Iran and Russia in Final of GR World Clubs Cup, Kayaalp Beats Semenov

Sunday, December 23, 2018 - 14:29 By Ali Feizasa

ARDABIL, Iran (December 23) -- Iranian and Russian teams advance to the final match of 2018 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup in Ardabil, Iran’s Hossein Rezazadeh Sports Hall.

The nine teams were split into two groups. In group A, Iranian team Bimeh Razi Ardabil finished 3-0 to qualify for the final match. The most important match of group A was between Bimeh Razi Ardabil and Turkey, which Iranian side won, 8-2.

The first win for the Iranian side came with 2018 World Champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) from Azerbaijan who defeated Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) by technical fall, 8-0.

After four wins by Bimeh Razi team, Ahmet YILMAZ gave Turkey their first win by defeating Boroumand ASLAN (Bimeh) in 72kg.

In 77kg, Pejman PASHTAM had great performance as he beat U23 gold and bronze medal winner Fatih CENGIZ (TUR), 6-3.

Former world champion and 2016 Olympics bronze medal winner Saeid Abdevali secured the victory of his side. Abdevali downed 2017 U23 world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 5-0.

Although the 130kg bout was not important for team results, it was a match between two titled wrestlers. nine-time Olympic and world medalist Riza Kayaalp (TUR) met 2018 world champion Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) which was in Bimeh Razi line up. Kayaalp which failed to win a medal in 2018 World Championships, succeed to earn a narrow 3-3 victory over world champion Semenov.

Despite the heavyweight result, Bimeh Razi Ardabil downed Turkey team 8-2, advancing to the final match with three consecutive victories.

In group B, Russia's team came strong by defeating another Iranian team, Sina Sanat Izeh

Lead by former world silver medalist Evgeni Saleev, Russian team won the match 6-4.

The Iranian side started with two wins but Russia came from behind with three victories from Zhambolat LOKAYAEV (63kg), Maksim SURKOV(67kg) and Denis MURTAZIN (72kg).

Keyvan REZAEI (77kg) tied the team score, 3-3 by defeating Dmitrii PETAIKIN, 9-2 but three victories in a row by Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (82kg), Evgeny SALEEV (87kg)and Murat LOKYAEV (97kg), made the Russian team the winner of the match, 6-4 and advanced to the final match.

Second day program:
Final match:Bimeh Razi Ardabil (IRI) VS Russia
Third place match:Turkey VS Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI)
Fifth place match:Shohadaye Modafe Haram (IRI) VS Georgia
Seventh place match:Ukraine VS Serbia

Group Standings

Group A: 1- Bimeh Razi Ardabil (IRI) 2-Turkey 3- Shohadaye Modafe Haram(IRI) 4- Serbia
Group B: 1- Russia 2- Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) 3- Georgia 4- Ukraine 5- Kyrgyzstan

Group stage results of 2018 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup:

Round 1

Group A

Turkey df. Serbia, 9-1
55kg-Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) df. Kristijan GAZDAG (SRB), 8-1
60kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR) – No wrestler
63kg- Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR) df. Tamas NAD (SRB), 6-1
67kg- Mate NEMES (SRB) df. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR), 2-1
72kg- Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Aleksander MAKSIMOVIC (SRB), 3-3
77kg- Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) df. Viktor NEMES (SRB), 4-3
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df. Oliver TOT (SRB) by Tech Fall, 8-0
87kg- Metehan BASAR (TUR) df. Nikolai DOBEREV (SRB), 7-5
97kg- Cenk ILDEM (TUR) df. Dejan FRANJKOVIC (SRB) by Tech Fall, 9-0
130kg- Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Boban ZIVANOVIC (SRB) by Tech Fall, 9-0

Bimeh Razi Ardabil (IRI) df. Shohadaye Modafe Haram (IRI), 9-1
55kg- Eldaniz AZIZLI (Bimeh) df. Mosayeb AKBARI (Shohadaye Modafe) by Tech Fall, 10-0
60kg- Mohammad NOURBAKHSH (Bimeh) df. Alireza NEJATI (Shohadaye Modafe), 7-2
63kg- Meysam DELKHANI (Bimeh) df. Shirza BEHESHTI TALA (Shohadaye Modafe) by FALL
67kg- Hossein ASADI (Bimeh) df. Mohammad Saeid AZIZI (Shohadaye Modafe) by FALL
72kg- Erfan SAADATIFAR (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Azim GARMSIRI (Bimeh), 9-4
77kg- Pejman PASHTAM (Bimeh) df. Mohammad SORKHENEJAD (Shohadaye Modafe), 4-4
82kg- Mahdi EBRAHIMI (Bimeh) df. Mehdi MOHAMMADZADEH (Shohadaye Modafe), 4-4
87kg- Ramin TAHERI (Bimeh) df. Iman ANSARI (Shohadaye Modafe) by FALL
97kg- Aliakbar HEYDARI (Bimeh) df. Mohammad BEYRANVAND (Shohadaye Modafe), 3-2
130kg- Amir GHASEMI MONJAZI (Bimeh) df. Mohsen FATAHI (Shohadaye Modafe), 4-0

Group B

Georgia df. Ukraine, 7-3
55kg- Nodari OKROMTCHEDLISHVILI (GEO) df. Sergii DZIUBA (UKR), 6-3
60kg- Ramaz SURMANIDZE (GEO) df. Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR) by Tech Fall, 9-0
63kg- Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Hevorh ARZUMANIAN (UKR), 7-6
67kg- Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. Oleksii KALINICHENKO (UKR), 7-2
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) df. Saaino DAVITAIA (GEO) by Tech Fall, 11-2
77kg-Oleksandr KUKHTA (UKR) df. Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO) by Tech Fall, 9-0
82kg- Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df. Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR), 8-3
87kg- Serhii OMELIN (UKR) df. Lasha DEVIDZE (GEO), 8-4
97kg-Irakli KAJAIA (GEO) df. Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR), 4-1
130kg- Sulxani BUIDZE (GEO) df. Andrii VOZNIUK (UKR) by FALL

Russia df. Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), 6-4
55kg- Pouya NASSERPOUR (Izeh) df. Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS), 5-2
60kg- Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (Izeh) df. Ildus YAMUKOV (RUS), 4-4
63kg- Zhambolat LOKAYAEV (RUS) df. Shahin BODAGHI (Izeh), 6-1
67kg- Maksim SURKOV (RUS) df. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (Izeh), 5-5
72kg-Denis MURTAZIN (RUS) df. Ramaz Zoidze (Izeh), 7-4
77kg- Keyvan REZAEI (Izeh) df. Dmitrii PETAIKIN (RUS), 9-2
82kg- Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS) df. Mehdi HODAEI (Izeh), 6-2
87kg- Evgeny SALEEV (RUS) df. Saman AZIZI (Izeh) by Tech Fall, 9-0
97kg- Murat LOKYAEV (RUS) df. Edris EBRAHIMI by FALL
130kg- Behnam MEHDIZADEH (Izeh) df. Vasilii PARSHIN (RUS), 2-0

Round 2

Group A

Turkey df. Shohadaye Modafe Haram (IRI), 7-3
55kg-Mehdi GHORBANI (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Muslim ALINLI (TUR), 11-8
60kg- Alireza NEJATI (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Ahmet UYAR (TUR) by Tech Fall, 11-0
63kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Altan ABDURAHMAN (TUR) by Tech Fall, 11-2
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) df. Bahram MAROOFKHANI (Shohadaye Modafe), 6-6
72kg- Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Milad NEDAYI (Shohadaye Modafe) by Tech Fall, 10-0
77kg- Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR) df. Ali NOROUZI (Shohadaye Modafe), 6-0
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df. Hadi ALIZADE POURNIA (Shohadaye Modafe), 7-3
87kg- Metehan BASAR (TUR) df. Reza MOHAMMAD ALIPOUR (Shohadaye Modafe), 2-1
97kg- Fatih BASHKOY (TUR) df. Mohammad BEYRANVAND (Shohadaye Modafe), 6-1
130kg- Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Parsa NAZARI (Shohadaye Modafe), 6-0

Bimeh Razi Ardabil (IRI) df. Serbia, 8-2
55kg- Kristijan GAZDAG (SRB) df. MoslemNADERI KHADEM (Bimeh), 5-1
60kg- Mohammad NOURBAKHSH (Bimeh) – No wrestler
63kg- Saman ABDEVALI (Bimeh) df. Tamas NAD (SRB) by Tech Fall, 9-0
67kg-Mohammad ELYASI (Bimeh) df. Mate NEMES (SRB), 7-2
72kg- Boroumand ASLAN (Bimeh) df. Aleksander MAKSIMOVIC (SRB), 4-3
77kg- Viktor NEMES (SRB)df. Rasoul GARMSITI (Bimeh), 5-0
82kg- Saeid ABDEVALI (Bimeh) df. Oliver TOT (SRB) by FALL
87kg- Mehdi FALLAH (Bimeh) df. Nikolai DOBEREV (SRB) by FALL
97kg- Mehdi ALIYARI (Bimeh) df. Dejan FRANJKOVIC (SRB) by Tech Fall, 8-0
130kg- Amir GHASEMI MONJAZI (Bimeh) df. Boban ZIVANOVIC (SRB), 6-0

Group B

Russia df. Georgia, 7-3
55kg- Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS) df. Nodari OKROMTCHEDLISHVILI (GEO)by Tech Fall, 9-0
60kg- Ramaz SURMANIDZE (GEO) df. Ildus YAMUKOV (RUS), 6-3
63kg- Zhambolat LOKAYAEV (RUS) df. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO), 7-1
67kg- Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. Maksim SURKOV (RUS), 7-2
72kg-Denis MURTAZIN (RUS) df. Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO), 8-4
77kg- Dmitrii PETAIKIN (RUS) df. Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO) by Tech Fall, 12-3
82kg- Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df. Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS) by Tech Fall, 12-2
87kg- Evgeny SALEEV (RUS) df. Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO) by Tech Fall, 9-0
97kg- Murat LOKYAEV (RUS)df. Irakli KAJAIA (GEO), 1-1
130kg- Vasilii PARSHIN (RUS) df. Sulxani BUIDZE (GEO), 7-3

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Kyrgyzstan, 8-2
55kg-Reza KHEDRI (Izeh) df. Abdykarim KUTTUBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0
60kg- Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (Izeh) df. Ermek KANYBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 8-0
63kg- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (Izeh) df. Talastan KANZHARBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0
67kg- Manas USONOV (KGZ) df. MMajid KHALILI (Izeh) by Tech Fall, 9-0
72kg- Bek KONURBAEV (KGZ) df. Mohammad Amin AHMADPOUR (Izeh), 4-3
77kg- Keyvan REZAEI (Izeh) df. Erlan CHOPBAI (KGZ) by FALL
82kg- Abbas MEHDIZADEH (Izeh) df. Baiaman MAKSATBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 8-0
87kg- Saman AZIZI (Izeh) df. Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ) byTech Fall, 9-0
97kg- Mohammad YEGANEH (Izeh) df. Elmirlan ARSTANBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 10-1
130kg- Masoud NEMAT CHEKANI (Izeh) df. Murad OMAROV (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0

Round 3

Group A

Shohadaye Modafe Haram (IRI) df. Serbia, 7-3
55kg- Mehdi GHORBANI (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Kristijan GAZDAG (SRB) , 5-2
60kg-Alireza NEJATI (Shohadaye Modafe) – No wrestler
63kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Tamas NAD (SRB) by Tech Fall, 8-0
67kg- Mate NEMES (SRB) df. Mohsen TAHERI (Shohadaye Modafe) by FALL
72kg- Erfan SAADATIFAR (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Aleksander MAKSIMOVIC (SRB) by FALL
77kg- Viktor NEMES (SRB) df. Ali NOROUZI (Shohadaye Modafe), 2-0
82kg- Hadi ALIZEDH POURNIA (Shohadaye Modafe) – No wrestler
87kg- Reza Mohammad ALIPOUR (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Oliver TOT (SRB) by Tech Fall, 9-0
97kg- Dejan FRANJKOVIC (SRB) df. Mohammad BEYRANVAND (Shohadaye Modafe), 2-1
130kg- Parsa NAZARI (Shohadaye Modafe) df. Boban ZIVANOVIC (SRB), 11-4

Bimeh Razi Ardabil (IRI) df. Turkey, 8-2
55kg-Eldaniz AZIZLI (Bimeh) df. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) by Tech Fall, 8-0
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (Bimeh) df. Hammet RUSTEM (TUR), 6-2
63kg- Saman ABDEVALI (Bimeh) df. Altan ABDURAHMAN (TUR), 3-1
67kg- Mohammad ELYASI (Bimeh) df. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR), 3-1
72kg- Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Boroumand ASLAN (Bimeh), 7-4
77kg- Pejman PASHTAM (Bimeh) df. Fatih CENGIZ (TUR), 6-3
82kg- Saedi ABDEVALI (Bimeh) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 5-0
87kg- Ramin TAHERI (Bimeh) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR), 5-0
97kg- Mehdi ALIYARI (Bimeh) df. Cenk ILDEM (TUR), 3-1
130kg- Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Sergey SEMENOV (Bimeh), 3-3

Group B

Russia df. Kyrgyzstan, 9-1
55kg- Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS) df. Abdykarim KUTTUBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 10-0
60kg- Ildus YAMUKOV (RUS) df. Ermek KANYBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0
63kg- Talastan KANZHARBEK (KGZ) df. Zhambolat LOKAYAEV (RUS) by Tech Fall, 8-0
67kg- Maksim SURKOV (RUS) df. Manas USONOV (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 8-0
72kg-Denis MURTAZIN (RUS) df. Bek KONURBAEV (KGZ), 3-0
77kg- Dmitrii PETAIKIN (RUS) df. Erlan CHOPBAI (KGZ), 6-1
82kg- Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS) df. Baiaman MAKSATBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 10-0
87kg- Evgeny SALEEV (RUS) df. Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ) by FALL
97kg- Murat LOKYAEV (RUS)df. Elmirlan ARSTANBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 8-0
130kg- Vasilii PARSHIN (RUS) df. Murad OMAROV (KGZ) by FALL

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Ukraine, 6-4
55kg- Pouya NASERPOUR (Izeh) df. Sergii DZIUBA (UKR) by Tech Fall, 9-0
60kg- Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (Izeh) df. Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR) by Tech Fall, 9-0
63kg- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (Izeh) df. Hevorh ARZUMANIAN (UKR) by Tech Fall, 8-0
67kg- Majid KAHLILI (Izeh) df. Oleksii KALINICHENKO (UKR) by Tech Fall, 8-0
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) df. Mohammad Amin AHMADPOUR (Izeh), by FALL
77kg-Oleksandr KUKHTA (UKR) df. Asghar Aali MOHAMMADI (Izeh) by Tech Fall, 8-0
82kg- Abbas MEHDIZADEH (Izeh) df. Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) , 4-0
87kg- Serhii OMELIN (UKR) df. Saman AZIZI (Izeh), 3-1
97kg- Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR) df. Mohammad YEGANEH (Izeh), 3-3
130kg- Masoud NEMAT CHEKANI df. Andrii VOZNIUK (UKR) by Tech Fall, 9-0

Round 4

Group B

Ukraine df. Kyrgyzstan, 9-1
55kg- Abdykarim KUTTUBEK (KGZ) df. Sergii DZIUBA (UKR), 7-6
60kg- Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR) df. Ermek KANYBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 8-0
63kg- Hevorh ARZUMANIAN (UKR) df. Talastan KANZHARBEK (KGZ), 5-3
67kg-Oleksii KALINICHENKO (UKR) df. Manas USONOV (KGZ), 11-10
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) df. Bek KONURBAEV (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 11-2
77kg-Oleksandr KUKHTA (UKR) df. Erlan CHOPBAI (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 10-1
82kg- Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) df. Baiaman MAKSATBEK (KGZ) by FALL
87kg- Serhii OMELIN (UKR) df. Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
97kg- Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR) df. Elmirlan ARSTANBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 8-0
130kg- Andrii VOZNIUK (UKR) df. Murad OMAROV (KGZ) by FALL

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Georgia, 8-2
55kg- VReza KHEDRI (Izeh) df. Nodari OKROMTCHEDLISHVILI (GEO), 5-4
60kg- Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (Izeh) df. Ramaz SURMANIDZE (GEO) by Tech Fall, 9-0
63kg- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (Izeh) df. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) by Tech Fall, 9-0
67kg- Shmagi BOLKVADZE (Izeh) df. Otar ABULADZE (GEO), 4-0
72kg-Ramaz ZOIDZE (Izeh) df. Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO), 6-1
77kg- Keyvan REZAEI (Izeh) df. Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO), 5-0
82kg- Abbas MEHDIZADEH (Izeh) df. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO), 7-5
87kg- Lasha DEVIDZE (GEO) df. Saman AZIZI (Izeh) by forfeit
97kg- Irakli KAJAIA (GEO) df. Edris EBRAHIMI (Izeh) by forfeit
130kg- Behnam MEHDIZADEH (Izeh) df. Sulxani BUIDZE (GEO) by Tech Fall, 8-0

Round 5

Group B

Russia df. Ukraine, 8-2
55kg- Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS) df. Sergii DZIUBA (UKR) by Tech Fall, 8-0
60kg- Ildus YAMUKOV (RUS) df. Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR),4-0
63kg- Zhambolat LOKAYAEV (RUS) df. Hevroh ARZUMANIAN (UKR), 4-0
67kg- Maksim SURKOV (RUS) df. Oleksii KALINICHENKO (UKR), 5-5
72kg-Denis MURTAZIN (RUS) df. Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) by Tech Fall, 8-0
77kg- Dmitrii PETAIKIN (RUS) df. Oleksanr KUKHTA (UKR) by FALL
82kg- Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR) df. Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS), 4-1
87kg- Evgeny SALEEV (RUS) df. Serhii OMELIN (UKR), 5-1
97kg- Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR) df. Murat LOKYAEV (RUS)by forfeit
130kg- Vasilii PARSHIN (RUS) df. Andrii VOZNIUK (UKR) by forfeit

Georgia df. Kyrgyzstan, 8-2
55kg- Nodari OKROMTCHEDLISHVILI (GEO) – no wrestler
60kg- Ramaz SURMANIDZE (GEO) – no wrestler
63kg- Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Talastan KANZHARBEK (KGZ), 8-5
67kg- Otar ABULADZE (GEO) – no wrestler
72kg- Saaino DAVITAIA (GEO) df. Bek KONURBAEV (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0
77kg- Erlan CHOPBAI (KGZ) df. Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO) by forfeit
82kg- Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df. Baiaman MAKSATBEK (KGZ) by FALL
87kg- Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO) df. Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0
97kg-Irakli KAJAIA (GEO) df. Elmirlan ARSTANBEK (KGZ) by Tech Fall, 9-0
130kg- Murad OMAROV (KGZ) df. Sulxani BUIDZE (GEO) b

#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds

Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 13:44 By United World Wrestling Press

KATERINI-PIERIA, Greece (September 27) -- Iran’s return to Beach Wrestling after an eight-year absence could have been cautious. Instead, it was commanding.

Iran won four medals, including two golds, to claim the men’s team title at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships after a close race with Georgia, which finished second with 75 points to Iran’s 80. Azerbaijan was third with 62 points.

In the women's category, hosts Greece managed to go past France to finish first with 50 points while France ended up second with 42. The United States was third with 32 points.

The U17 World Championships is a significant stop in Beach Wrestling as it will be taken into consideration for while awarding the quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

Iran Iran's two gold medalists in Greece, Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI), left, at 90kg and Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI), right, at 70kg.

Gold medalists for Iran, Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI) at 70kg and Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI) at 90kg, were competing in Beach Wrestling for the first time but never let their inexperience affect their performances.

Hossein, who defeated Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA) in the knockout match, was placed in Group D with Yuki UEDA (JPN), Nikolaos PAPADOPOULOS (GRE) and Ilie TURCAN (MDA). He defeated Papadopoulos 3-1 in the group bout before blanking Turcan 3-0 in just 40 seconds. He was quicker against Ueda, winning in 34 seconds.

Facing Luka MAKHARADZE (GEO) in the quarterfinals, Hossein scored a 3-1 victory and took only 40 seconds to beat Rashad ALIYEV (AZE) in the semifinals.

In an all-Iran final, Hossein fell behind 1-0 against Ilyar VEGHARI (IRI) but stormed back with two straight points with a knee and head touch from Veghari. He used a lateral drop as his final move to win 5-1. Veghari's lost challenge added to Hossein's score and made it 6-1.

Fotouhi was even more dominant at 90kg, winning all three of his group bouts via fall. Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE) survived getting pinned in the quarterfinals but Fotouhi was strong enough to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals.

After winning the semifinal 2-1 against Elgun KARIMLI (AZE), Fotouhi was back to his dominant self and slammed Joni SHAORSHADZE (GEO) to pick his fourth fall in six bouts and the gold medal for Iran.

Fotouhi began with a step out to earn his first point of the final. Both wrestlers arm-locked each other and tried to throw at the edge but it was Shaorshadze who touched outside first which gave Fotouhi his second point.

In one of those moments when his Freestyle instincts took over, Fotouhi went for duckunder and touched his knee on the sand which gave Shaorshadze a point to make the score 2-1. The Georgian tried a fireman carry in the final 10 seconds but Fotouhi pancaked him for a fall.

At 60kg, Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) defeated Rati BERIDZE (GEO) twice, first in the group stages and then in final, to claim the gold medal.

Kuzmenko blanked all his opponents barring Beridze who managed to score one point when the two met in the Group B bout. However, the Ukrainian improved and gave no chance to Beridze in the final, winning 3-0.

The Ukrainian was quick to score two step-outs and lead 2-0 and when Beridze tried to score a point, Kuzmenko snapped him down and scored his third and winning point.

Georgia had another silver medalist, Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), who suffered a one-sided loss in the 80kg final to Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE), who had represented Azerbaijan at the U17 World Championships in Athens in August.

Suleymanli did not give up a single point in the tournament and won the final against Mustafaev 3-0. He scored a step-out to open the scoring in the final before Mustafaev fell on the ground to give a second point. The Georgian wrestler tried tripping Suleymanli but instead gave a takedown for one point to drop the final.

Azerbaijan's first-ever gold medalist Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) with other team members.

Historic golds for Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan

In the women's category, Puerto Rico and Azerbaijan earned historic golds as four different countries crowned champions.

Heklanys RIVERA (PUR), the first woman to compete in Beach Wrestling for her country, made a stunning run to the gold medal at 45kg. She did not give up a single point in six bouts including the final.

Taking on Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA) in the final, Rivera was put on the 30-second activity clock. With eight seconds remaining, Rivera used an underhook to get the first takedown for a point.

The second point was awarded to Rivera when Salissou committed a foul by grabbing Rivera's shorts. The winning takedown was similar to the first one as Rivera moved from underhook to tripping Salissou.

For Azerbaijan, 15-year-old Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) needed only 16 seconds to create history. She defeated last year's champion Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) via fall in the 55kg final. Kojima tried hitting a lateral drop in the final but fell on her back, which gave Musayeva three points for the win.

Earlier, Musayeva had lost one of the group bouts against Mia KOVAC (CRO) via fall but rebounded to win all remaining bouts to make the final and then capture the gold medal.

Hosts Greece, which won the team title, earned the gold medal at 75kg through Elena ZAIMIDOU (GRE) who scored a 32-second victory via fall over Madeline HAYDEN (USA) in the final.

Zaimidou, who has competed and won gold in Grappling at the European level, secured three victories via fall, and a victory via superiority over Merily VAESTER (EST) in the semifinals.

In the gold medal bout, Hayden stunned the local fans when she hit a beautiful over-the-head suplex on Zaimidou. Hayden went for a second suplex, but Zaimidou blocked her, using a headlock, and Hayden fell on her back which gave Zaimidou three points and the victory.

Hayden challenged the scoring but the points were confirmed on review and Zaimidou was awarded a point for lost challenge, which made her score 4-1.

European bronze medalist in Women's Wrestling, Alexandra MOISEI (MDA) earned the gold medal at 65kg after some nervous wins. She defeated Thea ROUSSEL (FRA), 3-0, in the final in 49 seconds using three easy snapdowns.

Iran and Russia in Final of GR World Clubs Cup, Kayaalp Beats Semenov

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Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds