#WrestleBudapest19

Novikov and Pataridze on Track to Repeat as U23 World Champions

Saturday, November 2, 2019 - 11:27 By Taylor Miller

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Photo of Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) by Sachiko Hotaka.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Saturday’s Greco-Roman finals are set for the U23 World Championships and they feature a pair of reigning U23 World champs, including Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) and Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO).

At 87 kg, Novikov looks for his second-career gold, facing off against Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) on Saturday night for the title.

Pataridze cruised to his third-consecutive U23 World finals. This week marks Pataridze’s seventh World Championship appearance. Should he win tonight, he will claim his sixth World gold. He owns three Junior World titles, two Cadet World titles, one U23 World title and one U23 World silver.

For gold, Pataridze will face 2019 Junior World champion and 2018 U23 World bronze medalist Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI).

The two met last year in the first round of the U23 Worlds with Pataridze recording a 4-1 win.

In addition to Khetsuriani and Pataridze, one other Georgian advanced to Saturday night’s finals as 2013 Cadet World bronze medalist Levani KAVJARADZE (GEO) will battle 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI) for the gold at 63 kg.

At 77 kg, Islam OPIEV (RUS) aims for his second World title of the year as he won the Junior World gold earlier this year in Tallinn, Estonia.

In the finals, Opiev will take on Kodai SAKURABA (JPN), who edged out three-time Junior World medalist Sajan SAJAN (IND) in the semifinals.

The title bout at 55 kg will feature 2019 Senior World bronze medalist Shota OGAWA (JPN), who will take on two-time Junior World medalist and 2015 Cadet World medalist Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS).

The finals will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Semifinals results
55 kg
Shota OGAWA (JPN) df. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 9-0
Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS) df. Zaur ALIYEV (AZE), 7-0

63 kg
Levani KAVJARADZE (GEO) df. Fadis VALITOV (RUS), fall
Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI) df. Mehmet CEKER (TUR), 4-1       

77 kg   
Islam OPIEV (RUS) df. Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ), 4-3
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN) df. Sajan SAJAN (IND), 5-4

87 kg
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) df. Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB), 2-2
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) df. Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR), 6-1

130 kg
Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) df. Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 6-5
Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) df. David OVASAPYAN (ARM), 4-1

Finals matchups
55 kg: Shota OGAWA (JPN) vs. Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS)
63 kg: Levani KAVJARADZE (GEO) vs. Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI)
77 kg: Islam OPIEV (RUS) vs. Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
87 kg: Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) vs. Semen NOVIKOV (UKR)
130 kg: Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) vs. Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO)

#development

Bulgaria hosts OLYMP to increase media literacy

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 09:49 By United World Wrestling Press

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BULGARIA (October 15) -- Bulgaria hosted a seminar on the OLYMP project, funded by the European Union's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme, at Diana National Wrestling Hall on October 9. The project aims to improve the media literacy of athletes, coaches, and sports managers.

The seminar was led by Georgi BANOV, one of the doyens of Bulgarian sports journalism, who has covered 14 Olympic Games in winter and summer sports, as well as a number of world and European Championships in wrestling, weightlifting, athletics, biathlon, and more.

The seminar was organized for the athletes of the national wrestling teams. The event was hosted by Belcho GORANOV, Chairman of the Ethics and Legal Commission of the United World Wrestling (UWW) and project manager on behalf of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by bgolympic (@bgolympic)

The team emphasized that the seminar is part of a six-month cycle of informal training under the OLYMP project, which covers a total of 110 young athletes. The program includes weekly sessions in small groups focusing on media and information literacy, critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as developing the participants' confidence and ability to defend their positions with reasoned arguments.

The weekly classes will include readings and discussions on biographies, novels, sports magazines, as well as topics related to sports management and economics. Additional informal activities -- meetings with prominent athletes and film screenings -- will be held twice a month, with each event featuring moderated debates and practical challenges for “fact checking” and ethical behavior on social media.

Banov drew the athletes' attention to how to verify the information they receive through social media and other sources, how to recognize fake news, how to search for reliable information, and how to use social networks correctly, avoiding hate speech.

At the end of the media literacy program, a combined (formal and informal) assessment is planned – short tests and case studies, observation of group work, participant portfolios, and satisfaction surveys—to report on the specific results of the training and its impact on the engagement of young athletes in public life.

Read more on BOC website