#WrestleWarsaw

LIVE BLOG: European C'ships (Day Five)

Friday, April 23, 2021 - 09:28 By Eric Olanowski

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WARSAW, Poland (April 23) -- The fifth day of wrestling at the European Championships welcomes in Greco-Roman action to the mix.

Friday's Schedule:
11:30 - Qualification round
16: 45 - Semifinals
18:00 - Finals

WATCH: European Championships 

17:48: That'll do it for Greco-Roman action. We'll take a 10-minute break and start the women's wrestling medal matches. 

17:40: Riza does it. He'll wrestle for a TENTH European title on Saturday night.

17:33: Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) keeps his four-month hot-streak alive and inserts himself into the 87kg finals with a 9-1 win over Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN).

17:21: Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) defeated Michael WIDMAYER (GER), 5-0, and will wrestle for his fourth European title tomorrow night. He'll take on Yunus BASAR (TUR) in the 77kg gold-medal match.

17: 11: If Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT) win his semifinals match, he'd become the first Latvian wrestler to medal at the European Championships since '38.

HE'D END AN 83 YEAR DROUGHT!

17:03: Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) trailed late but used an acrobatic flying squirrel to upset '18 world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 5-4. He'll wrestle Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) on Saturday night for 55kg gold. 

16:55: We're back to action in Poland. It'll be the Greco-Roman semifinals, followed by the women's wrestling finals, which will start at 18:00. 

Final Matches (As they come in): 

55kg
GOLD - Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) vs. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
SEMIFINAL - Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 5-4
SEMIFINAL - Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) df. Artsiom KATSAR (BLR), 8-0

63kg
GOLD - Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS) vs. Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS) df. Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 9-5
SEMIFINAL - Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT), 7-1

77kg
GOLD - Yunus BASAR (TUR) vs. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Yunus BASAR (TUR) df. Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR), 4-0
SEMIFINAL - Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) df. Michael WIDMAYER (GER), 5-0 

87kg
GOLD - Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) vs. Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
SEMIFINAL - Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) df. Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN), 9-1
SEMIFINAL - Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) df. Denis KUDLA (GER), 2-1

130kg
GOLD - Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Eduard POPP (GER), via fall 
SEMIFINAL - Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) df. Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU), 5-0

14:46: That'll do it for this morning's Greco-Roman coverage. We'll meet back here at 16:45 for the Greco-Roman semifinals. The Day Five women's wrestling finals will begin at 18:00. 

14:40:  Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) upsets two-time world champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), 1-1, and is headed to the 87kg semifinals.  

14:28: In the battle of world champions that just wrapped up on Mat B, Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) breezed to a 10-1 win over Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO). He'll square off with Individual World Cup champion and rising star Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) in tonight's 55kg semifinals.

14:15: Riza is not playing today! The nine-time European champion has wrestle twice today and has outscored his opponents 18-1 en route to the semifinals. Kayaalp will wrestle Tokyo Olympian Eduard POPP (GER) for a spot in the 130kg finals. 

14:08: World champions  Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) and Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) just took the mat on Mat B! The winner moves into the 55kg semifinals.

Semifinal Matches (As they come in): 

55kg
SEMIFINAL - Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) vs. Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) 
SEMIFINAL - Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) vs. Artsiom KATSAR (BLR)

63kg
SEMIFINAL - Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS) vs. Leri ABULADZE (GEO) 
SEMIFINAL - Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT) 

77kg
SEMIFINAL - Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR) vs. Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR) 
SEMIFINAL - Michael Felix WIDMAYER (GER)  vs. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)

87kg
SEMIFINAL - Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN) vs. Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) 
SEMIFINAL - Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) vs.  Denis Maksymilian KUDLA (GER) 

130kg
SEMIFINAL - Eduard POPP (GER) vs. Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
SEMIFINAL - Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU) vs. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)

13:37: I suggest posting up on Mat B and staying there for a while! 

13:25: ARE YOU KIDDING? Maskevich strikes again! He was down 6-0 against fellow Individual World Cup champion Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS) but used a lateral drop to pick up the fall. He'll wrestle the winner of Yoan Danielov DIMITROV (BUL) and Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO) next.

13:10: Coming up next on Mat B, it'll be a matchup of Individual World Cup champions between Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) and Kiryl Maskevich.

12:59: Two-time world champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) is wrestling next on Mat B. It'll be his second competition of the year. He competed and won gold at January's Grand Prix of Zagreb.

12:46: Denis KUDLA ?? may be one of my most underrated wrestlers in the world. His resume is stacked with medals, but you rarely hear about him. He's coming up soon on Mat A (Bout 306).

Olympic Games: ?
World Championships: ??
European Championships: ???

12;23: '19 world champion Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) starts his day off with a quick 9-0 thumping of Denis HORVATH (SVK). He'll wrestle two-time U23 world champion ('17 & '18) Daniel CATARAGA (MDA) in eight matches (Bout 330)  on Mat B. 

12:14:  Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) IS MUST-WATCH TV! ? He just ran through ???? Viktor LORINCZ (HUN), 9-0, in the opening period and barely broke a sweat.He'll wrestle again in nine matches (Bout 328) on Mat B. #WrestleWarsaw

11:55: Kayaalp led 1-1 after the opening three minutes of wrestling, but scored eight second-period point from five gut wrenches and defeated Cherneyskyy, 10-1.

11:40: Today, we'll be paying attention to Riza KAYAALP (TUR). The Turkish big man begins his quest for his TENTH European title. He'll wrestle Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR) in the fourth match on Mat C.

11:30: There will be one women's wrestling repechage match on each mat, then we'll roll right into the Greco-Roman matches.

#WrestleTirana

Paris medalists Valiev, Amouzad make golden return in Tirana

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - 20:04 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (February 26) -- Three Paris Olympic medalists were in action on day one of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event and two returned with medals.

Chermen VALIEV (ALB) and Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), medalists at 74kg and 65kg, have announced themselves as early contenders for their respective continental championships. Islam DUDAEV (ALB), the third Paris medalist in action on Thursday, lost his 1/8 final at 65g.

Returning to action for the first time since winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, Valiev claimed the gold medal at 74kg in Tirana, Albania. To make the victory sweeter, he defeated four-time European champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) in the final at home.

Salkazanov has won gold medal at the European Championships for four straight editions and was expected to win this year, especially with the tournament to be held in Bratislava, Slovakia. But with Valiev beating Salkazanov, the odds have changed.

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)Chermen VALIEV (ALB) and Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) in a tangle during the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The two wrestlers were matched up for similar style of wrestling and were slow off the blocks. Valiev, however, kept his half shots on which forced Salkazanov to be on the activity clock. Valiev was up 1-0 at the break.

Valiev followed a similar strategy in the second period and Salkazanov was again put on the activity clock and Valiev led 2-0. The score was too steep for Salkazanov and his desperate attempts in the end as Valiev won 2-0.

Albania's other Paris Olympic bronze medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB) did not have a similar luck at 65kg as he lost to Kaisei TANABE (JPN) and finished without a medal.

However, Paris silver medalist at 65kg Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) expectedly made it to the final and won gold medal after a 5-1 win over Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ).

He opened the scoring with a takedown and continued with his attacks. A takedown on the edge made it 4-0 and Zhumashbek Uulu was cautioned for fleeing which made it 5-0. Amouzad took a step back and was content with the lead.

Zhumashbek Uulu got a point at the end for negative wrestling from Amouzad but that did not stop the Iranian from winning 5-1.

The second gold medal for Iran was won by Ali MOMENI (IRI), who was in Tirana last year for the U23 World Championships and won bronze medal. He earned gold at 57kg with a fall over Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK) in the second period.

Momeni was down 2-1 at the break but never looked worried about the match up against Belolyubskii. A half whipover from Momeni in the second period caught Belolyubskii unbalanced and Momeni was quick to hold him on the mat and get the fall.

Momeni's gold more or less confirms his spot on the Asian Championships team as he also defeated Hadi REZAEI (IRI) in the first match who could have made a claim for the spot if he had won.

Despite the loss, Belolyubskii can take heart from the fact that he became the first Tajik wrestler to win a medal at a Ranking Series event. He opened his day with a 4-1 win over Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), dominated Weiyu LI (CHN) for an 8-1 win and defeated Sultan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ) 10-4 in semifinals.

Japan won two gold medals as well, another example of the serious depth it has in wrestling.

Asian silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) was up against former European champion Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) but remained unfazed in his 4-1 victory at 70kg. Tevanyan would be upset with his approach in the final as he defended a little too much.

As Aoyagi led 1-0 after the break, Tevanyan got the criteria 1-1 lead for Aoyagi's passivity. However, the referees deemed Tevanyan passive one more time and Aoyagi kept Tevanyan from scoring to lead 2-1. Any further attempts from Tevanyan were also thwarted by Aoyagi who got two more points for a throw at the end.

Takara SUDA (JPN)Takara SUDA (JPN) defeated Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) in the 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 61kg, Takara SUDA (JPN) upset former U23 world champion Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) in a thrilling final.

Suda was quick off the blocks and scored a stepout and then hit a double leg for a 3-0 lead. Mongush stopped Suda with a chestwrap and then exposed him for two points. A reversal made it 4-2 before Suda got a takedown to lead 6-2 at the break.

Mongush began the second period with an attempted headpinch but Suda blocked it and pinned Mongush on the mat for two points to lead 8-2. Just when it seemed like he will run away with the gold medal, Mongush mounted a comeback. He scored a stepout and Suda was cautioned for fleeing.

With the score 8-4, Mongush scored another stepout and managed a takedown with 31 seconds left on the clock. A stepout without fleeing made it 8-8 but Suda kept the criteria lead for four two-point moves. He held on for the remaining 11 seconds and won the gold medal.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Ali MOMENI (IRI) df. Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK), via fall

BRONZE: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) df. Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ), 3-2
BRONZE: Sultan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ) df. Weiyu LI (CHN), 9-9

61kg
GOLD: Takara SUDA (JPN) df. Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW), 8-8

BRONZE: Mukhamed BALGABAY (KAZ) df. Stilyan ILIEV (BUL), 7-0
BRONZE: Artem GOBAEV (UWW) df. Leomid COLESNIC (MDA), 3-0 

65kg
GOLD: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) df. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ), 5-1

BRONZE: Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ) df. Kaisei TANABE (JPN), 3-1
BRONZE: Real WOODS (USA) df. Kaiji OGINO (JPN), 9-1

70kg
GOLD: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), 4-1

BRONZE: Vasile DIACON (MDA) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 10-0 
BRONZE: William LEWAN (USA) df. James GREEN (USA), 4-3

74kg
GOLD: Chermen VALIEV (ALB) df. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), 2-0

BRONZE: Yones EMAMI (IRI) df. Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ), 6-1
BRONZE: Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) df. Magoma DIBIRGADZHIEV (UWW), 1-1

86kg
GOLD: Chandler MARSTELLER (USA) df. Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ), 2-0

BRONZE: Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) df. Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ), via fall (4-8)
BRONZE: Rustem MYRZAGALIYEV (KAZ) df. Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL), 8-1