#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!

#WrestleZagreb

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

By Vinay Siwach

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.