#WrestleAlmaty

Tasmuradov, Assakalov Fall as Iran Puts 4 into Greco Finals on First Day

Tuesday, April 13, 2021 - 10:02 By Ken Marantz

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 13) --- Uzbek greats Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) and Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) saw their bids to add to extensive continental gold medal collections quashed at the hands of Iranians, as the Asian Championships opened Tuesday with the first half of the Greco-Roman competition in Almaty.

Meysam DALKHANI (IRI), avenging a loss to Tasmuradov at last year's championships in New Delhi, held on for a 9-7 victory over the defending champion in the quarterfinals at 63kg.

"I had wrestled him before at the Delhi Asian Championships, but he defeated me," Dalkhani said. "I was thinking about how to avenge that loss. Obviously training harder and being smarter on the mat was important."

Dalkhani followed up that victory with an 8-5 win over Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) to become the first of four Iranians who advanced to the finals, to be held in the night session at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports.

Dalkhani, who is already assured of improving on his third-place finish from last year, will look to make it to the top of podium when he faces Matteo Pellicone silver medalist Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ).

In their semifinal, Tasmuradov, a Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist who was seeking a sixth Asian gold medal, caught Dalkhani with a 4-point headlock. But Dalkhani worked out of it for a reversal and came back with a big 4-point throw of his own, before taking a 9-6 lead into the second period.

The 29-year-old Tasmuradov, who secured a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics at 60kg when he finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan, had a chance from the par terre position, but couldn't turn the determined Iranian. After desperate attempts to score at the end, Tasmuradov collapsed to the mat.

"I did not train in the lockdown, so I am coming to mat straight after the break," said Tasmuradov, who added he is nursing a knee injury. "I began training again 10 days ago."

Tasmuradov abandoned a chance to pick up at least a bronze when he defaulted his repechage match. Last year, he relegated Dalkhani to the bronze-medal match with a technical fall victory in the semifinals.

"Iran has good wrestlers and Dalkhani is very good," Tasmuradov said. "But he was very dirty in the bout and he trash-talked a lot during the bout. I did not even touch his fingers and he acting if I broke them. Good actors."

In the other semifinal, Assetuly saw Muhamad FWAZ (SYR) roll out of two headlocks before finally clamping down on a third and securing a fall at 2:23 with a 12-4 lead.

At 87kg, Assakalov, who will be heading to a second Olympics by virtue of his bronze medal at the Nursultan worlds, knocked off defending Asian champion Kumar SUNIL (IND) 3-1 in his opening match, but had no answer for Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Alizadeh led 3-1 after the first period, then added a number of stepouts and a gut wrench from the par terre position en route to a 10-4 victory.

"I am happy that he could perform so well and reach the final," said Alizadeh's coach, Adel Baei TABAR. "In his own way, he has proved that he a good wrestler for Iran and hopefully he will be the champion."

Alizadeh set up the clash with three-time Asian champion Assakalov by defeating Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Four days  earlier, Tursynov earned a place for Kazakhstan at the Tokyo Olympics at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament, held April 9-11 at the same venue.

It marked the second straight year that Assakalov was ousted by an Iranian. Last year in New Delhi, he fell to Behrouz HEDAYAT (IRI) and left the Indian capital empty-handed.

"I had no plans for Iran or anyone else," Assakalov said. "I only planned to win the gold medal at the Asian Championships and represent my country at the Olympics with the dignity of Asian champion. But God had other ideas."

Still, he said he was content with the result. "I will fight for the bronze medal in the evening and we will see. I am happy with everything."

Standing in Alizadeh's path to the gold is Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ), who will be looking for his first Asian title after twice coming away with silver medals. He defeated Seunghwan LEE (KOR) 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) will get a chance to improve on his 2020 silver medal at 77kg after a 4-point arm throw early in the match proved to be the difference when criteria decided a tight 7-7 semifinal win over Singh GURPREET (IND).

Gurpreet, who had also wrestled in the Olympic qualifier but came up one victory short of a ticket to Tokyo, advanced to the semifinals with a nail-biting 11-8 win over Bilan NALGIEV (UZB)  in which he rallied from a 6-1 deficit.

"The qualifier and championships were too close and I could not recover," Gurpreet said. "My body is tired and my muscles have become weak after frequent weight cutting."

Poshtam noticed the fatigue in the Indian, who was unable to convert in the par terre position in the second period.

"He was tired from his last bout," Poshtam said. "I had to plan a lot for Gurpreet because he is good in all positions. The par terre position is where the match changes and it was good."

In the final, Poshtam will face Daler REZA ZADE (TJK), who topped Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) 6-1 in the other semifinal. He will try to become the first-ever Asian gold medalist in Greco from Tajikistan, and the second overall after Yusup ABDUSALAMOV (TJK) won at freestyle 74kg in 2003.

As for Iran's opening-day performance, Poshtam commented: "Iran has done well to make four finals. We have been training for the last five months for the Asian Championships. And I think we were prepared to win at this  championships."

The fourth Iranian finalist Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI), who wore down Sukhrob FATTOEV (UZB) and won by disqualification on cautions with 1:29 left and a 14-5 lead. He will face Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ), a fifth-place finisher in 2019 who advanced by fall over 2020 bronze medalist Minseok KIM (KOR).

At 55kg, Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) ended Iran's chance for a sweep of the opening-day golds -- and earned a chance to regain the title he won in 2019 --when he knocked off Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) 3-1 in the semifinals.

In the final, he will face Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), who stormed to a 9-0 technical fall in 4:15 over Sandeep SANDEEP (IND).

Shiotani was the runner-up at the All-Japan Championships last December to Takushoku University teammate Hiromu KATAGIRI (JPN), who lost to Bakhromov in the 2019 Asian final. Katagiri has ostensibly retired after joining a general Japanese company that does not have an affiliated wrestling team.

Day 1 results

Greco-Roman

Semifinals

55kg (10 entries)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) df. Sandeep SANDEEP (IND) by TF, 9-0, 4:15
Ilkhom BAKHROMOV (UZB) df. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI), 3-1

63kg (12 entries)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) df. Muhamad FWAZ (SYR) by Fall, 2:23 (12-4)
Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 8-5

77kg (12 entries)
Daler REZA ZADE (TJK) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 6-1
Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) df. Singh GURPREET (IND) 7-7

87kg (10 entries)
Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) df. Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), 10-4
Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ) df. Seunghwan LEE (KOR), 6-3

130kg (8 entries)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) df. Minseok KIM (KOR) by Fall, 1:04 (8-3)
Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) df. Sukhrob FATTOEV (UZB) by Disq., 4:31 (14-5).

#JapanWrestling

Gomi Takes Big Strides as Japan’s Next Greco-Roman Hope

Wednesday, February 18, 2026 - 13:33 By Vinay Siwach

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JAPAN (February 18) -- Koto GOMI (JPN) has been racking up titles in recent times. Last year, he won the U23 world title, the first for Japan in six years. He then won the All-Japan Championships gold in December for the first time.

Making his senior debut in 2026, the 21-year-old had an extraordinary run at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event, winning the 60kg gold medal and giving up only three points in four bouts. In the final, Gomi defeated world silver medalist Alisher GANIEV (UZB), 10-0, using three arm-throws to secure the victory inside the first period.

Koto GOMI (JPN)Koto GOMI (JPN) defeated Alisher GANIEV (UZB) in the Zagreb Open final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

While it may be too early to call Gomi a protégé, he may have already ended Japan's search for a new star at 60kg and a replacement for Olympic champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN).

The 30-year-old Fumita is a two-time world champion and won silver at the 2023 World Championships. A silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, he turned it into gold at Paris 2024.

But Fumita has not stepped on the mat since. He took time off and was entered in the All-Japan Championships at 63kg, but later pulled out. Though he did not mention it, most in Japan cite weight-cut issues for his delayed return.

That leaves Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), Kaito INABA (JPN) and Gomi as the front-runners for the spot if Fumita cannot make it. Gomi pinned Shiotani and then beat Inaba via technical superiority at the National Sports Festival in October.

Two months later in December, he again beat Shiotani to earn a spot on Japan’s Asian Championships team.

Koto GOMI (JPN)
Koto GOMI (JPN), left, after winning the All-Japan University Championships. (Photo: Koto Gomi / Instagram)

Early start

Gomi was born in the Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo. The prefecture has given wrestling some of its biggest stars including Olympic champions Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) and Tatsuhiro YONEMITSU (JPN).

He was introduced to wrestling by his father Joe, a kickboxer. Joe would take his eldest son Koto to far away tournaments to compete. Though the results were not always satisfying, Shiro wanted his son to face high-level competition every year.

"Wrestling has few injuries," he was quoted as saying by Japan Wrestling Federation in 2010. "It's a sport that develops physical ability and trains both the body and mind. I think it's the perfect martial art for children.

"It's a sport where older students take care of younger students. They naturally take care of you without you having to teach them." 

It's true in Gomi's case. Like Gomi, both Fumita and Inaba hail from the same prefecture and attended the same high school.

Fumita's father, Toshiro, introduced most wrestlers to Greco in their high school. While Fumita and Inaba moved to Nippon Sports Science University, Gomi is at the Ikuei University, same as the world and Olympic champions in women's Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN).

Koto GOMI (JPN)Koto GOMI (JPN), blue, at the 2022 U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Gomi began competing exclusively in Greco-Roman around 2022 but did not get satisfactory results internationally, finishing fifth and ninth at the two U20 World Championships.

In one of the memorable matches early in his career, Gomi had troubled the now Olympic Saied ESMAEILI (IRI). At the 2022 U20 Worlds, he was led 6-4 and then 9-4 at one point in the match against the Iranian but he lost it 13-9.

Two years later, Gomi emerged as a dominant force. He won the gold medal at the U20 Asian Championships and all age-group domestic competitions. His only losses came at the senior All-Japan Championships, winning bronze at three of them.

Gomi said his recent success was the result of years of hard work, particularly at university.

"I don't seem to be the athletic type, but rather a refreshing liberal arts type, and that's how I'm often seen," Gomi said. "I'm competitive. I get really annoyed and frustrated when I lose in practice. The hard work I've put in over the past four years at university is starting to show in the past year."

Domestic challenges

In 2025, Gomi suffered only one loss in five tournaments -- a 10-0 humiliation to Shiotani in May. But in December, he avenged that loss in the final of the All-Japan Championships and earned a chance to represent Japan at the 2026 Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April.

The December win also put Gomi a step closer to the 2026 World Championships and Asian Games. He now has to win the Japan National Championships in May to qualify for both. If he fails to win, he will have a wrestle-off with the winner on the same day.

Both the U23 World Championships and the Zagreb Open showcased Gomi's technical excellence. He often uses a two-on-one to set up his arm-throws and arm-drags. It is his swiftness, rather than brute force, that allows him to complete his attacks.

In par terre, Gomi has an excellent high gut-wrench, which he used effectively against Sajjad ABBASPOUR (IRI) in Zagreb and Maxwell BLACK (USA) at the U23 Worlds.

"I'm starting to find my strengths, like in terms of technique, so I think that's a good thing," he said.

Despite his rapid rise, Gomi is cautious about calling himself the best yet. He knows he still needs to get past several domestic rivals before becoming Japan’s first-choice wrestler at 60kg.

"It's not like that, but I was conscious of focusing on my strengths and techniques and taking the initiative to attack," he said. "But, there are many other players in Japan, like Fumita and Inaba, and I don't think I can beat them yet, so I'll continue to practice hard."

But if Zagreb was any indication, it may not take long.