Weekly FIVE! November 5, 2019

Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - 14:29 By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing results from the U23 World Championships and previewing the upcoming Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman World Cups.

1. Egypt's Rising Star El Sayed Defends U23 World Title
Ten days. That’s how long it took for Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY) to bolster his resume by a pair of world titles. In just under two weeks, the 21-year-old Egyptian rising star steamrolled his way to the top of the podium at the U23 World Championships and World Military Games.

El Sayed kick-started his impressive two-week run on October 23, taking out five wrestlers in Wuhan, China, to win the World Military Games title at 67kg. Then, El Sayed downed five foes in Hungary last weekend and defended his U23 world gold medal from a year ago.

The Nur-Sultan world fifth-place finisher capped off his world-title run by obliterating Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR), 8-0, in the 67kg finals. In addition to his finals win, the man who qualified Egypt for the Olympic Games at 67kg, scored perhaps his most significant win of the tournament when he bested Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) in the semifinals. The Egyptian wrestler came out on top of that matchup between returning U23 world champions, 7-5.

Egypt won't compete at the 2019 Greco-Roman World Cup, so the next time wrestling fans can catch El Sayed in action could be at January's Matteo Pellicone, which is the first Ranking Series event of 2020.

Taylor Miller's Greco-Roman Wraps:
Novikov Avenges European C’Ships Loss to Defend U23 World Title
Elsayed Collects Second World Title in Less than Two Weeks at #WrestleBudapest

Greco-Roman Finals Results
55kg - Shota OGAWA (JPN) df. Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS), 4-3
60kg - Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) df. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), 11-7
63kg - Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI) df. Levani KAVJARADZE (GEO), 7-6
67kg - Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY) df. Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR), 9-0
72kg - Mohammadreza Abdolhamid GERAEI (IRI) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 7-0
77kg - Islam OPIEV (RUS) df. Kodai SAKURABA (JPN), 3-1
82kg - Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS) df. Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO), 8-0
87kg - Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) df. Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO), 6-1
97kg - Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Giorgi MELIA (GEO), 5-3
130kg - Aliakbar Hossein YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) df. Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), via inj. def.

Haruna OKUNO (JPN) was one of seven Japanese wrestlers to win a U23 women's wrestling title. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

2. Japanese Women Seize Seven of Ten U23 World Golds
The Japanese women’s wrestling team capped off an extraordinary run to a U23 team world title with a 37-3 record, which culminated in ten medals – seven of which were golds. They finished 125 points ahead of second-place China, who finished with 105 points.

In total, Japan’s U23 women’s world team had seven champions, two runner-ups, and a bronze-medal finisher.

Japan’s domination at the U23 World Championships solidifies the island nation’s spot atop the ranks in women’s wrestling after they swept the four major World Championships in 2019. The Far East country took home the team trophy at the cadet, junior, U23 and senior world championships – while grabbing at least six medals at every World Championships. Furthermore, they finished with six champions at the cadet, junior and U23 world championships.

Taylor Miller's Women's Wrestling Wraps Wraps:
Marin Potrille Takes Down Senior World Medalist for U23 World Title
Furuichi Wins Seventh World Gold, Paliha Defends U23 World Title at #WrestleBudapest

2019 U23 World Champions:
50kg - Kika KAGATA (JPN)
53kg - Haruna OKUNO (JPN)
55kg - Sae NANJO (JPN)
59kg - Yumeka TANABE (JPN)
62kg - Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
65kg - Misuzu ENOMOTO (JPN)
68kg - Masako FURUICHI (JPN)

2019 World Championships Medal Breakdown:
Cadet – Six gold and three bronze – nine medals
Junior – Eight gold and two bronze – ten medals
U23 – Seven gold, two silver and one bronze – ten medals
Senior – One gold, three silver and two bronze – six medals

Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS) helped Russia claim their fourth freestyle world title across all divisions with an 8-1 victory over Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) in the 74kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

3. Russia Edges Iran at U23 Worlds, Sweeps Freestyle World Championships
The Russia Federation hoisted a freestyle 2019 team trophy for the fourth time this year at the World Championships after edging second-place Iran by six points at the U23 World Championships.

Russia’s run to a fourth consecutive freestyle team trophy came on the back of Razambek ZHAMALOV’S 74kg title-winning effort. Zhamalov, a 2018 junior world runner-up, became a world champion for the first time in his career with a smothering 8-1 victory over Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) in the 74kg finals. Four other Russians joined Zhamalov in the finals, but that quartet settled for silver medals after falling in their respective gold-medal matches. The Russian Federation also had a pair of bronze medalists – bringing their overall medal count to seven.

Russia finished six points ahead of second-place Iran and 34 points ahead of third-place Azerbaijan.

Taylor Miller's Freestyle Wraps:
Zholdoshbekov Claims First Men’s Freestyle World Title for Kyrgyzstan Since 2005
Andreu Ortega and Goleij Claim Second U23 World Titles at #WrestleBudapest

Freestyle Finals Results
57kg - Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) df. Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ), 10-0
61kg - Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) df. Ravinder RAVINDER (IND), 5-3
65kg - Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) df. Takuma TANIYAMA (JPN), 3-2
70kg - Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO) df. Chermen VALIEV (RUS), 7-5
74kg - Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS) df. Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI), 8-2
79kg - Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) df. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE), via fall
86kg - Kamran Ghorban GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE), 9-3
92kg - Bo Dean NICKAL (USA) df. Batyrbek TCAKULOV (RUS), 12-2
97kg - Mojtaba Mohammadshafie GOLEIJ (IRI) df. Shamil Alievitch MUSAEV (RUS), 8-2
125kg - Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI) df. Vitalii GOLOEV (RUS), 10-0

Three-time world and Rio Olympic champ Risako KAWAI (JPN) will compete at 57kg at the Women's Wrestling World Cup. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

4. Japan Gearing up to Host Women's World Cup (November 16-17)
For the sixth time in its 18-year run, the Women’s Wrestling World Cup returns to the winningest women’s wrestling country in the world, Japan. The four-time defending World Cup champions will host the annual dual meet event November 16-17 at the Nakadai Sports & Recreation Park Gymnasium in Narita, Japan.

Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Adeline Maria GRAY (USA) headline a group of five reigning world champions and 19 total medalists that'll compete in Narita.

Kawai and Gray, who combine for eight world titles and a Rio Olympic gold medal, are unquestionably the most dominant women's wrestlers in the world. Kawai, who'll scrap at 57kg, has won three consecutive world titles after claiming gold in Rio de Janerio at the 2016 Olympic Games. Gray, who is coming off winning her American history-making fifth women's wrestling world title, will wrestle at 76kg.

Jacarra Gwenisha WINCHESTER (USA), Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS) and Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) are the trio of newly-minted world champs that'll join Kawai and Gray at the World Cup.

The Women's Wrestling World Cup starts on November 16 and will be streamed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

Reigning World Champions Entered
55kg - Jacarra Gwenisha WINCHESTER (USA)
57kg - Risako KAWAI (JPN)
62kg - Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS)
68kg - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA)
76kg - Adeline Maria GRAY (USA)

Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

5. Loaded Field Entered into Greco-Roman World Cup (November 28-29)
The Azadi Stadium in Iran's capital city of Tehran will welcome a loaded field of top-level talent to the 2019 Greco-Roman World Cup from November 28-29. Six reigning world gold medalists will travel to Tehran to compete in the Greco-Roman World Cup, but 67kg will be the weight-to-watch, as a potential Olympic finals rematch between Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) and Shinobu OTA (JPN) could be looming on the horizion.

Borrero and Ota both won world titles in Nur-Sultan, but the Japanese wrestler will begin his ascent from his title-winning non-Olympic weight of 63kg to the Olympic weight of 67kg, where the Cuban wrestler is the current world-title holder. Shortly after winning his world title last month, Ota announced that he'll climb up 4kg to 67kg to make a run at improving his silver medal from the Rio Olympic Games where he fell to Borrero in the finals.

In addition to Borrero and Ota, the Greco-Roman World Cup will also welcome four other world champs. The returning world champs are: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN), Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) and Lasha GOBADZE (GEO).

The Greco-Roman World Cup starts on November 28 and will be streamed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

Reigning World Champions Entered
55kg - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg - Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)
67kg - Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
67kg - Shinobu OTA (JPN)
72kg - Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
82kg - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Akmataliev E. @akmataliev_ernazar -- U23 Worlds 2019
2. SEFERSHAEV (RUS) gets the win in a crazy match against HALAKURKI (IND) ? .
3. Big throws by FENG (CHN) ?? ? ?‍♂️
4. GHASEMPOUR (IRI) defeats SADOWIK (POL) will he win the gold again? ? ?? ?
5. Back and forth match between IBRAGIMOV (AZE) and PANTALEO (USA) with IBRAGIMOV grabbing the 9-8 win ?? ? ?

2026 U23 European Championships

Flying Islamgereev Wins U23 European Gold

Thursday, March 12, 2026 - 02:15 By Vinay Siwach

ZRENJANIN, Serbia (March 10) -- Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (RUS) has become an internet sensation in the last 24 hours.

At the U23 European Championships in Zrenjanin, Serbia, Islamgereev, scored a buzzer-beating 'flying squirrel' move over Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) at 86kg. The video, posted by United World Wrestling, has spread beyond the combat sports world and to masses.

While the move itself has been around for long, no wrestling video has attained the level of virality as Islamgereev's move has, At least not since Snoop DOGG and Kevin HART discussed Mohammadali GERAEI's (IRI) acrobatics on their channel after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"Everyone was shocked," Islamgereev said. "My videos are everywhere now, I can’t even keep up with Instagram anymore, I’m all over the feed. Everyone congratulated me, absolutely everyone. People are surprised, shocked. Everyone is asking how this even happened."

During the 86kg quarterfinal, Islamgereev was trailing 8-3 with 15 seconds left in the match against Magamadov, the favorite to win gold in Zrenjanin. Islamgereev scored a stepout and caution point to cut the lead to 8-5 with 7 seconds left.

At this point, the Russian coaches had hands on their hands as winning from was impossible. Or so it seemed.

Islamgereev took a few steps forward towards Magamadov, who stayed low to avoid a double-leg attack which could have cost him two or four points. But the Russian jumped over Magamadov and locked him from behind while himself being upside down and slammed the French wrestler to score four points.

"Honestly, I have a lot of respect for my opponent," he said. "Rakhim is a very tough wrestler. At the beginning of the match things weren’t going my way, I made a lot of mistakes. There were literally only a few seconds left, probably around 10 seconds, when I pushed him out. Then there were about 7 seconds remaining.

"I couldn’t get to his legs at all. I thought to myself that since I couldn’t attack from below, I would try from above. So I jumped. It just happened that way, he kind of… I caught him really well, and he also turned a bit, and I managed to catch him in that moment and score four points. It was very unexpected, but very pleasant."

Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (RUS) won the 86kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The move meant that Islamgereev won 9-8. France challenged the call but there was little doubt that it was for four points and it was confirmed on review. The lost challenge added another point for Islamgereev who won 10-8.

"He was standing very low and I couldn’t make a leg attack," he explained. "So I decided to try from above. At the end, there were only a couple of seconds left, there was no time to think too much. In that moment you either take the risk or end up with nothing. I took the risk. That’s how it happened, I jumped.

"The main thing is first to fake an attack to the legs and trick him. As soon as he leans down, you need to jump upward so he can’t catch your legs. Then you have to be careful, you need to land on both feet so you can lift him and score four points."

As the crowd erupted, Islamgereev celebrated and pointed towards his coach Asker YUSUPOV, who in the stands and jumping around celebrating the victory.

"Yes, of course [I remember the reaction of the crowd], especially my coach," he said. "I looked at him and he was so happy, literally jumping. I think it was the first time in my life I saw him that joyful."

In the final on Wednesday, he defeated Ahmet YAGAN (TUR), 2-1, to become the U23 European champion.

The Dagestan native, who was born in the village Kostek, has been training in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in central Russia. He also won a silver medal at the U20 World Championships last year.

"This is a lesson for me that you should never give up," he said. "You always have to believe, first in God and then in yourself. By doing that, you prove to yourself that, you can win and pull it off no matter how many seconds are left. Even with just a few seconds remaining, even when you need four points, you can still come back and do it."

Islamgereev was the fourth Russian to win the gold medal in Freestyle and Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (RUS) became the fifth after he defeated Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE), 4-1, in the 125kg final.

Russia won the team title with 199 points, while Azerbaijan was second with 170 points. Armenia finished third with 116 points.

Azerbaijan captured a gold on Wednesday through Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) at 92kg after he defeated Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR), 11-0, in a controlled final.

Armenia also won a gold medal, at 61kg, with Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM) beating Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE), 2-1, in the final.

Mikayelyan was leading 1-1 on criteria after both wrestlers exchanged passivity points but he scored a stepout to take a 2-1 lead which Allahverdiyev failed to break.

Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 74kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Itaev Downs Wagin

Zagreb Open Ranking Series bronze medalist Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) defeated U20 European champion Manuel WAGIN (GER) to win the 74kg gold medal. He became only the third wrestler from France to win the gold at U23 Europeans in Freestyle.

Itaev was cautious to start but Wagin's lack of concentration allowed him to score a takedown which put Itaev on the board with two points. He scored a stepout to lead 3-0 at the break.

A scramble in the second period made it 5-3 and Wagin tried a desperate chest-wrap but Itaev brought him down in danger to score four points and all but seal the match. Wagin scored a front head roll for two points but lost the final, 9-5. Germany challenged in vain and the lost challenged added one more point to Itaev's score.

"I am very happy," Itaev said. "Step-by-step I am improving. Wagin is my friend and very intelligent wrestler but I managed to win. Hopefully, I can win a senior medal as well."

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM) df. Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Andrii SHOKALIUK (UKR) df. Besir ALILI (MKD), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Tolga OZBEK (TUR) df. Vasile MARCU (MDA), 2-1

74kg
GOLD: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) df. Manuel WAGIN (GER), 10-5

BRONZE: Saba KOBAKHIDZE (GEO) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 11-4
BRONZE: Magomed BAITUKAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HULNIK (BLR), 11-2

86kg
GOLD: Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (RUS) df. Ahmet YAGAN (TUR), 2-1

BRONZE: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) df. Vasif KHUDIYEV (AZE), 10-0
BRONZE: Artur KOSTIUK (UKR) df. Marius RETCO (MDA), 4-3

92kg
GOLD: Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) df. Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR), 11-0

BRONZE: Alexandru BORS (MDA) df. Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN), 11-0
BRONZE: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (RUS) df. Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM), 10-0

125kg
GOLD: Khabib DAVUDGADZHIEV (RUS) df. Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE), 4-1

BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO), 14-4
BRONZE: Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM) df. Stsiapan MANDRYK (BLR), 10-0

Weekly FIVE! November 5, 2019

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Flying Islamgereev Wins U23 European Gold