#WrestleBudapest

LIVE BLOG: European Olympic Qualifier, Day Three (Session Two)

By Eric Olanowski

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 19) --- The third day of wrestling at the #WrestleBudapest European Olympic Qualifier is underway in Hungary.

Day Two Finals Recap: Belarus Crowns Three Champs, Armenia’s Tevanyan Keeps Hot Streak Alive
Day Two Semifinals Recap: Four Nations Earn Pair of Olympic Berths on Friday

19:50: Kiril MILOV (BUL) earns an Olympic berth for Bulgaria at 97kg after walking to a 9-0 semifinals shutout win over Artur OMAROV (CZE).

19:19: Thanks to wins from Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and  Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), Georgia has punched two tickets to the Olympic Games through tonight's Tokyo qualification round. 

19:00: Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) and Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) are leaving everything they have on the mat. What a match with an Olympic spot on the line. 

18:38: Balint KORPASI (HUN) has world medals trickled throughout his resume, but the one thing the former world champion's resume was missing was an Olympic appearance. At 33-year-old, that's all going to change. The Hungarian dominated Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0, and booked Hungary's ticket to the Olympics at 67kg. 

18:25: That was insane! That's not something you see every day. Etienne KINSINGER (GER) trailed Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) with nine seconds left when he left his feet and locked up a side headlock. He threw everything he had into it and scored four points. He won the match 5-4 and punched Germany's ticket to the Olympic Games.

18:14: Next up at 60kg is Etienne KINSINGER (GER) and Murad MAMMADOV (AZE).

18:12: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) had to dig deep in the 60kg semifinals, but the 21-year-old sparkplug earned the narrow 5-4 win over Erik TORBA (HUN) and handed Turkey a berth to the Olympic Games.

Start of the Greco-Roman Tokyo Qualification Matches

17:14: That'll do it for the women's wrestling medal matches. We'll take a short break and see you back here at 18:00 for the Greco-Roman Tokyo Olympic Qualification round. 

17:05: No much to talk about in the final two gold-medal matches. Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) claimed gold after Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) injury defaulted out of the finals and Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) beat Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 2-0.

16:45: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) was the Perfromer of the Tournament. She destroyed everyone she competed against -- including Rio silver medalist Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR) and European champion Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT).

16:28: Bulgaria got a second gold of the night via injury default victory. At 57kg, Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) claimed gold after her Ukrainian finals opponent Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal match.

16:21: That was quick! What a dominating performance by Mattsson as there was still 90 seconds left on the clock when she ended the match with the Belarusian two-time world champion, 10-0.

16:13: It's a battle of world champions for 53kg gold as Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) and Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE) are going toe-to-toe.

16:08: Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) is your 50kg European Olympic Games Qualifier champion. Her finals opponent Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal match. 

Greco-Roman Semifinal Matchups (as they come in): 

60kg
SEMIFINAL - Etienne KINSINGER (GER) vs. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Erik TORBA (HUN) vs. Kerem KAMAL (TUR) 

67kg
SEMIFINAL - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) vs. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) 
SEMIFINAL - Balint KORPASI (HUN) vs. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) 

77kg
SEMIFINAL - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) vs. Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) vs. Oldrich VARGA (CZE)

87kg
SEMIFINAL - Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL -  Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs. Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS)

97kg
SEMIFINAL - Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL) vs. Artur OMAROV (CZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) vs. Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) 

130kg
SEMIFINAL - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. Adam VARGA (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) vs. Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL) 

 

15:38: Smart challenge from Kamal. He asks for an additional two for exposure and wins the challenge. He'll wrestle in tonight's semifinals after collecting the 9-1 victory over the Moldovian.

15:32: Turkey's Kamal was just down 1-0. In the blink of an eye, he's up 7-1 on European champion Ciobanu.

15:16: Switzerland's Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) downed Mihail BRADU (MDA), 10-2, and moved into the semifinals. He's one match away from punching Switzerland's ticket to Tokyo. If he wins his next match, he'd be the 12th wrestler from his country to qualify for the Olympic Games.

15:06: '19 world champ Lasha Gobadze is coming up next on Mat B. Last round, the Georgian defeated Turkey's two-time world champion Metehan Basar

15:00: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) is an interesting guy to watch wrestle. He's at least a head taller than everyone else at 67kg but he's learned to use to height and leverage to his advantage. The Armenian is up now against Islambek DADOV (AZE) on Mat A.

14:50: Chekhirkin just earned a reversal point after he stopped a gut attempt from Nemes. He's leading 3-1 with short time left. It looks like he's going to move into tonight's semifinals. 

14:46: That loud scream you just heard was from Oldrich VARGA (CZE). He edged Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA), 3-2, and is one match away from sending the Czech Republic to the Olympic Games at 77kg. He'll meet Bozo Starcevic in tonight's semifinals.

14:39: Rio Olympian Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) and Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) are tied over on Mat C. The Croatian was just awarded an inactivity point but he's down in par terre with less than a minute to go.

14:32: Coming up next on Mat C, it'll be a battle of world champions Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) and Viktor NEMES (SRB).

14:28: Here we go! The quarterfinals are underway in Budapest. These wrestlers are only two matches away from earning Olympic berths.

14:06: We'll hold the quarterfinal matches until the final pair of 1/8 matches wrap up. It'll probably be 15 minutes until the quarterfinals kick-off. 

14:05: Hungarian wrestlers are ruining Norway's day. First, it was Korpasi knocking out Thoresen, now it's Torba taking down Berge.

13: 52: World champ sighting on Mat C. Sergey Semenov is up 4-0 in the first period against  Luca GODINO (ITA).

13:52: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) trailed 1-0 but just put up five straight and leads Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO), 5-1. 

13:38: Norway has been having a rough few days. Their Rio Olympic bronze Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) has an opportunity to change that. He's wrestling Hungary's Eric TORBA on Mat A in two matches. 

13:37: Ciobanu moves through to the quarterfinals with a 7-1 win over Daurov.

13:30: European champion and world runner-up Victor CIOBANU (MDA) is leading Soslan DAUROV (BLR), 4-0, at the break. That match is taking place on Mat B. 

13:15: Gobadze hangs on to defeat two-time world champion Basar, 1-1. 

13:04: World champions Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and Metehan BASAR (TUR) are wrestling on Mat B. Gobadze is up from his '19 world-title winning weight of 82kg.

12:58: Not much to say about that match. Nemes and Galkinas traded inactivity points, but the Serbian scored last so he moves into the quarterfinals. He'll meet fellow world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) for a spot in the semifinals. 

12:47: Serbian world champion Viktor NEMES will wrestle Paulius GALKINAS (LTU) next on Mat A.

12:40: Thoresen falls to Korpasi, 4-1, ending the European champ's quest at earning an Olympic berth for Norway through this week's qualifier.

12:39: Thoresen gets the inactivity point but is unable to score from par terre. Korpasi's lead is cut to three points with one minute left.

12:35: Korpasi and Thoresen is heading to the second period. The Hungarian picked up four points in the first period and heads into the closing period leading 4-0.

12:31: Chekhirkin pulls out the late 2-1 comeback! Bolkvadze held the criteria advantage but surrendered a stepout with 11 seconds left.

12:28: There's a tight race going on over on Mat C. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) just received an inactivity point with less than two minutes to go, as he leads '18 world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS), 1-1. 

12:17: Keep an eye out for '18 world champion Sergey SEMENOV (RUS). He'll be wrestling on Mat C (Bout 274).

The last time the Russian big man was in Budapest, he had the top performance of his career. He won four matches, one of which was a fall, then outscored his other three opponents 21-0. He closed out the competition with a first-period 9-0 shutout win over  Adam Jacob COON (USA). 

Semenov will wrestle Italy's Luca GODINO.

11:45: Balint KORPASI (HUN) will make his debut down at 67kg in four matches (Bout 225) on Mat B. It'll be the first time Korpasi has competed below 71/72kg since '12.

If you're not familiar with Korpasi, he's built one of the world's best Greco-Roman resumes since '16. He's medaled at four consecutive World Championships -- including winning a non-Olympic weight world gold at the '16 World Championships.

Korpasi will wrestle reigning European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR).

11:27: Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) is coming up next on Mat A. He's a '17 world champion that's "stepping in" for two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS), who was scratched earlier this week. Chekhirkin will square off with European champion Pascal EISELE (GER) in the opening round.

Side note: Eisele fell to Vlasov in the second round at the Individual World Cup in a tight 8-6 battle.

11:10: Top of the morning to you, wrestling fans! Greco-Roman action takes over today. We'll run through a few women's wrestling repechage matches before kicking off the Greco-Roman portion of the competition.

2026 U23 European Championships

Perfect Russia Puts Five Wrestlers in Finals at U23 Euros

By Vinay Siwach

ZRENJANIN, Serbia (March 9) -- Five wrestlers took the mat for Russia on day one of the U23 European Championships in Zrenjanin, Serbia on Monday and all five reached the final.

The first continental championships of 2026 began with Freestyle competition in 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg at the Kristalna Dvorana Arena and Russia emerged as the best team.

Led by Takhir KHANIEV (RUS), fresh off his win against world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) in Tirana, Russian wrestlers dominated on their way to the finals, to be played Tuesday.

Khaniev, a U23 world silver medalist at 92kg, wrestled former U17 world champion Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinals and won 14-4, his second victory via technical superiority of the day.

Petriashvili scored the first point when he blocked a throw from Khaniev and got two points. He then scored exposure points during an exchange to lead 4-2. But Khaniev managed to push Petriashvili and eventually broke the Georgian to complete the victory.

He will face former U20 European champion Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) for the gold medal after the Ukrainian defeated Zafar ALIYEV (AZE), 6-2. Prymachenko never seemed in danger of losing the bout against Aliyev.

Ismail KHANIEV (RUS)Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) will wrestle for the 79kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Khaniev's brother Ismail also made it to the final at 79kg after he outscored his opponents 30-0 in three bouts. He led 9-0 in his semifinal against Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL) before the Poland wrestler complained of a shoulder injury that forced him to abandon the semifinal.

For the gold medal, Khaniev will face Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) who secured a close 4-1 victory over Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO) in the other semifinal.

Defending champion at 70kg Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) booked a final against U20 world silver medalist Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) after the two dominated their way to the final.

Eltermirov scored a 11-0 victory over Marcel WAGIN (GER) while Gaidarli managed to beat Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR), 10-0, in the semifinals. Both are yet to give up a point in the tournament so far.

Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR)Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) squares off against Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM) in the 65kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In a battle of U20 world bronze medalists at 65kg, Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) defeated Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM), 9-6, and enter the final against Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS).

Magamedkhanov fell behind 2-0 early in the bout before he closed the gap to 4-3 at the break. In the second period, he scored from a front chest-wrap twice to lead 7-4. When he attempted it for the third time, Musikyan blocked it and scored two points to cut the lead to 7-6.

The Armenian was close to scoring a takedown which would have given him the lead but Magamedkhanov scrambled out of the hold and countered Musikyan for a takedown in the final 10 seconds to win 9-6.

Kizinov was in more control of his semifinal against Viktor BOROHAN (UKR), blanking the Ukrainian 6-0. He scored a point when Borohan was put on the activity clock before a stepout made his lead 2-0. A takedown and turn made it 6-0 before the break. No points were scored in the second period as the Russian entered the final.

Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE)Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) will wrestle for the 57kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 57kg, former U17 world champion Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) will face Aiandai ONDAR (RUS) for the gold medal.

Baghirov, with his stealthy defense, kept Nikoloz BOTCHRISHVILI (GEO) at a distance and led 3-1 with 15 seconds to go. But the Georgian managed to hit a single-leg takedown and dump him outside the zone. However, it was scored only one point for Botchrishvili.

Georgia challenged the call but lost it to add one more point to Baghirov's score. A late takedown sealed his 6-2 victory.

Ondar took 56 seconds to beat Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (BLR), 10-0, using a trap-arm gut.

Photo

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) vs. Aiandai ONDAR (RUS)

SF 1: Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) df. Nikoloz BOTCHORISHVILI (GEO), 6-2
SF 2: Aiandai ONDAR (RUS) df. Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (BLR), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) vs. Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS)

SF 1: Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) df. Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM), 9-6
SF 2: Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS) df. Viktor BOROHAN (UKR), 6-0

70kg
GOLD: Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) vs. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)

SF 1: Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) df. Marcel WAGIN (GER), 11-0
SF 2: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR), 10-0

79kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) vs. Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) df. Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL), via inj. def. (9-0)
SF 2: Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) df. Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO), 4-1

97kg
GOLD: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) vs. Takhir KHANIEV (RUS)

SF 1: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) df. Zafar ALIYEV (AZE), 6-2
SF 2: Takhir KHANIEV (RUS) df. Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO), 14-4