#WrestleKonya

Kyrgyzstan close out Islamic Solidarity Games with 3 golds

Saturday, August 13, 2022 - 23:37 By Ali Feizasa

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KONYA, Turkey(August 13) -- Two Kyrgyzstan Greco-Roman stars affirmed their status as the top wrestlers in their respective weight classes by winning gold medals at the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey.

The wrestling competition ended Saturday in Konya with Kyrgyzstan winning two Greco-Roman golds while Azerbaijan, Iran and Uzbekistan won one each. Women's wrestling also had two weight classes with Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan winning a gold medal each.

Overall, Iran and Azerbaijan won three gold medals each in both Greco-Roman and women's wrestling and emerged as the top two teams in both styles.

But Saturday belonged to Kyrgyzstan as two-time world silver medalist Zholman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) rose to the top of the podium with a decisive 10-2 win over Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) in the final of 60kg.

Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) wrestled world silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) in the 77kg final which turned out to be a close battle. Suleymanov managed to score two points over Makhmudov but the Kyrgyzstan star got a total of four points after Suleymanov was put in par terre. That remained the winning sequence as he captured the gold medal with a score of 5-2.

The third gold of the night for Kyrgyzstan was captured by world champion Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) at 68kg in women's wrestling.

Olympic bronze medalist Zhumanazarova was on a roll on Saturday and capped off her brilliant performance by pinning 2022 Asian champion Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) final.

In her previous bouts, Zhumanazarova won three bouts with technical superiority and one via fall. None of her opponents were able to score a single point on the Asian silver medalist.

Azerbaijan won two gold medals on Saturday with U23 world champion Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) capturing the gold at 67kg and Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) winning the 57kg weight class in women's wrestling.

At 67kg, European bronze medalist Jafarov wrestled Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) in the final and put a solid defensive performance to win 3-1. The difference was that Jafarov was able to score when Ismailov was put in par terre while the Kygyrzstan wrestler failed to do so.

For Aliyeva, the 57kg final turned out to be a high-scoring bout against former African champion Omolayo KOLAWOLE (NGR). A total of 20 points were scored in the gold medal bout but Aliyeva, a U23 European champion, won 14-6.

With that gold, Azerbaijan matched the tally of Kyrgyzstan as both countries won three gold medals each. Turkey won two gold medals in the home Games while Nigeria and Kazakhstan managed to win one each.

Iran finished with three Greco-Roman gold medals after world champion at 130kg Aliakbar YOUSEFI came out on top against Turkey's star wrestler Osman YILDIRIM (TUR).

Carrying a foot injury into the final, Yousefi was determined to step on the top of the podium and managed to hold off Yildirim, 3-2, in the gold medal bout.

The other gold medal went to Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) at 87kg and joined Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) as the country's Greco-Roman gold medalist.

In a battle of Asian champions, Berdimuratov faced three-time Asian gold medalist Ramin TAHERI (IRI) twice in the day and won both of the bouts.

The 2019 world bronze medalist defeated first wrestled Taheri in Round 5 of the Nordic bracket but managed to beat the Iranian with the barest of the margins -- 5-5.

The two managed to win their semifinals and wrestled again in the gold medal bout. But Berdimuratov made sure he doesn't run it as close as the Round 3 bout and stunned Taheri with an 11-2 superiority win in the 87kg weight class.

Iran and Azerbaijan finished the Greco-Roman event with three gold medals each while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan shared the remaining 4 other golds by winning two each.

Day 4 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Zholman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 10-2

BRONZE: Ayhan KARAKUS (TUR) df. Yernar FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ), 6-2
BRONZE: Muhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB) df. Omid ARAMI (IRI), 8-1

67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ), 3-1

BRONZE: Mohammad REZAEI (IRI) df. Begmyrat NOBATOV (TKM), 11-0
BRONZE: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) df. Bilal El BAHJA (MAR), 9-0

77kg
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 5-2

BRONZE: Amin KAVIANINEJAD (IRI) df. Lamjed MAAFI (TUN), 3-1
BRONZE: Furkan BAYRAK (TUR) df. Aram VARDANYAN (UZB), 9-0

87kg
GOLD: Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) df. Ramin TAHERI (IRI), 11-2

BRONZE: Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE), 3-2

130kg
GOLD: Aliakbar YOUSEFI (IRI) df. Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 3-2

BRONZE: Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) df. Anton SAVENKO (KAZ), 5-0

Women's wrestling

57kg
GOLD: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Omolayo KOLAWOLE (NGR), 14-6

BRONZE: Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) df. Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ), via fall

68kg
GOLD: MEERIM ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), via fall

BRONZE: Asli DEMIR (TUR) df. Oguljan EGEMBERDIYEVA (TKM), 10-0

#development

Moldova steps up, hosts coaching and referee courses

Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 19:57 By United World Wrestling Press

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KISHINEV, Moldova (December 10) -- Moldova, a country rich with wrestling history and some good performances in recent years, continues to develop the sport.

Moldovan Wrestling Federation has taken steps to train and improve its coaches, referees and wrestlers and organized two courses [Level 3 Coaching and Level 2 National Referee] and a competition from November 23 to 29.

The two courses were organized in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, UWW and Moldova Olympic Committee. United World Wrestling also supported their national tournament that was held at the conclusion of the courses.

"We are pleased with the successful implementation of the Level 3 coaching program and Level 2 referee program," said Ivan GHEORGHIU, President of the Moldova Wrestling Federation. "The course introduced modern international coaching and refereeing methodologies that are essential for the continued development of wrestling in Moldova. We value the collaboration with UWW and Olympic Solidarity and look forward to further educational initiatives."

The Level 3 coaching course was led by Yusup ABDUSALAMOV (UWW Educator). The course focused on performance analysis periodization and preparation, coaching philosophy training load management, and safe sport. There were 17 individuals that participated in the course.

“The course progressed smoothly and the participants showed interest, discipline, and engagement during all sessions," Abdusalamov said. "They actively participated in theoretical discussions and performed well during practical and micro-training tasks. I am confident that the skills they developed will significantly improve the effectiveness of their training work."

Anatolie GUIDEA, one of the coaches who attended the course expressed his appreciation and said, "I greatly appreciated the depth of information on periodization and training load management. The micro-training sessions were especially useful, as they provided clear practical tools that I can apply immediately in my own training environment."

Moldova

The Level 2 referee course was also held and was called Referee Foundations. This course was led by Igor LIGAY (IS Referee and UWW Educator) and included 22 participants.

During the course, the referees went through more advanced scoring situations including risk, out of bounds, takedown and control, and attack vs counter attack. They also worked on strategies for controlling the bout and being a mat chairman. Their training included theoretical and practical sessions.

"All participants actively took part in discussions, successfully handled practical exercises during the competitions, and I am confident that the skills and knowledge they acquired will enhance their effectiveness and raise the overall standard of judging at competitions," Ligay said.

In addition to the courses, Moldova hosted a national competition that was also supported by UWW. This competition featured wrestlers from 26 clubs and included 134 Freestyle wrestlers, 121 Greco-Roman wrestlers, and 27 women wrestlers.