Returning medalists rule day one at U23 Europeans

Monday, March 13, 2023 - 16:57 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 13) -- All five returning medalists who were in action on day one of the U23 European Championships made it to their respective finals in Bucharest, Romania.

Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) and Khasay HASANLI (AZE) earned a shot at winning their second straight gold medals while Denis MIHAI (ROU), Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) have a chance to improve their previous medals to gold.

The U23 European Championships got underway in the Romanian capital with five Greco-Roman weight classes and not many surprises.

Defending champion at 63kg Shotadze entered the final after a clinical performance. He began the day with a 9-0 win over Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) before the semifinal against Ismail CULFA (TUR).

Shotadze gave up passivity in the first period but defended the par terre position. He tried to body lock Culfa who answered with a head pinch. However, both wrestlers failed in their respective moves and Shotadze fell on top of Culfa, earning four points.

With less than a minute remaining in the bout, Culfa got a go behind to cut the lead to 4-3. He tried a front headlock but gave up two points on exposure, enough for Shotadze to win 6-3.

Shotadze will face Tino OJALA (FIN) for the gold medal as the latter became just the fourth wrestler from his country to reach the final at U23 Europeans.

Ojala won his first bout 9-0 and escaped Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) 6-6 in the quarterfinals. He was in trouble in the semifinal against Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR) after conceding the par terre and a turn. But he managed a near-perfect throw from par terre and a turn to lead 7-3. Semenchuk tried an arm spin that fetched him two points but could not stop Ojala from winning 7-5.

Defending champion at 77kg Khasay HASANLI (AZE) reached the final with a 5-1 win over Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 77kg, Hasanli amassed 19 points in his first two bouts before wrestling Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR) in the semifinal. He came out on top 5-1. In the final, he will take on U23 world silver medalist Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) who also had a dominating day in the office.

In the semifinal, Gutu defeated U20 world champion Deni NAKAEV (GER) 7-1 using three gut wrenches from par terre after getting the advantage in the first period. Nakaev failed to capitalize on the same in the second period.

Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) used his big throws to great effect and reached the 87kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Bisultanov clearly was the most dominant wrestler of the day as he entered the final without giving up a point in three bouts. In the semifinal, he faced Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA) and won 9-0, extending his overall score to 24-0.

He used an arm throw for the first takedown before using the same to get four points. He ended the bout with a gut wrench. Lupasco challenged the call for four points on the second throw but lost.

Bisultanov, who won a silver medal last year, will face David LOSONCZI (HUN) in the final after the Hungary wrestler defeated Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR) 7-3.

Istvan TAKACS (HUN) denied Bisultanov the gold medal last year and now it will be upon world bronze Losonczi to repeat against the world silver medalist.

Denis MIHAI (ROU) reached the 55kg final in front of his home crowd in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 55kg, Mihai will get yet another chance to win his first championships gold medal. He finished with a bronze medal last year but defeated Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR) 3-0 in the semifinals on Monday.

Mihai has wrestled at 13 World or European Championships in different age groups and reached the final twice. Monday marked his third entry into a final in which he will face Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM).

In a close semifinal, Manvelyan defeated Muhammet CAKIR (TUR) 1-1 after the two wrestlers traded passivities in the bout.

Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) reached the 130kg final after beating Muhammet BAKIR (TUR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The final gold medal bout on Tuesday will see Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) take on Giorgi Tsopurashvili at 130kg.

U20 world champion Vyshnyvetskyi pinned Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) in the semifinal, his second pin of the day, to earn his spot in his first U23 European final.

Bakir got a turn from par terre to lead 3-0 in the first period but Vyshnyvetskyi scored a four-pointer using a front lock from par terre to lead 5-3. Bakir challenged the call which revealed that the move was dangerous and points were removed.

However, as Bakir got tired, Vyshnyvetskyi got him into a bear hug and launched a four-pointer. Bakir tried a desperate body throw but failed and Vyshnyvetskyi sat on him to get the fall with a minute remaining in the bout.

Tsopurashvili had a one-sided semifinal as he beat Albert VARDANYAN (ARM) 5-0 to set up the final against the Ukraine wrestler.

Bronze medalist from last year, Tsopurashvili used a big arm throw and a stepout early in the bout to claim the victory over Vardanyan. While he has already upgraded his bronze from last year, the Georgian will have a chance to claim the gold medal.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Denis MIHAI (ROU) vs. Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM) df. Muhammet CAKIR (TUR), 1-1
SF 2: Denis MIHAI (ROU) df. Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR), 3-0

63kg
GOLD: Tino OJALA (FIN) vs. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)

SF 1: Tino OJALA (FIN) df. Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR), 7-5
SF 2: Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Ismail CULFA (TUR), 6-3

77kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Khasay HASANLI (AZE)

SF 1: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Deni NAKAEV (GER), 7-1
SF 2: Khasay HASANLI (AZE) df. Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR), 5-1

87kg
GOLD: David LOSONCZI (HUN) vs. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)

SF 1: David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR), 7-3
SF 2: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA), 9-0

130kg
GOLD: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) vs. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) df. Albert VARDANYAN (ARM), 6-0
SF 2: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR), 7-3

#WrestleZagreb

Saravi returns to final; Ganizade, Ghanem rematch for 72kg gold

Friday, September 19, 2025 - 16:52 By Ken Marantz

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 19) -- Paris Olympic champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) safely negotiated the minefield that was the draw of the stacked 97kg division, advancing to the final to earn a shot at capturing a second world title.

Saravi defeated Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) 3-1 in the semifinals Friday at the World Championships in Zagreb, putting him in Saturday's gold-medal match against Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) as the finals were set in three Greco weight classes.

In other finals, Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) and Alisher GANIEV (UZB) will battle it out at 60kg, while the 72kg match will be a rematch of last year's final between defending champion Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) and Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA).

Saravi, who avoided the upset bug that hit the legendary Artur ALEKSANYAN (AZE) and 2023 world champion Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) earlier in the day, executed a gut wrench from par terre against Maskevich, then hardly budged when he was put on the bottom in the second period.

The victory gives Saravi, who won his third straight Asian title and fourth overall this year, a shot at regaining the world title he won in 2021. He also has an Olympic bronze and world silver and bronze medals to his credit.

Sargsian, a 2021 bronze medalist, earned his place in the final with a 1-1 victory over Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), prevailing on the criteria of receiving the first of two passivity points.

Following an opening victory by technical superiority, it was Sargsian's third straight victory by a 1-1 scoreline, an aspect that is totally irrelevant to him.

"I don’t care about the score, the important thing is that they raised my hand," Sargsian said. "All my life I tried to win ahead of time, to get 8-0 in every match -- and for what? It didn’t lead to anything good. I’m 27 years old and I still have only world championship medal. So for me, three times 1-1 is the same as three times 8-0."

For Sargsian, the final gives him a chance to avenge a loss to Saravi from the 2021 World Championships, when the Iranian defeated him 6-4 in the first round in Oslo.

"I’m very glad that tomorrow I’ll finally have my long-awaited rematch with Saravi," Sargsian said. "It adds extra excitement that now he is not only a world champion, but also an Olympic champion."

At 60kg, Asian silver medalist Ganiev will get a chance to become just the second Uzbekistan wrestler to win a world Greco title after holding on to win a 5-5 thriller
over European silver medalist Georgij TIBILOV (SRB).

Ganiev was on top in par terre, trailing on criteria because he received the second passivity point, when he lifted Tibilov and executed a nifty cartwheel for a 4-pointer and a 5-4 lead.

But Tibilov, a world bronze medalist at 63kg in 2023, was not going down easily, and he pressured Ganiev at the edge for a takedown, then added a second one. But
that was all he could get, and Ganiev won on big-point criteria.

The victory avenged a 6-4 loss to Tibilov in the final of the Zagreb Open in the same arena back in February.

Uzbekistan's lone title in Greco came back in 2001, when Dilshod ARIPOV (UZB) won the 58kg gold in Patras, Greece.

Sultangali, who has world bronze medals from 2018 and 2022, will get a shot at his first gold after putting on a late surge and defeating Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
10-2 in the other semifinal.

Sultangali trailed 2-1 when he bulled Shavadze over for a 4-point takedown with :30 left, then added a gut wrench. An unsuccessful challenge made it 8-2 before Shavadze gave up the fight and allowed a stepout with fleeing penalty point with :03 left.

Kazakhstan has won five Greco world golds through three wrestlers, but hasn't had put one on the top of the medal podium since 1999, when Mkhtar MANUKYAN
(KAZ) won the second of his back-to-back titles at 63kg in Athens.

At 72kg, a second potential Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan match-up failed to come to fruition when both countries' wrestlers lost in the semifinals. Instead, it will be
Ganizade and Ghanem going at it for the second consecutive year.

Ganizade scored all of his points in the first period in a 5-0 victory over Asian silver medalist Abdullo ALIEV (UZB). He slipped behind for a takedown, then added a gut wrench before getting the lone passivity point to cap the first period.

In the other semifinal, Ghanem was leading a close match 3-2 as it was winding down when he countered Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) for 4-point throw.

Maulitkanov just remained lying on the mat, officially giving Ghanem a victory by fall in 5:49.

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg (25 entries)
SF 1: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) df. Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) by TF, 10-2, 5:57
SF 2: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), 5-5

72kg (30 entries)
SF 1: Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) df. Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 5-0
SF 2: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) by Fall, 5:49 (7-2)

97kg (29 entries)
SF 1: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW), 3-1
SF 2: Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) df. Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), 1-1

Returning medalists rule day one at U23 Europeans

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Saravi returns to final; Ganizade, Ghanem rematch for 72kg gold