#WrestleTirana

Thursday's U23 World Championships semifinals set

Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 08:42 By Eric Olanowski

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TIRANA, Albania (October 26) --- The fourth day of wrestling at the 2023 U23 World Championships is underway in the Albanian capital. Today, we'll draw the Greco-Roman brackets and run through the final five weights--53kg, 55kg, 57kg, 62kg and 65kg--in women's wrestling.

Top Stars in Action:
57kg - Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) – Senior European silver
57kg - Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) – U23 world bronze
62kg - Iryna BONDAR (UKR) – U23 world silver
65kg - Irina RINGACI (MDA) – Senior world gold
65kg - Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE) – U23 world silver
65kg - Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) – Senior world silver
72kg - Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) – U23 world silver
72kg - Amit ELOR (USA) – Two-time senior world gold

Semifinal matches (as the come in):

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN) vs. Mako OONO (JPN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) vs. Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)

57kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) vs. Mia Katherine FRIESEN (CAN)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) vs. Sara NATAMI (JPN)

62kg
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) vs. Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR) vs. Bhagyashree Hanumant FAND (UWW)

65kg
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT) vs. Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) vs. Irina RINGACI (MDA)

72kg
Bukrenaz SERT (TUR) vs. Jyoti BERWAL (UWW)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) vs. Amit ELOR (USA)

13:02: Kasabieva ended up scoring emptying the gas tank in the second period, scoring seven points before catching Kolawole on her back for the fall.

12:57: Nigeria's Esther KOLAWOLE, the '21 U23 world bronze medalist, is in a tight one against Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) over on Mat B. Both wrestlers have been extremely cautious in the first period, with Kolawole scoring the period's only point-- an inactivity point.

12:51: It looks like it's going to be an early afternoon for us. We have four matches left on each mat before heading to the Greco-Roman draws.

12:35: I was watching the Oono and Malanchuk match, so I didn't watch the match but heard that Elor picked up another fall to move into tonight's 72kg semifinals.

12:31: One of the least talked about aspects of the Japanese women's team is their timing. They understand the clock and when to attack better than any other team in wrestling.

That was on display with Oono's win over Malanchuk, as she trailed for the entire match, but struck late to steal the 2-2 match on criteria. She'll wrestle the winner of Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN) and Serena Rosa DI BENEDETTO (CAN).

12:23: Senior world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) picked up a 10-0 win in his first bout and will wrestle Busra EFE (TUR) next.

12:00: An upcoming match I'm looking forward to watching is Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Mako OONO (JPN).

Due to Ukraine's lightweight, Malanchuk has been in and out of the senior lineup for a few years now, but she's capitalized on her opportunity a few times, winning a gold medal at the 2022 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event and a silver at the 2021 Individual World Cup.

On the other side, you know what you're going to get out of the Japanese women, so it'll be good to see how Malanchuk stacks up against top-tier talent.

11:47: I just realized that 55kg senior world bronze medalist Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) is entered into the competition. It's great to see her down at 53kg, which shows me she's preparing to compete at the Olympic weight in 2024.

Dragutan down at 53kg gives Moldova's women's team three solid Olympic weights. They'll have Dragutan at 53kg, Anastasia NICHITA at 57kg and Irina RINGACI at 68kg.

11:38: We'll go from one world silver medalist to another on Mat B. Macey KILTY (USA) just scored a fall, brining up Ukraine's Iryna BONDAR (UKR).

11:19: There's not much to talk about regarding Elor's opening round match other than she scored a 17 second fall over Tokyo Olympian Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN).

10:55: All eyes will be on the new face of American women's wrestling, Amit ELOR (USA). If you don't know who Elor is, she's taken the wrestling world by storm over the last two years. At the ripe age of 19, she's already a seven-time world championships--winning golds twice at the senior level, three times at the U20s and once at the U23 and U17s.

Elor is impressive beyond her years, both on and off the mat. Take a few minutes to read her latest interview with United World Wrestling's Vinay Siwach: U23 Worlds: Elor chases eighth world title in Tirana

10:45: Good morning, wrestling fans. We'll start the day with 30 minutes of repechage matches before moving into the qualification bouts. That gives me time to get the Stars in Action list prepared for you.

#WrestleAthens

Wrestling World U17 C'ships: Freestyle Live Results

Friday, August 1, 2025 - 07:56 By Vinay Siwach

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ATHENS, Greece (August 1) -- The World U17 Championships will be moving to Freestyle action with 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 4 RESULTS

14:30: The big three at 110kg -- Magomedrasul OMAROV (UWW), Amirhossein NAGHDALIPOUR (IRI) and LACKY (IND) -- win their respective quarterfinals and enter the semifinals.

14:15: Zhakshylyk BOROBAEV (KGZ) thought he had the win at 55kg. But Jinnosuke OKONOGI (JPN) still had something in him and then. He scores a takedown manages to turn Borobaev for two more points and lead 9-8. He is ecstatic! He will wrestle Burnett later.

14:00: Greyton BURNETT (USA) shuts down Jaiveer SINGH (IND) and gets a 3-0 win over Singh at 55kg. Burnett gave no opening to Singh to score.

13:45: Big match on Mat A at 65kg between Asian U17 champion Gaurav PUNIA (IND) and Pan-Am U17 champion Arseni KIKINIOU (USA). Punia tries a leg-attack but Kikinou with a counter and turn for two points. Punia with a reversal. Kikinou led 3-1 at the break. Punia gets the exposure for two points to take a 3-3 criteria lead but Kikinou manages to put Punia in danger in the same scramble which makes it 5-3 for him. Kikinou cautioned for fleeing but he wins 5-4.

13:35: Morteza HAJ (IRI) gets a takedown in the final seconds to beat Ivan ZALISKO (UKR) at 65kg. Zalisko led 4-4 on criteria but Haj makes a  big comeback.

13:10: LACKY (IND) gut-wrenches Hanto HAYASHI (JPN) and wins his 110kg bout 10-0. He is looking to add a world title to his Asian title he won in June

13:06: In a match that saw six stepouts, Amirhossein NAGHDALIPOUR (IR) manages keep his breath and beat Zekeriya DOGAN (TUR) 6-2 at 110kg.

12:56: Aaron STEWART (USA) cuts shorts Marshall EVERETT JONES (GBR) tournament with an 11-0 hammering at 80kg. Stewart just overpowered Everett Jones.

12:55: Jinnosuke OKONOGI (JPN) hands Mohammadreza BARARI (IRI) a 4-1 loss at 55kg. Solid positioning from Okonogi. Barari's tactics of keeping it slow did not work out.

12:45: Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE) is shocked after Issa ZANGIEV (UWW) gets front roll for two points and wins the 80kg 1/8 final 6-5. Suleymanli did well to keep his lead but failed in the final second. Azerbaijan challenges but it loses it. Zangiev wins 7-5

12:35: Greyton BURNETT (USA) gets a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to lead 3-1 against Armen PAPIKYAN (ARM) who needed a two-point technique to win. He however gets one a stepout. Burnett wins 3-2 at 55kg.

12:27: Asian U17 champion Gourav PUNIA (IND) like a workhorse with five takedowns and he defeats Kodai IWASAKI (JPN) 10-0 at 65kg.

12:25: Adisbek ALTYNBEKOV (KGZ) went five on Kiryl PAULIUCHENKA (UWW), not once but twice to win his 65kg match 10-0. Those were some high level throws from the Kyrgyz, a bronze medalist from Asian U17 Championships

12:05: Magomedrasul OMAROV (UWW), European champion at 110kg, begins with a 11-0 win over Yu Chiao CHUANG (TPE), who had his own troubles with bleeding. He needed several medical timeouts

11:45: Marshall EVERETT JONES (GBR), European U17 bronze medalist, comes out with a huge underhook throw for four and then rolls Levan CHERTKOEV (FRA) to win 10-0 at 80kg.

11:40: Mohammadparsa KARAMI (IRI) keeps his strong positions and beats Buyantogtokh BYAMBADORJ (MGL) 7-2 at 80kg to give Iran the third win of the day. Iran is hoping to reclaim the U17 team title.

11:19: European champion Ruslan ALIZADA (AZE) has no trouble seeing off Dan BULGARU (MDA) 10-0 at 55kg. Alizada is one of more exciting prospects in this Azerbaijan team.

11:15: Iran with back-to-back wins! Morteza HAJ (IRI) beats Yandro SOTO RIVERA (PUR) at 65kg and Mohammadreza BARARI (IRI) defends a late attack from Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL) to win at 55kg.

11:05: Asian U17 champion Gourav PUNIA (IND) slams Changxin WU (CHN) for a big four and then exposes his two times to win 11-0 at 65kg.

10:50: Quick results at 65kg as Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UWW) beats Nikos SOURAILOV (CYP) 10-0, followed by European U17 silver medalist Huseyn ISMAYILOV (AZE) getting a 4-2 win over Liam GORTON (CAN). Pan-Am champion Arseni KIKINIOU (USA) also has a technical superiority win over Nikita KOZICH (ISR).

10:30: Freestyle action will take centerstage at the World U17 Championships in Athens. The United States will once again be favorite to win the team title but Iran will look to challenge them.