Uzbekistan's Bunyod Lays Foundation with Second U17 World Title

Wednesday, July 29, 2026 - 18:46 By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 29) -- The name Bunyod means “foundation” in Persian and is given to boys across Uzbekistan and parts of Central and South Asia.

It’s a name that suits 16-year-old Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) perfectly. Unlike other U17 wrestlers, Bunyod Hasanov has his wrestling foundation firmly in place.

On Tuesday, Hasanov won his second U17 world title, first wrestler from Uzbekistan to do so, as Greco-Roman came to a close at the U17 World Championships in Baku.

Most U17 world titles are won based on physical superiority, last-second heroics or narrow moments that can swing either way. That is not to diminish past world champions, but only a handful of wrestlers possess the tactical maturity and wrestling intelligence to execute complete game plans at such a young age.

Hasanov has separated himself even from that elite group.

WATCH: Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) Wins Second U17 World Gold

Over the two World Championships, Hasanov demonstrated a brand of Greco-Roman rarely seen at the U17 level. He has a powerful gut-wrench, one of Greco-Roman's oldest and most effective turns.

He also has the pace to dictate the match and not fall into the passivity trap. He has the strength to throw as well, as he did Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE) during the 51kg final on Tuesday.

In his four bouts in Baku, Hasanov won three via technical superiority -- a difference of at least eight points. The only bout that did not end by technical superiority was still under his complete control as he won 6-2, outscoring his opponents 25-4 in the tournament. Last year, Hasanov outscored his opponents 32-7 in four bouts, with two technical superiority wins.

Wrestling Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) celebrates after winning the 51kg world title, his second at U17 level. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The 48kg world champion in Athens moved up to 51kg this year and made a stunning run to his second gold medal. His campaign in Baku differed from the one in Athens in many ways, but one thing that remained constant was Hasanov's control of the final.

Against returning bronze medalist Huseynli, he set the tone right from the start by going for the snaps and two-on-one. Huseynli was eventually called passive and Hasanov got the par terre from which he hit a remarkable suplex for four points.

He then lifted Huseynli again and threw him out of bounds for one point to lead 6-0. He then used his two-on-one to push the Azerbaijan wrestler towards the zone and score a stepout, swelling his lead to 7-0.

Wrestling Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) Bunyod HASANOV (UZB), below, throws Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE) during the 51kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Facing a decisive stepout, Huseynli attempted a throw of his own but landed on his own back instead, surrendering two points. Those points made Hasanov a 9-0 winner, who managed a more animated celebration than last year.

With the strong foundations that led him to his second world gold, Bunyod Hasanov will hope to build on it in the future.

Thanks to Hasanov's gold, Uzbekistan finished fourth in the team standings with 85 points, 11 behind third-placed Iran, which topped the standings last year. Russia won the team title with 127 points, while host Azerbaijan placed second despite failing to win a gold medal.

Wax Melts Javadli

Apart from Huseynli, Azerbaijan had another finalist in U17 European champion Ali JAVADLI (AZE) at 51kg, but he too suffered a one-sided defeat to Rylex WAX (USA).

Javadli gave the packed arena, waiting for the Azerbaijan national anthem to be played on Wednesday, hope when he piled up four points from par terre in the first period with a strong gut wrench.

Wax, however, silenced the arena in the second period when he got the par terre. He used a trap-arm-gut to roll him six times and reducing Javadli to tears after the final whistle. Wax secured the United States' first U17 Greco-Roman world title since 2024 after the team went without one last year.

Wrestling Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI) Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI) scores a takedown against Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK) during the 60kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Tahmasbpour Denies Barotov

Iran's disappointing tournament still had a bright spot in Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI), who upgraded his bronze from last year to gold at 60kg after an electric final. The Iranian's win also denied Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK) from becoming Tajikistan's first-ever Greco-Roman world champion at any level.

At one point in the 60kg final, Barotov must have thought he had ended the drought for his country. Tahmasbpour scored a takedown and two turns using trap-arm to build a 6-0 lead in the first minute. And it seemed that he would run away with the final.

The match turned on its head before the break. Barotov countered an attempted duck under, forcing Tahmasbpour backward for two points. Moments later, Barotov switched to double underhooks and launched the Iranian for a throw. Initially, the officials awarded four points to Tahmasbpour, but a successful challenge reversed the call and gave Barotov four points instead, putting him ahead 6-6 on criteria.

Tahmasbpour, however, knew that Barotov was struggling with conditioning and he began snapping the Tajikistan wrestler. After one of the snaps, he jumped over Barotov and secured the takedown that eventually gave him an 8-6 victory.

Wrestling Janes NAZARYAN (ARM) Janes NAZARYAN (ARM) celebrates after winning the 71kg gold medal in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Nazaryan Repeats

Another returning champion Janes NAZARYAN (ARM), who won at 65kg last year in Athens, doubled up by winning the gold medal at 71kg in Baku. He made a comeback after falling behind against 65kg U17 European champion Aslan DZUEV (RUS) in the final.

Dzuev scored a headlock throw which the referees scored as two points as Nazaryan never seemed to have landed in danger. Russia challenged asking for four points but lost it, adding one point to Nazaryan's score. Dzuev then failed to score from par terre but led 3-1 at the break.

When Nazaryan got the par terre in the second period, he turned Dzuev with a strong gut-wrench and took a 4-3 lead that he defended to win his second U17 world title.

Wrestling Tomasz MITAL (POL) Tomasz MITAL (POL) became the first Poland wrestler in 10 years to win the Greco-Roman gold at U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Mital Breakthrough

At 92kg, U17 European champion Tomasz MITAL (POL) added a world title to his name and gave Poland its first U17 Greco-Roman gold medal in 10 years. Mital was up against Hlib YEVSIEIEV (UKR) in the gold medal bout and was in some trouble when Yevsieiev scored the first takedown to lead 2-0.

Mital pushed the pace in the second period and scored a running takedown around the zone and then lifted Yevsieiev, threw him outside the zone for a point and led 3-2. He defended his lead to win the gold medal and become only the fifth Poland wrestler to win a Greco-Roman gold at the U17 World Championships.

Click here for Women's Wrestling semifinal results

RESULTS

45kg
GOLD: Rylen WAX (USA) df. Ali JAVADLI (AZE), 13-5

BRONZE: Ognyan BURGAZOV (BUL) df. Armin ESMAEILI (IRI), via forfeit
BRONZE: Arsan ALIEV (RUS) df. Afruzbek IBRAGIMOV (UZB), 10-0

51kg
GOLD: Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) df. Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE), 9-0

BRONZE: Gevorg HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO), 5-0
BRONZE: Artem TKACHENKO (RUS) df. Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA), 7-5

60kg
GOLD: Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI) df. Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK), 8-6

BRONZE: Sadriddin TULKINBOEV (UZB) df. Alexandru LUNGU (ROU), 10-2
BRONZE: Elmir CHARKAZOV (AZE) df. Hinata HANAMORI (JPN), 9-0

71kg
GOLD: Janes NAZARYAN (ARM) df. Aslan DZUEV (RUS), 4-3

BRONZE: Alinur TOLEUGALI (KAZ) df. Esmaeil ZAHERDOUST (IRI), 11-3
BRONZE: Ervin CZUCZOR (HUN) df. Kristiyan KRASTEV (BUL), 5-1

92kg
GOLD: Tomasz MITAL (POL) df. Hlib YEVSIEIEV (UKR), 3-2

BRONZE: Yusuf AKSU (TUR) df. Sandor ANTALY (HUN), 5-1
BRONZE: Amirreza MEHRITALAR (IRI) df. Mirjalol SHOVKATOV (UZB), 4-3

2026 U17 World Championships

Labazanov Leads Russia to Two Golds at U17 World Championships

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 19:40 By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 28) -- Shamil LABAZANOV (RUS) shocked Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR) and the Ukrainian could never recover from that.

The two clashed in the 65kg final of the U17 World Championships final in Baku on Tuesday. Nasibov had looked in top form coming into the final and Labazanov had scored a 29-seocnd win in the semifinal using a deadly front headlock.

Nasibov must have watched Labazanov's semifinal and thought that the front headlock will come. Yet, he was not able to stop it.

When Labazanov was awarded the par terre in the first period, he did not go for the traditional gut-wrench as Nasibov was prepared to defend it. But he went for the front headlock which Nasibov failed to defend.

Labazanov scored the first turn as Nasibov was still trying to stable himself to defend. But then he did it again with brute force and then again to lead 7-0. Nasibov was left playing catch from there on.

Nasibov managed to cut the lead to 7-2 before the break and despite the par terre in the second period, it was never enough as Labazanov won 7-5 to capture the 65kg title.

Wrestling Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS) Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS) with the world champion belt at the podium. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

This was the second gold medal for Russia on Tuesday, coming after Soltan IUSUPOV's (RUS) dominant win at 48kg. In the first final of the night, Iusupov and Ali ALMAS (KAZ) clashed and when the Kazakhstan wrestler got the par terre in the first period, it seemed that it will an even contest.

However, Iusupov did not think so. He first defended that position and then scored a takedown and turn in the first period to lead 4-1 at the break. He was not done yet as he began the second period also with a takedown, and then used a slideby to make it 8-1. He turned Almas in the same sequence to earn a 10-1 win. Kazakhstan challenged the last call and it was changed to one takedown and scored returned to 8-1.

Almas managed to bring him down in the final 20 seconds to cut the lead to 8-3 but that was all he managed despite getting the only par terer of the final.

Kazakhstan's moment of glory came at 55kg when Diyar AMANALI (KAZ) won the gold medal at 55kg after beating Keve KOVACS (HUN), 1-1 in the final. The two traded passivity but it was the Kazakhstan wrestler who kept the criteria as he got the par terre first.

Wrestling Alireza REZAEI (IRI) Alireza REZAEI (IRI) loads to launch Isfahan HASANOV (AZE) for a throw during the 80kg final in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Rezaei Gives Iran Gold

Iran's campaign got a breather after Alireza REZAEI (IRI) grabbed the 80kg gold medal by upsetting Isfahan HASANOV (AZE), 2-1, in the final and the home crowd. In the low scoring final, Rezaei was put in par terre first but he defended the position to keep Hasanov's lead to 1-0.

In the second period, Rezaei got his chance from par terre and while he could not perform a big move, he lifted and threw Hasanov out of bounds for a step out point to lead 2-1. This left Hasanov needing at least one point to win but the Iranian evaded any such situation to claim gold, the first medal for Iran in Baku.

Wrestling Tymofii Prykhodko (UKR) Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR) tries to pin Bruno PALLONE (USA) during the 110kg final at the U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Prykhodko's Golden Throws

Ukraine also went home with a gold medal as Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR) clinched the 110kg title after a big-throwing show in the final against Bruno PALLONE (USA). Both wrestler went all out and complete four-point throws with ease. However, Prykhodko never gave up the lead and eventually won 14-5.

Prykhodko began with an arm-spin which resulted in a takedown for two points. He then completed his first big throw for four points and had Pallone in danger for fall but the U.S. wrestler managed to escape the position. A stepout before the break gave Pallone a point which cut the lead to 6-1.

Instead of playing the waiting game, Pallone hit a four-pointer at the start of the second period and came within one point distance, 6-5, of Prykhodko. At one point, both wrestlers bear-hugged each other but it was the Ukrainian who risked a headlock and once again threw Pallone for four points.

Pallone had no choice but go for the big throw himself as Prykhodko kept the pressure. But when he did, it was in a bad position and he tamely fell on his own back, giving Prykhodko four points, the win and the gold medal.

Wrestling Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) dominated his way to the 51kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Hasanov, Nazaryan Aim Repeat; Barotov Chases History

Two returning world champions, Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) and Janes NAZARYAN (ARM), will look to repeat as gold medalists after reach the 51kg and 71kg finals respectively on Tuesday.

Hasanov will aim to become the first wrestler from Uzbekistan two win the U17 world gold twice when he takes on returning bronze medalist from 45kg, Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE), in the 51kg gold-medal bout.

In the semifinal, Hasanov wrestled Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA) and completed a 10-0 victory inside the first period. He unleashed a strong gut-wrench from par terre for two turns and a 5-0 lead.

Tarelunga tried a headlock throw but Hasanov blocked him to get two points and then turned the Moldova wrestler just in time to win but Moldova challenged the call as it may have been risk from Tarelunga but it was confirmed as takedown. The lost challenged added one more point to Hasanov's score.

Huseynli also went into a commanding 7-2 lead from par terre against Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO) but he had to defended as well when the Georgian got the par terre in the second. From 7-3, Huseynli got two stepouts for a 9-3 win.

Wrestling Janes NAZARYAN (ARM) Janes NAZARYAN (ARM), red, reached the 71kg final and will aim for his second world gold. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Nazaryan, who won gold last year at 65kg, will face U17 European champion at 65kg Aslan DZUEV (RUS) in the 71kg final after both posted commanding wins in the semifinals.

The Armenian blanked Kristiyan KRASTEV (BUL), 8-0, while Dzuev defeated Esmaeil ZAHERDOUST (IRI), 10-1, to reach the gold medal bouts.

At 45kg, U17 European champion Ali JAVADLI (AZE) will look to give the home country its first gold of the tournament when he takes on Rylen WAX (USA) for the gold medal.

In a bizarre turn of events, Javadli's opponent in the semifinals, Armin ESMAEILI (IRI) did not show up for the mat and gave a forfeit.

Wax controlled his semifinal against Afruzbek IBRAGIMOV (UZB) and completed a 2-1, win. When Ibragimov got the par terre, he lifted Wax but ended up giving up a reversal which gave Wax a 1-1 criteria lead. Wax got the par terre in second period for the 2-1 lead and the win.

Wrestling Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK) Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK) has the chance to become Tajikistan's first-ever world champion in Greco-Roman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

More history in on the line on Tuesday as Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK) will try to become Tajikistan's first-ever Greco-Roman world champion at any level after he reached the 60kg final. He defeated Alexandru LUNGU (ROU), 2-1 in the semfinals.

But the task will not be easy as he faces U17 Asian champion Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI) who staged a stunning comeback for a close 5-4 victory over Elmir CHARKAZOV (AZE).

Charkazov got the first par terre of the match but did not score any points but he managed a pushout point before the break to lead 2-0. Tahmasbpour tried a duckunder in the second period which Charkazov countered with a takedown to double his lead to 4-0.

Tahmasbpour up the pace of the bout and Charkazov tried a blank throw, only to land on his own back and give up two. He tried another desperate throw but the Iranian did not land in danger, countering with a takedown to take a 4-4 criteria lead.

Azerbaijan challenged the decision, asking for two points for the throw but lost it which added one more point to Tahmasbpour's score.

At 92kg, U17 European champion Tomasz MITAL (POL) is one step away from adding the world gold medal. He pinned Yusuf AKSU (TUR) in the semifinal to reach the final where he will take on Hlib YEVSIEIEV (UKR) who had no trouble beating Mirjalol SHOVKATOV (UZB), 8-0.

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Soltan IUSUPOV (RUS) df. Ali ALMAS (KAZ), 8-3

BRONZE: Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM) df. Benedek TOMBOR (HUN), 8-0
BRONZE: Omar SALMANOV (AZE) df. Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 7-1

55kg
GOLD: Diyar AMANALI (KAZ) df. Keve KOVACS (HUN), 1-1

BRONZE: Edem PAIZIEV (RUS) df. Danimir YORDANOV (BUL), 8-0
BRONZE: Vlad TRIP (ROU) df. Tsimafei SEMIANENKA (BLR), 6-2

65kg
GOLD: Shamil LABAZANOV (RUS) df. Ibrahim NASIBOV (UKR), 7-5

BRONZE: Imre JUHASZ (HUN) df. Vazgen MNATSAKANYAN (ARM), 3-2
BRONZE: Orkhan HABIBLI (AZE) df. Kunal DAGAR (IND), 7-5

80kg
GOLD: Alireza REZAEI (IRI) df. Isfahan HASANOV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Abdulaziz KHOLMIRZAEV (UZB) df. Ivan IVANOV (USA), 12-4
BRONZE: Benediktas BUBELEVICIUS (LTU) df. Abdulhalik BAL (TUR), 5-2

110kg
GOLD: Tymofii PRYKHODKO (UKR) df. Bruno PALLONE (USA), 14-5

BRONZE: Andrej SIMIC (SRB) df. Yahor SAVICH (BLR), 5-1
BRONZE: Aliakbar AKOO (IRI) df. Fedor SUKHAREV (RUS), 1-1

Semifinals

45kg
SF 1: Rylen WAX (USA) df. Afruzbek IBRAGIMOV (UZB), 2-1
SF 2: Ali JAVADLI (AZE) df. Armin ESMAEILI (IRI), via forfeit

51kg
SF 1: Bunyod HASANOV (UZB) df. Vadim TARELUNGA (MDA), 10-0
SF 2: Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE) df. Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO), 9-3

60kg
SF 1: Makhdi BAROTOV (TJK) df. Alexandru LUNGU (ROU), 2-1
SF 2: Amirreza TAHMASBPOUR (IRI) df. Elmir CHARKAZOV (AZE), 5-4

71kg
SF 1: Janes NAZARYAN (ARM) df. Kristiyan KRASTEV (BUL), 8-0
SF 2: Aslan DZUEV (RUS) df. Esmaeil ZAHERDOUST (IRI), 10-1

92kg
SF 1: Tomasz MITAL (POL) df. Yusuf AKSU (TUR), via fall (7-3)
SF 2: Hlib YEVSIEIEV (UKR) df. Mirjalol SHOVKATOV (UZB), 8-0

Uzbekistan's Bunyod Lays Foundation with Second U17 World Title

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Labazanov Leads Russia to Two Golds at U17 World Championships