#WrestleSofia

U20 World Championships Day 1 semis set

Monday, August 15, 2022 - 07:25 By Vinay Siwach

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SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 15) -- The U20 World Championships return to Bulgaria with the Arena Armeec Sports Hall hosting it in Sofia. The tournament begins with freestyle and five weight classes will be in action. Wrestlers from 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg will be on the mat.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

14:00: Here are the semifinals for the evening session

57kg
Heorhii KAZANZHY (UKR) vs. Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Jore VOLK (USA) vs. Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)

65kg
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. SUJEET (IND)
Robert CORNELLA (USA) vs. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)

70kg
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) vs. Mulaym YADAV (IND)
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) vs. Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)

79kg
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ) vs. Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO) vs. Sobhan Hooshang YARI (IRI)

97kg
Rifat GIDAK (TUR) vs. Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Luka KHUTCHUA (GEO) vs. Benjamin KUETER (USA) 

13:40:  Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) with another come-from-behind win for the USA. He trailed Hossein AGHAEI (IRI) in the 70kg quarterfinal but completely broke the Iranian and won the bout 9-7. He will now wrestle Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) in the semifinals as Papikyan beat Harun SOYLER (TUR) 8-2

13:30: Jore VOLK (USA) continues his winning run and has reached the semifinal at 57kg with an 8-2 win over Azizbek NAIMOV (UZB). In the other quarterfinals, U20 Asian champion Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) scores a late takedown and lace to beat Abhishek DHAKA (IND), 5-1 

13:16: Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) was leading 5-2 with 15 seconds left when Robert CORNELLA (USA) hits a four-pointer and lead 6-5 and wins the quarterfinal at 65kg. The USA team likes it. Huge win for Cornella who will now face U17 world champion Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB).

In the other semifinal, U20 Asian champion SUJEET (IND) beats 11-0 Ayub MUSAEV (BEL). He sets up the semifinal against returning silver Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) 

13:10: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) looks strong at 97kg. He wins via technical superiority over Zelimkhan MUSSIKHANOV (KAZ). Benjamin KUETER (USA) beats NIRAJ (IND) 8-1 to enter the semifinals as well

12:57: At 79kg, Sobhan YARI (IRI) controls most of the bout against Braydew THOMPSON (USA) and wins 6-1. He will wrestle Bekir OVEC (TUR) in the quarterfinal as the Turkey wrestler beat Johannes HATTINGH (RSA) 10-0

12:53: We have another quarterfinalist at 57kg as Abhishek DHAKA (IND) beats Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) 11-3. On Mat A, Tolga OZBEK (TUR) pins Harutyun HOVHANNISYAN (ARM) to move on as well

12:40: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) and Jore VOLK (USA) wrestling for a spot in the 57kg quarterinal. Volf with exposure and he gets two points. Javan with a reversal and roll to lead 3-2 but Volk also gets a reversal. In the second period, Volk takes the lead 5-3 but Javan scores a takedown with 36 seconds left. He tries to defend the criteria lead but Volk has a sequence where he got Javan's one knee on the mat. He wins 7-7

12:03: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) giving France a good start at 57kg. He rolls over Ivaylo TISOV (BUL) 10-0 and into the pre-quarterfinals.

11:45: A top bout at 57kg on Mat C. Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) wrestling U20 European champion Simone PIRODDU (ITA). Piroddu is called passive and Javan scores a takedown in the activity period to lead 3-0 at the break. Another takedown in the second period as Javan wins 5-0 

11:35: Here are the results from the qualification round of 65kg

Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) df. Abderrahmane BENAISSA (ALG), via fall
Robert CORNELLA (USA) df. Olzhas OLZHAKANOV (KAZ), 8-0
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Myrza ZHYRGALBEK UULU (KGZ), 10-2
SUJEET (IND) df. Jonnathan PEREZ (GUA), via fall 

11:14: A solid start for the USA. Benjamin KUETER (USA) with a technical superiority win over Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA). That bout is followed by U20 Asian champion Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) beating Toyoki HAMADA (JPN) 11-0. He will face NIRAJ (IND) who got past Joobin PARK (KOR) 11-0

11:00: Welcome to the first morning of the U20 World Championships in Sofia. Some young stars in action with Iran, the USA, India, Azerbaijan bringing strong teams to the competition

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 2 Highlights: Yazdani in 97kg final

Thursday, February 5, 2026 - 09:21 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The Ranking Series event, Zagreb Open, enters day two and it will be Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) making his 97kg debut for Iran. The Olympic champion at 74kg in 2016, and two-time Olympic silver medalist at 86kg, is chasing that second gold, this time at 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

13:45: 55kg WW semifinals - World silver medalist Verbina EKATERINA (UWW) with a 1-1 victory over Nagisa HARADA (JPN) in the semifinals. She got an activity point in the second period to keep the criteria lead. Ekaterina will face Karla GODINEZ (CAN) in the final after the Canadian defeated Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA), 2-1, in another low scoring semifinal.

13:30: 50kg WW semifinals - Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) with a controlled 8-2 win over Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (UWW) at 50kg. She will wrestle NEELAM (IND) for the gold medal. Neelam defeated MUSKAN (IND), 7-4, in an all-Indian semifinal

13:20: 125kg semifinals - A fall for Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) over Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) in just over two minutes as he reaches the final at 125kg. He will face Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) in the final after the U.S. wrestler scored an 11-1 win over Robert BARAN (POL).

13:10: 97kg semifinals - Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) with a quick fall over Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) in the first semifinal. Now he earns himself a chance to wrestle against Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) after Iranian managed another technical superiority win. While it's rare on Yazdani, Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) scored two takedowns on Yazdani but failed to keep the pressure before losing 14-4

12:55: 92kg semifinals - Mobin AZIMI (IRI) gets a dominant 11-0 win over Dustin PLOTT (USA) as he used a double-leg for four to finish. He earns a chance to avenge his 5-5 loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) in the final after the American scored another come-from-behind victory. He defeated Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA), 3-3, to setup the gold medal bout against Azimi

12:40: 79kg semifinals - Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) is back in the Ranking Series final with a 10-1 victory over Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO). He looked in complete control of the bout. Khadjiev will face Dean HAMITI (USA) for the gold medal after he defeated Evan WICK (USA), 6-5, in a thrilling semifinal

12:15: Trent HIDLAY (USA) once again shows how to come back and win a bout. Down 6-0 against Abofazl RAHMANI (IRI), he scores a four-pointer and keeps the pressure on the Iranian to win 11-9 and make his spot in the semifinal at 92kg.

11:45: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) gives up a takedown against Richard VEGH (HUN) but that is the only slip in an otherwise dominant bout at 97kg. Two four point throws for Yazdani as he advances to the semifinals.

11:35: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) with a big four-pointer in her 5-0 win against Beatrice FERENT (ROU) at 55kg. The world silver medalist is the favorite to win gold here.

11:25: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) bounces back from his loss to Trent HIDLAY (USA) and beats Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) in his second bout at 92kg round robin. Azimi managed to score a takedown with less than 30 second left to beat Rahmani 4-3.

11:10: Two quick results at women's 50kg. Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) beats Kendra RYAN (USA) 12-1 at 50kg before NEELAM (IND) also wins via technical superiority, 10-0, against Agata GOLUCHOWSKA (POL). 

11:00: 92kg world champion Trent HIDLAY (USA) makes a comeback from 5-0 down to beat Mobin AZIMI (IRI) 5-5 in the group stage bout. Hidlay scored a takedown in the second period before adding two stepouts. Iran challenged the second one but lost which gave the criteria lead to Hidlay

10:50: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) doesn't the trademark jump before entering the mat but his bout against Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) is a typical Yazdani bout. He uses the underhook to start scoring and then rallies to score takedowns at will before turning Suleimanishvili and winning his bout 11-0

10:45: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) wrestled well but it is Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI (UWW) who manages to win 6-4 at 97kg and win the opening bout.

10:30: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will be on Mat B but before that, a few big results in Zagreb. Richard VEGH (HUN) manages to hang on for a 3-0 victory over Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) at 97kg.