#WrestleRome

U17 World Championships, Day 1 semifinals set

By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (July 25) -- The World Championships season is here. The first of the five grand events is beginning in Rome. The U17 World Championships will see close to 600 wrestlers battle it out for the 30 champion belts.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE | PREVIEW | ENTRY LIST

14:32: The 55kg and 80kg semifinals

Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB) vs. Suraj SURAJ (IND)
Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) vs Halil CINAR (TUR)

80kg
Seyed Reza AZARSHAB (IRI) vs. Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) 
Andrey ATANASOV (BUL) vs. Alperen BERBER (TUR) 

14:30: Here are the 110kg semifinals

Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) vs. Dmytro STRYZHEKOZIN (UKR)
Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE) vs. Cemal Yusuf BAKIR (TUR) 

14:25: The 65kg semifinals are set

Ali ALIZADA (AZE) vs. Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI)
Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR) vs. Joel ADAMS (USA) 

14:20: Here are the 48kg semifinals for tonight

Said KHALILOV (AZE) vs. Ronit SHARMA (IND)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) vs. Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ

14:00: An epic! Asian champion Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI) and European champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) battled it out on Mat A at 110kg. Jahangiri got the turn from par terre to lead 3-0 at the break. But he is cautioned for fleeing. Darabos will get two points and par terre. But he cannot turn Jahangiri from par terre. Jahangiri leads 3-2. Iran asks for a two on a slip and loses the challenge. 3-3 Jahangiri with under a minute left. Jahangiri is called passive and 4-3 lead for Darbos. He defends it till the clock runs out.

13:25: Asian silver medalist at 80kg Seyed Reza AZARSHAB (IRI) moving into the quarterfinals with a 9-0 win over Marcus UHTJAERV (EST). He will face Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)

13:15: The 48kg quarterfinals are set

Kurmanbek ALIMZHANOV (KGZ) vs. Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Yu TAKEMOTO (JPN) vs. Ronit SHARMA (IND)
Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ) vs. Umit ALTAS (TUR)
Amr ELSHAER (EGY) vs. Said KHALILOV (AZE) 

12:55: Asian 110kg champion Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI) begins with an 8-0 win over Maksim PETROV (BUL). He will now face Leonhard JUNGER (AUT) who reach the bronze medal bout at the Europeans

12:40: At 80kg, a lot of drama has unfolded. Luka GELASHVILI (GEO) gets the turn to beat U17 European champion Mihai GUTU (MDA) 5-2. Gelashvili had lost to Wojciech IWANOWSKI (POL) at the U17 Euros. But today, Iwanowski lost in the first round to silver medalist Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) who will now face Oliver KOVACS (HUN).

12:15: We have heard this name before! Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), a namesake of the 67kg Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed, gets going with a 7-3 win over Pavel ALEXE (ROU) at 65kg.

12:00: Mateusz DAWID (POL) was leading 6-1 and had the bout under control when Abdulla ANORBAEV (KGZ) spun a four-pointer and held Dawid to his back to secure the fall at 65kg.

11:50: The U17 Asian champion Ronit SHARMA (IND) starts with a big 10-0 win over Gabriele PUCHER (ITA) and storms into the 48kg quarterfinal. He will take on Yu TAKEMOTO (JPN) after he got a walkover as world champion Nikita DEMENTIEV (UKR) failed to make weight.

11:40: Said KHALILOV (AZE) trailed 2-0 at the break against Christian CASTILLO (USA) but got the turn from par terre to secure the bout 4-2 at 48kg.

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11:15: Welcome to the live coverage of the U17 World Championships from Rome. Five Greco-Roman weight classes will be in action on day one. 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg wrestlers will take the mat in a short while.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 3 Results: Morikawa, Ozaki in final

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 6) -- The third day of the Zagreb Open will see Women's Wrestling in four weight classes and Greco-Roman in two weight classes. Women's Wrestling will be competed in 59kg, 62kg, 65kg and 68kg while GR will be in 63kg and 67kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | YAZDANI vs BUCHANAN FINAL

14:05: GR 67kg semifinals - Two top class matches! Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB), world champion at 63kg, beats Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN), 11-5. He began with an arm-throw for four and added a turn for a 6-0 lead. Sogabe managed to come back a few times but failed to take the lead. Eventually, Khalmakhanov threw Sogabe for two correct throws and win the semifinals.

He will face Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) who defeated another Japanese Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 11-3. Chkhikvadze scored multiple correct throws in his semifinals to complete the victory.

13:55: GR 63kg semifinals - Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) drops his semifinal against Erfan JARKANI (IRI) 3-1 as the Iranian enters the final. He will face a surprise finalist in CHETAN (IND) who stunned former world champion Meysam DALKHANI (IR), 14-5.

13:40: 68kg semifinals - A fall for Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the semifinals over Aleah NICKEL (CAN) after building a 5-0 lead. Morikawa will face her first tough battle against Nesrin BAS (TUR) who stunned Kennedy BLADES (USA) in the other semifinal. In a low scoring bout, Blades went up 1-0 after a activity clock point. In the second period, Bas got the same point and then a stepout to lead 2-1, a lead she defended till the end.

13:25: 62kg semifinals - European silver medalist Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) with a quick 10-0 victory over ANJLI (IND). Lindborg with a drag for four before rolling to a technical superiority. For the gold medal, Lindborg will face Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) who had a tough time beating Macey KILTY (USA), 5-2, in the other semifinal.

13:15: 59kg semifinals - Alexis JANIAK (USA), a former U20 world bronze medalist, gets the better of U20 world silver medalist Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) in the semifinals. Janiak with a takedown and turn to make it 4-0. She then counters Hurbanova on three different occasions and wins 10-0. A lost challenge from Azerbaijan makes it 11-0.

Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) stops the final from being all-USA as she beats Abigail NETTE (USA) 11-0 and secures a place in the final

12:55: Kennedy BLADES (USA) survives a scare against Mansi LATHER (IND) in the 68kg quarterfinal. Blades took a 5-1 in the first period but Lather scored a takedown to close the gap to 5-3. Blades challenged the decision and got it overturned on review. But Lather's pressure made Blades passive, though she defended well. Blades gave up a takedown but that was all as Blades wins and makes it to the semifinals.

12:28: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) puts a show and beats Valentin PETIC (MDA), 12-4, at 67kg. After leading 6-4, he hit a four-pointer and then a turn to finish the bout via technical superiority

12:20: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), U23 world champion, scores two turns from par terre and beats world champion Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) at 63kg. Sultangali was down 5-2 but scored an exposure to make it 5-4. However, he failed to score another point which would have given him the win.

12:15: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) continues her campaign with yet another 10-0 victory at 68kg. She beats Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) and moves into the semifinals.

12:10: Nesrin BAS (TUR) who got a walkover in her first bout, leg laces NISHA (IND) for a 10-0 win and make her place in the 68kg semifinal. Bas took a 4-0 lead and then decided to sit on it. But in the last minute, she got a takedown and two turns to win.

12:00: Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) is checked up Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND) but the Japanese star manages to hold on for a 4-2 victory and move into the quarterfinals at 67kg against Morten THORSEN (NOR). 

11:45: World champion at 65kg Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), now wrestling at 68kg, takes her own time but manages to beat Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 10-0, in her opening bout in Zagreb

11:35: Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) failed to score any points from par terre in the first period but he gets the takedown and moves to a 9-0 victory at 67kg against Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO).

11:30: World champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) has moved up to 67kg. And he has no trouble in winning his first bout via technical super superiority. He tries to score a throw when Mohamed ABDELREHIM (EGY) commits a leg foul. Back in par terre, Khalmakhanov completes the turn and wins 10-0

11:25: Kennedy BLADES (USA), world bronze medalist at 68kg, was flying against Karolina POK (HUN) having taken an 11-2 lead. However, she decided to not end the bout via technical superiority and kept her distance in the second period and won with the same scoreline.

11:20: NISHA (IND) stays in total control of her bout against Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE) and posts an 8-1 victory. While Soltanova did get on a few scrambles, Nisha managed to defend the positions and scored her eight points.

11:15: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), a world champion at 65kg in 2023 and Paris bronze medalist at 68kg, is back at 62kg. She begins with a 12-2 technical superiority win over Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)

11:10: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), world champion at 60kg, now wrestling 63kg gets going with an 8-2 victory over Adham ELSAYED (EGY).

11:00: Former age-group world champion Eniko ELEKES (HUN) gets a 10-0 technical superiority win over Marilyn GARCIA (USA) at 62kg. Excellent control throughout the bout for Elekes.

10:45: Early explosive Greco-Roman action here. Oybek SHARIBJONOV (UZB) gets the technical superiority win over Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) at 67kg in just over two minutes. Mohsen Nezhad, a U20 world champion, tries to front headlock Sharibjonov and score a throw but the Uzbek wrestler gets the control and sends Mohsen Nezhad to danger to get four points. Mohsen Nezhad tries to get another move but lands on his back and gives up two points. Sharibjonov scores a turn and wins 8-0. Iran challenges for the first action for four points but the challenge is lost.

10:30: Another big day of wrestling coming up in Zagreb. The 68kg weight class in Women's Wrestling has a few big names with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), Kennedy BLADES (USA), NISHA (IND), Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), Nesrin BAS (TUR) competing among others.