#kaspeuro2018

Russia Reels in Trio of Greco-Roman Golds on Third Day of Euro C’Ships

Wednesday, May 2, 2018 - 19:30 By Eric Olanowski

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KASPIISK, Russia (May 2) - The Russian national anthem was on replay during the final day of Greco-Roman action at the Palace of Sport and Youth as the host nation claimed three of the five possible gold medals, bringing their tournament gold medal count to four.

“If you're comparing this year's performance to last years, we were better all around.  We were much more prepared, which is why we have three champions. Hopefully one more is coming” said 67kg champion, Artem SURKOV (RUS). That “one more” Surkov mentioned came from Adam KURAK (RUS) in the 72kg gold-medal bout. 

In addition to Kurak and Surkov, Sergey EMELIN (RUS) won a gold medal for the Russian Federation on the third day of wrestling in Kaspiisk, Russia. 

At 60kg, 2017 U23 world runner-up Sergey Eemelin faced a 5-0 deficit against the U23 world champion, Murad MAMMADOV (AZE). Mammadov, the 23-year-old held an early 5-0 lead after a four-point throw and a lost challenge from the Russian corner. Emelin rebounded with a takedown and two guts, closing out the match on a 6-0 run. Emelin, who was competing in his first senior-level European Championship defeated Mammadov, 6-5. 

When asked if there was any hesitation while facing the five-point deficit, Emelin said “No, because of my mental preparation. I was ready when I stepped on the mat…We’ve wrestled three times, so I knew coming into that match that he was a strong opponent.” 

Artem SURKOV (RUS) gets his hand raised after sticking Olympic bronze medalist, Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO). (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

In the 67kg finals, Surkov, who was already up 8-0 stuck 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) in the opening period. After the match, Surkov added, “I dedicate this win to the President of the Russian Wrestling Federation, my country, all my coaches, my family and especially to my twin brother who has spent every single minute training with me.”

Adam KURAK (RUS) celebrates after defeating Olympic bronze medalist, Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) to win the 72kg gold medal. 

Adam Kurak was the third Russian to capture gold on final day of Greco-Roman wrestling. The 2014 European champion found himself down 5-1 to 2015 world champion and clear crowd favorite, Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE). 

“I knew that Chunayev was the favorite, but I was sure that I had a chance to win. If you’re on the mat and not sitting in the stands or in front of the television, you have a chance to win.” 

Midway through the match, Kurak cracked Chunayev’s puzzle and scored the remaining eight points of the bout, winning the 72kg gold-medal bout, 9-5. 

“I wish I could divide my gold medal into pieces and give a piece to everyone who has supported me. If I did that, I’d only have a tiny piece of the medal because so many people have been there for me….But, these European Championships gave me a taste of victory. My next step is hopefully world and Olympic gold medals.” 

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) defeated Mikheil KAJAIA (SRB), 7-0 to win his fourth European Championship. 

Armenia’s Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) and Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) closed out the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament, claiming the remaining two gold medals. 

Artur “The White Bear,” Aleksanyan reclaimed European gold for the first time since 2014 by routing Mikheil KAJAIA (SRB), 7-0 in the 97kg gold-medal match. 

“I feel very proud that I could become a European champion for the fourth time, and that I could bring one more gold medal to our country.”

Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM), the 2017 world champion claimed his first gold medal by earning the 9-0 technical superiority victory over Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR). The 2018 European gold medal was the Armenian’s first continental championship. 

Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan are the top-three finishers in Greco-Roman at the 2018 European Championships. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

Team Results
GOLD - Russia (169 points) 
SILVER - Georgia (127 points)
BRONZE - Azerbaijan (113 points)
Fourth Place - Armenia (97 points)
Fifth Place - Hungary (71 points)
Sixth Place - Turkey (65 points)
Seventh Place - Germany (57 points)
Eighth Place - Serbia (56 points)
Ninth Place - Bulgaria (49 points)
Tenth Place - Belarus (46 points)

RESULTS
60kg
GOLD - Sergey EMELIN (RUS) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 6-5

BRONZE - Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) df. Etienne KINSINGER (GER), 1-1
BRONZE  - Jacopo SANDRON (ITA) df. Maksim KAZHARSKI (BLR), 8-1

67kg
GOLD - Artem SURKOV (RUS) df. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), 8-0

BRONZE - Enes BASAR (TUR) df. Fredrik Holmquist BJERREHUUS (DEN), 5-4
BRONZE - Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Dawid KARECINSKI (POL), 7-2

72kg 
GOLD - Adam KURAK (RUS) df. Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE), 9-5

BRONZE - Luri LOMADZE (GEO) df. Daniel CATARAGA (MDA), 15-6
BRONZE - Balint KORPASI (HUN) df. Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL), 10-0 

82kg 
GOLD - Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) df. Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR), 9-0

BRONZE - Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) df. Roland SCHWARZ (GER), 4-3
BRONZE - Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL) df Laszlo SZABO (HUN), 3-2

97kg
GOLD: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) vs. Mikheil KAJAIA (SRB), 7-0

BRONZE - Balazs KISS (HUN) vs. Ramsin AZIZSIR (GER), 4-1
BRONZE - Matti Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN) df. Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE), 10-7

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 Freestyle Live Blog

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 02:15 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 1) -- The fourth and final day of the Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 will see seven weight classes in Freestyle with Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) returning as well.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

14:15: Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) has a rematch with Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) after beating Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) 12-1 in the 125kg semifinal. Mukhtur defeated Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) 5-0.

14:05: Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) makes it to the final at 97kg and the small crowd here is all for it. He defeated VICKY (IND) 4-2 in the semifinal, a match the Indian complained of wrong score on the scoreboard.

He will face Ahmad BAZRI (IRI) in the final after the Iranian won 8-0 over Resul GUNE (TUR) in the other semifinal.

13:50: In the 79kg semifinals, Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) with a fall over Dalaitseren JAVKHLANKHUU (MGL) and Fariborz BABAEIR (IRI) with a controlled win over AMIT (IND).

13:33: Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI) with a last-ditch attempt to win against Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) but his head pinch is only worth two points as he goes down 10-6 in the 70kg semifinal. Fazli trailed 4-1 but scored consistently to make it 9-4 before Amouzad got two points to exposure, too little too late. 

Konstantin KAPRYNOV (UWW) needs only two minutes and 26 seconds to finish his semifinal against Usukhbayar BAATARKHUU (MGL) and win 10-0.

13:20: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) holds off Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) for a 3-3 win in the 65kg semifinal and enter the final in which he will face Dzhambulat KIZINOV (UWW) who proved extremely strong for Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ) and won 9-3.

13:11: Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) takes out compatriot Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) 9-1 in the other 61kg semifinal and he will wrestle UDIT (IND) in the final.

13:10: UDIT (IND) reaches the final at 61kg with a 2-1 win over Artem GOBAEV (UWW). A takedown in the first period the difference between the two. The one point for Gobaev came from a lost challenge from India.

13:00: Another disappointing semifinal loss for India at 57kg as RAHUL (IND) falls to Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) 6-3 after the Mongolian scored three takedowns in the first period and defended his lead.

12:55: Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) two huge four-pointers which set up his 14-11 win over AMAN (IND), the Paris Olympic bronze medalist from India. Aman maintained continued pressure and scored at regular intervals. However, Bravo Young never let the lead swell too much. Aman led 11-10 in the final 20 seconds when Bravo Young scored a takedown and turn to win 14-11, ultimately called a pin.

Semifinals begins straightaway on Mat A and B

12:45: In the final match of the qualifications round, Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) wins 6-2 against Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL) in Round 3 at 125kg.

12:35: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) with a takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match to claim a 5-1 win over Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) at 70kg. Fazli got a point for stepout during his activity period to take a 1-0 lead. Tumur Ochir took the 1-1 criteria lead after Fazli was called passive in the second period. However, Fazli got behind and then scored a takedown. Tumur Ochir was cautioned for fleeing but Mongolia challenged the call which was upheld and it lost the challenge making the score 5-1.

12:23: Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI), the twin brother of Paris Olympic silver medalist Rahman, with a clutch takedown over Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND) from disadvantageous position to win 3-2 at 70kg.

12:10: Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) with a bodylock throw for four and then laces ROHIT (IND) for an 11-0 victory at 65kg to enter the semifinals.

11:55: Iran's Ahmad BAZRI (IRI) opens his campaign at 97kg with a 4-0 win against Irbeg TAVGAZOV (UWW). Bazri will wrestle Resul GUNE (TUR) in the semifinal after he defeated Bady SAMDAN (UWW) via fall.

11:46: Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), silver medalist from Asian Championships, gets his first win of the day with a 6-0 shutout of AMIT (IND) at 79kg.

11:40: Asian silver medalist UDIT (IND) with a solid 11-0 win over Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) in the quarterfinals at 61kg. Great defense whenever Myrzanazar Uulu tried attacks.

11:30: Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) beats compatriot Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL) 7-3 to book a semifinal spot at 57kg against RAHUL (IND) who defeated Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ).

11:20: Pan-Am champion Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) starts off at 57kg with a 12-2 win over Bekir KESER (TUR). With the win, he gets a shot at Paris bronze AMAN (IND) in the semifinals.

11:13: Zagir SHAKHIEV (UWW), the 2021 world champion at 65kg and hoping to make a comeback to international wrestling at 70kg, drops his opening bout to Konstantin KAPRYNOV (UWW). He gives up two stepouts and a takedown and scores only one stepout as Kaprynov wins 5-1. Kaprynov was silver medalist at the Yarygin tournament to David BAEV (UWW) this year.

11:10: Paris bronze medalist AMAN (IND), wrestling first time since the Games in August 2024, starts off with an 11-1 win over Almaz SAMABEKOV (KGZ). Typical Aman win where he wears his opponents out and then scores his takedowns. 

10:52: In 125kg Round 1, Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) started off well with two stepouts but world medalist Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) rallies his attacks and wins 9-1.

10:48: Olympian Georgii OKOROKOVV (AUS) was almost pulling off a huge upset against Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ), taking a 6-0 lead but his conditioning gave up on him and Myrzanazar Uulu wins 13-6 at 61kg. As it is a round-robin bracket, Okorovv will wrestle again.

10:40: RAHUL (IND) with an upset win over European U23 champion Lev PAVLOV (UWW) at 57kg. Pavlov was warned for being passive in the first period which gave Rahul the 1-0 lead. But there was no change in Pavlov's intent in the second period and was warned again which made it 2-0 for Rahul. A beautiful duck under from Rahul for a takedown extended his lead 4-0. Pavlov, who had been warned for finger-grabbing before, was cautioned again and Rahul got one point. That was all as Rahul won 5-0.

10:36: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) begins his 57kg campaign with a 12-2 win over Jiguur SARANTUYA (MGL) which included a huge arm throw for four points.

10:30: The Ulaanbaatar Open enters its last day with Freestyle action in 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg and 125kg.