Beach wrestling

Romania Sweeps Women’s Division; Pakistan’s Inam Repeats on the Beach

Sunday, October 7, 2018 - 21:39 By Marc Berman

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SARIGERME, Turkey (October 7) --  The 2018 Beach Wrestling World Championships wrapped up Sunday in the coastal Turkish city of Sarigerme with wrestlers from Romania sweeping the women’s division, and Pakistan’s Muhammad INAM the lone wrestler to successfully defend his 2017 world title.

In all, 159 wrestlers from 17 nations took to the sand with a number of nations medaling in United World Wrestling’s fastest growing style.

Stefania Claudia PRICEPUTU (ROU) set the standard for her Romanian teammates early, besting Sevil ALIOGLU (TUR) 3-0 in the 50kg division gold medal final. Priceputu had defeated teammate Maria Alexandra CIOCLEA (ROU) in the semifinal on her way to the finals.
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
In the 60kg finals it was Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU) stopping Francesca INDELICATO (ITA) to win Romania’s second gold. Indelicato had been cruising past opponents all weekend, but it was Incze who found a last-minute takedown to earn her first world title and Romania’s second-straight gold.

Adina Elena POPESCU (ROU) kept up Romania’s winning ways upsetting returning champion Charlotte SKAUEN (NOR). Skauen found herself down 2-0 halfway through the match but was able to fight onto the board with a hard-won takedown. Despite Skauen’s late flurry of activity Popescu found an opening, attacked and sealed her first world title, 3-1.

Catalina AXENTE completed Romania’s sweep of the women’s division defeating Aikaterini Eirini PITSIAVA (GRE) in the +70kg final, 2-1. With her victory, Romania became the first women’s team to ever win all weight divisions at the Beach Wrestling World Championships.
Muhammad Inam of Pakistan celebrates after defending his 90kg title against Irakli Mtsituri (not in photo) of Georgia during the second and final day of the UWW Beach Wrestling World Championships in Serigerme, Turkey on October 7, 2018 (Photo: Dean Treml)

Back on the men’s side it was Pakistan’s Inam who would inspire the local crowd on his way to making history. The young wrestler had already became the first from Pakistan to win a Beach Wrestling world title, but in besting Irakli MTSITURI (GEO), 3-1 he was also the first to repeat, and the first Pakistani wrestler to win any world title back-to-back.

Konstantine KHABALASHVILI (GEO)

At +90kg Baki SAHIN (TUR) was Turkey’s lone representative in the men’s final and didn’t let down the home crowd, upsetting former Olympian Rares Daniel CHINTOAN (ROU). Sahin was down early, but was able to score a late takedown for the win.

Georgia took the other two gold medals, winning the 70kg and 80kg titles. Konstantine KHABALASHVILI (GEO) defeated the returning champion Semen RADULOV (UKR) in the highly anticipated 70kg final. Khabalashvili, who is a medalist at the Europeans in freestyle wrestling, took down Mehmet Emin OGUT (TUR) in the semifinal before defeating Radulov in the finals match, 3-1.

Teammate Jakob MAKARASHVILI (GEO) defeated Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) 2-0 to bring home a second gold medal for Georgia. Makarashvili represented Georgia at the 2016 Olympics and was dominant all weekend capping his weekend with a dominant 3-0 victory in the finals.

There were more than 300 matches competed at the Beach Wrestling World Championships, with 20 overall champions coming from the Cadets, Juniors and Senior divisions.

The 2018 Beach Wrestling World Championships also served as a qualifying event for the 2019 Beach Games, a quadrennial sporting event held next summer in California’s San Diego, USA while Beach Wrestling will expand its offerings in 2019 with a tentatively approved global tour capped by an annual prize event.
 

Men's Beach Wrestling


70kg
GOLD: Konstantine KHABALASHVILI (GEO) df. Semen RADULOV (UKR), 3-1
BRONZE: Mehmet Emin OGUT (TUR) df. Gheorghe Constantin CONSTANTIN (ROU), 5-0

80kg
GOLD: Jakob MAKARASHVILI (GEO) df. Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR), 2-0
BRONZE: Jumber KVELASHVILI (GEO) df. Efe Sami UNAL (TUR), 3-1

90kg
GOLD: Muhammad INAM (PAK) df. Irakli MTSITURI (GEO), 3-1
BRONZE: Pedro Jacinto GARCIA PEREZ (ESP) df. Grigorios KRIARIDIS (GRE), 3-0

+90kg
GOLD: Baki SAHIN (TUR) df. Rares Daniel CHINTOAN (ROU), 5-1
BRONZE: Irfan METE (TUR) df. Niazi IMPIS (GRE), 3-0

Women’s Beach Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Aikaterini Eirini PITSIAVA (GRE), 2-1
BRONZE: Diana Elena VLASCEANU (ROU) df. Adina Ionela IRIMIA (ROU), 4-1

60kg
GOLD: Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU) df. Francesca INDELICATO (ITA), 4-0
BRONZE: Jeannie Agnes KESSLER (AUT) df. Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA), 0-0

70kg
GOLD: Adina Elena POPESCU (ROU) df. Charlotte SKAUEN (NOR), 3-1
BRONZE: Beatrice DUKOV OANCEA (ROU) df. Cesilie Hoeivik MAGNUSSEN (NOR), 3-1

+70kg
GOLD: Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Aikaterini Eirini PITSIAVA (GRE), 2-1
BRONZE: Diana Elena VLASCEANU (ROU) df. Adina Ionela IRIMIA (ROU), 4-1

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOVKhadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)