#WrestleIstanbul

U17 Worlds: Iran returns to top despite Japan's best show

Sunday, August 6, 2023 - 18:58 By Gaurav Bhatt

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ISTANBUL (August 6) -- Iran is finally back where it belongs. After two successive non-podium finishes in Freestyle at U17 World Championships, the country bounced back in style and clinched the team title with 156 points, a decisive 30-point lead over second-place United States.

Impressive performances led Iran to claim a total of six medals, distributed as two golds, two silvers, and two bronzes. Their non-medalist wrestlers too played a crucial role, with two wrestlers finishing fifth (earning 10 points each) and two others finishing seventh (gathering 8 points each).

The U.S. also won six medals -- 3 golds and 3 bronzes -- and took second place with 126 points. Their tally took a hit as the team failed to score any points in three weight categories (51kg, 60kg, and 110kg).

Japan took third at 106 points with two gold medals and one silver. Five other wrestlers added 36 points to help Japan finish on the podium.

The final day of the tournament in Istanbul began with Ahora KHATERI (IRI) defeating Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM) in the 45kg category to fetch Iran its second gold of the competition. 

It was followed by Japan's Yamato OGAWA (JPN) beating ROHIT (IND) to become the nation's first U17 world champion in freestyle since 2017 before Akito MAEHARA (JPN) made it double. The 60kg competitor defeated Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI) in the first instance of Japan winning multiple gold medals in Freestyle at the U17 Worlds.

Khateri, the reigning Asian champion, remains in a league of his own. In Kyrgyzstan, he prevailed with 33 points, giving up no points. He continued where he left off, dominating his way to the world title in Istanbul.

On Sunday, Buniatyan was no match for the crafty Khateri, who secured a leg lace and rolled the Armenian out of bounds to open the scoring. The Iranian showed good timing, taking a 6-0 lead into the break and waiting for his moment in the second period. Khateri secured wrist control, ducked under and grabbed the waistlock to score again.

Akita MAEHARA (JPN)Akita MAEHARA (JPN) pulled off a hard-fought 4-1 win against Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI) in the 60kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's hopes of winning the second gold on Sunday, however, were dashed by Maehara. Trailing 1-1 on criteria, the Japanese won a scramble and scored with 10 seconds on the clock to secure a 4-1 victory.

The bout started with both competitors opting for caution before the U17 Asian Championships silver medalist Pirdayeh was put on the shot clock. Maehara took the lead into the break but was later penalized for passivity in the second period. Desperate, he got the underhooks in place and pushed Pirdayeh toward the zone. Pirdayeh dropped on his knees to avoid a stepout but Maehara circled and scored a go-behind.

Iran challenged the call asking for a stepout since Maehara had gone out but on review, it was clear that Maehara had initiated the move inside and stayed on the mat, despite both knees going out, to finish the move. The lost challenge made the score 4-1.

Yamato OGAWA (JPN)Yamato OGAWA (JPN) survived a scare against ROHIT (IND) before winning the 51kg gold 9-8. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Earlier, Ogawa ended Japan's six-year wait for gold at the U17 level with a tight finish against Asian silver medalist Rohit. 

Ogawa's run to gold featured wins over continental heavyweights as the Japanese beat U17 European silver medalist Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM) 7-1, U17 Pan-Am silver medalist Yandel MORALES (PUR) 10-0, and Asian bronze medalist Amirmohammad NAVAZI (IRI) 4-1. 

It was a bout of two halves on Sunday. A slow start saw Rohit give up a point for passivity. The Indian started the second period with intent but paid the price for haste. Ogawa turned a missed takedown attempt into a shoot of his own, launching a double-leg for four. Rohit got two points as well but Ogawa added a leg-lace to lead 7-2. Ogawa won another counter to make it 9-2. 

With a late rally, Rohit pushed Ogawa out of bounds along with a point for fleeing to make it 9-4. He added four points for a takedown and roll in the final three seconds but the clock expired as he was turning Ogawa for the second time. Ogawa secured the gold medal at 9-8.

Ladrion LOCKETT (USA)Ladrion LOCKETT (USA) celebrates after becoming the 71kg U17 world champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Golden Lockett

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) won the match-up against Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI) to win the 71kg gold. The American — who hadn't surrendered a point in the competition so far, amassing 38 points — finally gave up one in the 4-1 win over the Iranian. 

The Oklahoma native has spoken about the state's signature wrestling style before.

“Oklahoma State is always known for elbows, duckunders and things like that," Lockett had told Ocolly.com. "I wanted to have an Oklahoma State style."

That style helped him run roughshod throughout the event. A highlight was his performance in the semifinal against 2021 U17 Asian silver medalist NARENDER (IND). The technical fall win saw Lockett get a spin behind takedown and a trapped arm gut wrench, turning the Indian to finish the bout in the first period.

But on Sunday, after he was put on the shot clock, Lockett had to adapt to the reigning U17 Asian champion's game.

"I think scoring in the first 30 seconds, opening a guy up is really difficult," Lockett said. "But once you can break them and make them tired, it's all fun and games from there."

In the second period, Lockett drove into Hosseini to secure a clutch takedown to pick up a 2-1 lead. After that, it was back to Oklahoma style as the American spun behind Hosseini to pick up two more points, eventually securing the triumph.

"I wrestle a lot when I'm tired," he said. "The training camp of months upon months. Hard work and dedication. He was super tired. I knew he was going to be like that. He did that a lot in the other matches, taking a long time to get to the center, and taking breaks. I knew if I push him hard and make him keep wrestling, he will gas out."

Lockett was buoyed by compatriots Paul KENNY (USA) and Marcus BLAZE's (USA) gold medal wins on Saturday -- "Getting to feel the belt, win the belt," he grinned — and now has one of his own. However, he already has a new target in place. 

"2032 Olympic champion, 86kilos baby!"

Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO), blue, scored a technical superiority win over Eyyup CENTIN (TUR) in the 92kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 92kg, Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO) silenced the home crowd with a superiority win over Eyyup CETIN (TUR) to take the gold. The two met in the U17 European Championships final as well. Cetin will at least be relieved that he did not get pinned like in Tirana.

The final in Istanbul began with Cetin being warned for passivity. He went for a single-leg but Kurashvili pulled off a stunning move by throwing him over for four points. Kurashvili scored a stepout at the stroke of the break to lead 6-0.

 Perhaps feeling the pressure of a loud home crowd, Centin attempted a loose double-leg attack and Kurashvili threw him off for another four points, claiming the world title 10-0.

 

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RESULTS

45kg
GOLD: Ahora KHATERI (IRI) df. Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM), 11-0

BRONZE: Ignacio VILLASENOR (USA) df. Agashirin AGASHERINOV (AIN), 3-2
BRONZE: Ebubekir GUR (TUR) df. Nurmukhamed TURDALY (KAZ), via fall (4-0)

51kg
GOLD: Yamato OGAWA (JPN) df. ROHIT (IND), 9-8

BRONZE: Usman INDIRBAEV (AIN) df. Sadraddin HASANOV (AZE), via fall (10-2)
BRONZE: Sasha PETROSYAN (ARM) df. Amirmohammad NAVAZI (IRI), 2-1

60kg
GOLD: Akito MAEHARA (JPN) df. Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI), 4-1

BRONZE: Iasin BERSANUKAEV (AIN) df. Zandanbat BATSAIKHAN (MGL), 7-5
BRONZE: Jamal ABBASOV (AZE) df. Yandro SOTO (PUR), 6-0

71kg
GOLD: Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) df. Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI), 4-1

BRONZE:  Islam KAZHAROV (AIN) df. Alp BEGENJOV (TKM), 5-1
BRONZE: Nurdaulet SEILBEKOV (KAZ) df. NARENDER (IND), 1-1

92kg
GOLD: Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO) df. Eyyup CETIN (TUR), 11-0

BRONZE: Toohid NOORY (IRI) df. Genki HOKI (JPN), 12-2
BRONZE: Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ) df. VINAY (IND), 12-1

#WrestleBratislava

European history for Serbia; Matcharashvili makes 3rd straight final

Monday, April 7, 2025 - 17:44 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 7) -- Paris silver medalist and defending 97kg champion Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) posted his photo on Instagram last week and captioned it: "I declare the hunting season open."

Two weeks later, Matcharashvili is doing exactly that. He marked the start of the season at 97kg by making it to his third European Championships final in Bratislava.

The first day of the European Championships, which got underway at the X-Bionic Sphere on Monday, turned out to be historic for Serbia as it got its first-ever Freestyle finalist at the European Championships and France ended its drought of missing out on the finals.

Matcharashvili, who participated in the Zagreb Open at 125kg, returned to his preferred 97kg and spent only 4 minutes and 45 seconds in his two bouts in Bratislava to make the final.

In the semifinal, Richard VEGH (HUN) failed to challenge Matcharashvili who scored a takedown and four gut-wrenches to post 10-0 technical superiority in just a minute and 24 seconds.

Matcharashvili has never lost at the European Championships, winning two back-to-back golds in 2023 and 2024. He is a step closer to a third straight gold medal and will take on Magomed KURBANOV (UWW) for it.

Kurbanov, a former European champion at 92kg, had to tougher path to the final. He scored a 5-2 win over Radu LEFTER (MDA) in the other semifinal. He was ahead 3-0 but got surprised by a Lefter front headlock exposure for two. However, Kurbanov recovered and scored a match-winning takedown to win and book a spot in the final.

Kurbanov was a late replacement for Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) at 97kg after Sadulaev failed to travel to Bratislava with the team

Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) became the first Serbian Freestyle wrestler to enter final of European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

History for Serbia

Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) created history for Serbia when he reached the 57kg final, becoming the first Freestyle wrestler from the country to make it to the final.

The 2020 European champion for Russia, Tuskaev switched to Serbia in 2024 and returned to the final after five years. He will face Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) for the gold medal bout at 57kg.

In the semifinal, Tuskaev defeated Aryian TIUTRIN (UWW), 3-1, after the two were put on 30-second activity clocks. Tuskaev scored a stepout in addition to the activity clock point to take the lead in the final minute of the bout. Tiutrin tried to get the one point for a criteria win but failed to break Tuskaev's defense.

Mongush blanked Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) 5-0 in the other semifinal which he controlled for full six minutes. He got on the scoreboard when Bazarganov as cautioned for one point for hitting him with open hands.

Bazarganov was on activity clock when he was cautioned and as the clock expired, Mongush led 2-0. Mongush added two stepouts to make it 4-0 at the break before another activity lock point in the second period was enough for a 5-0 win for Mongush.

Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) tries to defend an attack from Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

France also had something to rejoice as two wrestlers reached the finals, ending a four-year drought of a finalist in Freestyle. Young star Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and veteran Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) booked finals spot for France at 70kg and 79kg respectively, putting the nation in the finals for the first time since 2021.

However, their path to gold will be tricky.

Arsamerzouev will have the repeat of the European U23 Championships from 2024 and face two-time world U23 champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) for the 65kg gold medal. Ibragimov won that bout 6-2 for the gold medal.

The French wrestler barely made it to the final as Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) had him in a tangle in the final 10 seconds and scored an exposure. However, Arsamerzouev also got two points for exposure to win 4-3.

Rahimzada had fallen behind 2-1 earlier when challenged for a stepout but lost the challenge, denying him any other opportunity to challenge in the match.

Ibragimov rolled into the 65kg final on his senior European Championships debut with a stunning 11-0 win over Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinal. He led 1-0 at the break for Otinashvili's passivity but second period saw Ibragimov break into action as he defended a leg attack and countered with a takedown. He scored two turns using gut-wrench and leg lace to lead 7-0. A go-behind takedown put him 9-0 ahead before an easy turn got him into the final 11-0.

While this was a dominant win, Ibragimov pulled off an incredible comeback against former European champion Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) in the quarterfinal, beating him 3-2. Tevanyan led 2-1 with 90 seconds remaining on the clock but Ibragimov hit a collar-tie snap to score a takedown and take a 3-2 lead which he defended till the end.

Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) defeated Ion MARCU (MDA) 7-0 in the 79kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For Khadjiev, a two-time silver medalist, world 79kg champion Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) stands between him and the gold medal which Khadjiev lost in 2018 and 2019 after losing in two straight finals.

The 30-year-old broke Ion MARCU (MDA) down with his attacking style and claimed a 7-0 victory in the semifinal. Khadjiev had two stepouts, an activity clock point and two takedowns in his win.

"It was really tough," Khadjiev said. "Three years ago I went to Oklahoma State [University] to train and even young wrestlers were beating easily. But I didn’t give up. I wanted to win something."

While there have been many instances of Khadjiev losing in the final seconds earlier in his career, the 2025 season has begun on a positive note for the French.

He won the Zagreb Open in January and is now a win away from his first gold medal at the European Championships. Khadjiev put the success on wrestling more 'professionally.'

"I can say that now my wrestling in more mature," he said. "I don’t risk it or do something aimlessly. I even watch the matches of my opponents, try to analyze them. I never did that before. I would say I wrestle more professionally now."

Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) defends an attack from Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP) in the 79kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

If he watched Usmanov's wrestling videos from Monday, Khadjiev may think he has a chance. Usmanov was a shadow of himself from the 2023 World Championships. Though he reached the final, Usmanov never got going, winning the final 7-0 against Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP) with his counter wrestling.

In the quarterfinal, Usmanov barely managed to sneak through against former European champion Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR). Usmanov was trailing 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers failed to score in the activity periods. In the final minute of the bout, Mykhailov was put on the activity clock for the second time. He failed to score, giving Usmanov a 2-1 lead which he defended for the final 28 seconds and secured the win.

European Championships debutant David BAEV (UWW), wrestling internationally for the first time since winning the world gold in 2019, booked spot in the 70kg final with a cautious 3-0 win over Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the semifinal.

In his opening bout, he defeated world 65kg champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) rather easily with a score of 10-0.

Baev will take on defending champion Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) for the gold medal after the Armenian managed to hang on for a 3-1 win over Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO).

Andreasyan scored takedown and got a point for Kemertelidze's passivity which took him to his third European final.

Photo

RESULTS

Freestyle Semifinals

57kg
GOLD: Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) vs. Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW)

SF 1: Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 5-0
SF 2: Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) df. Aryian TIUTRIN (UWW), 3-1

65kg
GOLD: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) vs. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)

SF 1: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE), 4-3
SF 2: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 11-0

70kg
GOLD: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) vs. David BAEV (UWW)

SF 1: David BAEV (UWW) df. Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), 3-0
SF 2: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 3-1

79kg
GOLD: Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) vs. Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)

SF 1: Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) df. Ion MARCU (MDA), 7-0
SF 2: Akhmed USMANOV (UWW) df. Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP), 7-0

97kg
GOLD: Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) vs. Magomed KURBANOV (UWW)

SF 1: Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) df. Richard VEGH (HUN), 10-0
SF 2: Magomed KURBANOV (UWW) df. Radu LEFTER (MDA), 5-2