#Zagreb2018

Three Countries Land Multiple Finalists in First Day of Greco Action at Cadet World C’Ships

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – Iran, Armenia and Georgia each put multiple wrestlers into the first group of Greco-Roman finals, which will be wrestled Saturday night at the Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

At 48 kg, 2018 Cadet Asian champion Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) took out the 2017 Cadet Asian champion Arshad ARSHAD of India to move onto the finals. Tomorrow night, he’ll face 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Abror ATABAEV (UZB).

Iran has back-to-back wrestlers in the finals as 2018 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) advanced at 55 kg. Khounsari edged out Cadet Asian runner-up Amirbek SULTONOV (UZB) in the semis, 6-5.

Tomorrow, he will face Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO), who defeated 2018 Cadet Asian champion Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) with a decisive 10-4 victory.

Tomorrow’s 65 kg matchup will feature a present Cadet Euro champion against a past European champion as 2018 champ Muslim IMADAEV (RUS) and 2016 champ Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) will do battle.

Imadaev trailed late against Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO) but hit a four-pointer with seconds left to pull out a 7-5 win.

At 80 kg, it was a battle of continental champions in the semfinals as Cadet European champion Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) downed Asian champion Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI), 7-1, to move on to the gold-medal match.

Tomorrow night, Tsopurasvili will take on Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM), who took fifth at the European Championships earlier this year.

In the heavyweight finals, two-time Cadet European bronze medalist Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) will go head-to-head with this year’s European champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR).

Mammodaev defeated 2018 European silver medalist Marcel ALBINI (CZE) in the semifinals with a dominant 12-1 tech fall.

The finals will take place Saturday at 12 p.m. ET live on unitedworldwrestling.com.

Finals pairings
48 kg: Sajjad ABBASPOURRAGANI (IRI) vs. Abror ATABAEV (UZB)
55 kg: Amirhossein KHOUNSARI (IRI) vs. Giorgi PERTAIA (GEO)
65 kg: Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) vs. Muslim Imadaev (RUS)
80 kg: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) vs. Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
110 kg: Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)

#development

UWW, Kazakhstan Sign MoU to Develop Wrestling

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 20) -- United World Wrestling and the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop projects to promote wrestling around the world.

The MoU also included the Kazakhstan Wrestling Academy, a modern state of the art facility, which will help elite and pre-elite wrestlers and coaches. It was recognized as UWW Affiliated High Performance Center.

Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation and UWW have built objective that will help better results at the continental and World Championships and the Olympics Games along with strengthening and enhancing sustainability in wrestling.

Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan Wrestling Academy will also serve as the center for training camps for elite wrestler, host coaches education programs and seminars, educational sessions, and exchange programs.

As part of the MoU, both UWW and Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation will try to expand the footprint of wrestling. It will be done through providing advance facilities, equipment, expertise, conducting seminars and training camps, and actively encourage developing countries to participate in various program with reserved quotas.