#WrestleAlmaty

Watch: Bolat Turlykhanov Cup ten freestyle finals

Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - 10:13 By Vinay Siwach

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (June 8) -- The Bolat Turlykhanov Cup marked the second Ranking Series event of the year and wrestlers took this opportunity to grab some crucial ranking points.

Iran brought a strong freestyle team with three world champions and a U20 world champion to Almaty. All four of them reached the final of their respective weight classes with three winning gold.

Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND) suffered a shock loss for the first time at a Ranking Series but returned to win the bronze medal at 65kg.

Here are the 10 freestyle finals from Almaty.

57kg: Round 5 - AMAN (IND) vs. Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)

 

61kg - GOLD: Zhassulan TASKUL (KAZ) vs. Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)

 

65kg: GOLD - Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) vs. Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB)

 

70kg: GOLD - Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) vs. Rodion ANCHUGIN (KAZ)

 

74kg: GOLD - Byambadorj BAT-ERDENE (MGL) vs. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)

 

79kg: GOLD - Saiakbai USUPOV (KGZ) vs. Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)

 

86kg: GOLD - Boris MAKOEV (SVK) vs. Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)

 

92kg: GOLD - Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) vs. Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ)

 

97kg - GOLD: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) vs. Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SVK)

 

125kg: GOLD - Amir ZARE (IRI) vs. Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)

#GrecoRoman

'Thank you, wrestling': Tokyo Olympic medalist Elsayed, 27, retires

Monday, July 14, 2025 - 10:34 By Vinay Siwach

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EGYPT (July 14) -- Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) has announced his retirement from wrestling, concluding a distinguished career that included two Olympic appearances and two world U23 gold medals.

Elsayed posted on Instagram about his struggles with injuries and shared that the decision to retire was the "most difficult" for the 27-year-old wrestler.

"After many years of hard work, challenges, and victories [and] after I honored my country and raised its flag in internationally, and was able to achieve my dream and win an Olympic medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, I have reached the most difficult decision in my sports career.  I have decided to officially announce my retirement," Elsayed wrote in an emotional post.

Having won five gold medals at the African Championships, Elsayed was a trailblazer in Greco-Roman and was Egypt's new-found hope for the Olympics. He did not disappoint in Tokyo, where he had a surprising run to the semifinal, which he lost to Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), 7-6.

He bounced back in the bronze-medal bout and defeated Artem SURKOV (ROC), 1-1 to capture bronze, Egypt's first medal since 2012 London Olympics and only the third since 1960.

"Wrestling has always been more than just a sport to me," he wrote. "It was my life, my passion, and my support in the most difficult times. I thank God for every moment I lived on the mat and every moment of pride, and every encouragement I heard from my family, fans, and country."

One of the biggest achievements of Elsayed, apart from the Olympic medal, was winning successive world U23 gold medals in 2018 and 2019 at 67kg.

Elsayed expressed gratitude to various individuals who supported him throughout the journey including coaches and trainers. He also thanked wrestling.

"I thank every coach who helped me, every colleague who stood by me, and everyone who supported me with a kind word or a prayer from the heart. Thank you to everyone who was part of the journey.

"Thank you to wrestling, which taught me to be a man before being a champion."