest to Geraei in terms of points as he has 66000 points in second place.

Parviz NASIBOV's (UKAR) silver medal at the Olympics is still good to keep him at the third spot with 43400 points while European champion Murat FIRAT (TUR) is close fourth with 40000 points. 

Nazir ABDULLAEV (RWF) won a silver medal at the Worlds and is now fifth with 37000 points while junior and U23 world champion Hasrat JAFAROV trails him by 500 points at sixth with 36500 points. He finished fifth in Oslo and bronze at the Euros.

Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) got 36200 points for his Tokyo bronze and he is eighth in the rankings while Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) won bronze at Worlds for 31000 points and ninth spot. Morten THORESEN (NOR) is 600 points behind at the 10th spot.

Mateusz BERNATEK (POL) at 11th, Sebastian NAD (SRB) at 12th and Hansu RYU (KOR) at 13th are all within 1000 points of each other.

Artem SURKOV (RWF) with 25000 points takes the 14th spot while Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER) is 15th with 22400 points.

Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) is the first Lithuanian to be top ranked in any style. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

72kg
Lithuania's star Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) continues to remain at the top with 48400 points after finishing fifth at the European Championships. He had won a bronze at the World Championships and finished second at the Istanbul event.

A close second is world champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) with 45000 points but he debuted at 77kg at the European Championships this year. Another world bronze medalist Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) takes the third spot with 38000 points. Silver medalist Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) is fourth with 37000 points.

After failing to win a medal at the Worlds, Mohammadreza MOKHTARI (IRI) bounced back to win the Asian Championships and climb to the fifth spot with 35000 points.

Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) won bronze at Euros after finishing seventh at the Worlds to be placed at sixth with 31980 points while fifth at Worlds Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) is seventh with 28200 points.

The eighth, ninth and 10th spots are taken by Valentin PETIC (MDA) [21800 points], Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN) [21300 points] and Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) [18100 points].

Jiyul LEE (KOR) has racked up 15500 points to be placed 11th while Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL) is 12th with 14800 points. 1000 points below at 13th is Abylaikhan AMZEYEV (KAZ).

European champion Robert FRITSCH (HUN) debuts at 14th with 13000 points while silver to him Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) comes in at 15th with 11000 points.

African champion Mohamed KHALIL (EGY) is at 17th with 10000 points.

Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) is the top ranked wrestler at 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

77kg
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) failed to win the World or European Championships but his consistent performance to at least finish on the podium has earned him the top spot with 57900 points. His bronze at Euros has helped him move past Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) who is second with 54000 points.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) returned to UWW competition after winning the silver at Tokyo with a title-winning performance at the Asian Championships to be ranked third with 51400 points while Tokyo champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) has slipped to fourth with 51000 points. World champion Roman VLASOV (RWF) is fifth with 45000 points.

Shohei YABIKU (JPN) and Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) won bronze medals in Tokyo and have 34200 points to be placed at sixth and seventh respectively. Viktor NEMES (SRB) is eighth with 31200 points while Roland SCHWARZ (GER) is just 200 points behind at ninth. Pan-Am champion Yosvanys PENA (CUB) had finished 10th at the Olympics and the two tournaments have given him 25300 points to be in the top-10.

Oslo fifth-placers Tsimur BERDYIEU (BWF) and Tamas LEVAI (HUN) are 11th and 12th respectively with 25000 points each while European silver medalist Yunus BASAR (TUR) is 13th with 24000 points, Kodai SAKURABA (JPN) is 14th with 23500 points and Karapet CHALYAN (ARM) is 15th with 23000 points.

Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) continues to maintain his top spot at 82kg since winning the world title last year. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

82kg
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) were involved in a close race at the top after the former won the Worlds and silver to him Akbudak won the Istanbul event. But with Huseynov winning the European title while Akbudak winning bronze at the same event, the Azerbaijan wrestler has taken a lead with 65200 points to Akbudak's 56500 points.

Other wrestlers have not accumulated the same amount of points as World bronze medalists Adlan AKIEV (RWF) and Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) placing third and fourth with 31000 points each. Fifth in Oslo Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) and Laszlo SZABO (HUN) remain fifth and sixth with 25000 points each.

Ranet KALJOLA (EST) is seventh with 22800 points while Edgar BABAYAN (POL) comes in at number eigth with 18200 points.

Mihail BRADU (MDA) won a silver in Istanbul followed by a fifth-place in Budapest to be placed at ninth with 16400 points while Hannes WAGNER (GER) is 10th with 15500 points.

Tarek ABDESLAM (BUL) takes the 11th position with 14300 points while European silver medalist Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) is 12th with 13000 points.

Dias KALEN (KAZ) won silver at Asian Championships to be ranked at 13th with 11520 points while Tamas LEVAI (HUN) is just 20 points behind at 14th.

Four wrestlers have 10000 points each but African champion Abd OUAKALI (ALG) is 15th, Asian champion Rasoul GARMSIRI (IRI) is 16th and Pan-Am champion Daniel GOMEZ (MEX) at 17th.

Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)No wrestler can replace Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) from the top at 87kg till the September World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

87kg
World champion Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) had developed such a big lead over his opponents in the rankings that despite missing out on gold medals in Istanbul and Budapest, he still takes the top spot with 92600 points. The second best is Olympic champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) with 51000 points.

The rankings don't change for the next four spots with Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) claiming the seventh spot with 38000 points. He won the European title in Budapest after finishing fifth at the Worlds. Denis KUDLA (GER) is eight with 34200 points while Metehan BASAR (TUR) has some catching to do as he is ninth with 28700 points. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) takes the 10th spot with 28200 points.

Tokyo Olympian and African champion Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) moves up to 11th with 26200 points while Kristoffer BERG (SWE) moves to 12th with 25600 points. Istvan TAKACS (HUN) got 25000 points for his fifth-place finish in Oslo but he has slipped to 13th.

Pan-Am champion Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) has moved past Tokyo fifth-placers Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) and Ivan HUKLEK (CRO). They have 23000 points each while the Cuban has 500 more points to be at 14th.

A close 17th is Islam ABBASOV (AZE) with 22900 points as he has two big wins over world champ Datunashvili.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) takes the top spot at 97kg with 79200 points. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

97kg
Tokyo bronze and world champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) continues to maintain his top spot with 79200 points while silver medalist Alex SZOKE (HUN) is second with 60000 points. Olympic champion Musa EVLOEV (RWF) comes in at the third spot with 51000 points.

Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) has medal-winning performances in Istanbul and Budapest after finishing fifth at the Olympics which has helped him to the fourth spot over bronze medalist in Oslo Tracy HANCOCK (USA). Savolainen has 47400 points, 200 more than Hancock. Kiril MILOV (BUL) won the European Championships and has climbed to the sixth spot as he now has 45500 points.

Silver medalist in Tokyo Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) has 41400 points and sits at the seventh spot ahead of Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) who has 39213 points. Giorgi MELIA (GEO) is ninth with 31700 points while World bronze medalist Artur SARGSIAN (RWF) is 10th with 31000 points.

Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU) takes the 11th spot with 27500 points while Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) comes in at 12th with 26620 points. Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE) is 13th with 26400 points while Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) and Peter OEHLER (GER) have 25000 points each to be 14th and 15th respectively.

Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)Top-ranked at 130kg Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) has 20800 point lead over second rank. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

130kg
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) finished eighth at the European Championships but his silver at the Olympics and bronze at the Worlds have helped him to the top spot with a considerable lead. He has 76200 points even as European champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) tries to catch up with 55400 points.

Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) won bronze at the Pan-Ams and has climbed to third with 54500 points, moving ahead of Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) who has 51000 points at the fourth spot. World champion Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) is fifth with 45000 points he got for his gold in Oslo.

Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RWF) takes the sixth spot with 37000 points followed by Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) with 36000 points.

Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) has 34400 points at the eighth spot while Olympic bronze Sergei SEMENOV (RWF) is ninth with 34200 points. At 10th comes Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) who has 32000 points.

Oslo bronze medalist Oskar MARVIK (NOR) has slipped to 11th for his 31000 points while Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) is 12th with 30900 points.

Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) is 13th with 28000 points while Tokyo fifth-placer and U23 world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is 14th with 23000 points.

African champion Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) takes the 15th spot with 18500 points.

#WrestleZagreb

Komarov upends Mohamadi to make history, spoil Iran celebrations

By Ken Marantz

Note: An earlier version of this article mentioned Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) as the first male wrestler to have won the "Grand Slam". Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) was the first. The error is regretted.

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 21) -- Olympic silver medalist Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) was set to put the cherry on top of Iran's dominant performance in Zagreb, but Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) had a recipe for disaster.

Komarov pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory in the 87kg final that left Mohamadi inconsolable, while earning himself a unique place in wrestling history as the curtain came down on the World Championships on Sunday with the last three Greco titles decided.

"I’m very happy," Komarov said. "The final was really tough, and I believed I could succeed. In the end I managed it, and I’m very glad about that."

In other finals, teenager Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) gave Uzbekistan just its second world Greco title -- more than two decades after the first -- with a victory at 63kg, while Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) triumphed at 67kg to become the Iran's second Olympic champion in two nights to add the senior world gold.

Iran easily won the team title with 180 points, nearly twice as much as the runner-up, to complete the freestyle-Greco double for the first time. The Asian powerhouse finished with four golds and eight medals overall in Greco. Azerbaijan placed second with 89 points, followed by Uzbekistan with 72. Both nations had one champion.

With his triumph in Zagreb, the Russian-born Komarov became the second male wrestler to complete the "Grand Slam" of world titles -- winning all three age-group titles as well as the senior gold.

Komarov, who began competing for Serbia in 2024, previously won the first of two cadet (U17) titles in 2015, the world junior (U20) in 2017 and 2018, then added the world U23 in 2021.

He joins Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) as the lone men to achieve the Grand Slam. Mirzazadeh, who won a second career Greco 130kg title two days earlier in Zagreb, become the first when he won his first senior gold in 2023, adding to world titles at U17 in 2015, U20 in 2018 and U23 in 2021.

A handful of women, including Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Amit ELOR (USA), have achieved the slam. Three other male greats came close, but fell just short by taking silvers on either the U17 or U20 levels -- Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) in freestyle and Leri ABULADZE (GEO) in Greco.

"I’ve collected the whole set of medals," said Komarov, who has also completed the Grand Slam on a European level. "My coach, my journey -- everything I did was right. I have success, so I’m very happy. My goal and my dream are the Olympic Games. I think about it. It’s too early to talk about that now, but I hope everything works out."

Even with his past glory, not everything had worked out for Komarov in his run-up to Zagreb. In fact, it was less than spectacular.

Eighth at the Paris Olympics, this year the 26-year-old relinquished the European title he had won in 2024, having to settle for a bronze, and placed fifth at all three Ranking Series events he entered, in Zagreb, Tirana and Budapest.

In fact, it was in Tirana that he clashed with Mohamadi, who handed him a 5-1 defeat in the semifinals en route to the gold.

"It was a very hard road to get here -- it’s been a very difficult year and I lost all the ranking series. I lost at the Europeans," Komarov said. "Of course I had doubts in myself, but I believed I could do it and I succeeded. I’m always mentally ready -- I didn’t change anything, just worked a lot and tried to wrestle without mistakes and give my best."

But Komarov made all the right moves in Zagreb to beat Mohamadi, who reluctantly settled for his second world silver, adding to one at 82kg in 2023.

The difference came down to what each wrestler did from par terre. Mohamadi, who won the Tirana Ranking Series title, could only manage a stepout on a throw
attempt. Komarov, on the other hand, got the traditional roll, which put him up 3-2 in the second period.

The key moment of the match came in the final minute, when Mohamadi pressed forward in a tackle position and had Komarov backpedaling out of the ring.

But the stepout -- nor a potential fleeing point -- was not awarded when it was determined on a lost Iranian challenge that Mohamadi's hands had dropped below Komarov's waist, which made it 4-2.

Mohamadi needed a takedown to win, but could only manage a late stepout. At the final whistle, he dropped to the mat in total despair, and had be propped up as he
walked dejectedly from the main floor.

Meanwhile, Komarov's celebrations took a odd twist when it was discovered there was no Serbian flag for him to hoist for his victory lap. Instead, he circled the mat on the shoulders of his coaches.

"Nobody believed I would win," Komarov said with a smile. "Many Serbians came to support me, but nobody brought a flag."

While Komarov chose to relocate his life to Serbia and has a Serbian wife, his family remains in Russia. His younger brother, Ilya KOMAROV (UWW), won a bronze medal at the U20 World Championships in August.

At 63kg, Khalmakhanov's victory on the senior stage came just over a month after winning the gold at the World U20 Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria.

Khalmakhanov, who also won the senior Asian title in March, looked like a seasoned veteran in the final against Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), dominating in a 6-0
victory.

Khalmakhanov wasn't able to turn in par terre in the first period, but added a stepout to take a 2-0 lead at the break. In the second, he shrugged Chung down for a takedown, then added another stepout while attempting a throw.

The Korean side challenged the original takedown, but it was denied, giving Khalmakanov a 6-0 lead that he defended to the end. 

Perhaps the only person more ecstatic over Khalmakanov's victory was his coach, the indefatigable Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), who finally retired at age 40 after the Paris Olympics, having won two world medals but no golds.

Uzbekistan's only previous gold in Greco came in 2001, when Dilshod ARIPOV (UZB) won the 58kg title in Petras, Greece.

Chung was denied in his bid to give Korea its first world Greco gold since his senior teammate and longtime training partner at Kyungsung University, the now-retired Hansu RYU (KOR), won the second of his two world golds in Paris in 2017.

At 67kg, Esmaeili got a stepout to start the match, and that proved the difference in a 2-1 victory over reigning European champion and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE).

"With a smart plan, I beat him 2–1 and became the champion of this weight class," said Esmaeili, who won the gold in his senior world debut.

Each wrestler had a chance in par terre, but neither could turn the other, giving Esmaeili his closest victory of the tournament. He had cruised into the final with four consecutive wins by technical superiority.

"Anyone who makes it to the final is obviously a good wrestler, but I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks in the final," Esmaeili said. "We had a clear plan to win, and thank God it worked out -- we came out on top."

Esmaeili has been on quite a run in recent years. He has suffered just one loss since 2021, a 9-7 defeat at the hands of Luis ORTA (CUB) in the semifinals of the Budapest Ranking Series event in June 2024.

His accolades, in addition to the Paris gold, include back-to-back Asian titles in 2024 and 2025. Having already won golds at the world U17 and U20, he needs just the world U23 to complete a "Golden Grand Slam," which includes the Olympics.

His victory came a day after fellow Paris champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) won the title at 97kg.

"This was my first time competing in the [senior] world championships," Esmaeili said. "Before this, I had competed in the Olympics, where thankfully I won gold, and here I was able to repeat that Olympic gold to prove myself once again."

Keshtkar tops Emelin for 63kg bronze

In the bronze-medal matches, Asian silver medalist Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) stormed out a big lead, then fought fatigue to hold off a late surge from former world champion Sergey EMELIN (UWW) to take his first world medal with a 6-4 victory at 63kg.

Keshtkar used an arm spin for an opening takedown, then added a stepout off a whizzer. Another stepout, combined with an unsuccessful challenge, put him up 5-0 at the break.

After Keshtkar padded his lead with another stepout, Emelin went on the offensive as the Iranian began to run out of gas. A stepout, takedown and fleeing penalty point cut the gap to two points, but the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist couldn't apply the coup de grace and fell short of a third world medal.

European bronze medalist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), last year's world U23 champion, was able to complete his comeback to defeat Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) 6-5 for the other 63kg bronze.

Hrushyn, a two-time European medalist, had two stepouts and led 3-0 in the second period when Eriomenco gained a stepout, then was put in par terre. He took full advantage, executing a trap arm roll, then going back the other way to go ahead 6-3.

Hruyshyn scored a takedown with :37 left to pull within one, but Eriomenco conceded nothing the rest of the way to secure the medal.

At 67kg, lanky Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) fell into a five-point hole early against Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), but used his elongated limbs to maximum advantage in ground wrestling to rally to a big lead before securing a late fall.

Two-time Asian silver medalist Beishekeev uncorked a 4-point throw from par terre in the first period to lead 5-0, with Galstyan picking up a stepout before the break.

Galstyan started his comeback by shrugging Beishekeev to the mat for a takedown, then getting behind again to tie the score at 5-5, although he still trailed on criteria. But he wrapped his long arms around Beishekeev and scored two exposures to go ahead 9-5.

An arm spin gave him another takedown, then he stopped an attack for another 2. That would have ended the match, but Galstyan put an exhausted Beishekeev on his back for a fall with :18 left.

At 87kg, Asian U23 champion Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) defeated David LOSONCZI (HUN) 4-2 to deny the former world champion a third career world medal.

Zhanyshov stopped a lateral drop attempt in the first period for a 2-point score, then added a passivity point to lead 3-0 at the break.

Losonczi, who took silver medals at three ranking series events this year, had a chance at par terre, but could not turn Zhanyshov. He did manage a stepout to cut the gap, but Zhanyshov shut him down the rest of the way, while a late caution point added to his tally.

Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW) stepped over on a gut wrench attempt by Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) and secured a fall to take home the other 87kg bronze.

Alirzaev took a 3-0 lead with an exposure from par terre in the first period. In the second, he was on the bottom when he deftly stuck Yevloyev for the fall in 4:08.

Day 8 Results

Greco-Roman

63kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 6-0

BRONZE: Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI) df. Sergey EMELIN (UWW), 6-4
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), 6-5

67kg (34 entries)
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Daniial AGAEV (UWW) df. Sebastian NAD (SRB), 7-1
BRONZE: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) by Fall, 5:42 (15-5)

87kg (30 entries)
GOLD: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI), 4-3

BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 4-2
BRONZE: Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) by Fall, 4:08 (5-1)