#BuchaWrestU23

Olympic Silver Medalist Higuchi Rallies to Make U23 World Finals

Friday, November 16, 2018 - 16:41 By Taylor Miller

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Photo of Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) by Martin Gabor. 

BUCHAREST, Romania – Friday night’s U23 World Championships semifinals provided a lot of excitement as it determined the first five gold-medal matches in men’s freestyle in Bucharest, Romania.

At 65kg, 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) scored a takedown with 14 seconds left in the match to defeat Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI) to advance to the finals.

Waiting for him in tomorrow’s gold match is 2018 Yasar Dogu runner-up Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE), who took out Roman ASHARIN (HUN), 5-3.

For 97 kg gold, 2017 Junior World silver medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) will take on 2017 Junior World bronze medalist Kollin MOORE (USA). The two last met up in the 2017 Junior World semifinals, with Matcharashvili taking a 16-4 win.

In the semifinals, Matcharashvili made work of Ali SHABANIBENGAR (IRI), producing a 10-0 technical fall, while on the side of the bracket, Moore battled back from an 8-2 deficit to defeat Magamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR), 10-8.

At 70 kg, 2017 Junior World champion and 2014 Cadet World champion David BAEV (RUS) edged out 2016 Junior World champion Enes USLU (TUR) on a caution-and-one call that was made after time ran out in the 70 kg semifinals. At the end of the match, the scoreboard read in favor of Uslu on criteria, but Russia’s corner challenged, asking for a caution and one for fleeing. The challenge ruled in favor of Baev and he advanced to the finals with a 7-6 win.

In the 70 kg gold-medal bout, Baev will take on Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), who dominated 2017 World Military runner-up Oleksii BORUTA (UKR), 9-0, in the other semifinal.

The 79 kg semifinals featured a couple of shutout wins as Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) defeated 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion Yajuro YAMASAKI (JPN), 4-0, and 2015 Junior World champion Gadzhi NABIEV (RUS) blanked 2017 Junior World runner-up Isa SHAPIEV (UZB), 5-0, making tomorrow’s 79 kg gold-medal match a battle of Junior World medalists.

Tomorrow’s finals at 57 kg will feature 2013 Cadet World bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) and Kumar RAVI (IND).

Ravi tallied a 10-8 win over 2017 Junior Asian champion Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB) to advance to the finals, while Hasegawa had a come-from-behind win over Wahnhao ZOU (CHN), 5-2.

Saturday’s finals are set for 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals matchups
57 kg: Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) vs. Kumar RAVI (IND)
65 kg: Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) vs. Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)
70 kg: David BAEV (RUS) vs. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
79 kg: Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) vs. Gadzhi NABIEV (RUS)
97 kg: Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) vs. Kollin MOORE (USA)

Semifinals results

57 kg
Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) df. Wanhao ZOU (CHN) 5-2
Kumar RAVI (IND) df. Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB), 10-8

65 kg
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) df. Roman ASHARIN (HUN), 5-3
Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) df. Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI), 4-4

70 kg
David BAEV (RUS) df. Enes USLU (TUR), 7-6
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Oleksii BORUTA (UKR), 9-0

79 kg
Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Yajuro YAMASAKI (JPN), 4-0
Gadzhi NABIEV (RUS) df. Isa SHAPIEV (UZB), 5-0

97 kg
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) df. Ali SHABANIBENGAR (IRI), 10-0
Kollin MOORE (USA) df. Magamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR), 10-8

#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