#BudaWrestle2018

Taylor Tops World and Olympic Champion Yazdani, Makes Saturday's Semifinals

Saturday, October 20, 2018 - 13:21 By Eric Olanowski

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (October 20) – David TAYLOR (USA) stepped on the mat Saturday with no prior World Championship experience but certainly earned his stars and stripes on the opening day of freestyle action at the Papp Laszlo Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary. 

In his world championship debut, the rookie was thrown into deep waters, as he was pegged against reigning world and Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) in his 86kg opening round bout. This was the second time Taylor and Yazdani have met, with Taylor coming out on top of their 2017 World Cup match. That fall by the American in 2017 was one of only four senior-level losses ever for the Iranian superstar. 

In the opening period, Taylor, the 2018 Pan-American champion, capitalized on an exposure, but not before giving up a pair of step outs, along with two takedowns. For the second time in as many matches against Yazdani, Taylor trailed heading into the final period. This time, it was a four-point deficit, as Taylor trailed 6-2.

Though he was in a four-point hole, “The Magic Man” didn’t panic and relied on his pace and conditioning to get back in the match. In the final three minutes, Taylor erupted to outscore the veteran 9-0 and ultimately won, 11-6. After the bout, the American coaches told Taylor “You grinded that one out. He just got too tired.” 

Taylor followed his opening round win with back-to-back 8-0 victories over Belarus’ Hajy RAJABAU and Cuba’s Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB). 

The 2018 Yarygin and Yasar Dogu winner will wrestle 2017 European gold medalist and this year’s Russian National champion, Dauren KURUGLIEV for a spot in tomorrow night’s finals.

The other 86kg semifinal match will feature Medved and Yasar Dogu bronze medalist, Fatih ERDIN (TUR), and Spain’s five-time world team representative Taimuraz FRIEV.

Zaurbek SIDAKOV will meet reigning world champion Frank Chamizo (ITA) in the 74kg semifinals after knocking off Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs (USA), 5-5 in the quarterfinals. (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

Meanwhile, Iran’s Parviz HADI and Russia’s Zaurbek SIDAKOV both knocked off Olympic champions on the way to their respective semifinals. 

In 74kg quarterfinals, Sidakov grabbed a step out point as time expired to defeat London Olympic champion, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), 6-5. The 22-year-olds victory not only stopped the colossal third match-up between Burroughs and Italy’s two-time world champion Frank CHAMZIO, but it halted the four-time world champion from reaching his sixth world or Olympic finals. 

Sidakov will wrestle two-time world champion and Rio bronze medalist, Frank Chamizo for a spot in the 74kg finals.

In the 125kg quarterfinals, Parviz Hadi stunned Rio Olympic champion and 2017 world runner-up, Taha AKGUL (TUR) with a late takedown, stealing the match, 3-2. The 30-year-old Iranian stopped Akgul from making his fifth straight world or Olympic gold-medal bout.

In the semifinals, Hadi will compete against the reigning world champion, Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) for a spot in tomorrow's 125kg world final.

In addition to 74kg, 86kg, and 125kg, 61kg is also featured in tonight’s semifinals.

The 61kg semifinals will host three world medalists, Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB), Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), and Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS).

Both Lomtadze (2016) and Rashidov (2017) have made it to a world final, while Bonne has finished with a bronze medal twice (2014 and 2017).

The top half matchup between Rashidov and Lomtadze is a rematch of the 2018 European finals, where the Russian wrestler came on top, 4-1. The bottom half matchup will pit America’s rookie Joseph COLON (USA) against Cuba's "Big Move Bonne" Rodriguez. 

Friday nights semifinals are set to begin at 16:45 (local time).

Semifinal Matchups 
61kg 
Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) vs. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB) vs. Joseph Daniel COLON (USA)

74kg 
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) vs. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) 
Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) vs. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)

86kg 
Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) vs. David Morris TAYLOR III (USA) 
Fatih ERDIN (TUR) vs. Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP)

125kg 
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) vs. Parviz HADI (IRI)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN) vs.  Sumit SUMIT (IND)

#BeachWrestling

Youth Olympic quotas in focus as Katerini hosts U17, U20 BW Worlds

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 08:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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KATERINI, Greece (September 23) -- Thirty countries, close to 300 wrestlers, a global glory and a Youth Olympic dream.

Over two days this week, on September 25 and 26, the world’s best age-group beach wrestlers descend upon the scenic Katerini Beach, where the sun sets behind the imposing Mount Olympus. In this postcard-perfect surroundings, they will hope to write their scripts at the U17 and U20 World Championships.

The tournament will be live on the YouTube channel of United World Wrestling's Beach Wrestling channel.

The championships will be taken into consideration for quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games qualifier, adding another layer of significance to the U17 event.

United World Wrestling has received a request for quotas from more than 100 National Olympic Committees with a total of 300 male and 269 female wrestlers. Currently, there are 48 quotas per gender. In this context, the World Championships in Katerini will add excitement to the race for the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Dakar.

The U17 and U20 World Championships will be held across eight weight classes each in men’s and women’s categories. Last year, Ukraine and the United States reigned supreme in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, of the U17 World Championships. This year, too, they will be among the favorites to lift the team titles.

Once again, this year, Ukraine has entered a jumbo team with eight wrestlers in the U17 men’s competition. Only hosts Greece (12), Georgia (11), and Moldova (9) have a contingent bigger than theirs. On the women’s side, the USA has fielded the largest delegation among the 24 teams, with 9 wrestlers. In Beach Wrestling, a country can register a maximum of 3 athletes per weight category.

It won’t be so straightforward for both teams to retain their titles, with challengers emerging from other nations, particularly hosts Greece, who would hope to put on a good show in front of their home crowd. Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Iran will remain strong contenders despite Ukraine's legacy in the competition, especially the women's.

Earlier this month, the U15, U17 and U20 African Beach Wrestling Championships were held in Casablanca, where Algeria bagged the U17 men’s and women’s titles. The serene Ain Diab beach in the Moroccan capital hosted the age-group tournaments before the Beach Wrestling World Series, marking the first time the event was held in an African city.

Soon after the U17 and U20 Beach World Championships, the Katerini Beach will host the World Series on September 27 and 28. The penultimate stop of the event is set to be the biggest of the 2025 season so far in terms of participation. There have been a record number of entries, underlining the sport’s continued global growth.

The World Series will return to Africa in October for its final instalment of this season, when the tournament will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 18 and 19.