U20 World Championships day two semis set

Tuesday, August 16, 2022 - 07:22 By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 16) -- After the USA dominated day one of the U20 World Championships, it's time for the second day with five more freestyle weight classes in action in Sofia. Wrestlers from 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

14:21: The 92kg last four

Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) vs. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM) vs. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)

14:15: The semifinals pair at 86kg

Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR) vs. Bennett BERGE (USA)
Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) vs. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)

14:05: The 74kg semifinals for the evening session

Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) vs. Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Sagar JAGLAN (IND) vs. Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)

14:00: Here are the semifinals for 61kg

Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI) vs. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) vs. Mohit KUMAR (IND)

13:53: The 125kg semifinals are set

Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND) vs. Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Nicholas FELDMAN (USA)

13:43: Erfan ELAHI (IRI) up against '21 U17 world champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND) in the quarterfinals. Elahi with two quick stepouts to lead 2-0. But Jaglan with a takedown and lace to make it 8-2 at the break. Jaglan is cautioned for feeling and the score is cut to 8-4. But he scores a takedown and makes it 10-4. Huge win for Jaglan over returning world champion

13:40: Another Iran win. At 125kg, '21 U17 world champion Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) beats Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO) 14-4 to enter the semifinal. He will wrestle Nicholas FELDMAN (USA)

13:37: The 61kg quarterfinal between Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI) and Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) is living up to the expectation. Bouzakis had a 6-4 lead but Habibzadeh managed to get a takedown to lead 6-6 before another double leg shot made it 9-7. Both wrestlers continued to go but Habibzadeh managed to win 13-11

13:30: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) has done it! He leg laces Aref RANJBARI (IRI) to 10-0. A scream to confirm how important that was for him.

13:25: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) is having a field day in Sofia. He now wins 10-0 against Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB) to enter the semifinal at 74kg. He will wrestle the winner of Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO) vs. Tymur HUDYMA (UKR)

13:15: A 10-0 win for Firouzpour at 92kg and he will wrestle Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN) who had to battle Kutman TOLOBALDIEV (KGZ) before winning 15-12. Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) also comes from 5-2 down against AKASH (IND) to win 7-6

12:45: Jaxon SMITH (USA) with a big 8-1 win over Ion DEMIAN (MDA) at 92kg. Senior Asian champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) is wrestling Satoshi MIURA (JPN). He leads 3-0 at the break

12:35: Here are the quarterfinals matchups at 125kg:

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO)
Namoz ABDURASHIDOV (UZB) vs. Roger Rujie LI (CAN)
Mahendra GAIKWAD (IND) vs. Adil MISIRCI (TUR)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL) vs. Nicholas FELDMAN (USA)

12:25: Will Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) win the gold at 86kg this year? The returning silver medalist has reached the quarterfinals with an 11-0 win over Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE)

12:00: At 61kg, Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) trailed early but secures a fall over Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) while Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE) wins 10-0 over Mika LEHMKUEHL (RSA)

11:45: Erfan ELAHI (IRI) and Alexander FACUNDO (USA) coming up on Mat D. Elahi scores a stepout but Facundo answers with a takedown. Elahi gets the single leg and adds 2 more to lead 3-2 at the break. The two trade a takedown each in the second period as Elahi keeps the 5-4 lead with over a minute left. Facundo gets a double leg but the time runs out.

11:30: At 74kg, returning silver medalist from 70kg Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) begins with a 13-0 win over Ulukbek ASILBEKOV (KGZ). He will be the favorite to reach the final from one side of the bracket.

11:10: The first qualification bouts are at 125kg. Home wrestler Georgi IVANOV (BUL) starts the day with a win for Bulgaria. He beats Ryusei FUJITA (JPN) 8-2. In a 34-point slugfest, Merab SULEIMANASHVILI (GEO) comes back from 6-0 down to beat Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM) 13-11. On Mat B, Adil MISIRCI (TUR) beats Bekzat TAZHI (KAZ).

11:00: Welcome to the second day of the U20 World Championships. The repechage rounds will kick off the day before we move on to the qualification rounds of the five weight classes

2026 U23 European Championships

Perfect Russia Puts Five Wrestlers in Finals at U23 Euros

Tuesday, March 10, 2026 - 00:24 By Vinay Siwach

ZRENJANIN, Serbia (March 9) -- Five wrestlers took the mat for Russia on day one of the U23 European Championships in Zrenjanin, Serbia on Monday and all five reached the final.

The first continental championships of 2026 began with Freestyle competition in 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg at the Kristalna Dvorana Arena and Russia emerged as the best team.

Led by Takhir KHANIEV (RUS), fresh off his win against world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) in Tirana, Russian wrestlers dominated on their way to the finals, to be played Tuesday.

Khaniev, a U23 world silver medalist at 92kg, wrestled former U17 world champion Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinals and won 14-4, his second victory via technical superiority of the day.

Petriashvili scored the first point when he blocked a throw from Khaniev and got two points. He then scored exposure points during an exchange to lead 4-2. But Khaniev managed to push Petriashvili and eventually broke the Georgian to complete the victory.

He will face former U20 European champion Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) for the gold medal after the Ukrainian defeated Zafar ALIYEV (AZE), 6-2. Prymachenko never seemed in danger of losing the bout against Aliyev.

Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) will wrestle for the 79kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Khaniev's brother Ismail also made it to the final at 79kg after he outscored his opponents 30-0 in three bouts. He led 9-0 in his semifinal against Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL) before the Poland wrestler complained of a shoulder injury that forced him to abandon the semifinal.

For the gold medal, Khaniev will face Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) who secured a close 4-1 victory over Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO) in the other semifinal.

Defending champion at 70kg Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) booked a final against U20 world silver medalist Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) after the two dominated their way to the final.

Eltermirov scored a 11-0 victory over Marcel WAGIN (GER) while Gaidarli managed to beat Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR), 10-0, in the semifinals. Both are yet to give up a point in the tournament so far.

Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) squares off against Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM) in the 65kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In a battle of U20 world bronze medalists at 65kg, Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) defeated Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM), 9-6, and enter the final against Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS).

Magamedkhanov fell behind 2-0 early in the bout before he closed the gap to 4-3 at the break. In the second period, he scored from a front chest-wrap twice to lead 7-4. When he attempted it for the third time, Musikyan blocked it and scored two points to cut the lead to 7-6.

The Armenian was close to scoring a takedown which would have given him the lead but Magamedkhanov scrambled out of the hold and countered Musikyan for a takedown in the final 10 seconds to win 9-6.

Kizinov was in more control of his semifinal against Viktor BOROHAN (UKR), blanking the Ukrainian 6-0. He scored a point when Borohan was put on the activity clock before a stepout made his lead 2-0. A takedown and turn made it 6-0 before the break. No points were scored in the second period as the Russian entered the final.

Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) will wrestle for the 57kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 57kg, former U17 world champion Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) will face Aiandai ONDAR (RUS) for the gold medal.

Baghirov, with his stealthy defense, kept Nikoloz BOTCHRISHVILI (GEO) at a distance and led 3-1 with 15 seconds to go. But the Georgian managed to hit a single-leg takedown and dump him outside the zone. However, it was scored only one point for Botchrishvili.

Georgia challenged the call but lost it to add one more point to Baghirov's score. A late takedown sealed his 6-2 victory.

Ondar took 56 seconds to beat Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (BLR), 10-0, using a trap-arm gut.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) vs. Aiandai ONDAR (RUS)

SF 1: Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) df. Nikoloz BOTCHORISHVILI (GEO), 6-2
SF 2: Aiandai ONDAR (RUS) df. Artsiom PAULIUCHENKA (BLR), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) vs. Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS)

SF 1: Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (BLR) df. Arman MUSIKYAN (ARM), 9-6
SF 2: Dzhambulat KIZINOV (RUS) df. Viktor BOROHAN (UKR), 6-0

70kg
GOLD: Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) vs. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA)

SF 1: Magomed ELTEMIROV (RUS) df. Marcel WAGIN (GER), 11-0
SF 2: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) df. Mykyta SARIIEV (UKR), 10-0

79kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) vs. Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Ismail KHANIEV (RUS) df. Mateusz PEDZICKI (POL), via inj. def. (9-0)
SF 2: Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) df. Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO), 4-1

97kg
GOLD: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) vs. Takhir KHANIEV (RUS)

SF 1: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) df. Zafar ALIYEV (AZE), 6-2
SF 2: Takhir KHANIEV (RUS) df. Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO), 14-4

U20 World Championships day two semis set

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Perfect Russia Puts Five Wrestlers in Finals at U23 Euros