#WrestleOslo

Live Blog: Senior World Championships, Day 2 - FS 57kg, 65kg, 79kg, 92kg

Sunday, October 3, 2021 - 07:54 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

OSLO (October 3) -- More freestyle superstars will be in action on day two of the senior World Championships in Oslo, Norway. Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and J'den COX (USA) will try claim the gold medals while Tokyo bronze medalist Thomas GILMAN (USA) will be a big threat at 57kg. Zagir SHAKIEV (RWF) is the favourite at 65kg. If you missed day one action, here's the wrap -- Hassan Yazdani and David Taylor set up 86kg final

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Another exciting morning session in the books. Iran has four in the semifinals while USA managed to get three wrestlers. Russian Wrestling Federation will be disappointed with only two wrestlers in the semifinals.

1350: We finish out the session with Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) winning his bout 9-4 against Radik VALIEV (RWF) to make the semifinal at 79kg. Can he win his fifth world title?

1345: Ryuki YOSHIDA (JPN) manages to hang on for a 4-4 win over Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) while Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) rolls through with a 9-5 win over Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE).

1340: Four out of four for Iran! Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) gets a 11-0 win over Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA) and advances to the semifinals.

Finally at 79kg, on Mat A Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) will take on Ryuki YOSHIDA (JPN).  Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) will face Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA) on Mat B, Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) is up against Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) and on Mat D Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is facing Radik VALIEV (RWF)

1330: Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) is swift. He moves on to the semifinals with a 10-0 win over Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR). Tokyo Olympian Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) gets the better of Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) 2-1 to move into the semifinals. Iran continue to dominate and now Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) wins his quarterfinal 4-2 against Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL). In an upset on Mat A, Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ) beats Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) 5-3 and reach the semifinals

At 65kg, on Mat A will be Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) vs Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ), Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) vs Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) on Mat B, Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) vs Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR) on Mat C and Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) vs Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) on Mat D

1322: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) is unstoppable. He wins 10-1 against Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) to move into the semifinals. In the final quarterfinal, Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) gets a 7-3 win against Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL).

1315: J'den COX (USA) has no trouble in beating Jeremy POIRIER (CAN) 10-0 and he will move into the 92 semifinals. A similar story for Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) as he gets past Amarhajy MAHAMEDAU (BLR) 9-0

Moving on the 92kg quarterfinals, Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) vs Amarhajy MAHAMEDAU (BLR) on Mat A, Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) vs Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) on Mat B, Jeremy POIRIER (CAN) is wrestling J'den COX (USA) on Mat C and Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) is up against Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) on Mat D

1310: World silver medalist Suleyman ATLI (TUR) moves onto the semifinals with a win over Toshiya ABE (JPN). In the final quarterfinal, Horst LEHR (GER) beats Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE) 4-1 to move on

1305: Thomas GILMAN (USA) moves into the semifinals with a 11-1 win over Vladimir EGOROV (MKD). On Mat B, Alireza SARLAK (IRI) manages to comeback from 2-6 down and win a 7-6 bout against Aryan TSIUTRYN (BLR) and move on to semifinals

1300: At 57kg, we have Thomas GILMAN (USA) vs Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) on Mat A,  Alireza SARLAK (IRI) vs Aryan TSIUTRYN (BLR) on Mat B, Horst LEHR (GER) vs Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE) on Mat C and Toshiya ABE (JPN) vs Suleyman ATLI (TUR) on mat D

1255: We are beginning with the quarterfinals. 57kg will be followed by 92kg and then 65kg. 79kg will be the last set of quarterfinals

1240: A no show from Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) and Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) will move on to the quarterfinals at 79kg with a walkover

1230: Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) is up on mat C against Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) for their pre-quarterfinal at 65kg. Tevanyan gets a stepout and lead 1-0 at the break. Diakomihalis shoots again but it's Tevanyan gets the counter for a takedown and lead 3-0. Once again Tenvanyan manages to drag Diakomihalis out and get two for 5-0. A consolation point for the American but he will drop the bout 5-1.

1200: Suleyman ATLI (TUR) does it in style! He gets a 10-0 win over PANKAJ (IND) and will face junior world champion Toshiya ABE (JPN) in the quarterfinal

1145: Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Thomas GILMAN (USA) with a pin! Abubakar MUTALIEV (RWF) is stunned. Gilman is pumped

1130: Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) debuts at 79kg with a 10-0 win over Samuel BARMISH (CAN) to get going.

1110: Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) is wrestling Gabriel JANATSCH (AUT) on mat B and to the delight of the crowd, he gets a takedown with a with gut and leads 4-0. Exposure to gut in the next sequence and he is a 10-0 win at 65kg

1100: Two-time defending world champion at 92kg J'den COX (USA) begins his title defence against Orgilokh DAGVADORJ (MGL). He has build a 3-0 lead with a takedown and step out but Dagvadorj manages a takedown as well. It's 3-2 now. Another takedown from Cox to make it 5-2 at the break. Double leg and two guts for Cox and he leads 11-2 now. He will finish with another takedown and win 13-2

1045: Two-time World Championships bronze medalist Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL) is wrestling Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ). He is lead 9-5 with a minute to go in the bout. He wins 10-5

1015: Welcome to day two of the senior World Championships in Oslo, Norway. Here's a preview to all the four weight classes that are in action. Day 2 Preview

#WrestleBratislava

European history for Serbia; Matcharashvili makes 3rd straight final

Monday, April 7, 2025 - 17:44 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 7) -- Paris silver medalist and defending 97kg champion Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) posted his photo on Instagram last week and captioned it: "I declare the hunting season open."

Two weeks later, Matcharashvili is doing exactly that. He marked the start of the season at 97kg by making it to his third European Championships final in Bratislava.

The first day of the European Championships, which got underway at the X-Bionic Sphere on Monday, turned out to be historic for Serbia as it got its first-ever Freestyle finalist at the European Championships and France ended its drought of missing out on the finals.

Matcharashvili, who participated in the Zagreb Open at 125kg, returned to his preferred 97kg and spent only 4 minutes and 45 seconds in his two bouts in Bratislava to make the final.

In the semifinal, Richard VEGH (HUN) failed to challenge Matcharashvili who scored a takedown and four gut-wrenches to post 10-0 technical superiority in just a minute and 24 seconds.

Matcharashvili has never lost at the European Championships, winning two back-to-back golds in 2023 and 2024. He is a step closer to a third straight gold medal and will take on Magomed KURBANOV (UWW) for it.

Kurbanov, a former European champion at 92kg, had to tougher path to the final. He scored a 5-2 win over Radu LEFTER (MDA) in the other semifinal. He was ahead 3-0 but got surprised by a Lefter front headlock exposure for two. However, Kurbanov recovered and scored a match-winning takedown to win and book a spot in the final.

Kurbanov was a late replacement for Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) at 97kg after Sadulaev failed to travel to Bratislava with the team

Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) became the first Serbian Freestyle wrestler to enter final of European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

History for Serbia

Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) created history for Serbia when he reached the 57kg final, becoming the first Freestyle wrestler from the country to make it to the final.

The 2020 European champion for Russia, Tuskaev switched to Serbia in 2024 and returned to the final after five years. He will face Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) for the gold medal bout at 57kg.

In the semifinal, Tuskaev defeated Aryian TIUTRIN (UWW), 3-1, after the two were put on 30-second activity clocks. Tuskaev scored a stepout in addition to the activity clock point to take the lead in the final minute of the bout. Tiutrin tried to get the one point for a criteria win but failed to break Tuskaev's defense.

Mongush blanked Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) 5-0 in the other semifinal which he controlled for full six minutes. He got on the scoreboard when Bazarganov as cautioned for one point for hitting him with open hands.

Bazarganov was on activity clock when he was cautioned and as the clock expired, Mongush led 2-0. Mongush added two stepouts to make it 4-0 at the break before another activity lock point in the second period was enough for a 5-0 win for Mongush.

Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) tries to defend an attack from Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

France also had something to rejoice as two wrestlers reached the finals, ending a four-year drought of a finalist in Freestyle. Young star Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and veteran Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) booked finals spot for France at 70kg and 79kg respectively, putting the nation in the finals for the first time since 2021.

However, their path to gold will be tricky.

Arsamerzouev will have the repeat of the European U23 Championships from 2024 and face two-time world U23 champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) for the 65kg gold medal. Ibragimov won that bout 6-2 for the gold medal.

The French wrestler barely made it to the final as Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) had him in a tangle in the final 10 seconds and scored an exposure. However, Arsamerzouev also got two points for exposure to win 4-3.

Rahimzada had fallen behind 2-1 earlier when challenged for a stepout but lost the challenge, denying him any other opportunity to challenge in the match.

Ibragimov rolled into the 65kg final on his senior European Championships debut with a stunning 11-0 win over Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinal. He led 1-0 at the break for Otinashvili's passivity but second period saw Ibragimov break into action as he defended a leg attack and countered with a takedown. He scored two turns using gut-wrench and leg lace to lead 7-0. A go-behind takedown put him 9-0 ahead before an easy turn got him into the final 11-0.

While this was a dominant win, Ibragimov pulled off an incredible comeback against former European champion Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) in the quarterfinal, beating him 3-2. Tevanyan led 2-1 with 90 seconds remaining on the clock but Ibragimov hit a collar-tie snap to score a takedown and take a 3-2 lead which he defended till the end.

Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) defeated Ion MARCU (MDA) 7-0 in the 79kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Khadjiev, a two-time silver medalist, world 79kg champion Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) stands between him and the gold medal which Khadjiev lost in 2018 and 2019 after losing in two straight finals.

The 30-year-old broke Ion MARCU (MDA) down with his attacking style and claimed a 7-0 victory in the semifinal. Khadjiev had two stepouts, an activity clock point and two takedowns in his win.

"It was really tough," Khadjiev said. "Three years ago I went to Oklahoma State [University] to train and even young wrestlers were beating easily. But I didn’t give up. I wanted to win something."

While there have been many instances of Khadjiev losing in the final seconds earlier in his career, the 2025 season has begun on a positive note for the French.

He won the Zagreb Open in January and is now a win away from his first gold medal at the European Championships. Khadjiev put the success on wrestling more 'professionally.'

"I can say that now my wrestling in more mature," he said. "I don’t risk it or do something aimlessly. I even watch the matches of my opponents, try to analyze them. I never did that before. I would say I wrestle more professionally now."

Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) defends an attack from Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP) in the 79kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

If he watched Usmanov's wrestling videos from Monday, Khadjiev may think he has a chance. Usmanov was a shadow of himself from the 2023 World Championships. Though he reached the final, Usmanov never got going, winning the final 7-0 against Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP) with his counter wrestling.

In the quarterfinal, Usmanov barely managed to sneak through against former European champion Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR). Usmanov was trailing 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers failed to score in the activity periods. In the final minute of the bout, Mykhailov was put on the activity clock for the second time. He failed to score, giving Usmanov a 2-1 lead which he defended for the final 28 seconds and secured the win.

European Championships debutant David BAEV (UWW), wrestling internationally for the first time since winning the world gold in 2019, booked spot in the 70kg final with a cautious 3-0 win over Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the semifinal.

In his opening bout, he defeated world 65kg champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) rather easily with a score of 10-0.

Baev will take on defending champion Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) for the gold medal after the Armenian managed to hang on for a 3-1 win over Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO).

Andreasyan scored takedown and got a point for Kemertelidze's passivity which took him to his third European final.

Photo

RESULTS

Freestyle Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) vs. Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW)

SF 1: Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 5-0
SF 2: Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) df. Aryian TIUTRIN (UWW), 3-1

65kg
GOLD: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) vs. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)

SF 1: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE), 4-3
SF 2: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 11-0

70kg
GOLD: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) vs. David BAEV (UWW)

SF 1: David BAEV (UWW) df. Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), 3-0
SF 2: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 3-1

79kg
GOLD: Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) vs. Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)

SF 1: Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) df. Ion MARCU (MDA), 7-0
SF 2: Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) df. Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP), 7-0

97kg
GOLD: Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) vs. Magomed KURBANOV (UWW)

SF 1: Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) df. Richard VEGH (HUN), 10-0
SF 2: Magomed KURBANOV (UWW) df. Radu LEFTER (MDA), 5-2