#WrestleSkopje

U17 European Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

SKOPJE, North MACEDONIA (June 6) -- The U17 European Championships will be held in Skopje, North Macedonia from June 9 to 15. More than 550 wrestlers are registered in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman.

The competition will begin with Greco-Roman followed by Women's Wrestling and finishing with Freestyle. The full schedule can be accessed here.

Qualification and repechage rounds will begins 1030 hours local time and medal bouts will begin at 1800 hours local time. On June 9, as there is no repechage and medal bouts, semifinals will begin at 1800 hours. On June 15, Sunday, as there are no qualification bouts, the repechage will begin 1600 hours local time.

Note: These are preliminary entries can be changed 72 hours before the draw of respective styles. For final brackets, refer to UWW Arena

45kg
Aren PIRUZYAN (ARM)
Omar USUBOV (AZE)
Stanimir SLAVOV (BUL)
Saba MINDIASHVILI (GEO)
Netanel RAHMISTOV (ISR)
Victor GURIN (MDA)
Andrej MISHEV (MKD)
Yakup KICIK (TUR)
Daniil LUTSYK (UKR)
Daniil NAHAVITSYN (UWW)
Umar RABADANOV (UWW)

48kg
Artak AGHABEKYAN (ARM)
Ravan HASANZADE (AZE)
Leonidas ZAHARIADIS (BUL)
Nikoloz MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Adrian AIRICH (GER)
Angelos KAMAGIANNIS (GRE)
Tamir SHIRMAMEDOV (ISR)
Vincenzo GANDOLFO (ITA)
Gheorghi GAIDARJI (MDA)
Leon MANOV (MKD)
Przemyslaw MROZEK (POL)
Yanis MAN (ROU)
Attila HEGEDUS (SVK)
Sadik ATESOGULLARI (TUR)
Mykyta HALAHAN (UKR)
Kiryl NIKITSIK (UWW)
Umar MAGOMEDOV (UWW)

51kg
Vahan AZARYAN (ARM)
Ramal MIRHUSEYNOV (AZE)
Georgi SPASOV (BUL)
Samvel ABRAHAMYAN GORGYAN (ESP)
Giorgi ROSTOMASHVILI (GEO)
Erik HANIKEL (GER)
Michail KOKOLOGIANNIS (GRE)
Kyryl SHUMEIKO (HUN)
Angelo PIRRONE (ITA)
Serghei CAMBUR (MDA)
Miradj MUSTAFA (MKD)
Szymon ROGOWICZ (POL)
Laurentiu FLOREA (ROU)
Bugra KAVAK (TUR)
Robert ALOIEV (UKR)
Nabi ISMAYIL (UWW)
Akhmed NAIBAROV (UWW)

55kg
Ervis BARDHI (ALB)
Armen PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Ruslan ALIZADA (AZE)
Aleksandar DELCHEV (BUL)
Temuri TUTARASHVILI (GEO)
Iannis LUPU (GER)
Ioannis KESIDIS (GRE)
Csaba BODI (HUN)
Ariel FILATOV (ISR)
Jon RAMADANI (KOS)
Sergiu STANILA (MDA)
Dardan BELA (MKD)
Carlos RADULESCU (ROU)
Tim ZUERCHER (SUI)
Ivan JAKSIK (SVK)
Osman KAPLAN (TUR)
Abbas HUSEINOV (UKR)
Hleb PIATROU (UWW)
Makhach ABDULLAEV (UWW)

60kg
Razmik VOSKANYAN (ARM)
Abdullach ITSCHAKAEW (AUT)
Hasan HASANOV (AZE)
Valentin GOSPODINOV (BUL)
Iakovos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Yevhenii PINTI (ESP)
Sacha AUBERT (FRA)
Mate TSINADZE (GEO)
Mark BARNOWSKI (GER)
Pavlos NTIANTIADIS (GRE)
Balint NEMETH (HUN)
Lior SHMULKO (ISR)
Anthony APOLINARIO (ITA)
Valeriu PADURET (MDA)
Mario ANANIEV (MKD)
Witold PAWLIK (POL)
Mark KELEMEN (ROU)
Morris KRON (SUI)
Karl BERGMAN (SWE)
Emirhan CETIN (TUR)
Zorab ALOIEV (UKR)
Pavel HOHINASHVILI (UWW)
Abdulla DELEKOV (UWW)

65kg
Regis LASKU (ALB)
Davit DAVTYAN (ARM)
Yusuf BEKTEMIROV (AUT)
Tunar NASIBOV (AZE)
Seyko KALINOV (BUL)
Nikos SOURAILOV (CYP)
Beray AHMED NAZIFOV (ESP)
Arshavir DARAKHSHANIFARA (FIN)
Bayssangour BITMURZAEV (FRA)
Saba TKEMALADZE (GEO)
Dario FISCHIETTI (GER)
Konstantinos MICHAILIDIS (GRE)
Vince LANG (HUN)
Dilan GOLOVANEVSKIY (ISR)
Giovanni DANISE (ITA)
Erand FLUGAJ (KOS)
Maxim DIMOV (MDA)
Darijan PAVLEV (MKD)
Michal MACIUK (POL)
Istvan NAGY (ROU)
Mathys SARRASIN (SUI)
Tomas MELAS (SVK)
Mohin KHAROTI (SWE)
Ismail MERTKOLLU (TUR)
Ivan ZALISKO (UKR)
Artsiom HOHINASHVILI (UWW)
Magomed ISAEV (UWW)

71kg
Avetik TUTKHALYAN (ARM)
Rashid BETERGARAEV (AUT)
Isa YUSIBOV (AZE)
Movsar CHUPALAEV (BEL)
Aleks GROZDANOV (BUL)
Kayden HANLON (GBR)
Koba GOGUADZE (GEO)
Jason KEIL (GER)
Ektoras SIZO (GRE)
Zeteny TUGYI (HUN)
Eli SOLTANOV (ISR)
Amin HOTI (KOS)
Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA)
Dimitar ATANASOV (MKD)
Ismail ERZANUKAEV (POL)
Boran ARADIAN (ROU)
Jaroslav ZAREMBA (SVK)
Omer GUL (TUR)
Ihor OLIINYK (UKR)
Artsiom BOLSUN (UWW)
Islam DZHAMALUTDINOV (UWW)

80kg
Avet ENGOIAN (ARM)
Ali HAJIYEV (AZE)
Valentin ILIEV (BUL)
Levan CHERTKOEV (FRA)
Marshall EVERETT JONES (GBR)
Giga OTINASHVILI (GEO)
Abdurrahim SEKMEN (GER)
Konstantinos MOURTZILAKIS (GRE)
Noel SZECSENYI (HUN)
Michael BAGGIANI (ITA)
Aidas SARUNAS (LTU)
Nazar SOLOMON (MDA)
Zoran SHOROV (MKD)
Aleksander BIELSKI (POL)
Luca SALANTA (ROU)
Yasin ERTURK (TUR)
Artur KOSTIUK (UKR)
Yahor DASHKEVICH (UWW)
Magomed ABDUSALAMOV (UWW)

92kg
Narek MARTIROSYAN (ARM)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Stefan STEFANOV (BUL)
Elguja LOMIDZE (GEO)
Tom ULAMEC (GER)
Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE)
Levente SZIKSZAI (HUN)
Damiano SPERANDIO (ITA)
Valerij GOLOVATYJ (LTU)
Eugen DOHOTER (MDA)
Hristijan DIMITRIEV (MKD)
Michal IWANSKI (POL)
Magor LORINCZ (ROU)
Patrik URBANEK (SVK)
Said RIZA (TUR)
Davyd LUTSKOV (UKR)
Ivan VARANKO (UWW)
Abdurazak SHABANOV (UWW)

110kg
Laert MOVSESYAN (ARM)
Hakim TAGHIYEV (AZE)
Halil SADAKOV (BUL)
Murtaz BAGDAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios MANAGKANTZE (GRE)
Gyoergy JUHASZ (HUN)
Ernests STABINS (LAT)
Valeri CAPACLI (MDA)
Jovan STEFANOV (MKD)
Piotr GRELA (POL)
Sebastian BRAILESCU (ROU)
Adam KOSC (SVK)
Zekeriya DOGAN (TUR)
Mykyta KRASNOKUTSKYI (UKR)
Daniil ZHYVULA (UWW)
Magomedrasul OMAROV (UWW)

Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)Georgia's first-ever European champion in Women's Wrestling Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO) will be at 61kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

40kg
Christofer KOSAR (EST)
Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA)
Finja STRAUCH (GER)
Frosina ATANASOVA (MKD)
Valia HARSAN (ROU)
Zehra OZDEMIR (TUR)
Emma TALPA (UKR)
Sviatlana TRUKSHANINA (UWW)
Zamina DUGALEVA (UWW)

43kg
Iliyana DICHEVA (BUL)
Frederika GROSSE (GER)
Aikaterini KATIFORI (GRE)
Reka TELEKI (HUN)
Irina TERZI (MDA)
Julia PALKA (POL)
Nicoleta PASCALAU (ROU)
Emine BARISKAN (TUR)
Martina MODNA (UKR)
Nurana ASADLI (UWW)
Raniia RAKHMANOVA (UWW)

46kg
Nazrin AHMADLI (AZE)
Dayana STOYCHEVA (BUL)
Lara BLAZEKOVIC (CRO)
Madina BAYRAMOVA (GER)
Maria GKIKA (GRE)
Janka SILLEI (HUN)
Mihaela BACOS (MDA)
Spasija VASILEVA (MKD)
Zuzanna PTAK (POL)
Nikoletta TILI (ROU)
Vega MALMGREN (SWE)
Latife SAHIN (TUR)
Kamila KUCHMA (UKR)
Darya NAHORNAYA (UWW)
Irina TSYDEEVA (UWW)

49kg
Khadija GURBANZADA (AZE)
Sheila MONDRAGO GARCIA (ESP)
Rita RANTONEN (FIN)
Lea LINGSCHEIDT (GER)
Dimitra SKOUVAKI (GRE)
Eszter PALMAI (HUN)
Maria CALDIERO (ITA)
Elsa NIKOCI (KOS)
Anastasija JAKOVLEVA (LAT)
Enrika DEVETINAITE (LTU)
Eliza GONTA (MDA)
Angela TRAJKOSKA (MKD)
Kinga JANUSZEK (POL)
Electra GARAIACU (ROU)
Brita NERELL (SWE)
Ecrin SALIK (TUR)
Olena KOLUBAI (UKR)
Anhelina BURKINA (UWW)
Polina BOCHKAREVA (UWW)

53kg
Fatima BAYRAMOVA (AZE)
Nataliya BOYADZHIEVA (BUL)
Mia KOVAC (CRO)
Nadiia ZHOLTIKOVA (ESP)
Anais MARTIN (FRA)
Phoebe COCKER (GBR)
Lisa SHAVADZE (GEO)
Josefine WIDMANN (GER)
Maria VANDOULAKI VANDOULA (GRE)
Mariia ZHYTOVOZ (HUN)
Naomi LIUZZI (ITA)
Kanita SPAHIJA (KOS)
Alexandrina BARBANOUA (MDA)
Bojana KOVACHOVA (MKD)
Mina HANSEN (NOR)
Julia GIBALSKA (POL)
Valeria FLOCEA (ROU)
Miriam MISAKOVA (SVK)
Sally HAMMARBAECK (SWE)
Fatma YILMAZ (TUR)
Alisa SELEZNOVA (UKR)
Maryia KHRUSHCHOVA (UWW)
Margarita IARYGINA (UWW)

57kg
Celestina GJURAJ (ALB)
Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE)
Olga POPOVA (BUL)
Zara PETROVIC (CRO)
Carla CHRISTIANSEN (DEN)
Irama SERENELLI MAGALLON (ESP)
Oona Olivia PEKKARINEN (FIN)
Nini TSITSVIDZE (GEO)
Emma STEUER (GER)
Zoi KAIDOPOULOU (GRE)
Sophie RITTER (ITA)
Sadije DURA (MKD)
Josefien COOMANS (NED)
Liv SANDVIK KLEPPESTO (NOR)
Marta MANKOWSKA (POL)
Luiza GHINDARU (ROU)
Ivana GAJIC (SRB)
Lena MEIJER (SWE)
Asli KOLE (TUR)
Ivanna LUKIANENKO (UKR)
Palina BRAHINETS (UWW)
Alina BAROEVA (UWW)

61kg
Sophia MERANER (AUT)
Esra MAMMADLI (AZE)
Andrea NISEVA (BUL)
Karol TAMSON (EST)
Théa ROUSSEL (FRA)
Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO)
Sophia SCHWART (GER)
Ioanna XENIDOU (GRE)
Barbara BAGER (HUN)
Sara SERVEDIO (ITA)
Tamara CVETKOSKA (MKD)
Nadia KOCIA (POL)
Oana DUMITRU (ROU)
Gabrijela BERKEC (SRB)
Ester AIRAKSINEN (SWE)
Ozdenur OZMEZ (TUR)
Oleksandra MALKOVA (UKR)
Varvara ALISEYENKA (UWW)
Zalina TOTROVA (UWW)

65kg
Fidan BABAYEVA (AZE)
Desislava PASKALEVA (BUL)
Lana PEZIC (CRO)
Ani CHACHANIDZE (GEO)
Feenja HERMANN (GER)
Vasiliki KARAVANOU (GRE)
Emese CZEGLEDI (HUN)
Giulia CARRI (ITA)
Greta USINOVIC (LTU)
Cristina ZAPOROJAN (MDA)
Viktorija GJUROVA (MKD)
Tessa SAMSONSEN (NOR)
Zuzanna HORBIK (POL)
Sophia PAIUS (ROU)
Maria JIVENIUS (SWE)
Kiymet TEZCAN (TUR)
Iryna BUKHTINA (UKR)
Anastasiya KOMANAVA (UWW)
Lilia ERMOKHINA (UWW)

69kg
Milana BAGHIRZADE (AZE)
Natalia TASEVA (BUL)
Sihana OMAR (FRA)
Anna GODELASHVILI (GEO)
Ayla SAHIN (GER)
Elli SEITARIDOU (GRE)
Reka BERECZKI (HUN)
Juliana CATANZARO (ITA)
Alexandra MOISEI (MDA)
Nina SLAVEVSKA (MKD)
Aurelia GODZINSKA (POL)
Sophia ANASTASE (ROU)
Zeynep SUCU (TUR)
Solomiia PETRIV (UKR)
Hanna SIUBARAVA (UWW)
Zukhra KAZULAEVA (UWW)

73kg
Tanya IVANOVA (BUL)
Merily VAESTER (EST)
Anni HANHINEVA (FIN)
Lyra LEDERER (GER)
Polyxeni CHRYSIKAKI (GRE)
Bianka BARANY ALMASI (HUN)
Greta TVERSKYTE (LTU)
Eoprahia CAZACU (MDA)
Angjela GLIGOROVA (MKD)
Britt VAN ROOIJEN (NED)
Agnieszka BRYCZEK (POL)
Maria Ioana ROMEGA (ROU)
IRINGO DERI (SRB)
Eylem ENGIN (TUR)
Khrystyna DEMCHUK (UKR)
Sofiya AUCHAROVA (UWW)
Sofia TOLOKNOVA (UWW)

Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)45kg champion Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) will wrestle at 51kg in Skopje. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Greco-Roman

45kg
Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM)
Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE)
Danimir YORDANOV (BUL)
Ibrahim GALBOURAEV (FRA)
Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO)
Stefanos MEMTSAS (GRE)
Kiril VARTANOV (LTU)
Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA)
Oliwier BIALASIK (POL)
David VARGA (SRB)
Mustafa GUVEN (TUR)
Ihor TUTSKANIUK (UKR)
Artem TKACHENKO (UWW)

48kg
Martin MANJIKYAN (ARM)
Gurban MAJNUNOV (AZE)
Stanislav IVANOV (BUL)
Giorgi MUNTCHAVA (GEO)
Samuel PUSCAS (GER)
Nikolaos ZINISA (GRE)
Gergo ZATKO (HUN)
Domantas MERKELIS (LTU)
Ksawier ROSSA (POL)
Matyas GOENCI (SVK)
Baris SOYLU (TUR)
Herman BASARAB (UKR)
Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (UWW)
Matvei GOLOVENCHITS (UWW)

51kg
Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM)
Elshad ABBASOV (AZE)
Kaloyan BORISOV (BUL)
Marcos LILLO RANGEL (ESP)
Giorgi AZNAURISHVILI (GEO)
Noah END (GER)
Sotirios NTONTOS (GRE)
Keve KOVACS (HUN)
Nikita CVASIUC (ITA)
Iosif STRATAN (MDA)
Abu SAGA (NOR)
Maciej GRYNIA (POL)
Andrei PELEAN (ROU)
Serkan GULLE (TUR)
Illia VANZHUL (UKR)
Rizvan KAIRBEKOV (UWW)

55kg
Vazgen MNATSAKANYAN (ARM)
Aykhan ASADLI (AZE)
Antoan TSVETANOV (BUL)
David KOIC (CRO)
Raimond PROUS (EST)
Magomed VARAEV (FRA)
Giorgi CHACHUA (GEO)
Ivan SEIBEL (GER)
Grigorios EFTHYMIADIS (GRE)
Balint KAZINCZY (HUN)
Emanuel ISRAILOV (ISR)
Cristian MUSCIANESE (ITA)
Ronaldas POGOZELSKIS (LTU)
Leon RUDNIK (POL)
Patrick MOCAN CROITORU (ROU)
Aleksandar TERZIN (SRB)
Selva THARMALINGAM (SWE)
Osman Ege OZDEMIR (TUR)
Bohdan MAKAROVETS (UKR)
Aliaksandr BELIAKOU (UWW)
Danil LOZHKIN (UWW)

60kg
Rejan OSMAJ (ALB)
Hayk MANUKYAN (ARM)
Ali NAZAROV (AZE)
Zhivko HINKOV (BUL)
Roko CURIC (CRO)
Adrian ROSADO LOPEZ (ESP)
Mauno KAURA (FIN)
Sarkis VOSKANIAN (FRA)
Rezi GUJABIDZE (GEO)
Mika LABES (GER)
Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE)
Imre JUHASZ (HUN)
Tamirlan KHALIMOV (ISR)
Riccardo DELLE CAVE (ITA)
Emilis NEVERAUSKAS (LTU)
Vlad DUMINICA (MDA)
Raffaele HIGHT (NED)
Oliwier ZYSK (POL)
Mihai MARIUTA (ROU)
Kristian DOBI (SRB)
Joel GAECHTER (SUI)
Ismail ISAEV (SWE)
Abdul ARSLANTAS (TUR)
Denys SEREDIN (UKR)
Dzmitry DUDUK (UWW)
Amir KAVLAEV (UWW)

65kg
Sentiljano MEMA (ALB)
Janes NAZARYAN (ARM)
Ramil MUSAYEV (AZE)
Kristiyan PETKOV (BUL)
Stjepan KRALJ (CRO)
Jakub CHARVAT (CZE)
Ramin YOUSEFI (FIN)
Kyliane EDDOUH (FRA)
Erekle TAVBERIDZE (GEO)
Timur DEMIR (GER)
Iason MARGARITIDIS (GRE)
Rego TORDA (HUN)
Yehonatan NEMSADZE (ISR)
Alessio ARANCIO (ITA)
Mangirdas BRAZDZIUNAS (LTU)
Maxim DAMASCHIN (MDA)
Andreas FJELDSTAD (NOR)
Przemyslaw ANDRYCHOWSKI (POL)
Luka ZELIC (SRB)
Tim SCHREIBER (SUI)
Anders THULINDER (SWE)
Mesut SOGUT (TUR)
Yehor TARASENKO (UKR)
Uladzislau SALAUYOU (UWW)
Zelimkhan AZIMOV (UWW)

71kg
Roman USOYAN (ARM)
David SCHOBER (AUT)
Yusif AHMADLI (AZE)
Miroslav RESHOVSKI (BUL)
Bozidar GRBINICEK (CRO)
Vaclav SATRAPA (CZE)
Alvaro VILLAFAINA RECACHA (ESP)
Mardo AERMUS (EST)
Matias ONNENLEHTO (FIN)
Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Dimitrios SOULIS (GRE)
Imre KOLOMPAR (HUN)
Nicolas DE GRECIS (ITA)
Artur SAVELJEV (LTU)
Ignat MEICO (MDA)
Kacper GOLONKA (POL)
Gabriel MARCEL (ROU)
Balaz UJHELJI (SRB)
Zsombor RAJKOVICS (SVK)
Julian VADELL (SWE)
Ali KILINC (TUR)
Danyil MELNYCHUK (UKR)
Maksim ZENKEVICH (UWW)
Kaimaraz ARBAKHANOV (UWW)

80kg
Vahe HOVEYAN (ARM)
Christopher SZENTKIRALYI (AUT)
Nijat YEYLAGALIYEV (AZE)
Valentin VALENTINOV (BUL)
Jachym JABUREK (CZE)
Aaron TONISMAA (EST)
Giorgi ORMOTSADZE (GEO)
Noel LOZANCIC (GER)
Stefanos VASDEKIS (GRE)
Dominik KERTESZ (HUN)
Koan VALENTINI (ITA)
Olivers IRKLIS (LAT)
Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU)
Kyrylo KON (MDA)
Franciszek KOCWIN (POL)
Danilo AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Matti EICHMANN (SUI)
Dominik HERVAI (SVK)
Fredrik ABRAHAMSSON (SWE)
Ismail BEREKET (TUR)
Danylo VUZII (UKR)
Anton KASTSEVICH (UWW)
Senik VARDANIAN (UWW)

92kg
Petros BAGHRAMYAN (ARM)
Niklas OEHLERER (AUT)
Said PASHAYEV (AZE)
Ivan NIKOLOV (BUL)
Andrija MIKULIC (CRO)
Vitezslav ZAK (CZE)
Robert KOVALKOV (EST)
Luka MARTIASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MOUTOUSIDIS (GRE)
Zsombor KORODI (HUN)
Elia CAIANIELLO (ITA)
Julius GIKARAS (LTU)
Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA)
Ismail KADYROV (NOR)
Tomasz MITAL (POL)
Ionut PATRU (ROU)
Todor AKSENTIJEVIC (SRB)
Christofer KOSAR (SVK)
Manfred ALTHEN (SWE)
Enes UZUN (TUR)
Tymur LARIN (UKR)
Kanstantsin KASYAN (UWW)
Vadim DRAGUSHAN (UWW)

110kg
Gor MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Rihad IBRAHIMLI (AZE)
Denis LAZAROV (BUL)
Karel CECH (CZE)
Kahro PALLON (EST)
Temuri SIMSIVE (GEO)
Maximilian LEO (GER)
Vasileios BOUNTOULIS (GRE)
Akos KEREPESI (HUN)
Guy ZANKEVICH (ISR)
Deniss MOISEJENKO (LAT)
Mateusz TOMELKA (POL)
Vlad PETREAN (ROU)
Andrej SIMIC (SRB)
Arda UGUR (TUR)
Anatolii NOVACHENKO (UKR)
Matvei SILICH (UWW)
Artur GABEEV (UWW)

#WrestleZagreb

Olympic champ Saravi reclaims world title in stacked 97kg division

By Ken Marantz

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 19) -- Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) ended a four-year wait to regain the title of world champion. He had his share of triumphs in the meantime -- a gold at the Paris Olympics, to say the least -- just not on this stage.

Saravi ended the drought by scoring an early takedown and going on to defeat Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) 3-1 in the 97kg final at the World Championships in
Zagreb on Saturday night, when three Greco titles were decided.

"In my opinion, this tournament wasn’t easy at all; it was one of the most exciting and diverse competitions I’ve ever been part of," Saravi said. "There were new opponents, and some wrestlers reached the finals and repechage rounds that I honestly hadn’t expected. The level was much higher than I thought it would be."

In other finals, Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) gave Kazakhstan its first Greco world champion since 1999 with a quick victory at 60kg, while Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) defeated Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) in a headache-inducing clash at 72kg that was a repeat of the 2024 world final.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) scores a takedown on Artur SARGASIAN (UWW) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

After winning the world gold in Oslo in 2021, Saravi had to settle for bronze medals at the 2022 and 2023 worlds in Belgrade, falling in the semifinals both times.

But he righted the ship for the Paris Olympics, where he defeated long-time rival Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in the final to add the gold to the Olympic bronze he won at Tokyo in 2021. And from 2023 to this year, he three-peated as Asian champion.

In Zagreb, while Aleksanyan and Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), who defeated Saravi in the 2023 world semifinals, fell by the wayside, Saravi marched into the final without pomp or drama, winning his matches by such scores as 4-0, 1-1 and 3-1.

"In this weight class, the champions are among the greats of wrestling: Artur Aleksanyan, the Cuban Rosillo, and of course, my final opponent, Artur Sargsian, who is a very well-known and skillful wrestler," Saravi said. "But with my preparation, I was able to execute my plans and win."

His meeting with Sargsian in the final was a rematch of their first-round match at the 2021 World Championships, which Saravi won 6-4 en route to his first world gold. Sargsian took a bronze.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old Saravi drew early blood when he used an arm drag to get behind and force Sargsian down at the edge for a 2-0 lead. He made it 3-0 with a passivity point, but was unable to turn Sargsian from par terre.

That left the door open for Sargsian, the winner of the Zagreb Ranking Series event in the same arena in February, when he was put in par terre in the second period. But he also could not budge the Iranian, who then ran out the clock for the win.

"As we had planned with my coaches, even though some of my expected rivals didn’t make it to the later rounds, with the analysis we had done we were able to plan well and make it to the final," Saravi said.

"I had wrestled [Sargsian] twice before, and with the strategies we had, I managed to beat him. Thankfully, this time, too, I was able to execute my plans perfectly on
the mat and win the match."

Saravi reflected on coming up short at the two previous World Championships.

"I think in the two World Championships where I won bronze, I had some technical weaknesses," Saravi said. "I was able to fix those before the Olympics and
keep that level through this year’s worlds.

"I hope I can keep improving for the upcoming tournaments and continue winning big medals."

Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) scores a four-pointer on Alisher GANIEV (UZB) in the 60kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

At 60kg, Sultangali, who won two world bronze medals over the five-year span between 2018 and 2022, snared his first gold with a masterful 9-0 win over Asian silver medalist Alisher GANIEV (UZB).

"Today is a historic day for our country because the last gold medal for Kazakhstan came in 1999, 26 years ago," said Sultangali, who also beat the reigning Asian
champion, Se Ung RI (PRK), in the quarterfinals. "I am happy that my country is happy."

Sultangali started the rout in the final by spinning behind for a takedown against Ganiev, then adding a roll for a 4-0 lead.

He used an arm drag to great effect to score two more takedowns to finish off the victory in 1:07. The Uzbekistan challenged the final move, but it failed, making the
final score 9-0.

"I didn’t plan to win the final match so easily and quickly," Sultangali said. "But it happened."

It was a much more fortuitous outcome for Sultangali than in their previous meeting at the Budapest Ranking Series event in July. Ganiev was leading that match 5-1 when Sultangali hit an arm throw, then continued to spin while clamping on the arm. That caused an injury to Ganiev's shoulder and got Sultangali automatically disqualified.

The 72kg final evolved into a messy affair when Ganizade was head-butted by Ghanem in the second period, a painful clash that not only drew blood, but induced a 2-point penalty that would be instrumental in the Ganizade's 4-2 victory.

The Egyptian-born Ghanem received the first passivity point in the first period, but could not score. In the second period, Ganizade was put on top in par terre, but he missed on an attempted throw, then was low on a second attempt at the edge.

The Azerbaijan side challenged the call on the second throw, but it was deemed "not a total lift," giving Ghanem a point for a 2-1 lead.

Had Ghanem just rode out the rest of the match, the gold would have been his. Instead, with :42 left, he rammed Ganizade's head, sending Ganizade sprawling to the mat in pain with blood spurting from the cut. The 2-point penalty gave him a 3-2 lead.

As if to add insult to injury, at the restart Ghanem flopped backwards, allegedly from a head to the chin from Ganizade. He challenged, but the match chairman was having none of his shenanigans, saying there was no contact and nixing the challenge to put Ganizade up 4-2.

"The competition was very tough," said Ganizade, a four-time European medalist. "Even though it was difficult, we had prepared a lot for this event and had attended many training camps. Because of the effort I put in, I believed I could become the champion at this competition -- and that is how I became champion."

It was Ganizade's third straight win in four career meetings with Ghanem, who won the world title in 2023. Previous to last year's 3-2 win in the world final, Ganizade pulled out a close 7-7 victory in the final at the 2023 European Championships.

In their first meeting, Ghanem came out on top, winning 2-1 in the first round of the Individual World Cup in 2020, a tournament set up during the pandemic.

"I have now become world champion for the second time," Ganizade said. "I also hope that after this, I will become world champion a third time and make our nation and people proud. For that reason, I will do my best."

As for what lies ahead, he said, "I’m not thinking about anything else yet. I plan to go rest first. After resting, I’ll decide what comes next."

Se Ung RI (PRK)Se Ung RI (PRK) won a bronze medal at the 60kg weight class. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ri earns 1st Greco medal since 2015 for DPR Korea

In the bronze-medal matches, Paris Olympic bronze medalist Se Ung RI (PRK) gave the DPR Korea its first world Greco medal since 2015 and fourth overall with a victory by fall at 60kg over Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO).

Ri scored a takedown and 2-point throw for a 4-0 lead, then got in deep on a bear hug. When Shavadze tried to counter by lifting up and back, Ri just pressed forward and drove Shavadze to his back for a 4-pointer that would have ended the match anyway by technical superiority. The end came at 2:11 and the scenario was confirmed on challenge.

The other 60kg bronze went to Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM), a two-time world U23 bronze medalist who outlasted Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), winning 1-1 by earning the first of the two passivity points awarded in the match.

Both 72kg bronze-medal matches came to early and similar conclusions, with two-time Asian medalist Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) and reigning Asian champion Danial SOHRABI (IRI) both cruising to 8-0 victories for their first senior world medals.

Aliev defeated Yeonghun NOH (KOR), with the decisive points coming from an odd twist in a challenge following a 4-point throw by Aliev.

After scoring an early stepout, Aliev launched his 4-point throw from par terre. The Korean side issued a challenge, which it won -- except that the change was a 2-point leg foul against Noh, which made it an 8-point difference and ended the match at 1:40.

Sohrabi went the more traditional route in defeating Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ). The Iranian scored only a stepout on a throw attempt while in par terre, but rebounded to put on a six-point spree, finishing with a gut wrench to win in 2:51.

The 97kg bronze-medal matches proved to be wild affairs, with one having the rare occurrence of a fall being nullified on challenge, while the other had a fall confirmed.

Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) came out on top in a 5-5 decision over Alex SZOKE (HUN) in which the Azeri thought he had reversed to a fall, but was instead flagged for a foul that kept the bout going.

Ahmadiyev started the match with a 4-point arm throw, then stepped over to keep Szoke on his back and nearly secure a fall. The Hungarian side challenged, it was denied and Ahmadiyev led 5-0 going into the second period.

Szoke put the pressure on and gained an activity point, then executed a roll from par terre. But as he tried another, Ahmadiyev suddenly turned to face him and knocked him backward to the mat.

The referee called a fall, but on challenge, a leg foul was detected and Szoke was awarded a 2-point penalty that tied the score, but left him trailing on criteria. Due to the caution, Szoke got another chance at par terre, but couldn't turn Ahmadiyev.

Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) saw his fall of Giorgi MELIA (GEO) in the other 97kg bronze-medal match held up after, like Ahmadiyev, he used a stepover to get Melia onto his back.

Melia was on top in passivity, but when he attempted a roll, Maskevich stepped over to put him into a danger position. Melia temporarily spun out, but Maskevich reeled him back in and secured the fall in 1:54. The action was all upheld on challenge.

Day 8 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) df. Alisher GANIEV (UZB) by TF, 9-0, 1:07

BRONZE: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) by Fall, 2:11 (9-0)
BRONZE: Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) df. Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), 1-1

63kg (26 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Hanjae CHUNG (KOR) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), 5-3
SEMIFINAL: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) by TF, 8-0, :36

67kg (34 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Daniial AGAEV (UWW) by TF, 10-0, 1:44
SEMIFINAL: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ), 3-1

72kg (30 entries)
GOLD: Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 4-2

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Yeonghun NOH (KOR) by TF, 8-0, 1:40
BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ) by TF, 8-0, 2:50

87kg (30 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 6-3
SEMIFINAL: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW), 1-1

97kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Artur SARGSIAN (UWW), 3-1

BRONZE: Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW) df. Giorgi MELIA (GEO) by Fall, 1:54 (5-1)
BRONZE: Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), 5-5