#WrestleBudapest

Live Blog: #WrestleBudapest European Championships Day 2

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - 08:50 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 29) -- The second day of the European Championships will see five more freestyle weight classes in Budapest.

After the first day which saw stars secure their berth to the finals, wrestlers from 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg will be in action and try to reach their respective gold-medal bouts.

Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), Arsen HARUTYUNTAN (ARM), Taha AKGUL (TUR) including other stars will be on the mat Tuesday.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER\

2:15: The results of the 74kg quarterfinals:

Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) df Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), via injury
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU), 12-1
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM) df Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN), 3-0
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) df Aimar ANDRUSE (EST), 10-0

2:00: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) beats Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) by technical superiority at 125kg.

1:40: U23 world champion Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) takes only a minute to pin Besir ALILI (MKD) at 61kg and he will wrestle in the semifinals later

01:06: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL) put on a show in a thrilling 74kg bout. Bayramov scores a takedown with 16 seconds remaining to lead 4-2. Umarpashaev scores a step-out and was about to get a seconds but Bayramov circles around quickly to avoid that and win 4-3. 

01:00: Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV warms up with a 5-0 win and moves on to the quarterfinals. Remember, he can meet Chamizo in the final if both remain unbeaten

12:55: Defending champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) is up against Kamil RYBICKI (POL) on Mat A. All Rybicki attacks have been countered by Salkazanov and he leads 5-0.

12:45: Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) begins with a win over Giorgi SULAVA (GEO) at 74kg. He controls the bout in the second period to finish the match 10-2  

12:30: Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM) was just getting started in the bout with a four-point move but Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) seems to have injured himself. He pulls out due to the injury to give Alikhanyan the win. 

12:15: Oslo bronze medalist Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) is in action on Mat A at 86kg. Before you can blink your eye, he has points on board against Denis BALAUR (MDA). He is moving so brilliantly. Insane pressure from Abakarov and he wins the bout 12-1

12:00: Keep an eye on Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB). He is the biggest threat to the 61kg gold medal and he begins with an 11-0 win over Adam AL KANDOUSSI (NED).

11:50: It was a grind but Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO) upsets Boris MAKOEV (SVK) 5-2 at 86kg and the Georgia fans in the stadium are frantic in their celebrations

11:30: Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO) and Boris MAKOEV (SVK) are wrestling on Mat A for the opening round at 86kg. This is a super exciting match between two really high-class wrestlers

11:00: Another big day here in Budapest as we have five more freestyle weight classes. We are just 30 minutes out.

#GrecoRoman

'Thank you, wrestling': Tokyo Olympic medalist Elsayed, 27, retires

Monday, July 14, 2025 - 10:34 By Vinay Siwach

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EGYPT (July 14) -- Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) has announced his retirement from wrestling, concluding a distinguished career that included two Olympic appearances and two world U23 gold medals.

Elsayed posted on Instagram about his struggles with injuries and shared that the decision to retire was the "most difficult" for the 27-year-old wrestler.

"After many years of hard work, challenges, and victories [and] after I honored my country and raised its flag in internationally, and was able to achieve my dream and win an Olympic medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, I have reached the most difficult decision in my sports career.  I have decided to officially announce my retirement," Elsayed wrote in an emotional post.

Having won five gold medals at the African Championships, Elsayed was a trailblazer in Greco-Roman and was Egypt's new-found hope for the Olympics. He did not disappoint in Tokyo, where he had a surprising run to the semifinal, which he lost to Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), 7-6.

He bounced back in the bronze-medal bout and defeated Artem SURKOV (ROC), 1-1 to capture bronze, Egypt's first medal since 2012 London Olympics and only the third since 1960.

"Wrestling has always been more than just a sport to me," he wrote. "It was my life, my passion, and my support in the most difficult times. I thank God for every moment I lived on the mat and every moment of pride, and every encouragement I heard from my family, fans, and country."

One of the biggest achievements of Elsayed, apart from the Olympic medal, was winning successive world U23 gold medals in 2018 and 2019 at 67kg.

Elsayed expressed gratitude to various individuals who supported him throughout the journey including coaches and trainers. He also thanked wrestling.

"I thank every coach who helped me, every colleague who stood by me, and everyone who supported me with a kind word or a prayer from the heart. Thank you to everyone who was part of the journey.

"Thank you to wrestling, which taught me to be a man before being a champion."