#Trnava2018

Russia Reels in Trio of Golds, Leads USA Heading into Final Day

Saturday, September 22, 2018 - 18:25 By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 22) – The Russian national anthem played three times on the sixth day of wrestling at the 2018 Junior World Championships after Russia won a trio of gold medals, taking a 31 point lead over the United States into the final day of wrestling in Trnava, Slovakia.

Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS) won Russia’s first gold medal of the night, scoring the 12-1 technical superiority victory over India’s 2018 junior Asian runner-up, Naveen NAVEEN in the 57kg gold-medal bout.

Idrisov, the younger brother of 57kg Russian National champion, Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS), scored the bouts opening takedown, but only led 2-1 after giving up a reversal.

Midway through the opening period, there was a brief break in the action because Idrisov’s left ear busted wide open. The medical staff wrapped his head up, and wrestling continued. When action resumed, Idrisov extended his lead to 4-1 with a low ankle attack, coming out the back door, picking up two exposure points. After trading stepouts, Idrivsov again went back to his low-level attack, stretching his lead to 7-1.

A front-headlock roll-through and a lost Indian challenge brought the score to 10-1, which is when Idrisov began celebrating, thinking the match was over, but he was only up by nine points.

The first time junior world champion ended the match, scoring two points off a swing single, handing Russia their first championship of the night.

At 65kg, Saiyn KAZYRYK (RUS) came from behind, grabbing a takedown with 10 seconds left to defeat Iran’s 2016 cadet world champion, Amirhossein MAGHSOUDI, 7-6.

Kazyryk and Maghsoudi traded takedowns in the first period, but it was Maghsoudi who took the 2-2 lead on criteria into the second period.

In a back and forth second period, Kazyryk grabbed the 4-2 lead with an exposure, but quickly gave up the reversal and remained in front, 4-3. Between a pair of Maghsoudi takedowns, Kazyryk scored two exposure and trailed 6-5 with 10 seconds left. Kazyryk seized the 7-6 lead with 10 seconds to go, winning Russia’s second gold medal of the day.

The 97kg gold-medal bout only lasted 2:13, as Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS), cruised past Zachery ELAM (USA), 11-0 to give Russia their third gold medal of the night.

The final two non-Russia gold medals went Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) and Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN).

Khadzhimurad Gazhiyev stopped Russia from winning their third straight gold medal of the night, passing Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 4-3 in the 70kg finals. Gadzhiyev trailed 3-0 and scored four unanswered points to win his first junior world gold medal.

In the 79kg gold medal match that saw 21-points, Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) stole the gold medal from last year’s cadet world champion, Aaron BROOKS (USA), scoring two-exposure points as time ran out to win 11-10.

The last session of the 2018 Junior World Championships begin on Sunday night at 18:00.

RESULTS

TEAM SCORES
GOLD – Russia (105 points)
SILVER – United States (74 points)
BRONZE – Azerbaijan (46 points)
Fourth – Iran (44 points)
Fifth – Ukraine (44 points)

57kg
GOLD -Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS) df. Naveen NAVEEN (IND), 12-1

BRONZE -Daton Duain FIX (USA) df. Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ), 10 - 0
BRONZE - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Hyeonsu CHO (KOR)

65kg
GOLD - Saiyn KAZYRYK (RUS) df. Amirhossein Azim MAGHSOUDI (IRI), 8-7

BRONZE - Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA) df. Fati VEJSELI (MKD), 15 - 5
BRONZE - Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) df. Kuanysh DUISENKUL (KAZ), 8-2

70kg
GOLD - Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS), 4-3

BRONZE - Brady Gary BERGE (USA) df. Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), 1 - 1
BRONZE - Vasile DIACON (MDA) df. Amirhossein Morteza Gholi KAVOUSI (IRI)

79kg
GOLD - Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) df. Aaron Marquel BROOKS (USA), 11-10

BRONZE - Adlan BATAIEV (UKR) df. Aslanbek GVARAMIIA (RUS), 10 - 0
BRONZE - Orkhan ABASOV (AZE) df. Andrian GROSUL (MDA)

97kg
GOLD - Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Zachery Samuel ELAM (USA), 11-0

BRONZE - Zuriko URTASHVILI (GEO) df. Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR), 9 - 3
BRONZE - Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ) df. Hyunsu HAN (KOR), 12-8

#WrestleZagreb

U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 22:40 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- Four months ago, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) seemed untouchable.

He had stunned Arena Zagreb with a victory over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), eventually cruising to 86kg gold at the 2025 World Championships without conceding a single point.

On Wednesday, Valencia returned to Arena Zagreb, but the script flipped. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), a former world silver medalist at 79kg, blanked the world champion 11-0 at the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

While Valencia recovered to claim bronze, it was international debutant Parker KECKEISEN (USA) who rose to the occasion, taking gold after defeating Gamkrelidze.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA), red, tries to fight a gut-wrench against Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Valencia wasn't the only giant to fall during a chaotic Wednesday. Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) was pinned, and Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) left without a medal. Meanwhile, world champion Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) missed the top spot, and Georgios KOUGIOUMSTIDIS (GRE) saw his 86kg debut end in the opening round.

Despite the upsets, the United States dominated, winning four of the six available gold medals. Spencer LEE (USA), David CARR (USA), and Austin DESANTO (USA) joined Keckeisen atop the podium.

At 65kg, U23 world champion SUJEET (IND) continued his rise and captured the gold medal in a dominant fashion.

For Iran, the only gold medal came through Sina KHALILI (IRI) who outscored his opponents 42-3 in four bouts.

Parker KECKEISEN (USA) won gold medal at Zagreb Open, his debut international tournament. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Keckeisen's golden debut

While Zahid Valencia was the heavy favorite at 86kg, it was Keckeisen who stole the spotlight. Keckeisen flew under the radar to reach the final after a gritty 9-5 victory over Ali Savadkouhi (IRI).

In the final, Keckeisen entered as the underdog against Gamkrelidze. He maintained a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining. The match defining moment came when Gamkrelidze scored a stepout and challenged the call, seeking two points instead of one. The lost challenge awarded Keckeisen an extra point, extending his lead to 4-2.

Despite a late stepout from Gamkrelidze with ten seconds left, Keckeisen held on to secure the gold.

With Gamkrelidze making it to the final, Valencia found his form in repechage and won bronze after pinning U17 world champion Abofazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI).

Spencer LEE (USA) scores a takedown before Roman BRAVO YOUNG forfeited the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Lee repeats, Carr shines

Lee repeated as the Zagreb Open champion with a strong performance, just like last year. After dominant wins over Azamat TSUKAEV (SRB) and Fuga SASAKI (JPN), Lee met Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) in the final.

The Olympic bronze medalist opened strong with a takedown and turn, but the match ended prematurely when Bravo-Young forfeited due to injury, handing Lee his second consecutive gold.

Bravo Young was clutching his tapped knee when he got up after the gut-wrench from Lee who helped the Mexican off the mat after enquiring about the injury.

At 74kg, Carr navigated a tactical final against 70kg world champion Aoyagi, who now wrestles at 74kg. Aoyagi led 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers exchanged activity points when he was placed on the 30-second activity clock for a second time.

His failure to score put Carr ahead 2-1 with 30 seconds remaining. A desperate late attack by Aoyagi allowed Carr to score a counter takedown, sealing a 4-1 victory.

In September, Carr missed out on a bronze medal bout at the World Championships after losing to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) in the final five seconds, while Lee was eliminated after losing to Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM).

Austin DESANTO (USA) won the gold medal at 61kg in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Desanto recovers

At 61kg, Desanto recovered after a heartbreaking 11-11 loss to Reza MOMENI (IRI) in the opening bout of the Nordic bracket to win gold. Needing a big win against Aman, Desanto delivered a pin, earning five crucial classification points.

His total of 15 points placed him safely ahead of Momeni, who was mathematically eliminated from gold regardless of his final result against Giorgi GHONIASHVILI (GEO).

Ultimately, DeSanto secured the gold, while Aman took silver, despite being tied with Momeni at 13 points. Aman held the tiebreaker thanks to his head-to-head victory over the Iranian.

SUJEET (IND) tries to finish a takedown on Peyman NEMATI (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet wins gold

U23 World Champion Sujeet continues to demonstrate his growth on the international stage, capturing his second career Ranking Series gold medal.

Sujeet, who took gold in Budapest last year, secured two technical superiority wins over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to reach the final. There, he shut out Peyman NEMATI (IRI) with a disciplined 3-0 victory.

In the final, he was put on the activity clock in the first period but responded quickly with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. When Nemati was placed on the activity clock in the second period, Sujeet extended his lead to 3-0.

Following a series of scoreless scrambles, Sujeet successfully defended his lead until the whistle.

At 70kg, U23 World silver medalist Khalili put on a dominant display in his gold-medal match. Khalili overwhelmed Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), using a series of gut wrenches to secure a 10-0 technical superiority victory.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), via inj. def. (4-0)

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Atish TODKAR (IND), 10-0
BRONZE: Fuga SASAKI (JPN) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), 4-1

61kg
GOLD: Austin DESANTO (USA)
SILVER: AMAN (IND)
BRONZE: Reza MOMENI (IRI)

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Peyman NEMATI (IRI), 3-0

BRONZE: Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO) df. Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN), 11-6
BRONZE: Joseph MC KENNA (USA) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 10-0

BRONZE: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 6-3
BRONZE: Caleb HENSON (USA) df. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 5-4

74kg
GOLD: David CARR (USA) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 4-1

BRONZE: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) df. James GREEN (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) df. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Parker KECKEISEN (USA) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Mukul DAHIYA (IND), 6-5

Russia Reels in Trio of Golds, Leads USA Heading into Final Day

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U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned