#WrestleBaku

Hasanli, Babashov star to give Azerbaijan two golds at U23 Euros

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - 16:06 By United World Wrestling Press

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 21) -- Khasay HASANLI (AZE) won the gold medal – Azerbaijan’s second of the night. But he didn't immediately celebrate, and neither did his corner.

Instead, in an incredible show of sportsmanship, he first put an arm around his opponent Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) and checked on his well-being.

Seconds before, Saricicek attempted in vain to evade Hasanli’s speedy attack but in the process, it seemed, he hurt himself. It was a double blow for the former U20 World Championship silver medallist as he also conceded a couple of points in addition to a single point for an unsuccessful challenge, which turned the bout decisively in Hasanli’s favor.

The home favorite knew the outcome was sealed. But instead of erupting in joy, he made sure his opponent was doing okay and in a gesture of kindness, raised his arm in the air. Hasanli won by technical superiority but knew and respected Saricicek's quality.

Once Saricicek was off the mat, Hasanli draped his country’s flag around his shoulder and took a lap of honor around the mat as the local fans cheered on for their rising star. A silver medallist from last year’s edition of the U23 European Championship, Hasanli upgraded the color of his medal to gold with a 10-1 win in the 77kg Greco-Roman final.

Hasanli didn’t give Saricicek even a sniff at gold. He got the par terre advantage in the first period and executed a four-pointer. Hasanli did not lose his grip and followed up with a two-pointer, adding to his 1-0 advantage earlier. At 7-0, Saricicek scored a stepout but Hasanli then locked his arms around Saricicek and executed a headlock throw. Hasanli did not manage to land Saricicek in danger but managed to get two points by completing a go-behind to seal the tie inside the first three minutes.

It was the host country’s second gold medal of the night as minutes before, Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) beat Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) in a thrilling 63kg final in which Eriomenco, the U23 World and European bronze medallist, could barely stand on his feet.

Babashov got the early lead after Eriomenco was put in par terre but the Moldovan fought back to cut the deficit to just one point, 3-2, and went all out in the closing seconds of the gold medal bout. Babashov, however, did just enough to stay away from Eriomenco and clinch the biggest title of his nascent career.

Eriomenco walked to the edge of the mat in disappointment as his jelly-like knees nearly gave up because of exhaustion due to his last-minute attack.

There were no such problems for Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), who ended the second day of the championship with a song and dance.

Vyshnyvetskyi, who reached the 130kg final after defeating his biggest rival Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) in a last-four bout on Monday, needed only 61 seconds to win the gold medal for the second time in a row.

In the final, Vyshnyvetskyi was up against Koppany LASZLO (HUN). He was the favourite but few would have guessed it would be so one-sided.

Within seconds of the referee blowing his whistle to start the encounter, Vyshnyvetskyi wrapped his arms around Laszlo and slammed him to the floor for a four-pointer. He didn’t stop there as the defending champion pinned Laszlo, who didn’t even get time to settle on the mat, even as the 18-year-old Hungarian desperately tried to escape his grip.

But Vyshnyvetskyi proved too strong for Laszlo and after one minute and one second, the umpires stopped the bout and declared the U23 World Championship silver medallist the winner.

While Laszlo buried his head in his face while lying on the mat, unable to fathom what had hit him, Vyshnyvetskyi broke into an impromptu dance as he celebrated another U23 continental title.

In the 87kg category, Aues GONIBOV (AIN) won the gold medal, denying U20 World and European champion Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) a title in the U23 category. The defending champion didn’t give his young opponent much chance as he raced to a 7-0 win for back-to-back gold medals.

Georgia did claim a gold medal as Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) won his maiden title in the 55kg weight class as he overpowered Rashad MAMMADOV (AIN) 8-0 in the final, thus denying the home country a third gold medal of the night.

Blockbuster 97kg final set

Meanwhile, the 97kg final on Wednesday will feature two of the biggest stars in the weight category after defending champion Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) and 2023 U20 European Championship gold medallist Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) reached the title round.

Murtazaliev, who won the silver medal at the senior European Championship earlier this year, didn’t concede a single point in the early rounds as he overwhelmed his opponents from Moldova and Serbia en route to the gold medal match. Anton VIEWEG (GER) tried to make a match of the semifinals by nicking three points in the second period, but Murtazaliev proved too strong, winning via fall after a 10-3.

Khaslakhanau, who won the bronze at the senior continental championship, too was largely untroubled, conceding only four points as he gave himself a shot at winning his maiden U23 title. He also pinned his semifinal opponent Aapo VIITALA (FIN) after a 6-2 lead.

The host nation Azerbaijan gave themselves a strong chance to win the team title as two of their wrestlers, Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) and Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) reached the finals of the 82kg and 60kg categories respectively.

 

df

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) df. Emre MUTLU (TUR), 9-0

BRONZE: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Ivan STEFANSKYI (UKR), 7-0
BRONZE: Adam ULBASHEV (AIN) df. Leonid MOROZ (MDA), 7-1

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 3-2

BRONZE: Bekir ATES (TUR) df. Aleksandr ANDREEV (AIN), 6-5
BRONZE: Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) df. Abere FETENE (ISR), 6-2

77kg
GOLD: Khasay HASANLI (AZE) df. Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR), 10-1 

BRONZE: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Ismail BARAKHOEV (AIN), 3-2
BRONZE: Attila Tamas TOESMAGI (HUN) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 5-1

87kg
GOLD: Aues GONIBOV (AIN) df. Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO), 7-0

BRONZE: Lachin VALIYEV (AZE) df. Ilya MIALESHCHYK (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) df. Samet YALDIRAN (TUR), 10-0

130kg
GOLD: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Koppany LASZLO (HUN), via fall

BRONZE: Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) df. Marcel ALBINI (CZE), 4-1
BRONZE: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) df. Dmitrii BABORYKO (AIN), 9-1 

Semifinals

60kg
GOLD: Mert ILBARS (TUR) vs. Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)

SF 1: Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) df. Dinislam BAMMATOV (AIN), 9-4
SF 2: Mert ILBARS (TUR) df. Georgios SCARPELLO (GER), 3-1

67kg
GOLD: Azat SARIYAR (TUR) vs. Daniial AGAEV (AIN)

SF 1: Daniial AGAEV (AIN) df. Oleg KHALILOV (UKR), 7-5
SF 2: Azat SARIYAR (TUR) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 3-3

72kg
GOLD: Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) vs. Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)

SF 1: Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) df. Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE), 5-4
SF 2: Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU) df. Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA), 2-1

82kg
GOLD: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) vs. Islam ALIEV (AIN)

SF 1: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) df. Leon RIVALTA (ITA), 8-0
SF 2: Islam ALIEV (AIN) df. Deni NAKAEV (GER), 8-2

97kg
GOLD: Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) vs. Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)

SF 1: Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) df. Aapo VIITALA (FIN), via fall (6-2)
SF 2: Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) df. Anton VIEWEG (GER), via fall (10-3)  

#WomensWrestling

'Women who fight are strong and beautiful': How wrestlers have broken barriers, one takedown at a time

Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 06:03 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 8) -- They come from the gleaming futuristic city that is Tokyo to an ancient Moldovan hamlet; the American suburbs to the rustic Indian villages. They belong to diverse backgrounds, different cultures and have undertaken contrasting journeys from obscurity to the top.

It doesn’t matter if you are Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), Amit ELOR (USA) or ANTIM (IND). One thing binds them all.

At every step, they were told: “Wrestling isn't for girls.” Taunted and heckled for cutting their hair short and playing a ‘man’s sport’, they shattered stereotypes and broke barriers one takedown at a time. Today, they are role models for wrestlers not just in their respective countries but beyond borders.

“Every time I was told that wrestling isn’t for girls, I thought, "I'll prove them wrong. Gender has nothing to do with strength,” two-time world champion Ozaki says.

Elor adds: “Every time I felt doubted or like I didn’t belong, it only made me work harder to prove them wrong. I love showing that women are just as tough, skilled, and capable as anyone else on the mat.”

For some, discrimination started at home. Antim -- Hindi for ‘last’ -- got her name because her family hoped she would be the last girl child. Antim grew up to land an ever-lasting punch to patriarchy with her exploits on the mat, which have contributed to the changing mindset towards women in her village in Northern India.

Thousands of miles away, Nichita faced similar struggles. Growing up in Tataresti, Moldova, Nichita was told by her family not to wrestle, as it wasn’t ‘meant for girls’. “But I loved this sport so much that I didn’t pay attention to what others were saying. When you do something with your heart, something you truly love, it doesn’t matter what others think,” she says.

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) is the Olympic champion at 50kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Empowerment and self-belief

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) insists wrestling ‘empowered’ her ‘confidence and self-belief because its lessons and processes’ gave her the opportunity to ‘combine things like strength and grace, logic and intuition, deliberateness and flow…and endless other dualities’.

Hildebrandt won the gold medal in the 50 kg weight class at last year’s Paris Olympics. It was a classic redemption for her, having missed out on the gold medal in a cruel manner at the Tokyo Olympics. And on her way to the top of the podium in Paris, Hildebrandt showcased her wide-ranging skills, which she says also help her in everyday life.

"Through that, I’ve gotten to learn just who I am and challenge myself not only to grow through wrestling but also to express who I’ve uncovered. To feel confidence because what I uncover is authentically ME," Hildebrandt says. "It’s given me identity- not through accolade or achievement but through my process and the values I sharpen as I work toward those achievements. I can apply these lessons and skills to all areas of my life. It’s invaluable."

Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) is a two-time Olympian from Tunisia. (Photo: United World Wrestling /Amirreza Aliasgari)

Teenage prodigy Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) agrees that wrestling is a great source of 'confidence and patience', which help them in daily life. "It might not be easy to be a woman wrestler in a male-dominated society but with love for the wrestling and passion rooted in our hearts, no one can stop us," the two-time Olympian says.

Hildebrandt is conscious that the sport will test them in ‘countless ways’. “Being a woman in this sport is an additional test at times. But a woman wrestler is not deterred by those tests. They recognize the power the lessons in wrestling hold,” the American wrestler says. “The vulnerability required to step on the mat is exactly why it is the greatest sport in the world and a woman wrestler is a woman who craves that so they can discover just who they are.”

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)Paris Olympic silver medalist at 57kg Anastasia NICHITA (MDA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Indeed, the challenges for a wrestler extend beyond the mat. For Nichita, the constant injuries pegged her back but she braved them to finish second on the podium in the French capital last year.

"The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was injuries. Throughout my career, I’ve had to push through many injuries—knees, shoulders, back, ribs—but it was all worth it for the sake of my dream and my love for wrestling,” Nichita says.

Eventually, love for the sport is what keeps them going.

For Ozaki, wrestling is a way to best express herself. “Women who fight are strong and beautiful,” she says. “You can see this by watching women’s wrestling.”

Elor dreams that ‘women’s wrestling continues to grow worldwide, with more opportunities, more support, and more respect.’

As the new Olympic cycle gains momentum, the wrestlers are resetting their targets and evolving their training plans. Nichita, for one, hopes to covert her Paris silver into gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics gold medal. ”I know it will be very difficult,” she says. “But after everything I’ve been through, nothing scares me anymore.

But amidst her personal goals, she hasn’t lost the sight of the bigger picture: “I will continue to prove that wrestling is not just for boys."