Lopez-Kayaalp Setup Semifinal Showdown at #WrestleTokyo

Sunday, August 1, 2021 - 05:31 By Vinay Siwach

In what will be their third meeting at the Olympics, Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) and Riza KAYAALP (TUR) set up a semifinal clash on the first day of wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics Sunday.

Three-time Olympic champion Lopez is in a quest to become the first male wrestler to win four gold medals at the Olympics but he has to beat three-time world champion Kayaalp in the semifinal at 130kg in the evening session at the Makuhari Messe Hall A, Chiba.

Sunday, the first day of wrestling at this Olympics, saw Greco-Roman wrestling at 60kg and 130kg while women's wrestling began with 76kg.

Lopez marked a return to international wrestling after a gap of two years with a stunning 9-0 win over Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) and followed that with another technical superiority win over Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI). Both his bouts ended before the allotted six minutes.

Kayaalp was little slower to begin with. He took his time in the first bout against Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU), winning 5-1 after six minutes. Eduard POPP (GER) scored two points against Kayaalp but that was not enough as the Turkey wrestler won 6-2.

In the other semifinal, Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) booked up a bout against Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO), who stunned Sergei SEMENOV (ROC) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

Both wrestler got one point each for passivity but Kajaia managed to score two points from the par terre position while Semenov did not.

Acosta handed a 2-0 defeat to Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) in the quarterfinal and will now look to book his first-ever Olympic final spot later in the evening.

More upsets followed at the 60kg weight class as former world champion Sergey EMELIN (ROC) suffered a tight 4-3 loss to Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) in the quarterfinals.

He will face Victor CIOBANU (MDA) in the semifinal. Ciobanu was in some serious form Sunday as he took out U23 world champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) 8-0 in the first bout. He followed that up with a 9-0 thrashing of another U23 world champion Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) in the quarterfinal.

Home favorite Kenchiro FUMITA (JPN) made it to the semifinal as well and will face Lenur TEMIROV (UKR). Fumita had a close 1-1 win over Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) in the quarterfinal, winning on criteria as he had the last point.

Temirov defeated Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) 8-4 in the quarters after a powerful back-arch throw which gave him four points. Melikyan's loss ended the Olympics for second seed Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI).

In the women's matchups, five-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) is on her path for her first Olympic gold medal as she overcame Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) with a first-period fall and survived a scare against Yasemin ADAR (TUR) in the quarters. Gray had three takedowns to lead 6-0 but gave up a takedown and leg lace which made it 6-4. Adar went for another lace but the referee called it out of bouds. Gray will face Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) in the semifinal.

Medet Kyzy had a dominant first session as he beat Rio Olympic medalist Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) 8-1 and then humbled Rio silver medalist Natalia VOROBIEVA (ROC) 12-0 in the quarterfinal with three four-point throws.

Vorobieva began her day with 16-12 win over Samar HAMZA (EGY) which left bout wrestlers out of breath. It need the ROC athlete a big four with less than 30 seconds left to win the bout.

On the other side of the bracket, defending Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) will go home withouta medal from Tokyo as Epp MAEE (EST) defeated her in the opening round before losing to world silver medalist and local wrestler Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN) 0-3 in the quarterfinal.

Minagawa will face Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) in the semifinal as she put on a clinical performance to reach the last four. Focken used a takedown to win 2-1 against Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) in the first round before handing an 8-3 defeat to Qian ZHOU (CHN).

#WrestleZagreb

Buchanan spoils Yazdani’s return at Zagreb Open

Friday, February 6, 2026 - 00:58 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- For the modestly attended Zagreb Open 2026, Thursday brought a noticeable lift in attendance as Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returned to competition.

Yazdani, who injured his shoulder in the Paris Olympics final, was returning 18 months and another surgery later. The Olympic champion at 74kg in 2016 and silver medalist at 86kg in 2020 and 2024, is now up at 97kg.

Over the past decade, Yazdani has enjoyed stardom with fans not just in Iran but across the globe.

So when a bulkier Yazdani walked out to the mat in Zagreb, his silhouette under the spotlights looked different. The 13 kilogram jump was clearly visible. There was no traditional jump from him before coming to the center of the mat.

Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) launches Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) for a four-point throw. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Yazdani’s decision to switch Olympic weight classes was a move born out of necessity, especially after two shoulder surgeries.

In the early rounds of the Zagreb Open, the experiment seemed to be working. The signature underhooks were there, the gas tank seemed fine and his movement, despite the bulk, did not seem unnatural.

Before reaching the final, Yazdani had seen off his opponents with rather ease. He scored points via stepouts, takedowns and go-behind in typical Yazdani fashion. He gave up only four points in his three bouts and reached the final without much trouble.

But then he hit a wall.

In the second period of the final, Yazdani's underhooks stopped working and his gas tank showed a leak. His movement became slower although his mind wanted him to be quick against Stephen BUCHANAN (USA).

Buchanan matched Yazdani for position and let Yazdani take only a 2-1 lead at the break. But he caught Yazdani in the second period and launched the Iranian for a suplex for four. It's rare for Yazdani to be thrown around like that.

And with him falling behind 5-2, Yazdani tried to attack more and that's when opportunities for Buchanan opened up as he scored three takedowns and two steps, beating Yazdani 13-3 and capturing the gold medal in Zagreb.

This was Yazdani's only tenth loss at the senior level and first to a U.S. wrestler other than David TAYLOR (USA). It was also the first a wrestler defeated Yazdani via technical superiority.

With Buchanan's gold, the United States finished the tournament with five gold medals in Freestyle.

Trent HIDLAY (USA) scores a takedown against Mobin AZIMI (IRI). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

World champion at 92kg Trent HIDLAY (USA) forfeited his final against Mobin AZIMI (IRI). But Hidlay had defeated the Iranian 5-5 in their round robin bout.

Hidlay, known for his insane comeback in bouts, was down 5-0 against Azimi when he mounted a comeback. He scored a takedown and then a point to make it 5-3. He then scored a step out on Azimi which cut the lead to 5-4. Iran challenged the stepout call but lost it to tie the score 5-5 with Hidlay holding criteria. Hidlay then defended his criteria for the rest of the bout.

In another bout against an Iranian, Hidlay came back from 8-0 down to beat Abofazl RAHAMANI (IRI) 11-9 as he took the top spot in his group.

Rahamani and Azimi clashed as well in the round robin and it was Azimi who scored a takedown in the final seconds to beat his compatriot 4-3 and finish second in the group.

Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) pins Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 125kg, Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) is quickly emerging as the biggest challenger to world champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) at the weight class.

Sharipov captured the gold medal at 125kg with a incredible cradle and turk position against Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA). Shapirov locked Hendrickson in a leg-turn and then turned him on his back, keeping him down and securing the fall.

With a dominant performance in Zagreb, the Bahrain wrestler has put his name as a serious medal threat at the 2026 World Championships that will be held in Bahrain in October.

European silver medalist Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) defended his gold medal from 2025, winning a close 4-4 final against Dean HAMITI (USA) at 79kg.

Khadjiev was leading 4-1 when he was put on the activity clock. As the clock expired and he failed to score, Khadjiev also gave up a takedown which tied the score 4-4. But the French wrestler get the criteria due to his two two-point scoring moves.

RESULTS

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) df. Dean HAMITI (USA), 4-4

BRONZE: Evan WICK (USA) df. Daniel BRAUNAGEL (USA), 8-6
BRONZE: Adel PANAEIAN (IRI) df. Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO), via fall

92kg
GOLD: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Trent HIDLAY (USA), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Dustin PLOTT (USA) df. Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA), 6-1

97kg
GOLD: Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) df. Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), 13-3

BRONZE: Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) df. Richard VEGH (HUN), 12-2
BRONZE: VICKY (IND) df. Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA), 8-2

125kg
GOLD: Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA), via fall

BRONZE: Mortaza JANMOHAMMADZADEH (IRI) df. Robert BARAN (POL), 8-4
BRONZE: DINESH (IND) df. Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL), via fall

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) df. NEELAM (IND), 5-2

BRONZE: MUSKAN (IND) df. Agata GOLUCHOWSKA (POL), 11-0
BRONZE: Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) df. Natalia WALCZAK (POL), 9-6

55kg
GOLD: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Karla GODINEZ (CAN), 6-0

BRONZE: Nagisa HARADA (JPN) df. Beatrice FERENT (ROU), 2-1
BRONZE: Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA) df. Amani JONES (USA), 4-0

Lopez-Kayaalp Setup Semifinal Showdown at #WrestleTokyo

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Buchanan spoils Yazdani’s return at Zagreb Open