#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 8) -- Iran won two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal on the final day of the U20 World Championships, but it failed to stop the United States from winning the team title. The U.S. collected the top rank in the team race with 175 points, 15 better than Iran, which finished second. Japan finished third with 90 points.

This was the first time since 2017 that the U.S. won the team title and stopped Iran from completing a hat trick of top-place finishes. All 10 U.S. wrestlers competed for a medal and nine won a medal.

The U.S. fielded a very young team, with five wrestlers who were only 18 years old and eight wrestlers who could wrestle at the U20 level again next year.

"Everyone put themselves in the position to get on the podium and win the best medal they could," J'den COX, coach of Team USA, said. "Everyone is going to get better but overall it was great. They are the best in the world. I get it that individually in some cases we didn't get where we wanted to go but as a whole, we wrestled an amazing tournament."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) scores a takedown against Benjamin KUETER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

However, the final day of the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain did not go as planned for the U.S. It had five wrestlers on the mat and only one won his match. Marcus BLAZE (USA) won a bronze medal over Tolga OZBEK (TUR).

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), Joshua BARR (USA) and Benjamin KUETER (USA) all dropped their finals while Connor MIRASOLA (USA) lost his bronze medal match.

Kueter, a U20 world champion at 97kg in 2022, was wrestling at 125kg and reached the final. However, he ran into a mountain named Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) who already has a U23 world gold, two U20 world golds, and a U17 world gold.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) gestures towards the crowd after winning the 125kg final in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Championships / Jake Kirkman)

Masoumi added a third U20 world gold medal to his name after he won the 125kg final 4-2 over Kueter and is now a five-time age-group world champion. A naturally aggressive wrestler, Masoumi dropped that approach and was happy to win his matches by sitting on the lead.

He did the same against Kueter in the final as he scored a takedown, a point for Kueter's passivity and a stepout. As he defended his 4-0 lead, Kueter managed to trip him in the final 30 seconds to score a takedown for two points.

"My opponent in the final is a well-known wrestler as he won the World Championships Sofia, Bulgaria, two years ago," Masoumi said. "He had taken a year off from wrestling but had improved a lot since then. He’s a skilled and accomplished wrestler. Thank God I was able to use my knowledge of him to wrestle smartly and win 4-2"

Kueter did trouble Masoumi in the final but Masoumi, despite wrestling with a heavily tapped left hand, never dropped his guard. Masoumi said he had broken his wrist before coming to Spain so he was careful with his attacks.

While he won his four bouts outscoring his opponents 32-3, Masoumi had only one technical superiority win. In 2022, when he won both the U20 and U23 world titles, Masoumi won all but one of his matches via superiority.

"I had an injury in my hand and it was broken, so I tried to be careful with it," he said. "Otherwise, I’m always aggressive and a fighter."

He will be in Tirana, Albania in a month's time to wrestle at the U23 World Championships. He won the gold medal in 2022 but skipped the 2023 edition. But Masoumi said his main focus is to make the senior team. 

"In the match against Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in Croatia, I lost," he said of his 5-0 loss to Olympic silver medalist Zare at the Ranking Series in Zagreb in January. "Some might say that Amir Reza Masoumi has settled, but no, I’m not satisfied at all. I’m preparing myself for the World Championships in Zagreb, aiming for the national team selection."

Ali REZAEI (IRI)Ali REZAEI (IRI) scores the match-winning takedown against Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ali REZAEI (IRI) was the second gold medal for the day for Iran after he defeated 2023 U17 world champion Lockett 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling 74kg final. Rezaei is the first U20 world champion from Iran at 74kg in 15 years.

Lockett was leading the final 3-1 after scoring a takedown in the second period and Rezaei, who won a silver medal last year, needed at least a takedown to win.

It came in the fifth minute of the bout when Lockett missed a sweep single and Rezaei showed exceptional speed to get him a bodylock and finish with a takedown. Leading 3-3 on criteria, Rezaei did not allow Lockett to get into any attacking positions and won the gold medal. 

Ali REZAEI (IRI)Ali REZAEI (IRI) defends an attack from Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"I went through a tough final but with the great analysis from the coaches, I managed to defeat the strong American opponent," Rezaei said. "I hope to continue on this path and become a world and Olympic champion."

In Amman, Rezaei dropped the 70kg final against Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) 11-6 but planned to win the gold in Pontevedra.

"Last year, I won silver," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for about a year and a half, and thankfully, in the final, my opponent was an American, and I managed to beat him. This journey continues."

Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) won the 86kg gold medal in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The third American to suffer a loss in the final was Burr as Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) beat him 8-2 in the 86kg final. Kadiev won his second U20 world gold medal after winning the 79kg gold in Amman last year.

In the final against Burr, Kadiev jumped to a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the match. Burr did get on a few leg attacks but he was able to score only a stepout in the first period, cutting the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Kadiev, who took multiple medical timeouts for his injured knee, scored a counter against Burr and got two more points. The U.S. challenged the decision to award two points to Kadiev as Burr was never in danger but the replays showed Burr's back on the mat. The lost challenge made the score 6-1. Burr scored a stepout with 12 seconds left and then tried a front headlock throw but Kadiev stopped it to get two points and an 8-2 win.

"The American opponent was the toughest one for me," Kadiev said. "I also injured my knee. I didn’t attack much, because I couldn’t risk it. If only I hadn’t injured the knee, the match would have gone in a different way. My wrestling style is to attack from the very first second, and then in the second period the opponent gets tired and it’s easier to finish him."

Kadiev will get a chance to showcase his skills again at the U23 Worlds next month in Tirana. He also said that winning the gold medal last year made his more happy than this year.

"When I first won the U20 Worlds, I was much happier than now," he said. "This time there is no such feeling of excitement as it was last time. I wrestle more confidently, and we’ve worked on our mistakes with the coaches. I don’t know how fast I can recover from this knee injury. Hopefully, I can still make it to the U23 Worlds."

At 92kg, Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) got some motivation from Kadiev as he finished his final against Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0, well before time.

Malachdibirov got Saliev in a gut-wrench and managed to turn him to win the gold medal at 92kg.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN)Masanosuke ONO (JPN) asks for the 'champion belt' after his 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman) 

Ono warning before Tirana

At the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana from October 28 to 31, one wrestler to watch will be Masanosuke ONO (JPN) who destroyed everyone in Pontevedra to win the 61kg gold medal.

After winning his four bouts on Saturday, Ono returned to wrestle Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) for the final. It was expected to be an action-packed final but Ono finished it in one action.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Ono got an attack on Khari and scored a takedown. 26 seconds later, Ono had finished the final using the gut-wrench to win the gold medal in 26 seconds.

"I was surprised that it ended sooner than I expected, but it was a very enjoyable 25 seconds," Ono said. "I'm satisfied."

Ono will now look to win the gold medal at 61kg in Tirana. However, he is aware that his opponents in Tirana will be more powerful.

"I'm still not satisfied unless I win there (Tirana)," he said.

Ono began wrestling only after his teacher in the music class during kindergarten encouraged him to wrestle. Ono, now at the Yamanashi Gakuin University, trains under former world champion Yuka TAKAHASHI (JPN) and is from the Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is in the countryside.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: BHUVANESH (IND) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 5-0

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Shingo ANDO (JPN) df. Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT), 9-3

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Joshua BARR (USA), 8-2

BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 3-2
BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) vs. Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0

BRONZE: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Amirreza DALIRI (IRI), 8-5
BRONZE: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 6-2

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Benjamin KUETER (USA), 4-2

BRONZE: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) df. Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Jaspooran SINGH (IND), 3-2

#WrestleSamokov

U20 World Championships 2025 Day 2 Live Blog

By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 18) -- The U20 World Championships enter the second day with four more Freestyle weight classes -- 57kg, 65kg, 79kg and 92kg. The competition began Sunday, read the recap here.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

The semifinals will begin at 17:00 hours

14:18: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) with a huge four-pointer to trip SACHIN (IND) and then uses a high gut to finish the 92kg quarterfinal 10-0.

14:15: Sumit MALIK (IND) denies Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) a semifinal place at 57kg. Malik with a four-pointer in his 9-2 win as Baghirov could not match the pace. 

14:06: Another Yamanashi Gaikun University wrestler Reiji UCHIDA (JPN) on the rise! Uchida locks Sanjarbek RUSTAMBEKOV (UZB) in a leg lace and finishes the match 11-0 to reach the 65kg semifinals.

14:02: Luke STANICH (USA) is into the semifinals at 65kg! He hangs on for a 3-3 criteria win over Alessandro NINI (ITA) after scoring a takedown which was latest action in the match. Incidentally, both Stanich and Nini were born in New Jersey and train 100 kilometres from each other -- Stanich at Lehigh and Nini at Rutgers

13:55: European U20 champion Davit TCHETCHELASHVILI (GEO) built a 3-0 lead but William HENCKEL (USA) bounces back with two takedowns to lead 4-3 at the break in their 79kg quarterfinal. Henckel gets a stepout in the second period to extend his lead to 5-3 while defending those attempted duckunders. Tchetchelashvili hits a takedown to lead 5-5 on criteria with 1:50 left in the match. Henckel hits a takedown to reclaim the lead 7-5 with a minute left in the match. A double-leg from Henckel as he gets two and a turn for a fall gives two more points to make his lead 11-5. Henchkel downs Tchetchelashvili 11-5.

13:40: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) downs defending 79kg champion Alp Arsalan BEGENJOV (TKM) 6-4, avenging his 10-0 loss to the Turkmenistan wrestler from last year. Begenjov had a 1-1 criteria lead after a stepout but Yousefi scored a stepout and Begenjov called for a medical timeout. With a 2-1 lead for Yousefi, the bout restarted in par terre and the Iranian managed to turn Begenjov for two points to lead 4-1 with 1:53 left in the match. Yousefi then stopped a duckunder and scored a takedown but Begenjov managed a takedown to make it 6-3. Yousefi was fleeing during that attack for which he was cautioned and bout restarted in par terre with 6-4 lead for Yousefi. Begenjov failed to turn Yousefi from par terre, ending his title defense.

13:25: World U17 champion Vasif BAGHIROV (AZE) has reached the quarterfinal at 57kg as he looks to add a U20 world title to his name. He will face Sumit MALIK (IND).

13:15: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) launched Connor MIRASOLA (USA) for a counter chest wrap four-pointer and then adds couple of stepouts to lead 6-1. Mirasola comes out on top in one of the scrambles to make it 6-3 with a minute left in the bout. Kurugliyev with a stepout and Mirasola with a takedown but the Kazakh returning bronze medalist wins 7-5 and advances to the 92kg quarterfinals.

13:00: Nurdanat AITANOV (KAZ), Asian U20 silver medalist, runs off to a 14-3 technical superiority win over Anthony KNOX (USA) at 57kg to enter the quarterfinals. 

12:55: Sumit MALIK (IND) pulls off a last-second victory over Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN), who will be at 57kg for the senior World Championships as well for Japan. Malik was down 10-1 but somehow mounted a comeback in the second period with a four-pointer and a takedown to make it 10-7. He scored another takedown to score 10-9 with 7 seconds left. Sakamoto wins but India challenge for a singlet-foul which on review is confirmed and a 10-10 win for Malik.

12:40: Aliasghar TATHASHTIKEH (IRI) managed to come within one point distance of Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW) in the 65kg bout but goes down 10-9. Dzhandubaev, the European U20 champion, led comfortably before his conditioning struggles became evident. Three takedowns for Tathashtikeh to make it 10-8 with 20 seconds left on the clock but the Iranian managed only a stepout.

12:20: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) with a fall over Narek NIKOGHOSYAN (ARM) at 79kg after building an 8-0 lead. On Mat C, defending champion at 79kg Alp Arsalan BEGENJOV (TKM) with two big moves to win 11-0 against Gan Erdene BAATARKHUU (MGL)

12:10: Yerkhan ABIL (KAZ) is too much for returning bronze medalist at 79kg Leandro ARAUJO (BRA) as the Kazakh wrestler wins 6-0. Totally shut down Araujo in that bout.

12:05: European U20 champion Davit TCHETCHELASHVILI (GEO) pins Antoni MAJCHRZAK (POL) on the mat after a four-pointer and gets the victory via fall.

12:00: In a thrilling repechage bout, returning silver medalist Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) scores a takedown with 3 seconds left to beat European U20 champion Manuel WAGIN (GER) at 74kg. Wagin hit a front headlock four-point throw to lead 5-4 but Lockett somehow managed to overturn the result of a heated bout.

11:40: Anthony KNOX (USA), wrestling internationally for the first time, doesn't waste much time and beats Mykola BRATOV (UKR) via technical superiority at 57kg.

11:30: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) hangs on for a 3-2 win against Orazmuhammet HOJALYYEV (TKM) at 92kg. Tough match for Jafarli, a returning bronze medalist.

11:25: Magomed OZDAMIROV (UWW) with a beautiful arm-throw against Arshia HADDADI (IRI) for four points. Haddadi could never recover and loses his first bout at 57kg 6-1. 

11:15: Viktor BOROHAN (UKR) with a four-pointer to take the lead 4-4 on criteria against ASHWANI (IND) and win at 65kg. The European U20 silver medalist over Asian U20 silver medalist

11:10: Leg lace is what Amal DZHANDUBAEV (UWW) gets to win his first bout at 65kg against Agha GASIMOV (AZE). Dzhandubaev is the European U20 and U23 champion this year.

11:05: Returning 79kg bronze medalist Mohammad YOUSEFI (IRI) warms up with a 10-0 win over Ion MARCU (MDA). Yousefi is a senior Asian champion this year.

11:00: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) comes out blazing with a takedown and then gut-wrenches Luke STANICH (USA) for an 8-0 lead. Toprak has some conditioning trouble and slowly feels the pressure of Stanich, who now has three takedowns to cut the lead to 8-6 with more than 2 minutes left in the bout. Stanich takedonw takedown to make it 8-8 and take the criteria lead. Toprak keeps going for Stanich's legs but the U.S. wrestler is quick to counter and score. He turns using a lace and now leads 16-8. He finishes with another takedown wins 18-8.

10:55: Muradkhan OMAROV (AZE), who won a silver medal at the European U20 Championships, had a slow start against David KODAKOV GIL (ESP) at 79kg but then jumps to a 9-2 lead as Kodakov Gil was seemingly passive. Omarov wins 9-2 and advances at 79kg

10:40: Defending 79kg champion Alp Arsalan BEGENJOV (TKM) starts off with a technical superiority win over Ivan ANDONOV (BUL). Begenjov gets on the scored with an activity point and then scores a takedown and turn to lead 5-0 at the break. He then counters with two chest wrap throws for four points to win 11-0.

10:35: Pan-Am U20 champion William HENCKEL (USA) raced to 5-0 lead against Maksat TABYLDYEV (KGZ) gets a few points back. Henckel, however, manages to hang on for a 8-5 win at 79kg. 

10:30: European U20 champion Davit TCHETCHELASHVILI (GEO) and Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) in a back-and-forth bout at 79kg. But Tchetchelashvili manages to score every time Gharehdaghi scores. Eventually, the Georgian manages to win 12-8.

10:00: The day will start with the repechage from Sunday's weight classes and then move to qualifications of today's weights beginning with 79kg.