#WrestleWarsaw

Live Blog: Poland Open Ranking Series, Day Six

By Eric Olanowski

Greco-Roman will close out the Poland Open Ranking Series event in Warsaw as five weight classes are in action on Sunday.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Final Matches (As they come in): 
60kg: Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) vs. Michal Jacek TRACZ (POL) 
63kg: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) vs.Ayata SUZUKI (JPN) 
72kg: Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) vs. Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB) 
87kg: Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) vs. Istvan TAKACS (HUN) 
97kg: Mehdi Mohammad BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI) vs. Mohammadhadi Abdollah SARAVI (IRI) 

12:29: There will be three more matches on each mat, then we'll roll right into today's semifinals.

11:45: What a battle! In the matchup of Tokyo Olympians, Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) outlasts Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) in a 15-point opening-round battle. He awaits the winner of Alan Ernesto VERA GARCIA (USA) and Dogan GOKTAS (TUR).

11:31: Aram VARDANYAN (UZB), the '19 world silver medalist, pulls out a close 2-1 win over four-time Selcuk CAN (TUR) in their opening-round meet at 72kg. He'll wrestle the winner of  Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) and Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR).

11:23: Hungarian Greco-Roman wrestling is in a great place to reload after this crop of greats lays their shoes on the mat. The previous generation of Peter BACSI (HUN), Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) and Balaz KISS (HUN) is in good shape to be replaced by guys like Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and Tamas LEVAI (HUN) (who beat two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) yesterday).

11:05: Good morning, wrestling fans! The final day of wrestling at the Poland Open is underway in Warsaw. Here are some wrestlers to watch for today!

Obituary

Habibi, Iran's first Olympic champion, dies aged 94

By United World Wrestling Press

TEHRAN, Iran (August 24) -- Emamali HABIBI (IRI), Iran's first-ever Olympic gold medalist and United World Wrestling Hall of Fame member, passed away Sunday aged 94.

Habibi was born Babol in 1931 and won the first Olympic gold medal for Iran in 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Facing Alimbeg BESTAEV in the final round to decide the gold medalist, Habibi secured a fall in the 67kg final and etched his name in history, became first Olympic champion for Iran.

It was a rare feat in those times as he had never wrestled at an international event before the Olympics. He would make his World Championships debut in 1959, winning gold medal at 73kg. He defended his title in 1961 and added a third gold medal in 1962 at 78kg.

Emamali HABIBI (IRI)Emamali HABIBI (IRI) with his World Championships gold medal.

He participated in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome at 73kg and finished fourth. Habibi also has a gold medal at the 1958 Asian Games, held in Tokyo, Japan.

Habibi's legacy also includes his diverse wrestling techniques and speed on the mat which allowed him to win bouts with domination. He is widely considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of his times. He was included in the UWW Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contribution to wrestling.

UWW offers its condolences to Iran Wrestling Federation and the Habibi family.