European Games

Russian Trio Advances to Greco-Roman Finals at European Games

Friday, June 28, 2019 - 19:08 By United World Wrestling Press

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MINSK, Belarus (June 28) - Russia made a statement on the opening day of the Greco-Roman competition at the European Games, advancing all three of their wrestlers to Saturday's gold-medal finals. 

Returning world champion Stepan MARYANYAN (60kg) and Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (77kg), along with 2018 European bronze medalist Zaur KABALOEV (67kg), earned semifinal victories for Russia.

Maryanyan, a European Games champion in 2015, was untested in his semifinal match against Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR). He cruised to a 9-0 technical superiority. Maryanyan built a 7-0 lead after the first period and put the match away early in the second period. He will face Erik TORBA (HUN) in the gold-medal match.

Torba came from behind to defeat Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO), a 2016 junior world champion, 6-5. Chkhartishvili used a four-point throw in the first period, which helped him take a 5-3 lead at the break. Torba, though, kept the pressure on and scored a passivity point before scoring with a turn to take the lead. He then held off the Georgian for the victory.

Chekhirkin, like Maryanyan, picked up a technical superiority without surrendering a point in the semifinals. His semifinal victory came over Yunus BASAR (TUR), 8-0. After getting pushed in his first match, the 33-year-old Russian has outscored his last two opponents 14-0. In tomorrow's gold-medal match at 77kg, Chekhirkin will meet Karapet CHALYAN (ARM).

Chalyan reached the finals by beating Tamas LORINCZ (HUN), an Olympic silver medalist and three-time world medalist. Lorincz scored first off a passivity to take a 1-0 lead, which is all the scoring that happened in the opening period. Chalyan came back in the second period, scoring a takedown early in the second period and adding another takedown a short time later, which proved to be enough to get him the victory.  

Kabaloev blanked Oleksii KALINICHENKO (UKR) 4-0 in the semifinals at 67kg, scoring all four of his points in the first period. The other semifinal winner at 67kg was Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), a U23 and junior world champion, who defeated Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) 5-0. 

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD - Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS) vs. Erik TORBA (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Stepan MARYANYAN (RUS) df. Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR), 9-0
SEMIFINAL - Erik TORBA (HUN) df. Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO), 6-5

67kg
GOLD - Zaur KABALOEV (RUS) vs. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Zaur KABALOEV (RUS) df. Oleksii KALINICHENKO (UKR), 4-0
SEMIFINAL - Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), 5-0

77kg
GOLD - Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) vs. Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
SEMIFINAL - Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) df. Yunus BASAR (TUR), 8-0 
SEMIFINAL - Karapet CHALYAN (ARM) df. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN), 4-1
 

#development

UWW Organizes International Training Camp Before African Championships

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 09:38 By United World Wrestling Press

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (May 11) -- United World Wrestling hosted a international training camp before the 2026 African Championships in Alexandria from April 20 to 26.

The camp, organized with a focus on performance, technical exchange, and sporting cooperation, brought together coaches and wrestlers from across the continent with participants from Burundi, the Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tunisia, Guinea, Namibia, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Zambia.

One of the major highlights of this edition was the historic participation of Zambia, which took part for the first time in a continental wrestling activity. The participation symbolizes the steady expansion of African wrestling into new nations and confirms the growing development of the sport across the continent. The Zambian delegation included wrestler Martin JERE (ZAM) and Stephen FULANGANI (ZAM), accompanied by their coach Eugine CHIPOKOLO.

Alexandria

Throughout the week, wrestlers took part in specialized sessions combining standing and ground techniques, upper and lower-level attacks, targeted defense drills, technical combinations, aerobic preparation, acrobatic exercises, and individual training. Coaches would also use this gathering as an opportunity to exchange training methods and share their expertise within a high-level international environment.

The camp will bring together several experienced athletes and international competitors in Freestyle, Women’s Wrestling, and Greco-Roman. Among the participating nations were also several Sub-Saharan African countries that continue to strengthen their presence on the continental stage through increasingly strong participation.

Beyond the sporting aspect, the program also included awareness sessions focused on environmental protection in sport through the “Wrestle Green” initiative, as well as workshops dedicated to anti-doping education and athlete protection.

Alexandria

Participants also received dedicated camp equipment, including sportswear, “Wrestle Green” materials, and training accessories intended for daily practice sessions.