U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 22:40 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- Four months ago, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) seemed untouchable.

He had stunned Arena Zagreb with a victory over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), eventually cruising to 86kg gold at the 2025 World Championships without conceding a single point.

On Wednesday, Valencia returned to Arena Zagreb, but the script flipped. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), a former world silver medalist at 79kg, blanked the world champion 11-0 at the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

While Valencia recovered to claim bronze, it was international debutant Parker KECKEISEN (USA) who rose to the occasion, taking gold after defeating Gamkrelidze.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA), red, tries to fight a gut-wrench against Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Valencia wasn't the only giant to fall during a chaotic Wednesday. Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) was pinned, and Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) left without a medal. Meanwhile, world champion Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) missed the top spot, and Georgios KOUGIOUMSTIDIS (GRE) saw his 86kg debut end in the opening round.

Despite the upsets, the United States dominated, winning four of the six available gold medals. Spencer LEE (USA), David CARR (USA), and Austin DESANTO (USA) joined Keckeisen atop the podium.

At 65kg, U23 world champion SUJEET (IND) continued his rise and captured the gold medal in a dominant fashion.

For Iran, the only gold medal came through Sina KHALILI (IRI) who outscored his opponents 42-3 in four bouts.

Parker KECKEISEN (USA) won gold medal at Zagreb Open, his debut international tournament. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Keckeisen's golden debut

While Zahid Valencia was the heavy favorite at 86kg, it was Keckeisen who stole the spotlight. Keckeisen flew under the radar to reach the final after a gritty 9-5 victory over Ali Savadkouhi (IRI).

In the final, Keckeisen entered as the underdog against Gamkrelidze. He maintained a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining. The match defining moment came when Gamkrelidze scored a stepout and challenged the call, seeking two points instead of one. The lost challenge awarded Keckeisen an extra point, extending his lead to 4-2.

Despite a late stepout from Gamkrelidze with ten seconds left, Keckeisen held on to secure the gold.

With Gamkrelidze making it to the final, Valencia found his form in repechage and won bronze after pinning U17 world champion Abofazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI).

Spencer LEE (USA) scores a takedown before Roman BRAVO YOUNG forfeited the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Lee repeats, Carr shines

Lee repeated as the Zagreb Open champion with a strong performance, just like last year. After dominant wins over Azamat TSUKAEV (SRB) and Fuga SASAKI (JPN), Lee met Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) in the final.

The Olympic bronze medalist opened strong with a takedown and turn, but the match ended prematurely when Bravo-Young forfeited due to injury, handing Lee his second consecutive gold.

Bravo Young was clutching his tapped knee when he got up after the gut-wrench from Lee who helped the Mexican off the mat after enquiring about the injury.

At 74kg, Carr navigated a tactical final against 70kg world champion Aoyagi, who now wrestles at 74kg. Aoyagi led 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers exchanged activity points when he was placed on the 30-second activity clock for a second time.

His failure to score put Carr ahead 2-1 with 30 seconds remaining. A desperate late attack by Aoyagi allowed Carr to score a counter takedown, sealing a 4-1 victory.

In September, Carr missed out on a bronze medal bout at the World Championships after losing to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) in the final five seconds, while Lee was eliminated after losing to Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM).

Austin DESANTO (USA) won the gold medal at 61kg in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Desanto recovers

At 61kg, Desanto recovered after a heartbreaking 11-11 loss to Reza MOMENI (IRI) in the opening bout of the Nordic bracket to win gold. Needing a big win against Aman, Desanto delivered a pin, earning five crucial classification points.

His total of 15 points placed him safely ahead of Momeni, who was mathematically eliminated from gold regardless of his final result against Giorgi GHONIASHVILI (GEO).

Ultimately, DeSanto secured the gold, while Aman took silver, despite being tied with Momeni at 13 points. Aman held the tiebreaker thanks to his head-to-head victory over the Iranian.

SUJEET (IND) tries to finish a takedown on Peyman NEMATI (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet wins gold

U23 World Champion Sujeet continues to demonstrate his growth on the international stage, capturing his second career Ranking Series gold medal.

Sujeet, who took gold in Budapest last year, secured two technical superiority wins over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to reach the final. There, he shut out Peyman NEMATI (IRI) with a disciplined 3-0 victory.

In the final, he was put on the activity clock in the first period but responded quickly with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. When Nemati was placed on the activity clock in the second period, Sujeet extended his lead to 3-0.

Following a series of scoreless scrambles, Sujeet successfully defended his lead until the whistle.

At 70kg, U23 World silver medalist Khalili put on a dominant display in his gold-medal match. Khalili overwhelmed Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), using a series of gut wrenches to secure a 10-0 technical superiority victory.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), via inj. def. (4-0)

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Atish TODKAR (IND), 10-0
BRONZE: Fuga SASAKI (JPN) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), 4-1

61kg
GOLD: Austin DESANTO (USA)
SILVER: AMAN (IND)
BRONZE: Reza MOMENI (IRI)

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Peyman NEMATI (IRI), 3-0

BRONZE: Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO) df. Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN), 11-6
BRONZE: Joseph MC KENNA (USA) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 10-0

BRONZE: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 6-3
BRONZE: Caleb HENSON (USA) df. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 5-4

74kg
GOLD: David CARR (USA) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 4-1

BRONZE: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) df. James GREEN (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) df. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Parker KECKEISEN (USA) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Mukul DAHIYA (IND), 6-5

2026 U17 World Championships

Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine Lead the Way into U17 World Championships Finals

Monday, July 27, 2026 - 19:24 By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 27) -- Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine were the best performing countries on day one of the U17 World Championships that kicked off with Greco-Roman in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday.

In the five weight classes that were in action on Monday, the three nations put a two finalists each while Hungary, hosts Azerbaijan, Iran, and the United States had one each.

U17 World Championships 2026

Ali ALMAS (KAZ) was the first wrestler to enter the final when he defeated Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM), 4-1, in the 48kg semifinals. Avetisyan, who finished 13th last year, was hoping to enter his first final at the world level but Almas gave no chance to the Armenian and secured the victory by scoring a turn from par terre.

Almas will now face Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS), who ended the hopes of Omar SALMANOV (AZE) of making the final in front of the home crowd with a 3-1 victory in the semifinal. Iusupov managed to lift Salmanov from par terre in the second period and scored a correct throw on the edge to complete the victory.

Diyar AMANALI (KAZ), blue, reached the 55kg final at the U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Kazakhstan's second finalist came at 55kg after Diyar AMANALI (KAZ) handed Danimir YORDANOV (BUL) a solid 8-1 defeat in the semifinal. Amanali changed the bout in the second period when he scored a takedown and two turns using a trap-arm gut.

Keve KOVACS (HUN) will try to stop Amanali in the final on Tuesday after he defeated Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (BLR), 2-1, in the other 55kg semifinal.

In a one-sided 65kg semifinal, Shamil LABAZANOV (RUS) took only 29 seconds to defeat Vazgen MNATSAKANYAN (ARM), 8-0. He scored a takedown to get the first two points before using the front headlock throw for four points to lead 6-0. He continued the action with another headlock roll and ended the bout with a technical superiority.

Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR), blue, defeated Orkhan HABIBLI (AZE), 4-3, in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Taking on Labazanov for the gold medal at 65kg will be Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR) who ended the hope of yet another home wrestler, Orkhan HABIBLI (AZE), with a close 4-3 win in the semifinals. Habibli took a 3-1 lead after scoring from par terre but when Nasibov got the position in the second period, he lifted Habibli and transitioned into a gut-wrench to lead 3-3 on last-point criteria. Habibli challenged at the end of the bout but it was lost, adding one more point to Nasibov's score.

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Iran had a rather humbling first day with just one final. But the one finalist, Alireza REZAEI (IRI), took out the best at 80kg to reach the final. Rezaei denied defending world champion Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB) a repeat after a 5-1 victory in the semifinals.

Kholmirzaev got the par terre first but did not score and then gave up a throw when Rezaei got par terre in the second period. Down 3-1, Kholmirzaev tried some desperate attacks and was close to scoring a takedown in the final 20 seconds but Rezaei defended his cartwheeling attempt and scored exposure points late in the match to win.

Rezaei will now face Isfahan HASANOV (AZE), who made sure Azerbaijan had at least one finalist at home on the opening day. Hasanov used a correct throw from par terre to get two points on Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU) and lead 3-0 before the Lithuanian scored a stepout in the same sequence to cut it to 3-1.

Bubelevicius, who got par terre in the second period, could not change the 3-2 score and as the match neared the end, he challenged for finger blocking from Hasanov which was denied, adding one more point to the Azerbaijan wrestler's score.

Bruno PALLONE (USA) counters Andrej SIMIC (SRB) for four points during the 110kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

A U.S. vs Ukraine final is set at 110kg after two contrasting semifinals. Bruno PALLONE (USA) took on Andrej SIMIC (SRB) in the semifinal and scored a counter four-point throw to lead 6-2. Simic and Pallone went back-and-forth in second period but the latter always had control of the lead. He used a half-nelson to secure the fall while leading 12-5.

Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR) denied U17 European champion Fedor SUKHAREV (RUS) a chance to win a world title after winning 1-1 in the other semifinal, thanks to the first-point criteria when the match ends 1-1 and both points are scored for passivity.

RESULTS

48kg
SF 1: Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS) df. Omar SALMANOV (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Ali ALMAS (KAZ) df. Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM), 4-1

55kg
SF 1: Diyar AMANALI (KAZ) df. Danimir YORDANOV (BUL), 8-1
SF 2: Keve KOVACS (HUN) df. Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (BLR), 2-1

65kg
SF 1: Shamil LABAZANOV (RUS) df. Vazgen MNATSAKANYAN (ARM), 8-0
SF 2: Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR) df. Orkhan HABIBLI (AZE), 4-3

80kg
SF 1: Alireza REZAEI (IRI) df. Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB), 5-1
SF 2: Isfahan HASANOV (AZE) df. Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU), 4-2

110kg
SF 1: Bruno PALLONE (USA) df. Andrej SIMIC (SRB), via fall (12-5)
SF 2: Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR) df. Fedor SUKHAREV (RUS), 1-1

U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned

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Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine Lead the Way into U17 World Championships Finals