#Zagreb2019

Starcevic Stuns Olympic Champion Kim, Makes Fifth Zagreb Open Finals Appearance

Saturday, February 9, 2019 - 18:48 By Eric Olanowski

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 9) - Bozo STARCEVIC, the Zagreb, Croatia native, stunned Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR), 8-2 in the quarterfinals and ultimately moved into the Zagreb Open finals for the fifth consecutive year.

On Saturday, Starcevic avenged his 6-4 2016 Olympic bronze-medal bout loss to Kim, where the Korean wrestler claimed his second overall Olympic medal.

In their quarterfinals meeting on Saturday, Starcevic built a commanding 6-0 lead before Kim used an arm-spin to pick up his lone takedown, closing the deficit to 6-2. Starcevic somehow came away from Kim's arm-spin attempt with an exposure of his own and ultimately moved into the semifinals win an 8-2 victory.

In the semifinals, the hometown wrestler defeated Russia's Rafael IUNUSOV, 5-1 and locked up his fifth consecutive trip to the Zagreb Open finals. He's walked away victorious in each of his previous four trips to the Zagreb Open finals.

Starcevic will wrestle Yunus BASAR (TUR) in tomorrow's 77kg gold-medal bout. Basar is one of four Turkish wrestlers who made it to Sunday night's Zagreb Open finals. Ekrem OZTURK, Kerem KAMAL, and Emrah KUS round out the other Turkish finalists.

Ozturk went undefeated in the round-robin competition and will wrestle Iran's 2017 junior world champion Poya Soulat DAD MARZ for the 55kg gold medal. Both wrestlers were 2-0 on the day.

Turkey's two-time junior world champion Kerem KAMAL made his first senior finals. He'll wrestle Iran's Milad Ali REZANEZHAD in the 60kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Turkey's two-time junior world champion Kerem Kamal outscored his three opponents 26-3 and made it to his first career senior finals. His best finish prior to making Sunday's Zagreb Open finals came at the 2018 Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament when he finished with a bronze medal.

Kamal will wrestle Iran's Milad Ali REZANEZHAD in the 60kg finals. Sunday's gold-medal bout will be Rezanezhad's first senior finals appearance.

Emrah Kus, the reigning 2018 world runner-up, rounds out the four Turkish finalists. Kus bulldozed his three opponents on the opening day of competition in Zagreb and snagged three straight technical superiority victories, outscoring his trio of opponents 25-0.

He'll lace up against Bulgari's three-time European bronze medalist Daniel ALEKSANDROV for the 82kg gold medal.

Reigning world runner-up Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) will wrestle defending Zagreb Open champion Mihai MIHUT (ROU) in the 67kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan )

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan tallied the second most finalists with three.

They're led by reigning world runner-up and Rio Olympic bronze medalists Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB). Tasmuradov will take on one of the sports brightest rising stars and defending Zagreb Open champion Mihai MIHUT (ROU) in the 67kg gold-medal bout.

Though he didn't place at last year's world championships, Mihut did win last year's U23 and senior European championships, and also claimed titles at the Thor Masters, the Kristjan Palusalu Memorial, and the Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Memorial.

Islomjon BAKHRAMOV and Muminjon ABDULLAEV are Uzbekistan's remaining pair of finalists.

Bakhramon will see America's Xavier JOHNSON (USA) in the 63kg finals.

At 130kg, Abdullaev scored huge back-to-back wins, giving Uzbekistan their third finalist. In the quarterfinals, Abdullaev scored a match-winning takedown with one minute left and knocked off 2017 world bronze medalist Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI), 2-2. He followed his quarterfinals win up by blasting U23 world silver medalist Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 9-0 in the semifinals, setting up a finals date with Norway's Oskar MARVIK.

Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) was one of two Hungarian finalists. He'll wrestle Sweden's Kristoffer BERG in tomorrow's 87kg finals. (Photo: Martin Gabor)

Meanwhile, Hungary and Bulgaria each had two finalists.

Bulgaria's pair of finalists were Daniel Aleksandrov (previously mentioned) and reigning world runner-up Kiril MILOV, who will take on Russia's lone finalist, Ilia BORISOV (RUS), for the 97kg gold medal.

Hungary's pair of finalists were Robert FRITSCH (HUN) and Viktor LORINCZ (HUN).

Fritsch picked up back-to-back wins over world bronze medalists to put himself in the Zagreb Open finals for the first time. In the quarterfinals, Fritsch edged reigning world bronze medalists Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 3-3 on criteria. Then, he beat U23 world bronze medalist Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR), 6-3 and locked up his spot in the 72kg finals with Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO).

Hungary's second Zagreb finalist is Viktor Lorincz. Lorincz scored an extremely important 3-0 semifinals win over fellow Hungarian Erik SZILVASSY (HUN). Lorincz and Szilvassy, the 2017 U23 world champion, were in a tight battle for Hungary's 2019 Astana World Championship spot. Lorincz' semifinals win gives him a leg up on Szilvassy and some breathing room heading into the second Greco-Roman Ranking Series event, the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lorincz will meet Sweden's Kristoffer BERG in tomorrow's 87kg finals.

The final day of wrestling at the Zagreb Open, United World Wrestling first Greco-Roman Ranking Series Event, beings on Sunday at 10:30, with the finals beginning at 17:30 (local time).

For news, interviews, highlights and behind-the-scenes clips, you can following United World Wrestling on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.

SCHEDULE

Sunday (February 10)
8:00 - 2nd-day weigh-in, all weight categories (No weight tolerance!) Sport Hall
10:30 - Repechage bouts and bronze medal matches (all categories)
17:30 - Opening ceremony and Final matches (all categories)

RESULTS

55kg (Round-Robin)
GOLD - Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) vs. Poya Soulat DAD MARZ (IRI)

60kg
GOLD - Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Milad Ali REZANEZHAD (IRI)

Semifinals - Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO), 11-1
Semifinals - Milad Ali REZANEZHAD (IRI) df. Erik TORBA (HUN) , 6-3

63kg
GOLD - Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) vs. Xavier Tramain JOHNSON (USA)

Semifinals - Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Firuz TUKHTAEV (UZB) , 5-0
Semifinals - Xavier JOHNSON (USA) df. Dawid ERSETIC (POL), 9-0

67kg
GOLD -  Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) vs. Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)

Semifinals -  Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) df. Danijel JANECIC (CRO) , 5-1
Semifinals -  Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) df. Enes BASAR (TUR), 13-1

72kg
GOLD - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) vs. Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)

Semifinals - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Mateusz BERNATEK (POL), 11-2
Semifinals - Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN) df. Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR), 6-3

77kg
GOLD -  Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) vs. Yunus BASAR (TUR)

Semifinals -  Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR) df. Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI) , 10-0
Semifinals -  Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) df. Rafael IUNUSOV (RUS), 5-1

82kg
GOLD - Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) vs. Emrah KUS (TUR)

Semifinals - Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 8-0
Semifinals - Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL) df. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO), via injury default

87kg
GOLD - Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) vs. Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE)

Semifinals - Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE) df. Yoan Danielov DIMITROV (BUL), 6-3
Semifinals - Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) df. Erik SZILVASSY (HUN), 3-0

97kg
GOLD - Ilia BORISOV (RUS) vs. Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)

Semifinals - Ilia BORISOV (RUS) df. Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA), 3-1
Semifinals - Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL) df. Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB), 3-1

130kg
GOLD - Oskar MARVIK (NOR) vs. Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

Semifinals - Oskar MARVIK (NOR) df. Marko KOSCEVIC (CRO), 4-1
Semifinals - Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df. Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), 9-0

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW successfully hosts first-ever World Conference

Thursday, September 25, 2025 - 14:16 By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 24) -- United World Wrestling successfully hosted its first-ever World Conference in Zagreb, Croatia from September 17 to 19.

UWW President Nenad LALOVIC welcomed all the guest to the conference, held during the World Championships in Zagreb, and led the floor with discussions on Artificial Intelligence in wrestling, Amateur MMA, developing wrestling and the impact of social media to keep wrestling at the top.

United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC at the World Conference. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"On behalf of United World Wrestling, I wish you a warm welcome in Zagreb first, but to this conference too," Lalovic said. "We had this idea maybe almost a decade ago. We were seeking for a platform, how these good relations among wrestlers and the national federations can improve our sport."

Injury prevention, weight management, career transitions for wrestlers, as well as the future of the sport were some of the key discussions during the three-day event at the Westin Hotel.

International Olympic Committee member and former President of Croatia Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC.

Former President of Croatia and International Olympic Committee member Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC marked her presence at the historic event in capital city of Croatia.

Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Croatia State Secretary Josip PAVIC was also present at the conference and expressed his gratitude for entrusting Croatia for hosting the championships and the conference. Croatia Wrestling Federation President Vladimir BREGOVIC, Dean of University of Kinesiology, Zagreb Prof. Mario BAIC and numerous other stakeholders marked their presence at the conference.

On day one of the conference, UWW's growth in media and digital transformation was discussed with focus on strategy, social media, partnership and equipment and new technologies. The discussion then headed to Beach Wrestling and Associated Styles with Amateur MMA and Grappling as the main topics.

Zack ERRETT

The second day of the conference saw UWW Educator Zach ERRETT explaining the rules of Beach Wrestling, International Testing Agency Senior Legal Counsel Ayesha TALPADE presenting details of anti-doping program, followed by a panel discussion.

Kuniko TANIOKA, President of the Shigakkan University in Japan, led the discussion on sport nutrition and weight management along with UWW Medical Commission members Saam FALAHATI, Ioannis BARBAS and Szabolcs MOLNAR.

Former wrestlers shared their experiences on transitioning from wrestling to other jobs. Neven and Nenad ZUGAJ were among the panellists that also included Mijain LOPEZ, Taha AGKUL, Arsen JULFALAKYAN, Don RYAN, Alexei BAZULIN, Erica WEIBE, Bruce BAUMGARTNER.

Sofia MATTSSON

Head of the United States women's team Terry STEINER presented the "coaching the women's" part on day three. He explained how to support and train women wrestlers and led the panel that also had Tanioka, Marwa AMRI, Vincent AKA, Sofia MATTSSON, Wiebe and Nadine PIETSCHMAN.

"Depending on the success of this first World Conference, we will decide if in the future it will be a biannual one or a quadrennial one. Maybe every year if you have so much to say," Lalovic said. "World Championships is the best opportunity for that because people are already here. This physical presence is always more efficient."

A national federation workshop organized by United World Wrestling in Zagreb.

NF workshop

UWW also organized a workshop for the National Federations. UWW Sports Director Jean-Daniel REY and UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY welcomed various NFs which had registered for the workshop.

Capacity building, finance and event organization were the key topics at the workshop. Croatia Wrestling Federation Secretary General Tin BREGOVIC, Professor of Kinesiology Nenad BORKOVIC, Professional Master in Social Innovation and Management Ivan BLAZEVIC led a panel discussion on the topic as they were part of the organizing committee for the World Championships in Zagreb.

Azerbaijan, Brazil, Spain and Thailand presented case studies related to event organization and the challenges of competitions.

Starcevic Stuns Olympic Champion Kim, Makes Fifth Zagreb Open Finals Appearance

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UWW successfully hosts first-ever World Conference