2026 U17 World Championships

Iran, Russia in Tight Team Title Race After Omarov, Ibragimov Golds

Sunday, August 2, 2026 - 01:46 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (August 1) -- Among the three nations that had two finalists each in Saturday's gold-medal bouts at the U17 World Championships in Baku, only Russia was able to win two golds with Iran winning one and Uzbekistan suffering losses in both finals.

The two golds put Russia in the race for the team title in Freestyle along with Iran with defending champion the United States not in contention.

Russia and Iran went head-to-head in the 110kg final between U17 European champion Magomed OMAROV (RUS) and U17 Asian silver medalist Amirhossein ESMALI (IRI), the last match on Saturday.

The first period of the final saw little action on the mat as both Omarov and Esmali were warned by the mat chairman of open-hand wrestling. Omarov was put on the 30-second activity clock and Esmali led 1-0 at the break.

The match picked up pace in the second period and Omarov found and opening to hit a double-leg attack that resulted in four points, giving him a 4-1 lead. Iran, surprisingly, challenged the call and lost it which made Omarov's lead 5-1.

Esmali had 1:30 left in the match to make it count and he began with a stepout to cut the lead to 5-2. He then scored a takedown to make the score 5-4 but still needed two points to win with 31 seconds left. That's when Omarov called for a medical help.

When he returned to centre, Omarov had a spring in his step and defended the attacks of Esmali, who pushed him towards the zone. Esmali tried reaching the legs of Omarov who threw them behind and scored an easy go-behind and lead 7-4, his winning score.

The second gold medalist for Russia was Magomed IBRAGIMOV (RUS) at 65kg after an electric final against Shokhiddin ALIEV (UZB). Both Ibragimov and Aliev were at the 2025 event as well and finished 10th and 13th respectively.

Ibragimov stunned Aliev with a double-arm lock throw for four points to open the scoring in the final. But Aliev blocked Ibragimov from turning and tried to pin him for the remaining minute in the first period. Unable to complete the fall, Aliev went into the break down 4-2 and a lost opportunity.

The two continued their high-paced wrestling and Aliev pushed Ibragimov towards the zone but the Russian circled and scored a go-behind to lead 6-2. Aliev then tried to inside trip Ibragimov who countered it with a throw for four points. Aliev got two points for exposure but Ibragimov led 10-4 at this point.

Aliev managed to use the inside-trip to throw for two points with six seconds left and then he tried front headlock that was blocked by Ibragimov, who planted Aliev on the mat for a fall and win the gold medal.

Ferasati Wins 80kg

Iran's victory came at 80kg as Amirali FERASATI (IR) completed his dominant run with a gold medal, beating Zeteny TUGYI (HUN), 10-0, in the final.

The U17 Asian champion outscored his opponents 35-2 in four bouts in Baku and never looked in any sort of trouble in the tournament.

Against Tugyi, Ferasati built a 4-0 lead in the first period, thanks to three stepout and a point for passivity from Tugyi. Ferasati scored his first takedown in the second period after tiring out Tugyi and rolled him for two more ponits to lead 8-0.

Tugyi went for a deep shot without much conviction and Ferasati countered with a takedown to complete a technical superiority win with 23 seconds remaining.

At 48kg, Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ) used a deadly leg-lace to end high-flying AARYAN's (IND) run at the tournament, winning the gold medal 10-0. He became Kazakhstan first U17 world champion in Freestyle after four years.

Agabek scored a stepout, which India challenged and lost, to open the scoring in the final and lead 2-0. As both wrestlers were fight for position, Agabek did a snap which disbalanced Aaryan and the Kazakhstan wrestler scored a takedown.

He then transitioned into wrapping Aaryan's legs around his head and scored three turns, enough for the victory and the gold medal. With the 10-0 win, Agabek outscored his opponents 47-3 in the tournament with four technical superiority wins.

Tovar Ends Drought: Click to read

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Bakdaulet AGABEK (KAZ) df. AARYAN (IND), 10-0

BRONZE: Farrukh MAKHMUDOV (UZB) df. Muslikhiddin KHODZHIEV (TJK), via fall (6-1)
BRONZE: Volodymyr BOIKO (UKR) df. Kooper DEPUTY (USA), 11-0

55kg
GOLD: Jovanni TOVAR (COL) df. Jakhongir TULKUNOV (UZB), 11-0

BRONZE: Arman ELAHI (IRI) df. Davit BALEYAN (ARM), 5-2
BRONZE: Prathmesh PATIL (IND) df. Chase KARENBAUER (USA), 8-0

65kg
GOLD: Magomed IBRAGIMOV (RUS) df. Shokhiddin ALIEV (UZB), via fall (12-6)

BRONZE: Jovani SOLIS (PUR) df. KRISHAN (IND), via fall (6-6)
BRONZE: Sam ARSHAD (IRI) df. Zamir DANIYAR (KAZ), 9-0

80kg
GOLD: Amirali FERASATI (IRI) df. Zeteny TUGYI (HUN), 10-0

BRONZE: Volkan BILGIN (TUR) df. Yassin EZZAT (EGY), 11-1
BRONZE: Kantemir ELMESOV (RUS) df. Takahiro HAGINO (JPN), 9-7

110kg
GOLD: Magomed OMAROV (RUS) df. Amirhossein ESMALI (IRI), 7-4

BRONZE: Behruz ASHIROV (UZB) df. Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO), 3-2
BRONZE: Arush RANA (IND) df. Sagyndyk TEMIRGALY (KAZ), 9-1

#WrestleTirana

Proud to Break Karelin's Record: Says Kayaalp After 13th European Gold

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 21:34 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- Soon after he broke Aleksandr KARELIN's record of 12 European Championships gold medals, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) was asked to go through the journey of winning 13 European gold medals in his career.

Kayaalp gave a smirk before going on to replay his journey from his first European Championships title in 2010.

"When you look back, you realize you’ve made 15 finals," Kayaalp said after winning the 130kg gold medal in Tirana. "Back then, I was just thinking whether I could win one or two medals. But then, making the final every time at the European Championships, it’s like a child being born and growing up to 15 years old.

"That’s how long this journey has been. It’s difficult. It requires great consistency. It requires respect for what you do."

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READ MORE: Kayaalp's 13 - New Gold Standard in Europe

Kayaalp's consistency led him to 15 European Championships finals from which he won 13, taking him past Karelin's record. Apart from 2026, Kayaalp won gold in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

"It’s an incredible feeling," he said. "This was my 15th final, and in my 15th final, I achieved my 13th title. I truly believe I’ve set a record that will be very difficult to break. This title is especially valuable to me because achieving such long-term and consistent success -- especially in Europe, where there are very strong nations -- is not easy. I’m very proud to have broken such a big record."

READ MORE: Riza KAYAALP Breaks Karelin's 26-Year Old Record 

Wrestling Tirana for the record, Kayaalp won four bouts, including a 1-1 criteria win against Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW) bruised Kayaalp with aggressive wrestling.

"The matches were not easy. I had tough matches," he said. "One of my matches ended 1–1. In the semifinal, I can say I was subjected to some disrespect from a strong opponent in a very intense bout. But compared to those, the final match was more meaningful for me."

WATCH: All of Kayaalp's 13 European Gold Medals

But the final followed a different script as Kayaalp used his gut-wrench to beat Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, and finally claim the gold after falling short in 2024 and missing the tournament in 2025.

"When it became 7-0, well, I’m an athlete who doesn’t like to concede points," he said. "I don’t like giving points away, so I managed to protect that score. I can say I went through the second period quite comfortably, and having a 7–0 lead helped."

The 16-year dominance in Europe has taken a big part of Kayaalp's career but the five-time world champion believes that his commitment sets an example for the young wrestlers in Turkiye. 

"This comes from the respect I have for wrestling," he said. "If I’m going to do this, I have to do it at the highest level. I believe this success came because I always aimed to be the best. I’ve always done it with love.

"There are tens of thousands of wrestlers in Turkiye. We’ve been able to set an example for them. That’s very important. There are also many people around the world who look up to us."

WATCH: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs Darius VITEK (HUN)

Though they were not present in Tirana, Kayaalp dedicated his title to his wife and daughter. He shared that when he was away from wrestling, his daughter would pray for his return to the mat.

"[I want to dedicate this medal] to my wife and daughters, who have always been by my side through both good and bad times," he said. "To my family, to my father, to everyone who loves us, to my coaches, my fellow athletes, and to the Turkish people. I dedicate this great success to all of them."