LIVE BLOG: Africa and Oceania Olympic Qualifier, Day One

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

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

#WrestleSamokov

Shkarin, Javadov complete Worlds and Europeans U20 golden double

Friday, August 22, 2025 - 16:31 By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 22) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) managed to pull off a continental and world double by winning the gold medal at the World U20 Championships on Friday. He won the gold medal at the European U20 Championships in July.

This is the second straight year that Shkarin has done that as he won the world and European U17 last year.

Wrestling Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ) in the 82kg final, Shkarin came out with his best defense in par terre to defend his 4-1 lead and win the gold medal.

"Last year I won Worlds and Europeans U17s, now Worlds and Europeans U20s," Shkarin said. "I don’t see anything supernatural in this. Everything is just working out for me."

Shkarin was in top form throughout the tournament with three technical superiority wins in three bouts and it was only in the final that he was test and did not manage to finish his bout before time.

In the semifinals, Shkarin blanked Martik PETROSYAN (ARM) while Seitkaliyev defeated Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) in the other semifinal. However, Shkarin was hoping to get a rematch against Yoshida who had defeated Shkarin in the 2023 world U17 final.

"The motivation for me at this World Championship was that I really wanted to take revenge on the Japanese wrestler," Shkarin said. "I even told my friends that I could leave this championship upset only if I lost to the Japanese again. Nothing else would upset me as much. But it’s not my fault, it’s his -- he didn’t reach the final."

With the World U20 gold won, Shkarin will look to move to the Olympic weight class -- 87kg -- next year and plan his journey towards winning the Olympic medal in the future.

"Next year I want to move up to the 87 kg weight category," he said. "I’ll start working on my physical shape, try to gain muscle mass, and gradually settle into the 87 kg weight class. I want to try competing at seniors level."

Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 60kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The last time the World U20 Championships were held in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan won crowned three champions in Greco-Roman. However, at the next two editions, the country failed to win gold.

The 2025 edition of the U20 Worlds, back in Bulgaria, seems to have brought luck back for Azerbaijan as the nation won its first gold in Greco-Roman in the first final.

European U20 champion and two-time world U17 champion Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) added a gold at the U20 level in his first year by beating Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) in the 60kg final.

The 18-year-old showed no signs of discomfort in the new age-group and won three out of his five bouts via technical superiority or fall. In the final, he maintained a good lead throughout and defeat Mkhitaryan, also 18 years old, 12-5.

Javadov was put in par terre in he first period and Mkhitaryan scored two turns using gut0-wrench for a 5-0 lead but as he was trying to complete the third one, Javadov blocked him and scored two points. Armenia challenged the call but it was clear block and two points and Mkhitaryan led 5-3 at the break.

Javadov got the par terre in the second period but he failed to score any points. It was the third passivity with which the momentum of the final changed. Javadov asked for par terre after third passivity, which doesn't award any points. But Javadov managed to turn him for two and then a reverse lift for another two points to lead 8-5.

Mkhitaryan tried to jump over the head but it did not work out as Javadov controlled him and slammed him on mat for four points. He ultimately won 12-5.

"Since childhood I have been very self-confident," Javadov said. "Age makes no difference, I always believe I deserve first place."

Javadov has now not faced defeat for three years and the gold medal in Samokov. But the debut at U20 Worlds made him a little nervous.

"I couldn’t fully prepare mentally for the final bout, most likely my opponent wasn’t that good either," he said. "I made a couple of mistakes and gave up points, but then I managed to pull myself together. In the second period I realized that my opponent was very tired, and I understood that I could take the advantage and win."

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 12-5

BRONZE: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Omer ALTAS (TUR), 9-0 (victory via cautions)
BRONZE: SURAJ (IND) df. Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA), 1-1

82kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) df. Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ), 4-1

BRONZE: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. PRINCE (IND), 11-0
BRONZE: Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB) df. Martik PETROSYAN (ARM), 8-0

LIVE BLOG: Africa and Oceania Olympic Qualifier, Day One

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Shkarin, Javadov complete Worlds and Europeans U20 golden double