#Yariguin2019

Russia Crowns Quartet of Freestyle Champions on Day Four, Sweeps Ivan Yariguin

By Eric Olanowski

KRASNOYARSK, Russia (January 27) – Russia closed out the final day of wrestling at the Ivan Yariguin with four gold medals and swept the freestyle competition, winning all ten gold medals. 

Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS), Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS), Magomed KURBANOV (RUS), and Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) were the quartet of Russian Day Four champions.

Zaurbek Sidakov, the reigning world champion, clinched a late 5-4 come-from-behind victory, edging Yakup GOR (TUR), the two-time world medalist, and kept Russia’s hopes of sweeping the freestyle competition alive. 

The Russian hit a slide by and led 2-0 before surrendering four points to trail 4-2. 

In the exchange that put the four-time Yariguin finalist behind, Sidakov shucked the Turkish wrestler by and nearly scored his second takedown of the match, but couldn’t get Gor’s knee to touch the match, therefore the takedown was never awarded. 

Sidakov worked to get Gor’s knee down to the mat but slipped off the right side of his Turkish opponent and handed him the 2-2 criteria lead. 

Gor held onto the bottom leg of Sidakov and turned him to his back, nearly picking up the fall and extended his lead to 4-2. 

But Sidakov, being the world-class wrestler that he is,  remained composed and fought back, forcing a step out to close Gor’s lead to 4-3. With under a minute remaining in the final period, Sidkov capitalized on a high crotch and gained the 5-4 advantage,  ultimately winning his second Yariguin title and first since 2016. 

The 86kg gold-medal bout was cut short and Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) was awarded the 12-1 technical superiority victory over the obviously hurt Fatih ERDIN (TUR). 

Kurugliev transition from a Russian tie to an unconventional left-handed high crotch led 2-0 in the first period. The Russian took a second shot and hurt the right knee of the Turkish returning Yariguin and world finalist. 

Before the takedown was awarded, Erdin attempted to notify the ref that he was hurt with an apparent right knee injury. But the ref didn’t stop the match, and with Erdin laying limp on the mat, Kurugliev scored the takedown and put together four gut wrenches to seal the match, 12-1. 

Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) went 4-0 on the weekend and won the 92kg round-robin tournament, but it was Shamil MUSAEV’s (RUS) back-and-forth 11-9 victory over Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR) in the 97kg finals that provided Russia with their tenth freestyle gold medal of the tournament.

Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) and Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) claimed the final pair of women’s wrestling gold medals on the fourth and final day of competition in Krasnoyarsk. 

Mensah-stock scored a first-period fall over Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) in the 72kg gold-medal bout and became the first American wrestler in any style to win three Yariguin titles. 

Mensah grabbed an early takedown, then dumped Kagami to her back for the 6-0 lead, then picked up the fall at 2:34 of the opening period to reach the top of the podium at the Ivan Yariguin for the third consecutive year.

Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) won the battle of world medalists against Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) and handed Japan their third gold medal of the competition. 

Minagawa Suzuki, the two-time world bronze medalist, trailed 1-0 after giving up an inactivity point in the opening three minutes of the 76kg finals but outscored Marzaliuk, the 2017 world runner-up, 3-0 in the closing period to win her first Yariguin title. 

RESULTS 

Freestyle

Team Scores

GOLD - Russia (250 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (118 points) 
BRONZE - Turkey (83 points) 
FOURTH - United States (64 points) 
FIFTH - China (53 points) 

74kg 
GOLD - Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Yakup GOR (TUR), 5-4 

BRONZE - Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS) df. Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB), 4-3 
BRONZE - Azamat NURYKAU (BLR) df. Timur BIZHOEV (RUS), 7-3

86kg 
GOLD - Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), 12-1 

BRONZE - Vladislav VALIEV (RUS) df. Shota SHIRAI (JPN), via inj. def. 
BRONZE - Uitumen ORGODOL (MGL) df. Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), via fall 

97kg  
GOLD - Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), 11-9 

BRONZE - Igor OVSIANNIKOV (RUS) df. Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL), 4-1 
BRONZE - Baki SAHIN (TUR) df. Namkhai BATDORJ (MGL), via fall 

Women’s Wrestling

Team Scores

GOLD - Russia (191 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (153 points) 
BRONZE - Japan (145 points) 
FOURTH - United States (79 points) 
FIFTH - Uzbekistan (57 points) 

72kg  
GOLD - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) df. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), via fall (3:16) 

BRONZE - OCHIRBAT Nasanburmaa (MGL) df. Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB), via fall
BRONZE - Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS) df. Tatiana KOLESNIKOVA MOROZOVA (RUS), 8-4

76kg 
GOLD - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) df. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 3-1

BRONZE - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) df. Mabelkis CAPOTE PEREZ (CUB), via fall 
BRONZE - Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. Shakhribonu ELLIEVA (UZB), 12-2 

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships 2026 Day 1 Greco-Roman Highlights

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 6) -- For the first time, the Asian Championships will be held in two-day format. The edition in Bishkek will begin with Greco-Roman, followed by Women's Wrestling and then Freestyle. Five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg -- are in action on Monday.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

The semifinals will begin at 18:00 local time

55kg
SF 1: Huoying SHI (CHN) vs. LALIT (IND)
SF 2: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) vs. Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)

63kg
SF 1: Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM) vs. Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
SF 2: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) vs. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)

77kg
SF 1: Ali OSKOU (IRI) vs. AMAN (IND)
SF 2: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) vs. Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)

87kg
SF 1: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
SF 2: Sunil KUMAR (IND) vs. Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)

130kg
SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Minseok KIM (KOR)
SF 2: Yuta NARA (JPN) vs. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB)

13:10: World champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) begins his Asian title defense with a 10-0 win over Roman KIM (KGZ) and advance to the semifinals. He will face Minseok KIM (KOR)

13:03: Returning bronze medalist Yuta NARA (JPN) gets the winning score with a slow-motion gut wrench in the second period, prevailing on last-point criteria 3-3 over two-time Asian U23 silver medalist Jokhar UZAROV (KAZ) to advance to the 130kg semifinals.

12:58: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) gets a gut wrench to the back upgraded to a 4-point move upon his opponent's challenge, giving him a 10-0 victory over two-time bronze medalist Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) and moving him a step closer to a second straight gold, this time up at 87kg after winning at 82kg last year.

12:57: World bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) with some big throws and a fall against Dovletmyrat BAYRAMOV (TKM) at 87kg in just 30 seconds. Zhanyshov vs Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) final will be a treat.

12:50: Sunil KUMAR (IND), the last Indian to win a Greco gold when he did on home soil in New Dehli in 2020, reeled off two gut wrenches from par terre in the second period for a 5-1 victory over Shichang ZHENG (CHN) and a place in the 87kg semifinals. Kumar is also going for his fourth career Asian medal.

12:42: Kaisei TANABE (JPN), last year's champion at freestyle 65kg looking to make history with a victory at Greco 63kg, minimized the points scored by Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), but failed to get enough of his own and came out on the short end of a 4-3 score. Taalaibek Uulu had the first chance in par terre, but even though he lifted Tanabe off his feet, he could only get a 1-point throw out of it. Taalaibek Uulu then got in on a bear hug and lifted Tanabe again, but only got a takedown out of that situation to lead 4-0 at the break. Tanabe got a chance at par terre and hit a gut wrench to cut the gap to 1, but could not pull out the win.

12:32: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB), aiming to improve on his two bronze medals from 2023 and 2025, rips off four straight rolls from par terre and he's into the 55kg semifinals with a 10-0 win over Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI). The Iranian side pushed the challenge button before the first roll, looking for a leg foul, but the scoring was upheld.

12:25: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), a bronze medalist in 2024, makes short work of Amro SADEH (JOR), storming to a quick 9-0 win to earn a semifinal date with Makhmudov.

12:23: There cannot be a better way to find a way to win a Greco-Roman bout that a five-point throw! AMAN (IND) does exactly that in his quarterfinal against Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) at 77kg. Aman was down 4-1 but got on a duckunder and locked Bahejiang and completes a perfect throw for five points and wins 6-4

12:20: Ali OSKOU (IRI), Zagreb Open Ranking Series champion at 77kg, defends from par terre twice, against Yeonghun NOH (KOR) and he does that well, once with 25 seconds remaining to win 5-2 and advance to the semifinals.

12:18: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) with another spectacular throw as he defeats Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) 9-1 to gain a place in the semifinals. Makhmudov is put on the bottom of par terre, but wiggles his way out and gets behind for a takedown. Then the fun starts, as he hits a high-flying 4-point throw to lead 6-1. In the second period, Makhmudov gets the top position, and he quickly executes a gut wrench that ends the proceedings.

12:10: Roman KIM (KGZ) gets the home crowd going, getting four straight rolls from par terre to knock off Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) 9-0 at 130kg. Batbayar is one of a few wrestlers who will be doing the Greco-Freestyle double in Bishkek — he's the Asian U23 champion in freestyle!

12:08: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI), the reigning world champion at 82kg, has moved up to the Olympic weight of 87kg and gets off to a good start, overwhelming Muhammad SULTONZODA (TJK) 9-0 in less than two minutes.

12:05: Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR) survives a battle against Huangsheng WU (CHN) at 63kg. He was leading 11-6 when Wu scored a huge four-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it 11-10. But the last desperate attempt ended with Choi getting two points and a 13-10 win

12:02: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), an Asian champion in 2019 and world bronze medalist in 2023, is looking to regain the magic up a weight at 63kg. He cruises through his opening match, handily defeating  Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA) 8-0.

11:51: Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI), winner at the Zagreb Ranking Series tournament, advances at 55kg with a 4-0 victory over Nurzat KABDYRAKHIMOV (KAZ). Hosseinvand chalks up three points in the first period, then adds a stepout in the second.

11:41: Local star Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) gets the tournament off to an exciting start with a 4-point bear hug en route to a 7-3 victory over a spunky Isami HORIKITA (JPN) in the opening match at 77kg. Makhmudov, a two-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion aiming for his fourth career Asian gold, used a bear hug to power Horikita to the mat, then added a 2-point roll for 6-1 lead. In the second period, Makhmudov got the passivity point, but when he tried a gut wrench from par terre, Horikita stepped over for a 2-point exposure. But that was the end of the scoring and Makhmudov was safely through. 

11:15: The Asian Championships will get underway in Bishkek with Greco-Roman. Five weight classes with local hero Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in action as well.