WORLD CLUBS CUP

Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup Line-ups Announced

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 - 12:51 By Ali Feizasa

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The 2017 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup is set to take place in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday and Friday.

Of the 13 competing teams, the four who are potential favorites to wrestle for the World Clubs Cup title will be Bimeh Razi (IRI), Buyuksehir (TUR), Moscow (RUS), and Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI).

In the line-up for Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), the defending champions, is world champion, Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) and Olympic silver medal winner, Zhan BELENYUK (UKR).

Leading a loaded Moscow squad will be six-time Olympic and world medal winner, Aleksei MISHIN (RUS). Others stars in action for Moscow include world finalist, Musa EVLOEV (RUS), 2017 U-23 world silver medalist, Sergey EMELIN (RUS), and Russian Championships runner-up, Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS). 

Directing Bimeh Razi, the host team, will be Olympic gold medalist, Roman VLASOV (RUS) and Olympic bronze medalist, Saeid ABDEVALI (IRI). Other big names wrestling for Bimeh Razi are three-time junior world champion Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), 2017 world bronze medalist, Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI), and Artem SURKOV (RUS).

Led by world champion, Metehan BASAR (TUR) and U-23 world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), World Clubs Cup runner-up in 2017, Buyuksehir (TUR) will be another event favorite.

The competition will be held with new rules in 10 weight categories.

Program of 2017 GR World Clubs Cup:

Thursday
7:30 to 8:00 – Weigh in
10:00 to 14:00- First & second round
15:00 to 16:30- Second and Third round
16:30 to 17:00- Opening ceremony
17:00 to 18:30- Third round
18:30 to 21:30- Competition between second to fourth teams of the groups

Friday
7:00 to 7:30- Weigh-in
9:00 to 10:30- Semifinals between group winners
10:30 to 12:00- Competitions for fifth place to tenth place winners
13:30 to 15:00- Third place match
15:00 to 16:30- Final match

Predictable line-ups of 2017 GR Wrestling World Clubs Cup:

Moscow Team (RUS)
55kg- Aleksei KINZHIGALIEV (RUS)
60kg- Sergey EMELIN (RUS)                  
63kg- Sanal SEMENOV (RUS)
67kg- Pavel SALEEV (RUS)
72kg- Denis MURTAZIN (RUS)
77kg- Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS)
82kg- Roman YUSIPOV (RUS)
87kg- Aleksei MISHIN (RUS)
97kg- Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
130kg- Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)

Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI)
55kg-– Saman ABDEVALI (IRI)
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI)
63kg- Moslem NADERI- Hossein ASADI (IRI)
67kg- Artem SURKOV (RUS)
72kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI) - Farshad BELFEKE
77kg- Saeid ABDEVALI
82kg-Roman VLASOV (RUS) -  Mehdi FALLAH (IRI)
87kg- Ali Akbar HEYDARI
97kg- Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI)
130kg- Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) - Shahab GHOURE JILI (IRI)

Buyuksehir (TUR)
55kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR)
60kg- Muslum ALINLI
63kg- Fatih UCUNCU (TUR)
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
72kg- Yunus OZEL (TUR)
77kg- Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR)
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
87kg- Metehan BASAR (TUR)
97kg- Fatih BASKOY (TUR)
130kg- Irfan METE (TUR)

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI)
55kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (IRI) – Shahin BODAGHI
60kg- Meysam DELKHANI (IRI) – Reza KHEDRI (IRI)
 63kg- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
67kg- Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) – Behnam MORADI (IRI)
72kg- Ali ARSALAN (IRI)
77kg- Payam BOYERI (IRI)
82kg- Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) – Keyvan REZAEI (IRI)
87kg- Zhan BELENYUK (UKR)
97kg- Hassan ARYANEJAD
130kg- Mehdi NOURI (IRI)

Dinamo Armenia (ARM)
55kg- Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
60kg- Murad HARUTYUNYAN
63kg- Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
67kg- Aleksan MIKAYELYAN
72kg- Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM)
77kg- Ruben GHARIBYAN (ARM)
82kg- Argishti ABGARYAN (ARM)
87kg- Gegam TORGOMYAN (ARM)
97kg- Vagharsak MINASYAN (ARM)
130kg- Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM)

Georgian Club (GEO)
55kg- Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg- Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO)
63kg- Dato CHKHARTISHBILI
67kg- Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO) – Muradi MIKELADZE (GEO)
72kg- Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO)  - Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
77kg- Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
82kg- Varlami KVARATSKHELIA
87kg- Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO)

Paok Greece (GRE)
55kg- TBD
60kg- Odysseas MOURTIDIS (GRE)
63kg- Christos THEODORAKIS (GRE)
67kg- Konstantinos MAKRIDIS (GRE)
72kg- Petros MANOUILIDIS (GRE)
77kg- Panagiotis SISMANIDIS  (GRE)
82kg- Ioannis TSEKERIDIS  (GRE)
87kg- Dimitrios TSEKERIDIS  (GRE)
97kg- Leon Laokratis BJURBERG KESSIDIS (GRE)
130kg- Georgios BETAS (GRE)

Budapest SC (HUN)
55kg- József ANDRASI (HUN)
60kg- István VANCZA (HUN)
63kg- Bence KOVACS (HUN)
67kg- István KOZAK (HUN)
72kg- Martin TOTH  (HUN)
77kg- Dominik GEGENY
82kg- Dáriusz VITEK
87kg- Bence MARTIN
97kg- Róbert ÉRSEK
130kg- Arnold PAP

Samsun (UKR)
55kg- Sergii STOROZHENKO (UKR)
60kg- Andriy MARTYNYUK
63kg- Anton KUTSENKO (UKR)
67kg- Fevzi MAMUTOV (UKR)
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV
77kg- Pavlo MOLNAR (UKR)
82kg- Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
87kg- Iurii SHKRIUBA
97kg- Myloka KRYSOV
130kg-Mykola KUCHMII

SHOHADAYE Modafe Haram QOM (IRI)
55kg- Mehdi GHORBANI- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (IRI)
60kg- Alireza NEJATI (IRI) - Reza MARDI (IRI)
63kg- Ali ASghar PASALARI
67kg- Mehdi MORAD SALEHI (IRI) - Behnam AFSHAR NIK
72kg- Ali SOLEYMANI (IRI) - Afshin ESLAMI (IRI)
77kg- Hadi ALIZADH - Mohammad Reza REZAEI (IRI)
82kg-Mehdi EBRAHIMI (IRI)
87kg- Mohammad Ali HEYDARI (IRI)
97kg- Omid EFTEKHARI ASL
130kg- Parsa NAZARI (IRI)

Sport Club Physical Academy (KGZ)
55kg-Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
60kg- Iliiaz  SEITOV (KGZ)
63kg- Adil DZHUMABEKOV
67kg- Konokbai SAGYNBEKOV (KGZ)
72kg: TBD
77kg: TBD
87kg-Ilim BILIMOV (KGZ)
97kg-Ilgiz BILIMOV (KGZ)
130kg: TBD

Other members of Kirgizstan team:
uulu Arstanbek
Ulan Derkembaev  
Kubat Mambetov
Roman Muratov
Maksat Omorov
Pakhmatbek Zainitdinov
Erbol Zhaparaliev
Kubatbek Zheenaliev

Tajik Air (TJK)
55kg- Khasan SUFIEV (TJK)
60kg-TBD
63kg- Zainudin QAMAROV (TJK)
67kg- Oiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
72kg- Azizbeki SHARIFZODA (TJK)
77kg-Sulton Shokhi KHASANOV
82kg- Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
87kg- Amirjon JURAEV
97kg- Mirzoamin SAFAROV
130kg- Azmuddin VAKHOBOV (TJK)

Romania Olympic Hopes (ROU)
55kg- Florin TITA (ROU)
60kg- Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
63kg- Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
67kg- Irinel BOTEZ MIHAI (ROU)
72kg- Boanta NICOLAE
77kg- Adrian AGACHE
82kg- TBD
87kg- Samuel OJOG NICU (ROU)
97kg- Constantin PIRVAN DORIN (ROU)
130kg- Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU- Istvan BEREI LENARD (ROU)

 

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Tazhudinov leads star-studded Freestyle field

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 10:54 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 15) -- Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) marked his return after the Paris Olympic Games with gold at the Grand Prix of Spain. If his opponents thought their will be any rust after the long break, they were mistaken. Tazhudinov won four bouts, all via technical superiority, without giving up a point.

And if you missed watching the Grand Prix, Tazhudinov continues his return in Budapest at the Ranking Series, the last before the World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Women's Wrestling Preview | Greco-Roman Preview

Tazhudinov has been on an eight-tournament gold-medal winning streak dating back to 2023 Asian Championships. The only international loss he suffered was in 2023 at the Ibrahim Mustafa Ranking Series. But Tazhudinov now is perhaps the best wrestler walking on the planet right now.

The 97kg weight class in Budapest will see Tazhudinov take on the likes of Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK), Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), Jay AIELLO (USA), Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW) among others.

But no name on that list seems a threat to Tazhudinov, who is likely to put on another masterclass.

Tazhudinov is not the only start landing in Budapest. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), Islam DUDAEV (ALB), Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) and Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) to name a few others.

European silver medalist Kadzimahamedau will be at 86kg, his weight class since the start of this season as he tries to be at his third Olympics in 2028. But the bracket in Budapest will be a testing one as Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI), Boris MAKOEV (SVK) and Osman GOCEN (TUR) are some of the big names.

Savadkouhi is leading a small Iran team that made it to Budapest. While he will be at 86kg, Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI) and Sina KHALILI (IRI) are entered at 70kg. Fariborz BABAEI (IRI) will be at 79kg for Iran.

Khalili and Ebrahimzadeh are potentially trying to be on the Iran team for Zagreb. A win in Budapest will at least guarantee the winner a domestic playoff of chance if Iran decides that way.

But a gold medal won't be easy. European medalist Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) and world silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) are all going for gold.

Aoyagi, who will be Japan's representative in Zagreb as well, will be the favorite given his crafty style and technique. Muszukajev has not looked the same as he did while winning the 2023 world gold in Belgrade.

For Babaei at 79kg, the challenge will come from Asian medalist Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN), European silver medalist Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), world silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), European Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), former world U20 silver Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN).

Kougiomtsidis is competing for the first time since the Paris Games in which he lost in first round. But at 79kg, Kougiomtsidis can be a real threat for his opponent.

Gamkrelidze, a force at 79kg, is dropping from 86kg after an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for Paris and even at April's European Championships. Kamiya won the Meiji Cup recently and will be Japan's representative at 79kg in Zagreb.

In one of the highly contested weight classes, 74kg can see a few surprises. Azerbaijan is sending Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), undoubtedly its best talents at this weight class.

Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN), the world U23 champion, and returning after injury will be keen on proving himself at the senior level. Asian silver medalist Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ), European bronze Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and United States' star David CARR (USA) are also in the field.

Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) and JAIDEEP (IND) will hope to finish on the podium at 74kg.

At 92kg also, Azerbaijan has Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), perhaps in a bid to finalize their selection for Zagreb. 

But it will be European champion Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) who will be the favorite to win the gold medal in Budapest. World silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) needs to find his confidence back before World Championships, and medal in Budapest will do exactly that.

The 57kg weight class has world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) who will be at his first Ranking Series and it will be big test for him. He has the likes of Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), Luka GVINJILIA (GEO), Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW), RAHUL (IND) and Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) who have senior level experience.

A gold medal in Budapest can give a big boost to Lilledahl as he tries to make the senior team in the U.S. in the coming years. He lost to Spencer LEE (USA) in the domestic playoffs for World Championships.

Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN), who won in Tirana, will be at 61kg and so will be his opponent UDIT (IND), who lost to Suda in the final in Amman.

Add to the mix Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR), who recently won the Yasar Dogu. Incidentally, he also beat Udit in the final in Turkiye. Former world silver medalist Seth GROSS (USA) has also entered at 61kg. 

Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB) missed the European Championships due to an injury but he is returning to international competition. He may face stiff challenge from Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), SUJEET (IND) and Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK).

European champion at 125kg Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) has a chance to earn more ranking points before the World Championships with a gold medal in Budapest. 

While he starts as the favorite, he is likely to face Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) who lost to him in the final seconds of the European final to finish with silver. The Georgian will be keen to avenge that loss. Matcharashvili, European champion at 97kg, will also be at 125kg perhaps to not reduce weight before the World Championships.

European U23 champions Georgi IVANOV (BUL) and Alen KHUBULOV (BUL, , Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN) and Robert BARAN (POL) are also contenders to finish on the podium.