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Tunisia Tops Egypt, Wins African Freestyle Team Title

Sunday, March 31, 2019 - 20:23 By Eric Olanowski

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (March 31) – Tunisia was one of three teams who entered into the final session of wrestling with a quartet of finalists, but their trio of gold medalists helped the host nation hoist the freestyle team trophy on the last day of wrestling in Hammamet’s Omni Sports Hall. 

Tunisia, who finished with 183 points, had three champions and seven overall medalists who assisted them in narrowly edging Egypt (180 points) by three points for the tournaments top spot. 


Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) won his third consecutive African title with a win in the 79kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Their trio of champions were Ayoub BARRAJ, Sabri MNASRIYA, and Mohamed SAADAOUI. 

In the 79kg finals, two-time defending champion Ayoub Barraj dismantled Algeria’s Fateh BENFERDJALLAH, 10-0 and won his third consecutive title. 

Tunisia’s second freestyle title of the day went to Sabri Minasriya who hung on to defeat Oussama REGANI (MAR), 2-1, in the 86kg finals. Their third and final championship performance came at 92kg where Mohamed Saadaoui shutout Egypt’s defending African champion Hosam MERGHANY, 6-0.

Egypt finished in second place, thanks to their three champions, Amr HUSSEN,  Khaled ELMOATAMADAWI, and Khaled ABDALLA. 

At 70kg, returning silver medalist Amr Hussen trailed 1-0 after the opening period but ignited for eight second period points before planting 2018 African bronze medalist Fares LAKEL (ALG) on his back for the fall. 

Elmoatamadawi and Abdalla, the 97kg and 130kg winners respectively, went undefeated in their Nordic system tournaments, claiming Egypt’s second and third freestyle titles.

Abdelhak KHERBACHE won the 57kg gold medal and improved on his bronze-medal finish from a year ago. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Algeria’s Abdelhak KHERBACHE claimed the 57kg title and helped his nation finishing in third place with 117 points. Kherbache improved on his bronze medal finish a season ago, winning his first continental title with a 3-1 victory over Chakir ANSARI (MAR) in the 57kg gold-medal bout. 

Morocco, who had 117 points, and Nigeria, who had 90 points, rounded out the top-five of the freestyle team scores. 

The Final Three Golds 
The final three nations who had a solo gold-medal winner were Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria. 

Senegal’s Adama DIATTA claimed his fifth consecutive African Championship title and tenth overall continental gold medal with a 12-0 thumping of Egypt’s Yasser AHMED in the 61kg finals. 

In the 65kg finals, Guinea-Bissau’s Mbunde CUMBA MBALI easily claimed the gold medal with an 11-0 routing of Egypt’s Aly ABDELHAMID. 

Lastly, in the 74kg gold-medal bout, two-time defending champion Ogbonna JOHN (NGR) put together a seven-point second period that went unanswered and won his third consecutive African title with a 7-1 victory over Tunisia’s Maher GHANMI. 

What's Next?
The African Championships were the first senior-level continental championships of the year. The next continental championships are the European Championships, which begin April 8 in Bucharest, Romania. 

RESULTS 
Freestyle Team Scores
GOLD – Tunisia (183 points)
SILVER – Egypt (180 points)
BRONZE – Algeria (117 points)
Fourth – Morocco (90 points)
Fifth – Nigeria (63 points)

57kg 
GOLD -  Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) df. Chakir ANSARI (MAR), 3-1 
BRONZE - Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY) df. Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR), via inj. def. 

61kg 
GOLD – Adama DIATTA (SEN) df. Yasser Eshhata Abady AHMED (EGY), 12-0 
BRONZE - Mohamed Al Amine LAKEL (ALG) df. Farouk JELASSI (TUN), 4-0 

65kg 
GOLD – Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS) df. Aly Ibrahim Abdelhamid ABDELHAMID (EGY), 13-0 
BRONZE - Reagan NDOMBASI MATADI (COD) df. DJEKOUNDAKOM DJERAYOM Elie (CHA), via forfeit 
BRONZE - Kaireddine BEN TELILI (TUN) df. Chems BOUCHAIB (ALG), 16-6 

70kg 
GOLD – Fares LAKEL (ALG) df. Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY), 8-3
BRONZE - Rabii REGANI (MAR) df. Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN), via fall 

74kg 
GOLD – Ogbonna JOHN (NGR) df. Maher GHANMI (TUN), 8-1 
BRONZE - Saifeldin ELKOUMY (EGY) df. Essam ELHAG (SUD), via forfeit  
BRONZE - Augusto MIDANA (GBS) df. Kasimir MADJADOUM (CHA), 10-0 

79kg 
GOLD – Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) df. Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG), 10-0 
BRONZE - Aboubakr GADELMAWLA (EGY) df. Alberto da Silva GUNZA (ANG), 15-5 
BRONZE - Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) df. Zander GERINGER (RSA), 12-1 

86kg 
GOLD – Sabri MNASRIYA (TUN) df. Oussama REGANI (MAR), 2-1
BRONZE - Melvin BIBO (NGR) df. Blaise DIATTA (SEN), via fall
BRONZE - Bedopassa BUASSAT DJONDE (GBS) df. Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA), 10-2 

92kg 
GOLD – Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) df. Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY), 6-0 
BRONZE - Aron Isomi MBO (COD) df. Francisco Nkunga NGONDA (ANG), 18-4 
BRONZE - Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) df. Johan MOSTERT (RSA), 10-0 

97kg (Round Robin) 
GOLD –  Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY)
SILVER – Meher DAHMANI (TUN)
BRONZE – Mohamed Saliou CAMARA (GUI)

125kg (Round Robin) 
GOLD – Khaled Omr Zaki Mohamed ABDALLA (EGY)
SILVER – Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)
BRONZE – Ahmed SEREHALI (MAR)

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 Freestyle Live Blog

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - 02:15 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (June 1) -- The fourth and final day of the Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 will see seven weight classes in Freestyle with Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) returning as well.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

14:15: Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) has a rematch with Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) after beating Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) 12-1 in the 125kg semifinal. Mukhtur defeated Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) 5-0.

14:05: Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) makes it to the final at 97kg and the small crowd here is all for it. He defeated VICKY (IND) 4-2 in the semifinal, a match the Indian complained of wrong score on the scoreboard.

He will face Ahmad BAZRI (IRI) in the final after the Iranian won 8-0 over Resul GUNE (TUR) in the other semifinal.

13:50: In the 79kg semifinals, Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) with a fall over Dalaitseren JAVKHLANKHUU (MGL) and Fariborz BABAEIR (IRI) with a controlled win over AMIT (IND).

13:33: Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI) with a last-ditch attempt to win against Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) but his head pinch is only worth two points as he goes down 10-6 in the 70kg semifinal. Fazli trailed 4-1 but scored consistently to make it 9-4 before Amouzad got two points to exposure, too little too late. 

Konstantin KAPRYNOV (UWW) needs only two minutes and 26 seconds to finish his semifinal against Usukhbayar BAATARKHUU (MGL) and win 10-0.

13:20: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) holds off Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) for a 3-3 win in the 65kg semifinal and enter the final in which he will face Dzhambulat KIZINOV (UWW) who proved extremely strong for Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ) and won 9-3.

13:11: Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) takes out compatriot Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) 9-1 in the other 61kg semifinal and he will wrestle UDIT (IND) in the final.

13:10: UDIT (IND) reaches the final at 61kg with a 2-1 win over Artem GOBAEV (UWW). A takedown in the first period the difference between the two. The one point for Gobaev came from a lost challenge from India.

13:00: Another disappointing semifinal loss for India at 57kg as RAHUL (IND) falls to Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) 6-3 after the Mongolian scored three takedowns in the first period and defended his lead.

12:55: Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) two huge four-pointers which set up his 14-11 win over AMAN (IND), the Paris Olympic bronze medalist from India. Aman maintained continued pressure and scored at regular intervals. However, Bravo Young never let the lead swell too much. Aman led 11-10 in the final 20 seconds when Bravo Young scored a takedown and turn to win 14-11, ultimately called a pin.

Semifinals begins straightaway on Mat A and B

12:45: In the final match of the qualifications round, Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) wins 6-2 against Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL) in Round 3 at 125kg.

12:35: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) with a takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match to claim a 5-1 win over Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) at 70kg. Fazli got a point for stepout during his activity period to take a 1-0 lead. Tumur Ochir took the 1-1 criteria lead after Fazli was called passive in the second period. However, Fazli got behind and then scored a takedown. Tumur Ochir was cautioned for fleeing but Mongolia challenged the call which was upheld and it lost the challenge making the score 5-1.

12:23: Mohammadali AMOUZAD (IRI), the twin brother of Paris Olympic silver medalist Rahman, with a clutch takedown over Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND) from disadvantageous position to win 3-2 at 70kg.

12:10: Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) with a bodylock throw for four and then laces ROHIT (IND) for an 11-0 victory at 65kg to enter the semifinals.

11:55: Iran's Ahmad BAZRI (IRI) opens his campaign at 97kg with a 4-0 win against Irbeg TAVGAZOV (UWW). Bazri will wrestle Resul GUNE (TUR) in the semifinal after he defeated Bady SAMDAN (UWW) via fall.

11:46: Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), silver medalist from Asian Championships, gets his first win of the day with a 6-0 shutout of AMIT (IND) at 79kg.

11:40: Asian silver medalist UDIT (IND) with a solid 11-0 win over Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) in the quarterfinals at 61kg. Great defense whenever Myrzanazar Uulu tried attacks.

11:30: Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) beats compatriot Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL) 7-3 to book a semifinal spot at 57kg against RAHUL (IND) who defeated Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ).

11:20: Pan-Am champion Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) starts off at 57kg with a 12-2 win over Bekir KESER (TUR). With the win, he gets a shot at Paris bronze AMAN (IND) in the semifinals.

11:13: Zagir SHAKHIEV (UWW), the 2021 world champion at 65kg and hoping to make a comeback to international wrestling at 70kg, drops his opening bout to Konstantin KAPRYNOV (UWW). He gives up two stepouts and a takedown and scores only one stepout as Kaprynov wins 5-1. Kaprynov was silver medalist at the Yarygin tournament to David BAEV (UWW) this year.

11:10: Paris bronze medalist AMAN (IND), wrestling first time since the Games in August 2024, starts off with an 11-1 win over Almaz SAMABEKOV (KGZ). Typical Aman win where he wears his opponents out and then scores his takedowns. 

10:52: In 125kg Round 1, Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) started off well with two stepouts but world medalist Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) rallies his attacks and wins 9-1.

10:48: Olympian Georgii OKOROKOVV (AUS) was almost pulling off a huge upset against Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ), taking a 6-0 lead but his conditioning gave up on him and Myrzanazar Uulu wins 13-6 at 61kg. As it is a round-robin bracket, Okorovv will wrestle again.

10:40: RAHUL (IND) with an upset win over European U23 champion Lev PAVLOV (UWW) at 57kg. Pavlov was warned for being passive in the first period which gave Rahul the 1-0 lead. But there was no change in Pavlov's intent in the second period and was warned again which made it 2-0 for Rahul. A beautiful duck under from Rahul for a takedown extended his lead 4-0. Pavlov, who had been warned for finger-grabbing before, was cautioned again and Rahul got one point. That was all as Rahul won 5-0.

10:36: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) begins his 57kg campaign with a 12-2 win over Jiguur SARANTUYA (MGL) which included a huge arm throw for four points.

10:30: The Ulaanbaatar Open enters its last day with Freestyle action in 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg and 125kg.