#DanKolov2019

Russia and India Lead Dan Kolov After Day Two

Friday, March 1, 2019 - 20:11 By Eric Olanowski

RUSE, Bulgaria (March 1) – lias BEKBULATOV and Magomed KURBANOV won the 70kg and 92kg Dan Kolov gold medals respectively and gave the Russian Federation (80 points) a 15 point lead over the United States (65 points) heading into the third day of competition at the Monbat Sports Park Arena in Ruse, Bulgaria.

In the all-Russian 70kg finals, lias Bekbulatov closed out his dominating Dan Kolov performance with a 10-0 win over Anzor ZAKUEV (RUS). In total, Bekbulatov only surrendered two points in his four matches and outscored his opponents 38-2.

Bekbulatov, arguably the best wrestler in the world to never compete at a world championship, scored an inactivity point, followed by a takedown and controlled the 3-0 lead heading into the second period. The 2018 European runner-up stalked Zakuev in the second period and scored seven straight points to close out the match with a 10-0 shutout victory.

It’s also worth noting, Russia’s Viktor RASSADIN defeated 2016 Rio Olympic fifth-place finisher Frank Aniello MOLINARO (USA), 15-10 in the 70kg bronze-medal bout, giving Russia their third 70kg medal. Russia entered three wrestlers into the 70kg bracket and finished first, second, and third receptivity.

The second Russian gold-medal winner on the day was Magomed KURBANOV (RUS).

Kurbanov trailed 3-1 after the opening period of the 92kg finals, but ignited in the second and outscored Irakli MTSITURI (GEO) 8-2 in the final frame to pick up the 9-5 victory.

Meanwhile, the United States, who sits in second place with 65 points, welcomed a champion in Alexander DIERINGER. Dieringer, who also goes by “Ringer,” quickly dismantled Omaraskhab NAZHMUDINOV (ROU), 10-0 in the opening period of the 79kg finals. In the last twelve months, Dieringer, who is the No. 2 79kg American guy behind reigning world champion Kyle DAKE, has won titles at the Alexander Medved Prizes, International Ukrainian Tournament, and the Dan Kolov, while also finishing in third-place at the first Ranking Series event of the season, the Ivan Yariguin.

The final freestyle gold of the day went to Kazakhstan’s Nurislam SANAYEV. It took just 35 seconds for Sanayev to wrap up Sandeep TOMAR (IND) in the 61kg finals. The reigning 57kg world silver medalist scored an early takedown from a duck under and seamlessly transitioned into four leg laces, ending the match with a 10-0 technical superiority victory.

In women’s wrestling, Pooja DHANDA’s 59kg gold and Sakshi MALIK ‘s 65kg silver gave India (45 points) the ten point lead over Turkey (35 points) after the second day of wrestling in Ruse.

Dhanda, the 2018 world bronze medalist at 57kg, bumped up to 59kg and went undefeated in the round-robin competition to claim the gold medal. Her teammate Malik, the Rio bronze medalist who upset reigning world champion Petra OLLI to make the 65kg finals, fell to Sweden’s Henna JOHANSSON (SWE), 8-3 in the gold-medal match. Johansson reached the top of the Klippan Lady Open podium last weekend and won her second consecutive tournament when she stopped Malik’s quest for gold today.

Turkey sits in second place, thanks to fourth-ranked Buse TOSUN’s gold-medal performance at 72kg. In the finals, Tosun broke a 4-4 tie, scoring the match-deciding takedown with 15 seconds left, defeating Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR), 6-4.

The final women’s wrestling gold medal of the day went to Greece’s Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE). The 2018 European bronze medalist controlled the entirety of 55kg gold-medal match with her left side underhook, completely shutting down Kazakhstan’s Marina SEDNEVA, 10-0 to win her first Ranking Series title.

Wrestling resumes tomorrow in Ruse at 10:00 (local time), with the Day Three finals beginning at 18:00.

For news, highlights, interviews, and behind the scenes clips, make sure you’re following United World Wrestling on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

RESULTS
Freestyle

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (80 points)
SILVER - United States (65 points)
BRONZE - Georgia (39 points)
Fourth - Turkey (35 points)
Fifth - Ukraine (33 points)

61kg
GOLD - Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ) df. Sandeep TOMAR (IND), 10-0
BRONZE - Aryian TIUTRIN (RUS) df. Joseph Daniel COLON (USA), 13-3
BRONZE - Volodymyr BURUKOV (UKR) df. Munir Recep AKTAS (TUR), 3-2

70kg
GOLD - Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) df. Anzor ZAKUEV (RUS), 10-0
BRONZE - James GREEN (USA) df. Andriy KVYATKOVSKYY (UKR), via inj. def.
BRONZE - Viktor RASSADIN (RUS) df. Frank MOLINARO (USA), 15-10

79kg
GOLD - Alexander DIERINGER (USA) df. Omaraskhab NAZHMUDINOV (ROU), 10-0
BRONZE - Atsamaz SANAKOEV (RUS) df. Ender COSKUN (TUR), 4-3
BRONZE - Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Muhammet KOTANOGLU (TUR), 5-0

92kg
GOLD - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. Irakli MTSITURI (GEO), 9-5
BRONZE – Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR) df. Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR), 7-6
BRONZE - Michael Justin MACCHIAVELLO (USA) df. Mohammed FARDJ (ALG), via inj. def.

Women's Wrestling

Team Scores
GOLD - India (45 points)
SILVER - Turkey (35 points)
BRONZE - Sweden (33 points)
Fourth - Ukraine (28 points)
Fifth - Greece (25 points)

55kg
GOLD - Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE) df. Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ), 10-0
BRONZE - Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL) df. Bediha GUN (TUR), 4 - 0
BRONZE - Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ) df. Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR), 4-25

59kg (Round-Robin)
GOLD - Pooja DHANDA (IND)
SILVER - Sarita SARITA (IND)
BRONZE - Kornelija ZAICEVAITE (LTU)
BRONZE - Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)

65kg
GOLD -Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) df. Sakshi MALIK (IND), 8-3
BRONZE - Petra OLLI (FIN) df. Adina POPESCU (ROU), via inj. def.
BRONZEForrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Maya NELSON (USA), 6-3

72kg
GOLD - Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR), 6-4
BRONZE - Maria SELMAIER (GER) df. Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), via DSQ
BRONZE - YAN Chuchu (CHN) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), via forfeit

#WrestleTirana

Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion

Sunday, April 26, 2026 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 26) -- Zavur UGUEV (UWW) became a two-time European champion in Tirana on Sunday. For a wrestler of Uguev's pedigree, the number looks bleak.

But the 31-year-old, who will turn 32 on May 21, doesn't rue the missed golds but says those were the experiences that helped him win gold later.

"Last year I won my first European gold medal," Uguev said. "My first two or three medals, I was still young and things didn’t work out. There were very experienced athletes competing, and I gained experience from them."

In his two appearances at the European Championships in 2017 and 2018, Uguev suffered losses to Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE). In the 2018 final, Edisherashvili scored a takedown in the last seven seconds to win.

"[From] losing in the finals in the last 7 seconds in Kaspiysk, I gained great experience," he said. "But last year, I was in great shape and I’m happy that in my career I now have two European Championship gold medals."

His second gold in Tirana may have gone under that radar given the return and dominance of Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), who won his sixth European gold on Saturday and first in six years.

However, if there was an award for the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament, Uguev would handsomely beat all others wrestlers to it.

On Sunday, Uguev defended his 61kg gold medal in Tirana with rather ease after defeating former world champion and home-favorite Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB). The 4-0 win over Abakarov consisted one activity clock, one stepout and a two-point takedown from Uguev.

Even the low-scoring final was a masterclass from Uguev, one of the few who still mixes the art of defense and positioning to win bouts.

At one point, Abakarov would keep trying the two-on-one on Uguev's arm and instead of panicking, Uguev would casually block Abakarov using his head. After the two-minute mark in the match, Abakarov had a similar grip and Uguev was blocking using his head and grip one of Abakarov's wrist.

Abakarov moved to a position from which he could either whizzer or wrist snap Uguev. However, as soon as Abakarov moved sideways, Uguev placed his foot behind Abakarov and let go off his grip, quickly switching to a leg-attack. He scored a stepout to lead 2-0 after one activity period point.

Uguev set up his takedown in the second period when Abakarov took a shot from space and Uguev blocked it using a chest wrap. Instead of scoring exposure from front, Uguev jumped behind and locked Abakarov who tried to break the grip. But Uguev scored a takedown on the edge to lead 4-0, his winning score.

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) pins Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) in the 61kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was in the semifinals against Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), Uguev fell behind 3-2 but he brought down Harutyunyan in danger for two points before holding the Armenian in such a grip that he failed to move despite having split hands. Eventually, he gave up to Uguev's pressure who won via fall.

"The final is always a tough contest, both last and this year," Uguev said. "Last year it was Harutyunyan, a four-time European champion, and this year it’s Abakarov, the world champion. It’s a real pleasure to compete against them. I’ve come here solely to compete against them."

Two months ago, Uguev was in Tirana and he put on a wrestling masterclass, winning the 61kg gold medal. However, it was in Tirana that he lost to phenom Masanosuke ONO (JPN) and Vitali ARUJAU (USA) and finished fifth at the World Championships.

"I was here at the start of February for the ranking tournament, and I suppose I had some thoughts about it [losing World Championships in Tirana]," he said. "But I managed to win that tournament, and I came here with the sole intention of winning. The first attempt [2024 World Championships] didn’t go to plan."

Zavur UGUEV (UWW) after winning the 61kg gold medal in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist at 57kg has been competing at 61kg for three years now. While he will eventually move to 57kg for a run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Uguev says he is enjoying wrestling at a higher weight and not dieting during competitions.

"I’ll be wrestling in 65kg soon," he said jokingly. "I’ll probably be dropping down to 57kg. I’ll probably compete for another year or so [at 61kg], and then I’ll keep dropping down. I’m not actually that heavy to begin with, and I reckon anyone competing at 57kg is roughly the same weight as me. For now, I don’t see the point in cutting weight, and I think it’s better to stay as I am for the time being, compete for another year or so. I think that this year, or early next year, we’ll start thinking about which weight class to move to.

"Now that I’ve moved up to 61kg, I’m really enjoying the competition. When I was competing at 57kg, I struggled so much. Now, when I watch the wrestlers like Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW), for example, I’m reminded of my own days on the mat. It’s just that when you’re on a diet, you don’t want to think about anything else. All you can think about is food. Now I feel comfortable. I’m not dieting; I enjoy wrestling and I’m managing to do well at it."

As for European Championships golds, Uguev isn't stopping.

"I'm not going to stop here," he said. "I'm not chasing numbers, I'll keep wrestling as long as I have the strength."

Russia and India Lead Dan Kolov After Day Two

Comments

Masterful Uguev Repeats as European Champion