#WrestleBudapest

Live Blog: #WrestleBudapest European Championships Day 2

By Vinay Siwach

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.

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0