#WrestleAmman

U20 World Championships Greco semis set

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 18) -- The attention turns to Greco-Roman with five weight classes -- 55kg, 63kg, 77kg, 87kg and 130kg -- in action in Amman. The evening session will also see the women's wrestling world champions crowned.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Here are the semifinals for the Greco-Roman evening session

55kg
Nuristan SUIORKULOV (KGZ) vs. Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) vs. Farid SADIKHLI (AZE)

63kg
Zhantoro MIRZALIEV (KGZ) vs. Dinislam SAGITZHAN (KAZ)
Komei SAWADA (JPN) vs. Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI)

77kg
Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) vs. Tornike MIKELADZE (GEO)
Erlan MARS UULU (KGZ) vs. Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)

87kg
Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI) vs. Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) vs. Tourpal MAGAMADOV (FRA)

130kg
Wenhao JIANG (CHN) vs. Achilleas CHRYSIDIS (GRE)
Fekry EISSA (EGY) vs. Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) 

14:30: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) blanks Talip CIFTCI (TUR) 8-0 in the 130kg quarterfinals. He won a silver medal last year. But so far, he has looked unstoppable in Amman

14:15: No stopping Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) as he moves into the semifinals with another technical superiority win, this time over Mihael LUKAC (CRO). Par terre domination peaks

13:50: Returning bronze medalist at 130kg Aden ATTAO (USA) with a thrilling 8-7 win over former U20 European champion Koppany LASZLO (HUN). Attao was trailing 7-5 but scored a takedown against a tiring Laszlo which the Hungary team challenged but lost.

13:35: Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM) moves into the quarterfinals at 63kg with a resounding 12-2 win over Matej REBIC (CRO). At 130kg, returning silver medalist Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) gets an 8-0 shutout against Aramayis HARUTYUNYAN (ARM).

13:15: Absolute domination from Iran so far in Greco-Roman. All three wrestlers who have wrestled so far have started with a win. Two got byes to pre-quarters. Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) coming up now

12:50: Clutch from Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) as he gets a takedown in the final 15 seconds over returning silver medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) and then throws him for four to get a 6-5 win. Mihai is devasted here.

12:30: Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM) and Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) remain on a collision course as both win their respective pre-quarterfinals. Nazaryan won over Nurassyl AMANALY (KAZ) while Bolkvadze beat Tomislav BRKAN (CRO). In the quarterfinals, Nazaryan has David ANDREASIAN (AIN) and Bolkvadze faces Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)

12:15: Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI) gets an 8-0 win over Ivaylo IVANOV (BUL) to move into the 87kg quarterfinals. He will now take on Wyatt VOELKER (USA) who defeated Mohit KHOKHAR (IND).

12:00: The crowd cannot stop cheering for Suhib ALHASANAT (JOR) as he pins Rati KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO)! Alhasant was put in par terre but as Khozrevanidze tried a back throw, he fell on his back and Alhasant pinned him. Georgia called for a leg foul but it was assessed clean on review. The results can have huge complications for Georgia in the team title race

11:53: One for the vault that! U20 European champion Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM) survives a comeback from Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) to win 7-7 at 63kg. From par terre in the first period, Hoveyan scored exposure and a four-pointer while Mustafayev managed only two turns and two stepouts, giving Hoveyan the bigger technique advantage and the win. Hoveyan had defeated Mustafayev 8-5 in the quarterfinals at U20 Euros 

11:45: Emre MUTLU (TUR), who missed out on a medal last year, wins 9-4 against Maxim SARMANOV (MDA) at 55kg. Mutlu is a former U23 European champion and a senior European bronze medalist

11:32: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) goes big from par terre and finishes his opening bout against  Lukas BENZING (GER) at 55kg via technical superiority. On Mat B, Alisher GANIEV (UZB) wins 9-0 over Alibek AMIROV (AIN)

11:20: Former U17 world champion and returning silver medalist from 72kg Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) has opened his campaign with a 4-0 win over Abdulmasih ABDULMASIH (AIN) at 77kg.

10:45: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) goes big and high and finishes the bout 10-0 against Kareem ELDESOUKY (EGY) at 87kg. Unparalleled athleticism from the wrestler

10:35: Returning world champion Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM) gets a first-period technical superiority win over Daisei ISOE (JPN) at 87kg. He will have silver medalist Abofazl CHOUBANI (IRI) and Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) as his biggest rivals.

10:00: Welcome to day five of the U20 World Championships in Amman. Greco-Roman will be in action as we move toward the final three days of the tournament.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2025 Day 1 Semifinals Set

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The first Ranking Series of 2025 is here. The Zagreb Open will see wrestling over four days with Freestyle starting things in 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 74kg and 86kg weight classes.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | 2025 SEASON PREVIEW

13:35: The final semifinals of the session at 86kg. Zahid VALENCIA (USA) gets the better of Nathan JACKSON (USA) 12-2 and advance to the final. He will face Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) who blanked Trent HIDLAY (USA) 5-0.

13:25: David CARR (USA) rolls to a 12-2 win over Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN) 12-2 and will face Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) who got the better of Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO).

13:15: Sina KHALILI (IRI) into the Zagreb Open final at 70kg as James GREEN (USA) pulls out of the semifinals citing an injury. He will face Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) who defeated Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) 10-5.

13:05: Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) gets his gut wrench going against Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) to win 14-4 at 65kg. He will face Joseph MC KENNA (USA) who defeated Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)

13:00: We just published a tribute to Mariya STADNIK (AZE) who retired on Monday after 22 years! Legend. Read it here.

12:50: The 61kg final is set and it's all-Iranian. Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) and Ibrahim KHARI (IRI) won their respective semifinals to advance. The third Iranian in the weight class, Reza MOMENI (IRI) also has a chance to win a bronze medal as he lost the semifinals to Khari.

12:40: Spencer LEE (USA) with a 6-4 win over Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX). He led 6-0 before allowing Young to score a stepout and a takedown but that was all. He will wrestle Bazarganov in the 57kg final.

12:35: Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) gives a reality check of senior level wrestling to Ahora KHATERI (IRI). The Azerbaijan wrestlers rolls to a 10-0 technical superiority win over the Iranian to move to the 57kg final. 

12:30: Semifinals of the day begin now. We have 57kg wrestlers coming on the mat now.

12:22: European champion and world medalist Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) hangs on a for a 5-0 win over Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE). He will wrestle in the semifinals at 74kg. 

12:12: Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN), who recently defeated Paris medalist Chermen VALIEV (ALB) in the Bundesliga, beats U20 world champion Ali REZAEI (IRI) 6-1 at 74kg. Kuramagomedov was on point in that bout.

12:00: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) gave up a couple of step outs against Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) but got the job done with a 5-2 win at 86kg to move into the semifinals.

11:45: Two solid bouts on Mat C. Joseph MC KENNA (USA) used a good four-pointer throw and completed a 7-4 win over Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE). In the next bout, Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) was leading Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO) 7-0 in the first period but struggled with the pace in the second as Otinashvili came back and made the score 13-9. As Khorramdel tried a desperate four-pointer, Otinashvili pinned him

11:35: James GREEN (USA), who is back after a year and a half of retirement, wins a close one over compatriot Alec PANTELO (USA) 4-3 at 70kg. He marked his international return at the 2024 World Championships at 70kg and finished 11th.

11:25: Paris silver medalist Spencer LEE (USA) comes out and gets a 10-0 win over Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) in two minutes. He moves into the semifinals at 

11:10: Former U17 world champion and Iran's big bet at 57kg Ahora KHATERI (IRI) comes out off a hole! He was trailing 7-2 against Brandon COURTNEY (USA) with less than 30 seconds remaining but mounts a comeback and wins 7-7

11:05: Two-time Olympian and world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) with a little awkward start to the season. Up against Jarrett JACQUES (USA) in the opening round at 70kg, Muszukajev drops the bout 3-2. He lacked his speed and the conditioning is missing as well. Great win for Jacques.

10:55: Kamil KERYMOV (UKR) gave a tough fight to Paris Olympian Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) at 57kg but RBY, popularly known as in the USA circuit, wins 9-6. He is on a potential clash with Spencer LEE (USA) in the semifinals

10:45: Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) gets his typical defensive style out and hangs on for a controlled 4-0 win over Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO) at 57kg.

10:30: Welcome to day one of the Zagreb Open! This is the first of the four Ranking Series events which will award points to the wrestlers and help in the seeding for the World Championships in September which incidentally will be held in the same Arena Zagreb.