#WrestleHammamet

LIVE BLOG: Africa and Oceania Olympic Qualifier, Day One

Friday, April 2, 2021 - 01:07 By Eric Olanowski

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 2) -- The wait is almost over! The highly-anticipated Africa and Oceania Olympic Qualifier kicks off on Friday morning at 11:00 am (local time). Wrestlers who win their semifinal matches and reach the finals at their respective weight classes earn a berth for their nation to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

20:20: Souleymen NASR (TUN) wins the 67kg Nordic style bracket title with a 3-0 record on day.

20:10: In a matchup of last year's African champions, Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) defeated Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG), 10-3. He trailed 2-0 in the gold-medal match, but outscored the Egyptian 10-1 to earn the 60kg title.

20:00: We're rolling right into the Greco-Roman finals. First up will be Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) and Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY).

19:45: That'll do it for our traditional bracket semifinal matches. The remaining bouts will be Nordic Style bracket matches. 

19:32: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) and Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) both won their semifinal matches and punched Algeria and Egypt's second ticket of the day to the Olympic Games.

19:10: For the second time in his last three matches, Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR) trailed 3-0 but somehow found a way to come out on top. He'll wrestle Lamjed MAAFI (TUN) for 77kg gold on Saturday night. 

18:39: It'll be Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)  and Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) wrestling for 60kg gold on Saturday night. Mahmoud ran through Mehdi JOUINI (TUN), 9-0, in less than two minutes, while Fergat scored four unanswered points to defeat Fouad FAJARI (MAR), 4-3.

18:12: Fajari leads 3-0 after the first period. He scored an inactivity point and a gut wrench and closed out the period with a three-point lead. 

18:00: We're back to Greco-Roman action! This is going to be an emotional session. The first match up will be Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) at Fouad FAJARI (MAR) at 60kg.

WATCH ➡️ African and Oceania OG Qualifier.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Matches:
60kg
SEMIFINAL - Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY) vs. Mehdi JOUINI (TUN) 
SEMIFINAL - Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) vs. Fouad FAJARI (MAR) 

77kg
SEMIFINAL - Wael Hamdy Mohamed ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) vs. Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR) 
SEMIFINAL - Lamjed MAAFI (TUN) vs. Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG) 

87kg
SEMIFINAL - Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Abdall METWALLY (EGY) vs. Edward Louwis LESSING (RSA) 
SEMIFINAL - Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) vs. Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN) 

THE END OF THE MORNING SESSION.

12:58: That'll do it for the morning session. We'll see you back here at 18:00 for the semifinals. The winners of the semifinal matches in the 60kg, 77kg and 87kg traditional brackets book their nation's tickets to the Olympic Games.

12:32: Not so fast, wrestling fans! We still have two matches left in this session.

12:28: Just as I was typing, "We could be witnessing the changing of the guard at 77kg,"  Ait Ouagram picks up a feet-to-back throw and pins. Richard FERREIRA (RSA) The Morrocan trailed 1-0 at the time of the fall.

12:24: Mohamed GABR (EGY) bounces back and picked up an 8-0 opening-period win against Tyler ILI (ASA). Gabr dropped his first match by a point and was clearly upset walking off the mat. 

12:10: We'll roll right into the Round 3 matches. The winners of these matches will compete in tonight's semifinal matches. The winners of those semifinals will earn of berth for their nation's to the Olympics. 

12:07: The arena lights were cut for a minute, but we have power to everything else, so we'll keep things rolling!

12:00: Two-time African champ Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) rolls to an 8-0 win over Mohamed MISSAOUI (EGY).

11:52: It seems like he just walked off the mat, but Fergat is up again. The reigning three-time African champ is up on Mat A. 

11:30: UPSET ALERT! Rio Olympian and nine-time African champ Ait Ouagram gives up two second-period gut wrenches and falls to Maafi, 7-5.

11:25: That's how fast a match can change! Ait Ouagram put up five quick points and commands a 5-2 lead with just over one minute left. 

11:20: Rio Olympian Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MART trails Tunisia's Lamjed MAAFI, 2-0, after the opening two minutes. Those two are wrestling on Mat C.

11:19: Not too much to say about that opening-round match for Mohamed. He survives and moves into the second round with a 1-1 criteria victory over Amine GUENNICHI (TUN).

11:15: Algeria's three-time reigning African champion Abdelkarim FERGAT is coming up in five matches on Mat A. He'll wrestle  Mehdi JOUINI (TUN).

11:10: Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) is wrestling on Mat C. Prior to COVID hitting, the Egyptian was ranked inside of the top five at 130kg. Mohamed is the favorite to earn at least one of the 130kg Olympic berths.

11:00: HERE. WE. GO! It's time to make some dreams come true. 

Wrestling fans, we'll see you back here in the morning to start what's expected to be an emotional weekend! We'll get to watch 18 Olympic dreams come true (six freestyle, six Greco-Roman and six women's wrestling). 

Africa and Oceania Olympic Qualifier Brackets:
Freestyle
Greco-Roman
Women's Wrestling

#WrestleNoviSad

U23 Worlds: U.S. and Iran tied in Freestyle team race

Monday, October 27, 2025 - 10:11 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 26) -- Like it has been the story at every World Championships this year, Iran and the United States are locked in a tight race for the Freestyle team trophy yet again.

The U.S. and Iran are tied 102 points at the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad with just one more day of competition left. The scores tied after U.S. won two golds on Sunday while Iran managed only one along with one silver. Azerbaijan won the gold at the expense of Iran.

World silver medalist Levi HAINES (USA) became a U23 world champion one month after missing the title at the senior event with yet another dominant win. He faced Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) in the final and came out on top 11-1.

Yaprak got the first stepout of the bout but it was all Haines from there on. He used a lateral drop to get four points and lead 4-1. The second four-pointer for Haines came when Yaprak tried to throw him using a chestwrap but Haines easily blocked him and landed on top to lead 8-1. A head outside takedown and one stepout was enough for Haines to complete the technical superiority win.

Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) added a U23 world gold to go with his U17 and U20 golds. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 57kg, U17 and U20 world champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) added a U23 world title to his name with a clinical 4-0 victory over Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN) in the final.

Kikuchi was called passive twice in the match and both times Lilledahl got a point. During the second activity period, Lilledahl hit a sweep single and converted it into a takedown to lead 4-0 with a minute remaining in the final. Lilledahl then defended that lead despite Kikuchi's smart movements to earn his third age-group world title.

Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI)Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) celebrates after beating Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)  

Iran's gold medal came at 125kg as U20 world silver medalist Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) dominated Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 11-0, in the final. Mohammad Nezhad moved more swiftly than he did in the final at the U20 Worlds.

Karsanov was called passive in the first period and then he gave up a stepout along with fleeing and Mohammad Nezhad was up 3-0. He scored a nice takedown to extend his lead before two go-behinds to be up 9-0.

Karsanov tried hitting a desperate throw only to fall on his own back and give Mohammad Nezhad the winning two points and the gold medal.

Iran could have managed to win a second medal gold of the night but Sina KHALILI (IRI) got clutched by Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the 70kg final.

Khalili began on a good note, getting a point for passivity and then a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. Heybatov managed to find an opening in the second period with a fireman's carry and transitioned the move, lifting Khalili and dropping him on the mat in danger for four points and take a 4-3 lead.

Iran challenged the decision, perhaps asking for two points for Khalili, but lost it. The 5-3 lead for Heybatov left Khalili to score at least three point for victory with two points remaining.

He got one point for Heybatov's fleeing but he still needed two points to overturn the deficit with 27 seconds remaining. Khalili took a fake shot and Heybatov countered with a takedown and turn to make it 9-4 for the win.

A gold for Khalili would have been Iran a lead of five points over the U.S. but now both countries are tied.

On Monday with medal bouts in four weight classes, the U.S. has one in Jaxen FORREST (USA) while Iran has one wrestler in bronze medal bouts and second in repechage. While Iran needs to win all, it has to also have that Forrest loses his final to win the team title.

Incidentally, the U.S. needed to win all its bouts on the final day at the U17 World Championships in Athens and also hope that Iran loses all its bouts. That actually happened.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Yuta KIKUCHI (JPN), 4-0

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Aiandai ONDAR (UWW), 10-1
BRONZE: Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB) df. Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR), 5-0

70kg
GOLD: Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. Sina KHALILI (IRI), 9-4

BRONZE: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Maiis ALIYEV (KAZ), 10-3
BRONZE: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Davit MARGARYAN (ARM), via fall (7-2)

79kg
GOLD: Levi HAINES (USA) df. Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR), 11-1

BRONZE: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. Davud DAUDOV (UWW), 13-3
BRONZE: Geannis GARZON (CUB) df. Nikita DMITRIJEVS MAYEUSKI (UWW), 4-0

125kg
GOLD: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) df. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 11-0

BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Daniel HERRERA (USA), 14-3
BRONZE: Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (UWW) df. Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 9-5

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ) vs. Jaxen FORREST (USA)

SF 1: Omurbek ASAN UULU (KGZ) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 12-1
SF 2: Jaxen FORREST (USA) df. Akito MUKAIDA (JPN), 15-5

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) vs. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

SF 1: SUJEET (IND) df. Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN), 3-2
SF 2: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ), 5-2

86kg
GOLD: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) vs. Arsen BALAIAN (UWW)

SF 1: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) df. Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI), 2-1
SF 2: Arsen BALAIAN (UWW) df. Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) vs. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)

BRONZE: Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), via fall (10-0)
BRONZE: Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) df. Soslan DZHAGAEV (UWW), 16-5