#WrestleHammamet

Thirty-Six Olympic Berths Secured by 10 Different Nations at African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier

Monday, April 5, 2021 - 19:08 By United World Wrestling Press

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 5) -- Thirty-six Olympic berths were secured by 10 different nations this past weekend at the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Hammamet, Tunisia. Wrestlers who finished in the top two in their respective weight categories qualified their nations for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Host nation Tunisia secured the most Olympic berths with 10 across the three styles. Algeria qualified eight weight categories, while Egypt qualified seven.

Below is a brief recap from each of the three styles.

Greco

Greco-Roman 

Tunisia tallied a quartet of Tokyo berths in Greco-Roman. They claimed the team title, finishing five points ahead of second-place Algeria, who also nabbed four Olympic berths.

The four wrestlers who earned Tunisian tickets to the Olympic Games were: Souleymen NASR (TUN), Lamjed MAAFI (TUN), Haikel ACHOURI (TUN) and Amine GUENNICHI (TUN). Nasr and Maafi won titles, while Achouri and Guennichi finished second. 

Algeria had a solo champion and three runner-ups and also booked four tickets to Tokyo. Their four berths came at 60kg, 67kg, 87kg and 97kg. Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) won gold at 97kg, while Abdelkarim Fergat (60kg), Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG) (67kg) and Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) (87kg) closed out the day with silver-medal finishes.

Egypt won three golds and finished third place in the team race. Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY), Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) and Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) were crowned champions at 60kg, 87kg and 130kg, respectively.

Women's wrestling

Rio Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN) assisted her country in winning three gold medals and a silver and grabbed the team title 45 points ahead of second-place Nigeria, who earned three women’s wrestling Olympic berths on the day.

Sarra HAMDI (TUN), Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) and Amri won golds at 50kg, 57kg and 62kg, while Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) won silver at 76kg.

Cameroon’s Joseph ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR) stole the show on Saturday night en route to winning the 53kg gold medal. The now-two-time Olympian obliterated her three competitors – scoring back-to-back falls before capturing the crown with a 53-second technical superiority win over Rckaela AQUINO (GUM) in the finals.

Other gold medals in women's wrestling went to Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) and Samar HAMZA (EGY).

Freestyle

Freestyle

Six countries combined to secure the 12 Olympic berths in freestyle that were on the line on the final day of the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier on Sunday.

Algeria led the way by capturing four quotas while Egypt, Tunisia and Guinea-Bissau claimed two each. Senegal and Nigeria also registered their names by claiming a berth each for the Tokyo Olympics.

Egypt edged host nation Tunisia for the freestyle team title despite both countries having 105 points. The former had two gold medal finishes compared to the one of Tunisia.

Amr HUSSEN (EGY) led his country's charge as he defeated three-time Olympian Augusto MIDANA (GBS), 10-0, in the 74kg final. Another gold medal for Egypt was earned by Rio Olympian and African champion at 125kg Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB in the Nordic style bracket.

At 57kg, 19-year-old Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) stole the show as he claimed the gold medal in stunning fashion by pinning two-time African champion Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) in just 57 seconds.

Tunisia also had two finalists but managed to claim only one gold. Rio Olympian Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) won the 97kg gold after Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) pulled out midway with an injury.

Adama DIATTA (SEN), who is now a three-time Olympian, claimed the lone spot for his country by edging Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN) to win gold at 65kg.

At 86kg, Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) could not have scripted a better finish for himself. Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) surprised Agiomor with a five-point throw after starting with a single attack. Trailing 6-5 in the final 10 seconds of the bout, the Nigerian got an exposure over the Algerian to claim the gold medal. 

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD - Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG), 10-3
BRONZE -  Fouad FAJARI (MAR) df. Mehdi JOUINI (TUN), 8-0 

67kg
GOLD - Souleymen NASR (TUN)
SILVER - Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
BRONZE - Gert COETZEE (RSA) 

77kg
GOLD -  Lamjed MAAFI (TUN) df. Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR), 3-3
BRONZE - Wael ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) df. Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG), 8-4

87kg
GOLD - Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), via injury default
BRONZE - Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN) df. Edward LESSING (RSA), via fall 

97kg
GOLD -  Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) 
SILVER - Haikel ACHOURI (TUN) 
BRONZE - Mohamed Ali Elsayed GABR (EGY)

130kg
GOLD - Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER - Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) 
BRONZE - Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)

Women's wrestling

50kg
GOLD – Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
SILVER – SAdijat Avorshai IDRIS (NGR)
BRONZE – Nada MOHAMED (EGY)

53kg
GOLD – Joseph ESSOMBE (CMR) df. Rckaela AQUINO (GUM), 10-0
BRONZE – Siwar LOUATI BEN ALI (TUN) df. Elisa RASOANANTENAINA (MAD), via fall
BRONZE –  Bose SAMUEL (NGR) df. Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG), 10-0

57kg
GOLD –  Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) df. Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI), 9-3
BRONZE – Rayane HOUFAF (ALG) df. Eman EBRAHIM (EGY), via inj. def.

62kg
GOLD – Marwa AMRI (TUN)
SILVER – Aminat ADENIYI (NGR)
BRONZE – Berthe ETANE NGOLLE (CMR) 

68kg
GOLD – Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
SILVER – Enas AHMED (EGY) 
BRONZE – Khadija JLASSI (TUN) 

76kg
GOLD – Samar HAMZA (EGY)
SILVER – Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) 
BRONZE – Amy YOUIN (CIV)

Freestyle

57kg
GOLD: Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) df Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG), via fall
BRONZE: Kossai AJIMI (TUN) df Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM), 2-0
BRONZE: Chakir ANSARI (MAR) df Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY), 16-14

65kg
GOLD: Adama DIATTA (SEN) df Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN), 1-1
BRONZE: Reynhardt LOUW (RSA) df Aime Mbolalalaina Joel RAKOTONIAINA (MAD), 11-0
BRONZE: Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY) df Mostafa REZAEIFAR (AUS), 10-4

74kg
GOLD: Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY) df Augusto MIDANA (GBS), 10-0
BRONZE: Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) df Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG), via fall
BRONZE: Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR) df Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA), 6-2

86kg
GOLD: Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) df Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG), 7-6
BRONZE: Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY) df Bedopassa Buassat DJONDE (GBS), 7-0
BRONZE: Maher GHANMI (TUN) df Jayden Alexander LAWRENCE (AUS), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) df Mohammed FARDJ (ALG), via VIN
BRONZE: Martin ERASMUS (RSA) df Soso TAMARAU (NGR), via fall
BRONZE: Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY) df Thomas John Mcglinchey BARNS (AUS), 6-4

125kg
GOLD: Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
SILVER: Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)
BRONZE: Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)
4th: Johannes Jacobus KRIEL (RSA)
 

#WrestleAthens

Greece gets Greco finalist at U17 Worlds; Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan keep up

Tuesday, July 29, 2025 - 15:26 By Vinay Siwach

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ATHENS, Greece (July 29) -- Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan continued their superb show in Greco-Roman at the World U17 Championships in Athens, Greece by earned two more spots in the finals.

On day one, the two countries, along with Georgia, were the only ones to enter multiple wrestlers in the final. On Tuesday, they added more while hosts Greece managed to enter one wrestler in the final, just the third-ever in Greco at World U17 Championships.

Asian U17 champion and returning bronze medalist at 71kg Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) led the way for his country, reaching the final after beating returning silver medalist from 65kg Yusif AHMADLI (AZE), 9-5, in the semifinal.

Ahmadli raced to a 5-0 lead from par terre but Valiev scored two stepouts before the break to cut the lead to 5-2. He got par terre in the second but failed to score any points. However, another stepout made it 5-4. Valiev kept pushing the pace of the bout and managed an awkward throw for four points. Azerbaijan challenged in vain as Valiev got the win.

It is at this weight class that Greece will look to bag a gold medal as Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE) became just the third finalist for Greece at a World U17 Championships after he defeated Marlen MEIRBEKULY (KAZ), 9-8, in a thrilling semifinal. 

Soulis led 8-4 with 10 seconds remaining in the bout when Meirbekuly hit a four-pointer to make it 8-8. However, Soulis had the criteria with a scoring action of four points, two points and two points while Meirbekuly had actions of one point, one point, two points and four points.

The second finalist for Uzbekistan came at 51kg after Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB) reversed the par terre and then scored four gut-wrenches to beat Polat KARADENIZ (TUR), 9-1, in the semifinals. He will face Hikmat HAGVERDIYEV (AZE) in the final who got a stepout with 18 seconds left against Asian U17 champion Islam KURBANOV (KGZ) to beat him 4-3 in the other semifinal.

Nurkerim KUMARBEKOV (KGZ) became the star for Kyrgyzstan as he surprised European champion Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE) with a big headlock throw for four points to start the semifinal. A lost challenge from Azerbaijan made it 5-0 for Kumarbekov.

With no passivity call in the second period, Kumarbekov kept his pace and Huseynli tried some desperate moves, getting for a takedown which gave Kumarbekov a 7-0 win.

It would have been an Kyrgyzstan-Iran final but Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ) had other ideas. He rallied from behind to beat Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI).

The Iranian took just 20 seconds to get on board with a takedown and turn that was only awarded after a challenge from Iran. He took a 4-0 lead against Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ) who used some solid arm-drags to score a stepout and then a takedown to cut it to 4-3.

As the time ran out, Zhangazhol dished out one more attack and got the headlock for four points. While Khezli got a counter turn, that was not enough for a win as Zhangazhol kept his 7-6 lead. Iran challenged the final move but it was a clear throw from Zhangazhol. The loss left Khezli in tears.

At 60kg, European bronze medalist Denys SEREDIN (UKR) suffered a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals as Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ) used a front headlock throw for four points with just 00:03 left on the clock to win 5-1 and earn a place in the final.

Seredin had defended well for the full match and was leading 1-1 on criteria but he let his guard down for the final five seconds of the bout.

Ysakbaev will take European silver medalist Ali NAZAROV (AZE) in the final after the Azerbaijani defeated Abolfazl ZARE (IRI) 1-1 in the other semifinal. Nazarov was winner based on the criteria that he scored the first point in an 1-1 scoreline match.

At 92kg, Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW), who was seventh last year, booked a spot in the final this year after a 3-1 win over Ionut PATRU (ROU). Both wrestler got par terre positions but Patru was docked two points for headbutting in the second period which proved to be the difference between the two.

Winning the gold, however, will be a big ask for Kasyan as he faces Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) in the final after he cleaned up Ahmet UZUN (TUR) 7-0 in the other semifinal.

RESULTS

45kg
GOLD: Nurkerim KUMARBEKOV (KGZ) vs. Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ)

SF 1: Nurkerim KUMARBEKOV (KGZ) df. Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE), 7-0
SF 2: Kuanyshbek ZHANGAZHOL (KAZ) df. Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI), 8-6

51kg
GOLD: Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB) vs. Hikmat HAGVERDIYEV (AZE)

SF 1: Hikmat HAGVERDIYEV (AZE) df. Islam KURBANOV (KGZ), 4-3
SF 2: Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB) df. Polat KARADENIZ (TUR), 10-1

60kg
GOLD: Ali NAZAROV (AZE) vs. Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ)

SF 1: Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ) df. Denys SEREDIN (UKR), 6-1
SF 2: Ali NAZAROV (AZE) df. Abolfazl ZARE (IRI), 1-1

71kg
GOLD: Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) vs. Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE)

SF 1: Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) df. Yusif AHMADLI (AZE), 9-5
SF 2: Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE) df. Marlen MEIRBEKULY (KAZ), 9-8

92kg
GOLD: Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW)

SF 1: Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Ahmet UZUN (TUR), 7-0
SF 2: Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW) df. Ionut PATRU (ROU), 3-1