#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships Day 2 semis set

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 18) -- The second day of the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra will see the action in five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg. The day will go on with the qualification and semifinals of these weight classes before the evening session has the gold medal bouts of the previous day.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The semifinals for the evening session

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) vs. Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)

67kg
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) vs. Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) vs. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)

72kg​​​​​​​
VIKAS (IND) vs. Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) vs. Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)

82kg
Mats AHLGREN (SWE) vs. Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO) vs. Beka GURULI (GEO)

97kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) vs. Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Alex SZOKE (HUN) vs. Igor ALVES (BRA) 

15:30: At 97kg, Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) and Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) put on a show. Ragginger got the early advantage. But Olgun got a stepout to level it. Ragginger got one for himself which was neutralized by Olgun before he added another to lead 3-2. But Ragginger scored a takedown and a turn to win 6-3 and move into the semifinals.

15:15: Seyed SHORABI (IRI), the U20 world champion, is into the semifinals at 67kg. He pins Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ) after developing a 7-0 lead.

15:05: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) takes out Amir ABDI (IRI). Both wrestlers got the passivity calls but Gurbanov got the advantage as Abdi was called passive in the second period. Gurbanov moves into the 72kg semifinals

14:45: Alex SZOKE (HUN) looks unstoppable here in Pontevedra. He moves into the 97kg semifinals with another technical superiority win. He beats NITESH (IND) in the quarterfinals 

14:10: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) moves closer to the final of 60kg in Pontevedra. Melkamu FETENE (ISR) got the early lead with a takedown but Kamal answered with a stepout and four to lead 5-2. Fetene scored a takedown with 30 seconds left but Kamal hung on for a 5-4 win.

13:35: U23 European champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) was in all sorts of trouble trailing 2-0 with a minute left in the bout. But Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) was called passive which allowed Chkhikvadze to return in the bout. He scores via a throw out of bounds. It was called clean but Georgia challenged and get the two extra points for a defensive foul from Joergensen. Chkhikvadze also got another stepout which Norway challenged but lost. A final attempt from Joergensen saw him jump over Chkhikvadze to get a four he lands on his to give up four. Chkhikvadze wins 10-2

13:20: Amir ABDI (IRI) is keeping the Iran juggernaut rolling today. He beats  Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) 6-0 and advances to the quarterfinal at 72kg.

13:00: Kaito INABA (JPN) brought out the front suplex and got five for that. It is undoubtedly the move of the tournament. He pins Aser EBRO (ESP) at 60kg,

12:30: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and his streak of pinning Iran wrestlers. After Belgrade, he now pins Omid ARAMI (IRI) in the 60kg bout in Pontevedra. Arami got the passivity call and was trying to score a head pinch but Kamal held him for the fall. 

12:20: Alex SZOKE (HUN), the silver medalist at 97kg from Oslo World Championships, gets the par terre advantage against Nicholas BOYKIN (USA) and then gets the turns to win 9-0 at 97kg.

12:00: Iran has not had the best of the tournaments so far but day two looks promising. At 67kg, Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) with a fall over Julian HORTA (COL).

11:45: Another U23 European champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) has a very different start. He wins 8-0 against Ashu BAZARD (IND) at 67kg.

11:30: Returning bronze medalist Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) is up against U23 European champion Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO). A takedown and turn for Khachatryan. But Chkhikvadze stops in the middle of the second period to get exposure. After an exchange, Khachatryan led 6-5 and that will remain the final scoreline for this 72kg bout.

11:00: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) will be a strong contender at 60kg in the coming years. A strong wrestler with some clean techniques and an understanding of the mat. He begins his U23 Worlds campaign with a technical superiority win over Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ).

10:30: Welcome to the second day of the U23 World Championships. It's a pleasant day here in Pontevedra with the sun out. Let the wrestlers shine!

#WrestleBucharest

European Championships FS 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg semis set

By United World Wrestling Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (February 16) -- Freestyle will take over the European Championships on day five with 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg weight classes. Unfortunately, Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) will not be competing. Still, big matches coming up.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 4 REPORT

Semifinals for the evening session

57kg
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) vs. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO) vs. Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)

65kg
Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (AIN) vs. Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Islam DUDAEV (ALB) vs. Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE)

70kg
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL) vs. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) vs. Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)

79kg
Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) vs. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (AIN) vs. Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) vs. Vladislav BAITCAEV (HUN)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) vs. Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)

14:10: Top match between Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) and Gazdhimurad RASHIDOV (AIN). Rashidov was called passive which gave Tevanyan the first point but Rashidov hit a arm-trap and rolled to make it 4-1. The second period saw Tevanyan score a takedown and stepout. Rashidov held a 4-4 criteria lead and despite Tevanyan trying hard to score, Rashidov managed to hold on to the win.

13:55: Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) is into the semifinals of 79kg. He beats Orkhan ABBASOV (AZE) 6-5 in the quarterfinals. Once again, it was Chamizo's defense that made the difference. Abbasov scored a takedown and then a stepout. But Chamizo got a takedown and a point for Abbasov's passivity. Abbasov had Chamizo in all sorts of trouble but the Italian's defense saved him from a takedown. Abbasov was cautioned for fleeing when Chamizo scored a stepout. Azerbaijan challenged the fleeing call but lost. Abbasov did score a takedown but failed to change the winner.

13:45: Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) is toying with his opponents. After building a 6-0 lead against Marc DIETSCHE (SUI), he hits a four-point throw to finish the match 10-0. Perhaps the most casual four-pointer you will see

13:40: World champion Akhmed USMANOV (AIN) got the first point for Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) passivity and then hit a big four-pointer to lead 5-0. He added a takedown while Kougioumtsidis could not get a reversal and takedown. Usmanov moves into the semifinal with a 7-4 win.

13:30: Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (AIN) hits a huge throw for 5 and then a turn to beat Ramazan SARI (TUR) 10-0 and move into the 79kg semifinal. He will face the winner of Orkhan ABBASOV (AZE) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)

13:10: Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SVK) and Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) move into the 97kg quarterfinals. Tcakulov defeated Robert BARAN (POL) while Matcharashvili dominated Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU) 13-2

12:55: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) takes just two minutes to beat Kamil KERYMOV (UKR) 10-0 at 57kg and advance to this evening's semifinal. Harutyunyan is looking for his fourth European title. 

12:40: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) is a different beast in the second period. He trailed Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) 2-0 but hit a beautiful four-pointer in the second before adding a takedown. He wins 7-2. Next up for Tevanyan is Rashidov 

12:20: Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (AIN), returning to the international scene for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics, begins with a solid 6-0 win over Andre CLARKE (GER). His defense still looks very strong.

12:00: Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) has a little more action in his second match as he beats Erik REINBOK (EST) 6-0 at 79kg. In the same weight category, Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) holds off Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR) 7-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.

11:50: Israil KASUMOV (AIN) was a late entry to the European Championships but his journey may have finished early. He drops his first match 4-3 to Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) at 70kg

11:45: 65kg world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) is wrestling at 70kg and he takes his good time to win the first match. Up against Egzon XHONI (KOS), Muszukajev wins 11-0.

11:30: Little upset on Mat C as Erik THIELE (GER) beats Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD) 4-3 at 97kg. He hit an arm throw for four points when trailing 3-0. Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SRB) finishes his bout against Benjamin HONIS (ITA) 10-0 in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.

11:15: On Mat B, Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) and Pouria TAHERKHANI (GER) wrestle it bout and Shikhdzhamalov wins 4-4 after a late takedown. On Mat C, Magomedkhabib KADIMAGOMEDOV (AIN) has an easy 4-0 over Miroslav KIROV (BUL)

11:00: First big clash of the day! Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) are coming up on Mat A at 79kg. Chamizo is warned multiple times for passivity. He was put on the activity clock as well. Cabolov led 1-0 at the break. Chamizo put on the clock again in the second period but this time he scored a takedown before the clock expired. He was happy to play out the remaining time and win 2-1

10:30: A blockbuster day is on the cards at the European Championships. The 79kg weight class has multiple world and European medalists competing. 65kg will see Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) and Gazdhimurad RASHIDOV (AIN).