#WrestleAlmaty

LIVE BLOG: Senior Asian Championships, Day One

By United World Wrestling Press

Greco-Roman wrestling on day one saw 5 new Asian champions as Iran picked up three gold medal while Japan and Kazakhstan picked up one each in Almaty.

Asian Olympic Qualifier Recap: 36 wrestling quotas decided for Tokyo Olympics through #WrestleAlmaty

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

2030 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Third of the night for Iran. Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) gets the job done with an easy 5-1 victory over Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) to cap off a success day for the Greco powerhouse

1955 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Naser ALIZADEH is wrestling first time internationally and he picks up the gold medal at the Asian Championships. He beats Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ) 3-1 in the 87kg final

1920 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Daler REZA ZADE (TJK) had the chance to become his country's first ever Greco-Roman Asian champion but he pulls out because of injury and Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) is crowned the champion at 77kg

1855 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) with a stunning headlock and four points. He holds Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) to the back and wins the gold medal.

1848 hrs: Dalkhani with takedown to lead 3-0 but Assetuly goes big with a four-pointer. He will lead 4-3 at the break

1845 hrs: Matteo Pellicone silver medalist Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) is taking on U23 world champion Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) in the 63kg gold medal bout

1820 hrs: GOLD MEDAL! Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) claims his first ever gold at an international event as he beats Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) 17-7.

1800 hrs: Welcome back to the final session of day one of the Asian Championships here in Almaty. All the action will take place on Mat B

1430 hrs: Here are the results from the semifinals of the Greco-Roman 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, 130kg

55kg
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) df Poya Soulat DAD MARZ (IRI) 3-1
Yu SHIOTANI df Sandeep SANDEEP 9-0

63kg
Meysam DALKHANI df Hanjae CHUNG 8-5
Sultan ASSETULY df. Muhamad FWAZ via fall

77kg
Pejman POSHTAM df Gurpreet SINGH, 7-7
Daler REZA ZADE df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV, 7-2

87kg
Naser Ghasem ALIZADEH df. Rustam ASSAKALOV, 10-4
Atabek AZISBEKOV df. Seunghwan LEE, 6-3

130kg
Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI df Sukhrob FATTOEV, via dsq
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV df Minjoon KIM, via fall

1315 hrs: The semifinals are about to begin in Almaty.

1255 hrs: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) uses his experience to keep Sunil KUMAR (IND) at bay and win the bout 3-1

1250 hrs: World championship bronze medalist Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) is leading defending Asia champion at 87kg Sunil KUMAR (IND) 3-0 at the break in their quarterfinal

1245 hrs: Bilan NALGIEV (UZB) challenged for a leg foul but he will lose it. Senior Asian Championships silver medalist Gurpreet SINGH (IND) will move into the semi-finals with a 11-8 at 77kg

1232 hrs: Down goes the defending champion! Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) fails to break Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) defence and it will be a 9-7 win for Iran

1230 hrs: Dalkhani called passive and Tasmuradov will get par terre. Can he make it count? It's 9-7 Dalkhani

1226 hrs: Dalkhani is penalised for twisting the fingers and Tasmuradov will get two points. It's 9-6 Dalkhani at the break. Both wrestlers have a caution each as well

1225 hrs: Dalkhani with another takedown and powerful gut to get two more. He extends his lead to 9-4

1223 hrs: Tasmuradov and Dalkhani on Mat B now. The Uzbek with a four pointer but a reversal for Dalkhani. He gets in a lift and a four for him as well. Dalkhani leads Tasmuradov 7-4

1211 hrs: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) delights the home crowd with a 7-1 win over Yeonghun NOH (KOR) on Mat C

1210 hrs: A win for Asian Championships silver medalist Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) via technical superiority. Iran wrestlers looking good so far

1200 hrs: Some big bouts coming up on Mat B. Pejman Soltanmorad POSHTAM (IRI) will wrestle next before 4x Asian Champion Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) takes on U23 world champ Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) 

1145 hrs: U23 World champion Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) is up and about. Huge 5-0 win for him in the first round of 63kg 

1130 hrs: Welcome to day one of the Asian Championships as we begin with Greco-Roman action in five weight categories. Today, we will crown champions in 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg, and 130kg

#development

South Africa completes phase one of UWW DNSS Program

By United World Wrestling Press

PRETORIA, South Africa (November 17) --  The South African Wrestling Federation successfully completed the first phase of the United World Wrestling National Development and Support Strategy (DNSS) from October 17 to 26.

Under the supervision of Vincent AKA, UWW International Development Officer for Africa, and the coordination of Markus DEKKER, member of the SAWF Coaches Council, a nationwide development mission was undertaken. The UWW-SAWF team visited provincial associations, conducting technical assessments, talent identification sessions, and workshops for coaches.

South Africa

Using the UWW National Federation Assessment Tool (NFAT), the mission provided a detailed overview of the current state of wrestling in South Africa -- from grassroots participation to elite athlete preparation.

The tour covered major provinces including Western Cape, Eastern Province, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng North, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West, engaging hundreds of athletes, coaches, and local administrators.

The assessment revealed strong technical potential among the U15 and U17 categories, as well as a growing passion for wrestling across communities and schools.

The mission also identified the need for stronger governance structures and more consistent communication between SAWF, provinces, and clubs to unify efforts under a national development plan.

Both teams will continue to work towards second phase of the program which will include establishing two regional pilot centers [Pretoria and Western Cape] to act as training and coordination hubs, launch a "School Integration" program linking PE teachers, schools, and wrestling clubs, developing a national athlete database to monitor and support emerging talents.

It will also aim to organize governance and compliance workshops to reinforce management capacity, implementing UWW coaching courses nationwide, forming a National Technical Committee to coordinate DNSS implementation and introducing measurable evaluation indicators to ensure accountability and progress tracking.