Russia Wins Freestyle Team Title at European Championships

Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - 20:17 By Eric Olanowski

BUCHAREST, Romania (April 10) – The Russian Federation trailed Azerbaijan by five points heading into the final day of wrestling at the European championships but closed out the freestyle competition with a Day 3 gold medal and two bronze medals to win the team title six points ahead of second place Turkey.

Russia’s lone Day 3 champion came at 86kg, where Vladislav VALIEV (RUS) pitched his fourth shutout of the tournament, defeating Moldova’s Piotr IANULOV (MDA), 4-0. Valiev, the 2017 world bronze medalist, combined to outscore his five continental opponents, 30-1 en route to his first European title.

Russia’s Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) and Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) won the 74kg and 125kg bronze medal respectively and helped the Russian Federation jump into the tournament’s top spot.

Turkey finished in second place with 156 points.

At 125kg, Turkey's Olympic champion Taha AKGUL won his third consecutive European title and seventh overall continental championship with a staggering 7-0 win over a vulnerable Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO). The Georgian wrestle had his left knee heavily taped and limited in what he could do in the gold-medal bout.

Akgul, the 2016 Olympic champion dominated the 125kg finals match with a pair of takedowns, a leg lace, and a brutality point, and cruised past his biggest rival for the second consecutive time in the European finals.

Turkey also had a pair of bronze medalists in Recep TOPAL and Fatih ERDIN. Topal was the bronze-medal winner at 61kg, and Erdin finished in third place at 86kg.

Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) won the 92kg gold medal with a 3-0 win over Poland's Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL). (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

Azerbaijan finished in third place with 145 points.

In the 92kg finals, London Olympic Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) blew open the match against Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) after only leading 3-0 after the first period. In the second period, Sharifov scored three takedowns and won his first continental title with a 9-1 victory.

Meanwhile, the final two freestyle Day 3 gold medals went to Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA).

The Armenian youngster, Arsen Harutyunyan, was down 8-0 after the first 90 seconds of the 61kg gold-medal bout but stormed back to outscore returning European runner-up Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), 17-3 in the final four minutes to win his first senior-level European title.

Harutyunyan already had a cadet and junior European title on his resume, and added a senior European title with his come-from-behind win on Wednesday night.

At 74kg, Frank Chamizo picked up his third European title at his third different weight class with an 8-0 throttling of France’s Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), improving on his bronze-medal finish from last year's Kaspiisk European Championships.

Chamizo scored three takedowns in the first period and a takedown in the second period, and shutout Moldova's Piotr IANULOV (MDA), 8-0.

Freestyle Team Scores
GOLD - Russia  (162 points)
SILVER - Turkey (156 points)
BRONZE -  Azerbaijan  (145 points)
Fourth - Georgia  (104 points)
Fifth - Ukraine (80 points)

61kg
GOLD - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), 17-11
BRONZE - Recep TOPAL (TUR) df. Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), via fall
BRONZE - Randy VOCK (SUI) df. Elmedin SEJFULAU (MKD), 6-5

74kg
GOLD - Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) df. Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), 8-0
BRONZE - Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR), 12-1
BRONZE - Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) df. Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE), 6-4

86kg
GOLD - Vladislav VALIEV (RUS) df. Piotr IANULOV (MDA), 4-0
BRONZE - Ali SHABANAU (BLR) df. Murad SULEYMANOV (AZE), 11-2
BRONZE - Fatih ERDIN (TUR) df. Mihai PALAGHIA (ROU), 8-2

92kg
GOLD - Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) df. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), 9-1
BRONZE - Istvan VEREB (HUN) df. Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR), 4-2
BRONZE - Irakli MTSITURI (GEO), df. Magomed KURBANOV (RUS), 3-2

125kg
GOLD - Taha AKGUL (TUR) df. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), 7-0
BRONZE - Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR) df. Robert BARAN (POL), 3-2
BRONZE - Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) df. Rares CHINTOAN (ROU), 11-0

#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 Wins Freestyle Team Title at European Championships

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