#Belgrade2020

Jafarov, 19, Stamps Authority with Second Age-Group World Title

Wednesday, November 3, 2021 - 20:24 By Vinay Siwach

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BELGRADE, Serbia (November 3) – As a kid, Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) imagined becoming a world champion for Azerbaijan like many greats from the country. But growing up in a small district of Goranboy, Azerbaijan, it was difficult to find heroes to look up to. But he still followed his elder brother to the wrestling gym and slowly fell in love with the sport.

A decade after he first stepped into a wrestling gym, Jafarov has not only fulfilled the dream of winning a world title, he has won two in three months.

The 19-year-old stunned the field at 67kg weight class at the U23 World Championships, adding to his junior world title which he won in August in Ufa, Russia.

The Azerbaijan wrestler continues to improve at a rapid pace. That was visible in Belgrade, Serbia, where he defeated Asian champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ), U23 European silver Kadir KAMAL (TUR) and junior Asian champion Mohammad REZAEI (IRI) en route the gold.

"I am glad that I became a world champion for the second time," Jafarov said. "I'll train even better to achieve good results in the senior age group."

Russia won the Greco-Roman team title, thanks to the two gold medals on Wednesday, which propelled them to 190 points. Iran finished second with 155 points, while Georgia ended up on the podium in third place with 105 points.

Jafarov, who turned 19-years-old on October 5, outscored Rezaei by scoring the match deciding two-point correct throw in the second period and holding onto the one-point win.

But even with his loss in the 67kg, Rezaei's 20-point second-place finish helped Iran (135 points) regain the five-point lead over Russia (130 points) after the night's first two weight classes.

Despite his win, the Azerbaijan youngster, who hails from a small village of Goranboy district, realized that moving forward, his opponents will study him more and find new ways to stop him from winning.

"Each medal brings more responsibility," he said. "My opponents know my par terre techniques, my standing position wrestling style. I will try to improve in the future so that it's not that tough for me to win."

AllakhiarovAnvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) dominated to win the 60kg gold medal in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In other action, Iran narrowly led Russia by five points coming into the 60kg final, but Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) knotted up the team score at 115 points after he used a seven-point second period to ease his way past Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI).

Allakhiarov fell behind 1-0 after the opening four minutes but never showed signs of panic. Instead, he remained poised in the second period and capitalized on his opportunity to put points on the board.

The Russian wrestler came out front with a back-breaking four-point lift after his Iranian opponent was hit for inactivity and gained the 5-1 advantage. He kept the action flowing and picked up two more points with an overhook throw that resulted in an exposure.

Allakhiarov ultimately held on to win 7-1 and handed Russia their third Greco-Roman gold medal of the '21 U23 World Championships.

Artur SargsianArtur SARGSIAN (RUS) won his second age-group world title. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

A fourth was added by the calm and composed Artur SARGSIAN (RUS) at 97kg. He closed out the Greco-Roman side of the competition with an overpowering 9-0 win over Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR). After earning the first-period inactivity point, the Russian turned the Belarusian twice and scored a four-point lift to win the match, 9-0.

"It was my sixth World Championships," Sargsian said. "The first gold medal was in 2015, and in my fifth try, I could win it again. I was ready to do everything to win the gold medal."

Sargsian is quickly becoming one of the most dynamic Greco-Roman wrestlers around the world, and Wednesday was further proof of it when easily lifted Hlinchuk for the throw. He was in danger after landing on his back for a split second but quickly redeemed himself to clinch the win.

"I can hide my emotions inside but we all worry a lot," he said. "I came here only for the gold and nothing else. I came to show my wrestling."

As he continues to grow as a wrestler and try to find his place on the senior Russian team, he will have to go through Tokyo Olympic champion Musa EVLOEV (RUS).

"He [Evloev] has a little injury, but soon he will be back on the mat," he said. "We will have the Russian Nationals soon, and we will wrestle and see."

The 23-year-old Oslo bronze medalist was also thankful to two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) to be in the arena to support the Russian team.

"After my final match, I talked to the captain of our team Vlasov, he congratulated me," he said. "It's nice to have such attention. This support is really important."

Idris IBAEVIdris IBAEV (GER) became the 72kg world champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Russia was gunning for another gold as Sergei KUTUZOV (RUS) was in the 72kg final but Idris IBAEV (GER) spoiled that party when he stopped the Russian from improving his ’21 senior world silver after picking up a one-point win in the final.

"In Belgrade, I could concentrate well and show better wrestling," Ibaev said. "I prepared tactically and we worked a lot on my technique with the coach."

Ibaev, who wanted to be a boxer growing up in Goity village in Russia, found his calling for wrestling when he began training with Miakhdi IAKHIAEV (RUS), who won a bronze medal in Belgrade.

He struck first with a sneaky left-sided arm drag and grabbed the 2-0 lead. His Russian opponent stopped a gut-wrench attempt and scored a point for the reversal, cutting Ibaev’s lead to 2-1. Prior to the period’s closing whistle, Ibaev picked up the third point in the first period (inactivity) and carried the 3-1 lead into the closing period.

After stopping Kutuzov’s par terre offense, Ibaev picked up a gold medal for Germany with a 3-2 win.

Despite falling in the finals, Kutuzov still scored 20 points for Russia, which pushed them five-point ahead of Iran heading into the final pair of gold-medal matches.

RikadzeAivengo RIKADZE (GEO) won Georgia's second gold medal at the tournament. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Georgia landed its second gold medal of the tournament when Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) used a blistering five-point first period to stop Switzerland's Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) from becoming his country's first-ever Greco-Roman world champion at any level. It was the second time Betschart had been stopped in the world finals. He also dropped the '18 junior world finals in Trnava, Slovakia.

Rikadze never looked in trouble during the bout and his gold medal helped Georgia outplace Turkey for the third position in the title race.

U23 World ChampionshipsThe four medalist at the 97kg Greco-Roman weight class in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (RUS) df Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), 7-1

BRONZE: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR), 6-5
BRONZE: Pridon ABULADZE (GEO) df Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB), 3-3

67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df Mohammad REZAEI (IRI), 3-2

BRONZE: Kadir KAMAL (TUR) df Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ), 5-1
BRONZE: Miakhdi IAKHIAEV (RUS) df Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO), 5-1

72kg
GOLD: Idris IBAEV (GER) df Sergei KUTUZOV (RUS), 7-2

BRONZE: Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) df Erik PERSSON (SWE), via fall
BRONZE: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Amir ABDI (IRI), 12-7

82kg
GOLD: Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df Ramon BETSCHART (SUI), 5-1

BRONZE: Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB) df Moric KISMONI (HUN), 9-1
BRONZE: Shamil OZHAEV (RUS) df Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI), 8-0

97kg
GOLD: Artur SARGSIAN (RUS) df Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR), 9-0

BRONZE: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df Robert ERSEK (HUN), 5-1
BRONZE: Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) df Ondrej DADAK (CZE), 5-0

#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.

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."

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.

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