Russia and Georgia Grab Pair of Greco-Roman Olympic Berths

Saturday, March 20, 2021 - 19:25 By Eric Olanowski

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 20) --- Russia and Georgia collected a pair of Olympic berths through Saturday’s Tokyo qualification round at the European Olympic Qualifier.

Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) and Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) reached Saturday’s finals and brought Russia’s Greco-Roman Olympic berths total to five out of six weights, while Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) and Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) guaranteed a pair of Georgian Olympic licenses at 67kg and 87kg, respectively, after they each scored nine points en route to their semifinal victories.

At 77kg, Chekhirkin stepped up big after replacing two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS) on less than a weeks notice. He squeezed out a 7-6 win over Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL). Chekhirkin, the ’17 world champion, faced a 4-0 deficit in the first period but scored six unanswered points and gained the two-point lead. He surrendered a takedown and fell behind 6-6 on criteria but snatched a stepout and earned Russia's 77kg Olympic berth, 7-6.

His finals opponent will be now-two-time Olympian Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO). Starcevic qualified Croatia for the Olympic Games at 77kg with a 3-1 win over Oldrich VARGA (CZE).

Semenov was the second Russian Greco-Roman wrestler to book a ticket to Tokyo on Saturday. He was in such a hurry to get off the mat that he pinned Adam VARGA (HUN) in 98 seconds.

Semenov will take on Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU), who punched Lithuania’s 130kg Olympic ticket with a controlling 4-1 semifinal win over Knystautas KRAJEWSKI (POL).

Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) was one of two Georgian wrestlers who earn an Olympic berth on Saturday. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Georgia was the second nation that had a pair of wrestlers earn Olympic berths on Saturday.

Zoidze was the first Georgian to win a semifinal bout. He eased his way to a 9-1 win over the slim and slender Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM). He'll wrestle Hungarian world champion Balint KORPASI (HUN) in Sunday’s finals.

Korpasi dominated Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0, and handed Hungary a spot at 67kg at the Olympic Games. He has world medals trickled throughout his resume, but the one thing the former world champion's resume was missing was an Olympic appearance. At 33-year-old, that's all going to change as he’s expected to be Hungary’s representative in Japan later this year.

Gobadze was Georgia’s second wrestler to claim an Olympic license on Saturday. Despite trailing early, the ’19 world champ emptied his gas tank and earned the 9-5 win over Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS). Gobadze’s come-from-behind win stopped Russia from earning an Olympic berth at each of the six weight classes.

Kerem KAMAL (TUR) was Turkey's lone wrestler to punch an Olympic ticket on Saturday. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, and Turkey each earned a solo Tokyo berth on Saturday night.

Turkey came into the European Olympic Qualifier with four wrestlers who had high hopes of adding to their nation’s pair of Olympic berths. But after failing to reach the semifinals at 67kg, 77kg and 87kg, they turned to 21-year-old Kerem KAMAL (TUR) to save the day.

With the pressure of a nation on his back, the energetic spark plug dug deep against Erik TORBA (HUN) and ended Hungary’s 60kg bid for an Olympic berth with a one-point victory.

As always, Kamal came out on fire. He tossed everything he had into an early correct throw (six seconds into the first period) and controlled the slim 2-0 advantage. His Hungarian opponent was hit with inactivity and placed down in the par terre position. The two-time European medalist lost focus for a split second and surrendered a reversal and an exposure. Trailing on criteria, Kamal picked up what ultimately proved to be the match-deciding takedown before the first period came to an end.

He stayed composed in the second period and became the third Turkish Greco-Roman wrestler (97kg and 130kg) to punch his ticket to the Olympic Games with a 5-4 victory.

Kamal will wrestle Etienne KINSINGER (GER) for gold on Sunday night.

The German hit one of the craziest four-points throws to steal the Olympic berth from Murad MAMMADOV (AZE).

Kinsinger trailed 3-1 late in the second period when he took a peek over at the clock and realized there was only ten seconds left. In what appeared to be a "flying squirrel" attempt, he left his feet, got his hands locked on a side headlock and tossed everything he had into one final attempt. Kinsinger rolled his Azeri opponent over his back and picked up four points. As the clock struck zero, he realized he punched Germany's ticket to the Olympic Games at 67kg and let out a massive roar in excitement.

Although it wasn’t pretty by any means, Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) got the job done at the end of the day and qualified Finland for the Olympic Games at 97kg. Despite having two cautions against him and trailing 5-1 with less than a minute left, the Finnish wrestler stunned Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) with a four-point throw to earn the 5-5 criteria victory.

Savolaninen will take on ’18 world silver medalist Kiril MILOV (BUL) in the finals. Milov qualified Bulgarian for the Olympics after he walked to a 9-0 shutout win over Artur OMAROV (CZE), 9-0.

The Greco-Roman finals begin at 18:00 on Sunday and can be followed live on www.uww.org.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD - Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
SEMIFINAL - Etienne KINSINGER (GER) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 5-3
SEMIFINAL - Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Erik TORBA (HUN), 5-4

67kg
GOLD - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) vs. Balint KORPASI (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 9-1
SEMIFINAL - Balint KORPASI (HUN) df. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0

77kg
GOLD - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) vs. Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 7-6
SEMIFINAL - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) df. Oldrich VARGA (CZE), 3-1

87kg
GOLD - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Ramon BETSCHART (SUI), 6-1
SEMIFINAL - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) df. Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS), 9-5

97kg
GOLD - Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) vs. Kiril MILOV (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Artur OMAROV (CZE), 9-0
SEMIFINAL - Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 5-5

130kg
GOLD - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
SEMIFINAL - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) df. Adam VARGA (HUN), via fall
SEMIFINAL - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) df. Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL), 4-1

#WrestleBratislava

Alpyeyeva, Livach golds keep Ukraine ahead of Turkiye at Europeans

Friday, April 11, 2025 - 12:22 By Vinay Siwach

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 10) -- Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) was facing a legend in her first-ever European Championships final. While she was chasing her first senior title, her opponent Yasemin ADAR (TUR) was chasing her eighth European title.

It would have been a fairytale for Adar. The Turkish legend who is the first to win Olympic medal, world gold and European gold, would have extended her record of most European titles in Women's Wrestling for Türkiye.

But Alpyeyeva did not get overawed but the occasion or her opponent and handed Adar a 6-0 loss in the 76kg final, which was also the last match for Adar.

The 34-year-old decided to put her shoes on the mat after the match, marking her retirement from the sport. She thanked the crowd of the X-Bionic Sphere, shook hands with Alpyeyeva and vanished into the background as the Ukrainian began her victory lap with the Ukraine flag.

Alpyeyeva did not get any chance to Adar in the final, overpowering her with strength and speed. Alpyeyeva hit three double-leg attacks and managed to score on all three of them.

While Adar did try matching Alpyeyeva, she was slow for the Ukrainian. Alpyeyeva managed to keep an upper hand for the full six minutes and won 6-0.

Alpyeyeva was the second gold medal for Ukraine on Thursday as 2019 European champion Oksana LIVACH (UKR) claimed her second title after beating Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 8-0, in an equally dominant fashion.

Livach began with a stepout and added a double-leg takedown for a 3-0 lead. She kept her attacks going and went for a big four-point move and another stepout made her lead 8-0 which she defended in the final minute.

The 27-year-old finished fifth at the Paris Olympics and was lacking on motivation recently. But the gold medal has revived her love for wrestling.

At 55kg, Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) made her senior European debut a successful one when she defeated 34-year-old Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA), 6-5, with a takedown in the final five seconds of the 55kg final.

Debien, who earned a bronze medal at the World Championships last year, scored a stepout and then tripped Verbina for four to lead 5-0. The French wrestler then decided to defend her lead for the remaining time.

This was a similar result to the last time the two faced each other at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, with only the winner being different. Debien won that semifinal 5-4.

"I was confident that I could win," Verbina said. "I prepared for this match. I knew it would be intense. Two months ago, we faced each other at the Ranking Series event, and it was already a very rough match. I was ready for the same kind of wrestling, the same pressure — I expected it.

"I was angry. When there was one minute left, I looked at the scoreboard and saw that there was one minute remaining; my mind just switched off, and I started moving on autopilot."

Verbina has made a habit of winning gold medal at first continental championships over the years. She won gold at U17 European Championships in 2017, then the U23 European Championships in 2021 and now at senior level in 2025. She also has a U20 European gold which came in 2019, her second trip at that age-level.

"This is the first step for me into senior-level wrestling, because I hadn’t wrestled at the European or World Championships at the senior level before," she said. "This was my first major start. I competed at a ranking tournament earlier, didn’t do well, took third place, and I really wanted to prove myself at the senior level."

Verbina was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia but moved to Dagestan with her parents. She has trained in Makhachkala, Dagestan since 2005 and has been competing for Dagestan.

"Now I live and train in Makhachkala," she said. "My coach is Sveta Gracheva — she trains me day and night. She’s a very tough coach, but she believes in me."

Former world U20 champion Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW) needed a last second takedown to beat Bediha GUN (TUR), 4-2, and win the gold medal at 59kg.

Sidelnikova was called passive twice which gave Gun a 2-0 lead but the Turkish wrestler was put on the 30-second clock which made the score 2-1. Gun was heading towards victory when Sidelnikova hit an inside trip which made Gun fall and give two points for Sidelnikova for 3-2 win. Gun challenged the call but lost adding another point to Sidelnikova score.

Another final was decided in the minute when Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) managed to hang on to a 2-2 criteria win against Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) in the 68kg to win her first major medal.

Shauchuk scored a takedown in the first period but was called passive which gave Zelenykh a point. The Romanian scored a stepout and tied it 2-2 but Shauchuk led on criteria for her bigger technique.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 8-0

BRONZE: Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW) df. Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA), 11-1
BRONZE: Natallia VARAKINA (UWW) df. Emilia GRIGORE VUC (ROU), 4-1

55kg
GOLD: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA), 6-5

BRONZE: Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 7-4
BRONZE: Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) df. Tuba DEMIR (TUR), 6-2

59kg
GOLD: Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (UWW) df. Bediha GUN (TUR), 4-2

BRONZE: Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) df. Erika BOGNAR (HUN), 3-2
BRONZE: Aurora RUSSO (ITA) df. Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 3-2

68kg
GOLD: Alina SHAUCHUK (UWW) df. Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 2-2

BRONZE: Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR), 9-6
BRONZE: Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) df. Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER), 12-0

76kg
GOLD: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Yasemin ADAR (TUR), 6-0

BRONZE: Martina KUENZ (AUT) df. Enrica RINALDI (ITA), 2-1
BRONZE: Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (UWW) df. Laura KUEHN (GER), 2-2

Russia and Georgia Grab Pair of Greco-Roman Olympic Berths

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Alpyeyeva, Livach golds keep Ukraine ahead of Turkiye at Europeans