#WrestleAlmaty

Iran Fills Remaining Freestyle Spots in Tokyo as Uzbekistan Grabs 4

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - 10:42 By Ken Marantz

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 11) --- Iran went into the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament with three holes in its freestyle lineup for the Tokyo Olympics. On Sunday, Amir Mohammad YAZDANI (IRI), Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) and Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) had little trouble filling the gap.

Yazdani secured a ticket to Tokyo for the Middle East powerhouse by easily advancing to the final at 65kg, while Emamichoghaei and Mohammadian did likewise at 74kg and 97kg, respectively, on the final day of the three-day tournament in Almaty that decided two qualifiers in each weight class.

The big winner of the day was Uzbekistan, which, led by Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) at 97kg, picked up four berths in Tokyo -- after having been shut out at the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan, where six spots per weight class were allocated.

China secured two places, while host Kazakhstan, which had four spots to begin with, grabbed one along with Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. India, which had earned three places in Nursultan, failed to add to its tally, despite putting three wrestlers into the semifinals.

But it was Japan that had the most disastrous day. The Olympic host began the day by seeing Rio Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) fail to make weight at 57kg, then had two-time Olympian Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN) miss out by suffering a heartbreaking, last-second loss in his semifinal. Japan came looking to add to its two freestyle spots from Nursultan, but will leave empty-handed.

Yazdani, a distant cousin of superstar and 86kg Olympic favorite Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), certainly made the family proud with a dominant performance that he capped with a 10-0 technical fall in 5:21 over a tenacious Haji ALI (BRN).

"All my bouts were good," Yazdani said. "But the semifinal was the best because I won 10-0. That bout the most important."

For Iranians, earning the Olympic place is only the start. Now they have to go through a difficult national trial process to fill the spots.

"I will go back to Iran and the coaches will decide the team," Yazdani said. "I have to be the best."

In the final to be held later in the night session, Yazdani will face Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), who pulled off a stunning victory by fall over Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB), the 2020 Asian champion at 70kg.

Bekbulatov had stormed to an 8-0 lead when Akmataliev clamped on a headlock and threw the Uzbek to his back. Akmataliev then secured a ticket to Tokyo by securing a fall with 8 seconds left in the first period.

"I wasn’t thinking anything when I was down," said Akmataliev, a fifth-place finisher at the 2019 world U-23. "All I had to do was beat him to qualify. He is the best wrestler but I want to win as well. This feeling, there are no words to explain this. I was just confident to do it. Olympics here I come."

Emamichoghaei, a world and Asian bronze medalist in 2019 at 70kg, had no trouble moving up to the Olympic weight of 74kg, chalking up three straight technical falls without surrendering a point. In the semifinals, he needed just 2:13 to put away Sandeep MANN (INDIA).

In the other 74kg semifinal, 2018 world bronze medalist Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) earned a second trip to the Olympics by scoring a  takedown with :54 left for a 4-2 victory over Elaman DOGDURBEK UULU (KGZ).

"Before I came here, I had injured my knee and I was not training 100%, but it was a good day to qualify," said Abdurakhmanov, a two-time Asian champion who placed fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympics. "In the semifinal, he was coming very hard at me so I had to keep him away."

Abdurakhmanov said he feels ready to make the Olympic podium this time. "I was so close to a medal in Rio, so I think I can medal now," he said. "The problem was that before Rio, I was a regular 70kg guy and 74 was big for me. Now my weight is good for 74. My weight training is top class.

"Hopefully I train harder, smarter because that's how I will medal in Tokyo."

At 97kg, Ibragimov and Mohammadian were both totally dominant in setting up a showdown in the final. Ibragimov advanced with an 11-1 technical fall over Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ) that he capped with six points off a lace lock, while Mohammadian followed a takedown against Satywart KADIAN (IND) with four straight gut wrenches to end the match in 30 seconds.

Mohammadian also knows he has opened the door to the Olympics, but is not through yet.

"I have to go back to Iran and have a trial and there are two very good wrestlers in Iran," he said. "The coaches will decide the team to Tokyo. I definitely want to go there."

While getting to the Olympics is the objective, Mohammadian relishes the chance of challenging world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS).

"I wanted to wrestle Sadulaev before, but I have not gotten a chance," Mohammadian said. "He is good wrestler obviously. We analyze him a lot. In Tokyo, I don't care if I win a medal or not, but I want to beat Sadulaev. That's my target."

Japan's worst nightmare on the mat came true in the 86kg semifinals, where two-time Olympian Takatani lost 8-7 to unheralded Zushen LIN (CHN), who capped a comeback from a 6-1 deficit by scoring the winning takedown with :23 left.

Lin's biggest move came on a 4-point counter lift in the first period off a Takatani takedown attempt, as that put him ahead on criteria when he tied the score at 7-7. In the final seconds, Takatani came close to scoring a takedown, but couldn't get Lin's knee down for the points. An unsuccessful challenge gave Lin his final point.

"I was ready for this competition," Lin said. "I am 27 years old and I am going to the Olympics for the first time. I was there in Nursultan but failed to qualify so this was my chance."

Lin has come a long way, considering that at the 2014 World Championships, he finished 22nd at 74kg -- the weight class in which Takatani won the silver medal.

In Sunday's final, Lin will face Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB), who denied Kazakhstan a sixth Olympic place by defeating 2018 Asian bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) by fall at the buzzer while leading 5-2.

"The Uzbek team qualified a lot here because we have good trainers and the federation helps a lot," Shapiev said. "You can see this in the results today."

Uzbekistan secured its first Olympic spot at 57kg, when Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) defeated Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)  8-4 in the semifinals. Opposing him in the final will be Minghu LIU (CHN), a 6-3 winner over Muhammad IKROMOV (TJK).

Japan had one final chance to secure a berth in an unlikely weight class when Tetsuya TANAKA (JPN) made it to the semifinals at 130kg. But his Olympic hopes were dashed when he was overpowered by Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL), who scored six of his points in a 9-0 victory on stepouts.

Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) grabbed the other Olympic berth at 130kg with a 2-0 win over Sumit SUMIT (IND). Both of his points came on stepouts.

Tanaka had been aiming to become the first Japanese wrestler in freestyle to qualify for the Olympics in the heaviest freestyle class since Tamon HONDA (JPN) made it to the Barcelona Games in 1992 at 130kg.

Rio Olympic silver medalist  Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) missed weight on Sunday at the Asian Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Heavy heartbreak for Higuchi

One of the biggest shocks of the day occurred before the action started when Japan's Higuchi failed to make weight in his bid to return to the Olympics at 57kg.

"When we left the hotel for the weigh-in location in the morning, the mood was that we had some leeway," explained Shigeki NISHIGUCHI, the Japan Wrestling Federation general manager.

"After arriving at the weigh-ins, he was 250 grams over. He tried to lose the weight within the alloted 30 minutes, but came up 50 grams short. 'We regret that we didn't support him enough. We could have done more."

After winning the silver at Rio, Higuchi moved up to 61kg and remained at that weight class through 2017. The following year, he moved up to the Olympic weight of 65kg in an attempt to make the Tokyo Games. He won the 2018 world U-23 gold medal, but eventually failing to unseat world senior champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) on the team to Nursultan.

Having never been fully satisfied with his Olympic silver medal, and despite the fact that at one point his weight had ballooned up to 68 kilograms, Higuchi went on a crash diet with the aim of qualifying again at 57kg and going for the gold.

Subsisting on an all-vegetable diet, he dropped the weight, then gained the right to enter the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament by beating former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI  (JPN) at the All-Japan Championships in December 2019. The year's postponement of both the Olympics and qualifying tournament did not work out in his favor.

"I took care of everything, including diet, exercise, and caloric intake," Higuchi said in a statement released by the federation. "I've done everything without compromise. But I didn't lose (the last 50 grams) in extreme conditions. It can't be helped. I have no choice but to accept reality. This is the result, it cannot be overturned. I want to engrave it in my heart."

Freestyle

Semifinal Results

57kg
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df. Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ), 8-4
Minghu LIU (CHN) df. Muhammad IKROMOV (TJK), 6-3

65kg
Amir Mohammad YAZDANI (IRI) df. Haji ALI (BRN) by TF, 10-0, 5:21
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) df. Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB) by Fall, 2:52 (4-8)

74kg
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Elaman DOGDURBEK UULU (KGZ), 4-2
Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) df. Sandeep MANN (INDIA) by TF, 10-0, 3:46

86kg
Zushen LIN (CHN) df. Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN), 8-7
Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) df. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) by Fall, 6:00 (5-2)

97kg
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) df. Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ) by TF, 11-1, 3:59
Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) df. Satywart KADIAN (IND) by TF, 10-0, :30

125kg
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) df. Sumit SUMIT (IND), 2-0
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) df. Tetsuya TANAKA (JPN), 9-0

#WrestleZagreb

Kougioumtsidis gives Greece historic world gold as 1st male champion

Monday, September 15, 2025 - 20:27 By Ken Marantz

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 15) -- For all of Greece's history in the sport of wrestling-- one of the current styles even bears the country's name -- it had never produced a male world champion.

Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) rectified that situation with a determined performance, defeating Levi HAINES (USA) 3-2 in the 79kg final on Monday night, the third day of the World Championships in Zagreb when four freestyle golds were up for grabs.

"I'm very proud," Kougioumtsidis said. "I'm the first one who won a gold medal at the World Championships. It's my dream come true. I failed at the Olympics last year. I think this year is a good achievement. I achieved my goal."

In other finals, Chongsong HAN (PRK) gave his country its first world gold since 2019 with a come-from-behind victory at 57kg, while Japan and the United States each picked up their second golds of the competition, with Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) winning at 74kg under sad circumstances and Trent HIDLAY (USA) putting on a comeback for the ages to triumph at 92kg.

Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) scores a stepout against Levi HAINES (USA) in the 79kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The 23-year-old Kougioumtsidis came to Zagreb flying under the radar for title favorites. He was a two-time European U23 champion, and won the senior gold in 2022, but had lost in the first round at 74kg at the Paris Olympics and was third at this year's Budapest Ranking Series.

But he steadily battled his way through the rounds to advance to final, where he wrestled a solid and sensible match that took advantage of opportunities while keeping his American foe at bay.

After receiving an activity point, Kougioumtsidis got in on a single that led to a stepout and a 2-0 lead at the break. He repeated the move again in the second period and, although he surrendered a takedown with :02 left, it wasn't enough to deter him from his appointment with destiny.

"He's a very offensive wrestler, I know that," Kougioumtsidis said. "He has very good conditioning. My condition is also good. I was a bit tired from yesterday because of four matches. But I won, that's what matters most."

Kougioumtsidis said that after his disappointment in Paris, he took some time off, then spent time training in Georgia.

"After the Olympics I had maybe five months off because I wasn't feeling very good," he said. "I had very good training. This year, I mostly was in Georgia for camp and thanks to my sparring partners from Georgia that helped me. I achieved the biggest goal here."

Until Kougioumtsidis' victory, the lone Greek to ever step to the top of the medal podium at the World Championships was Sofia POUMPOURIDOU (GRE), who won the women's 51kg gold in 2002 on home soil in Chalkida, Greece.

Only three times has a Greek man ever even advanced to a world final (Giorgios ATHANASSIADIS (GRE) did in twice), all in freestyle, but never did they come away with a gold. The last time was in 1991.

"I'm very lucky also that I am Greek," Kougioumtsidis said. "So I feel like I made all Greeks proud. I am Greek and I love my country."

Chongsong HAN (PRK)Chongsong HAN (PRK) works on a gut-wrench against Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) during the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 57kg, things could hardly have gone worse for Han in his gold-medal match with Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), which was a rematch of their semifinal clash at the 2023 Asian Games, which Han won 4-2.

Ahead 1-0 in the second period, Almaz Uulu stopped an arm throw attempt -- which, if challenged, could possibly have been overturned as a slip -- then added two 2-point exposures to go up 7-0.

Han determinedly fought on, and a scramble that he initiated with a front headlock roll gave him six points to cut the lead to 9-6. He then scored a takedown and added two gut wrenches to notch a 12-9 victory.

Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) and Chermen VALIEV (ALB) wrestle in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 74kg, Takahashi won by injury default after his opponent in the final, Olympic bronze medalist Chermen VALIEV (ALB), suffered a serious knee injury and, after trying to soldier on for a short time, was forced to give up the fight.

"It leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste, but I feel like I won the world title with the tackle that works best for me, so I'm happy," Takahashi said.

Takahashi, the 2024 world U23 champion, had a 3-2 lead when Valiev tried to counter a single-leg attempt 35 seconds into the second period by going over the top.

Takahashi had Valiev's left leg at an acute angle and his own action caused the knee to pop, after which he immediately sank to the mat in pain.

"When I got in on the single, I tried to get my head out and finish it off as I always do," said Takahashi, who scored off an identical move in the first period. "It was all but done, I thought. But the opponent was entangled deeper than I thought, and I heard a snap."

Valiev's leg was taped and he limped into the circle, but it was obvious it would be almost an impossible task to continue, much less win. Takahashi scored a stepout, then got a takedown that Valiev initially countered -- much to everyone's surprise -- but could not continue the move. Another takedown finally proved to Valiev that it was futile to go on and the match was ended at 4:07.

While Takahashi did not deliberately target the injured leg, nor did he let up on Valiev, which he said would have been disrespectful to such a high-level competitor. He also recalls not being given any special treatment when he suffered a similar injury himself while winning last year's U23 title.

"He's a strong competitor, and once you take the mat, you can't let your guard down," Takahashi said. "I thought to just give everything I had. When I had my injury a year ago, the opponent came right at me without thinking about it. Conversely, it would be rude to have eased up."

Takahashi's victory comes at what is increasingly looking like a golden era for Japan in freestyle. Following up on the two golds and a silver at the Paris Olympics, Japan got one of the first golds in Zagreb when Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) won the 70kg title on Sunday. And earlier Monday, Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) advanced to the 65kg final.

"At the Olympics, Japan really did amazingly well, so there were high expectations for this [competition]," Takahashi said. "Instead of feeling pressure or nerves, we want to show 'Japan is strong' and that actually gives us more confidence."

Looking ahead, which could include a direct clash with Paris silver medalist Daichi TAKATANI (JPN), Takahashi has his eyes firmly set on 2028.

"I'm really happy to be the world champion, but what I am aiming for is the Los Angeles Olympics," he said. "The Olympics is a stage where you can be a champion just once every four years. I will work on sharpening my tackles."

In the last bout of the evening, Hidlay was being tossed around like a rag doll by Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW), only to rally from an eight-point deficit through sheer persistence and determination. When the dust cleared, Hidlay had himself a 13-10 win and a gold medal in his senior world debut.

"It wasn't my best wrestling match as I wrestle a lot better and cleaner than that," the 26-year-old Hidlay said. "But I would say nothing probably describes my wrestling style and career better than being down by eight points and figuring out a way to win within a short time."

Gadzhimagomedov, a relative unknown on the scene, relied almost solely on a counter lift and throw that he used to great effect early on, scoring a pair of 4-pointers to take a 10-2 lead. When he tried a third one that could have ended the match, Hidlay managed to hold his position enough to get an exposure, which, with an unsuccessful challenge, cut the gap to 10-5 at the break.

In the second period, Gadzhimagomedov didn't seem to have the energy to get the necessary height to complete the move, and Hidlay finished off a pair of double-leg takedowns to pull within one with a minute to go. Then he hit the coup de grace, a 4-point takedown with :15 left to complete the miracle.

"I think the work I put in in the first period, I wasn't scoring, but it was taking it out of him a little bit," Hidlay said. "It was just a matter of time before I was able to get to my scores."

Hidlay, the 2022 world U20 silver medalist at 86kg, called being a senior world champion "surreal" and said that it hadn't fully sunken in yet.

"I just had so many emotions kind of flood over you in that moment and you kind of just go blind to the world," he said. "Just for a couple of seconds, you just feel like you're floating.

"It's just something I've worked for my entire life, my entire career. To have it all come together in that fashion is just pretty incredible."

Harutyunyan denies Mexico first-ever world medal

Earlier, Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) came an agonizing few centimeters from giving Mexico its first-ever world medalist.

That was the distance Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) kept his knee off the mat, preventing what would have been a last-second winning takedown in their 57kg bronze-medal match.

With a denied challenge giving him a final point, four-time European champion Harutyunyan secured a 7-4 win and a fourth world medal in five years.

Harutyunyan looked to be cruising to victory when he added a takedown and exposure to an activity point for a 5-0 lead going into the second period. But Bravo Young, a collegiate star in the United States, launched a comeback, sandwiching two takedowns around a Harutyunyan stepout to cut the gap to 6-4.

With the clock ticking down, Bravo Young deftly deked his way behind Harutyunyan, but the Armenian resisted as the Mexican did all he could to get his opponent's knee to hit the mat.

The other 57kg bronze went to Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), who was on the activity clock when he scored a second-period takedown to give him a 3-1 victory over Vladimir EGOROV (MKD). With the victory, Abdullaev adds the world bronze to his Olympic bronze from last year in Paris.

Former Olympic and three-time world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) assured he wouldn't leave Zagreb empty-handed, and he did it with a dramatic last-second victory over David CARR (USA) at 74kg.

Sidakov received an activity point in the first period, but he was on the clock in the second when Carr scored a stepout. Seconds later, the activity point was added to Carr's tally to put him ahead 2-1.

It looked like that was how it was going to end, but the cagey Sidakov managed to slip behind and force Carr over the edge for a stepout with :05 left to secure a 2-2 win on criteria.

Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) earned the other 74kg bronze with a 3-1 victory over Yones EMAMI (IRI), securing the decisive points with a second-period takedown for his fourth career world medal.

Iran picked up two bronze medals, with 2024 Asian champion Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) taking home one at 79kg and reigning Asian champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) winning the other at 92kg.

Nokhodi, the 2024 Asian champion, took home his fifth world medal -- alas, still no gold -- when he scored a takedown and stepout in the first period and held on for a 4-2 victory over Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) at 79kg.

Firouzpour quickly finished off Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), latching onto a cradle as he defended against a takedown attempt, then rocking backward to put the Kazakh onto his back and secure a fall in 1:49 for his first senior world medal.

The other 79kg bronze was claimed by Asian silver medalist Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN), who was trailing Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) until the last minute when he went on a point-scoring spree, including a 4-point pancake, for a 9-2 victory.

European silver medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) broke open a close match in the second period to beat Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 5-1 for the other 92kg bronze, upping his tally of world medals to four.

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

57kg (31 entries)
GOLD: Chongsong HAN (PRK) df. Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 12-9

BRONZE: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), 7-4
BRONZE: Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df. Vladimir EGOROV (MKD), 3-1

65kg (34 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) df. Peiman BIABANI (CAN), 5-0
SEMIFINAL: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB), 5-0

74kg (35 entries)
GOLD: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Chermen VALIEV (ALB) by Inj. Def., 4:07 (8-2)

BRONZE: Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) df. David CARR (USA), 2-2
BRONZE: Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Yones EMAMI (IRI), 3-1

79kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Levi HAINES (USA), 3-2

BRONZE: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), 4-2
BRONZE: Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) df. Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL), 9-2

92kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA) df. Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW), 13-10

BRONZE: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 5-1
BRONZE: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) by Fall, 1:49 (4-0)

97kg (29 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), 5-2
SEMIFINAL: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), 9-1

Women's Wrestling

55kg (18 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) df. Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN) by Fall, 1:06 (4-0)
SEMIFINAL: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 5-3

59kg (22 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL), by Fall, 1:22 (6-0)
SEMIFINAL: Maria VYNNYK (URK) df. Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN), 10-5