#WrestleZagreb

World Championships 2025 Day 1 FS 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 125kg Highlights

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 13) -- The World Championships are underway in Zagreb. The competition kicks off with four weight classes in 61kg, 70kg, 86kg and 125kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | FREESTYLE PREVIEW

14:35: European champion Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) given no chance to Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN) and wins his quarterfinal at 125kg 7-0.

14:34: Robert BARAN (POL), a four-time European medalist, moves closer to his first world medal with a dramatic 6-3 come-from-behind victory over Mohsen SIYAR (GER) in their 125kg quarterfinal. Siyar scored a first-period takedown and added a stepout early in the second to lead 3-0. But with :33 to go, Baran gets behind for a takedown, then goes ahead with another at the :13 mark. He adds a gut wrench in the final seconds to cap an amazing win.

14:27: Asian bronze medalist Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) uses a well-time counter lift to roll back and put Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) directly onto his back. After a short fight, Sharipov secures the fall at the 2:00 mark to advance to the 125kg semifinals. 

14:30: A technical superiority win and into the semifinals is world champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) at 125kg. He scores two takedowns in the first period before a takedown and turn in the second for a 10-0 win over Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO).

14:23: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) is in the semifinals at 61kg with an 8-4 victory over Kamil KERYMOV (UKR). Javan looks in control of his opponents throughout the bout as he showed today.

14:20: Teen phenom Jax FORREST (USA) continues his amazing run in Zagreb, scoring a pair of 4-point takedowns before holding off a late surge from Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) to win 13-8 and advance to the 61kg semifinals.

14:18: Zavur UGUEV (UWW) was down 2-1 against Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) but launches a gut-wrench and storms to a 13-2 victory at 61kg. He looks pretty determined to win that gold after six years.

14:13: Kum Hyok KIM (PRK) gets the takedown, puts his head between the legs of Leomid COLESNIC (MDA) and rolls four times for a 10-0 victory in 1:32 and a place in the 61kg semifinals.

14:11: Former world U20 champion Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) with a big win over Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) in the 86kg quarterfinals. Ishiguro built a 6-2 lead before he got a counter for four and gave up two on exposure and led 10-4. But Azerbaijan challenged the call only to lose it and Ishiguro got one more points. Dzhioev scored two takedowns but they were not enough. Ishiguro won 11-8.

14:08: No last second heartbreaks for Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) as he stuns Ibragim KADIEV (UWW) in the 86kg quarterfinals. Ghasempour led 1-0 after Kadiev was called passive but Kadiev scored a takedown to make it 2-1. Both wrestlers locked each other in chestwraps and threw. It was scored four for Kadiev and two for Ghasempour. Iran challenged the call and it was assessed that there was no danger in the throws. Kadiev got the takedown so he kept his two points to lead 4-1 with 1:28 left.

Ghasempour then waited to set Kadiev up. He faked a shot and Kadiev jumped for his legs. But Ghasempour, who was waiting for it, jumped over and to score the takedown and a turn to lead 5-4. He defended his lead for the last 20 seconds and enter the semifinals.

13:58: If Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) leaves Zagreb with a medal, it will have to be his third world bronze after he was decimated by Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) in their 86kg quarter. Down 1-0, Magamadov secured a high lace lock and muscled Dauletbekov over five times for a 12-1 win in 1:04.

13:54: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) rolls to his third straight 10-0 victory, and this time he ended all in one swoop to advance to the 86kg semifinals. Valencia gets the takedown, then reels off four gut wrenches and that's all for Ivars SAMUSONOK (LAT) in just 35 seconds.

13:51: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) pulls off another close victory in advancing at 70kg, scoring a late takedown for an 8-6 victory over Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE). Heybatov led 6-3, scoring three takedowns to Andreasyan's three stepouts. But the Armenian closed the gap with a two stepouts before taking the lead for the first time with a takedown. An unsuccessful challenge added the final point.

13:50: A heat bout between Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) and Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) at 70kg. Muszukajev was complaining of a hit from Aoyagi who himself was complaining of a punch from Muszukajev. But all said and done, Aoyagi is back in the semifinals with an 11-0 win over Muszukajev.

13:49: American-born Austin GOMEZ (MEX), looking to give Mexico its first-ever world medal, storms out to a 6-0 lead in his 70kg quarterfinal with reigning world champion Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ). But Kaipanov gets a takedown before the break, then a takedown and exposure after it to go ahead 6-6 on criteria. Gomez isn't finished and gets a takedown with 1:04 left, but Kaipanov breaks Mexican hearts with a takedown with :24 left, then defends against a last-ditch attempt to win 10-8.

13:40: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) with a technical superiority win over Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) in the quarterfinals at 70kg. Tumur Ochir with a takedown and four turns to win 11-0.

Quarterfinals begin at the same time in all the weight classes

13:10: Former world bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) absolutely dominates Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) in the 86kg 1/8 finals. He scored a takedown and two gut-wrench turns in his 8-1 victory.

13:09: European silver medalist Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) makes short work of Gyeongmin KIM (KOR), scoring a quick 10-0 victory to earn a probable quarterfinal clash with Amir ZARE (IRI) at 125kg.

13:08: Leomid COLESNIC (MDA) pulls an upset at 61kg, building a 6-1 lead in the first period and holding on for a 7-4 victory over former world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.

13:02: Suprise on Mat D as Iranian-born Mohsen SIYAR (GER) knocks off two-time world medalist Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) 5-2 for a place in the 125kg quarterfinals. Munkhtur gets an activity point for the lone score of the first period. In the second, the Mongolian is on the activity clock when Siyar scores a snapdown, go-behind takedown. A Munkhtur stepout cuts the lead to 3-2, but Siyar uses a counter lift for 2 to seal the deal.

12:52: Takara SUDA (JPN) cannot handle the pressure from Jaxen FORREST (USA) in their 61kg bout and drops his bout 7-2. Suda was put on the clock first and did not score as Forrest got a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Suda was more active but Forrest had unbelievable positioning to keep his lead. He managed to score a takedown on Suda for a 3-0 lead. He added another for a 5-0 lead before Suda got 2 points for exposure with less than a minute left. He failed to score any and got countered for two points as Forrest won 7-2

12:44: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) stayed on track to add to his two world golds at 92kg by advancing to the 86kg quarterfinals with a one-sided 10-0 victory over Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL). Ghasempour had four takedowns, including a 4-pointer.

12:35: World U20 champion PJ DUKE (USA) gave it all he had against world champion Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) but the Kazakhstan wrestler finishes with a 11-7 victory at 70kg. Duke blasted two takedowns and led 4-0 before Kaipanov came back in the second period. He made it 4-4 before a gut-wrench gave him a 6-4 lead. Kaipanov led 9-7 when Duke tried a chest wrap but Kaipanov blocked it and scored the match closing takedown.

12:34: Former world U20 champion Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) launches a big 4-point throw then finishes up a 10-0 win over Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR) in just 1:25 to advance to the 86kg quarterfinals.

12:33: Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) left it late, but kept alive his bid for a second career world title with a 4-2 victory over Saiyn KAZYRYK (UWW)  to make the 70kg quarterfinals. After giving up a stepout and activity point in the first period, Muszukajev comes back with a pair of stepouts, the second one coming with :51 left to go ahead on criteria. He picks up a takedown to finish the job.

12:32: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) storms into the 86kg quarterfinals with his second straight victory by 10-0 technical superiority. This time he takes out Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) with a similar combination of single-leg takedowns and lace locks as in his earlier win.

12:30: Returning silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) humbles Asian champion Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) at 70kg with a leg-lace. 11-0 victory for Aoyagi

12:26: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), nursing a 3-1 lead, ties up the arms of Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL) and pancakes him to the mat for a fall at 4:30 and he's into the 70kg quarterfinals.

12:16: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) continues to take a cautious approach, but it works for him in posting a 4-1 victory over Viktor VOINOVIC (SRB) to advance to the quarterfinals at 70kg. Andreasyan scores a stepout and activity point in the first period, then two stepouts in the second. Voinovic, trying to get something going, gets the Armenian's leg in the air, but all he can settle for is a stepout.

11:48: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) with a 13-2 technical superiority Joshua KRAMER (ECU) at 61kg. Great counters from Javan to score takedowns.

11:47: In a classic battle between recent world U23 champions at 125kg, Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW) gets the big points in key situations to score a 14-4 victory over Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA). Kurbanov comes out with single-leg takedown to the back for 4. Hendrickson replies with a stepout, but gives up a 2-point exposure when he tries to get behind. In the second period, Kurbanov gets a counter lift for 2 while giving up 1 for a reversal, making it 8-2. Hendrickson then counter lifts for 2 to pull within four. But Kurbanov stuffs an attempted lift for 2, then adds a gut wrench to finish up the match in the final minute.

11:36: Former world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) scores a second-period takedown while on the activity clock and that's enough to give him a 3-0 victory over Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) at 61kg.

11:35: Jaxen FORREST (USA) keeps the unbeaten run of the United States going with a technical superiority win over Sangboum HAN (KOR) at 61kg

11:22: Two-time world bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) overwhelms Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU) 10-0 in his opening match at 86kg. Dauletbekov scores a takedown, then rolls Lescauskas back and forth three times to go up 8-0. He ends the match by countering a takedown attempt by locking the Lithuanian in a cradle and turning him over.

11:09: Zahid VALENCIA (USA), a 2023 world bronze medalist at 92kg, gets his campaign at 86kg off to an impressive start with a 10-0 victory over Mukul DAHIYA (IND). Valencia comes out like gangbusters, scoring a takedown and reeling off two lace locks for a quick 6-0 lead. He adds another takedown, but can't turn over Dahiya to go up 8-0. Despite Dahiya's stiff defense, Valencia finally gets behind to end the match.

11:02: Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB) gives up the go-ahead takedown to ROHIT (IND) in their 70kg qualification bout, but comes back with a takedown with :40 left to walk off a 5-4 winner. Next up is second seed Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO).

10:57: Ibragim KADIEV (UWW), a two-time world U20 champion, starts 86kg with a 9-2 controlled win over Cezary SADOWSKI (POL) to advance at 86kg.

10:53: Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) held his own for the first period but is totally outsmarted by Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the second period as the Azerbaijan wrestler beats Yazdani 15-4 at 70kg.

10:50: PJ DUKE (USA), coming off a victory at the world U20 a few months ago, got his bid for the senior title at 70kg started with a 11-0 victory over Shuang CHEN (CHN). Duke used a 2-on-1 to score three stepouts, then used it to get behind for a takedown and leveraged Chen over for a 2-point exposure. In the second period, Duke needs just 18 seconds to get behind again, get another exposure and he's into the next round.

10:42: In a fierce opening match on Mat C, European silver medalist Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) comes away with a nail-biting 5-5 over Asian silver medalist Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) at 70kg. Andreasyan holds a 3-3 criteria lead when Rassadin scores a stepout with a fleeing point added on to go ahead with :35 left. But the Armenian is not done yet, and gets a stepout and fleeing point of his own with 2.4 seconds left to notch the win.

10:37: Olympic medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB), who moved up to 70kg for the World Championships, drops his first match against world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN). Dudaev led 1-0 but is put on the activity clock in the second period. He fails to score and Muszukajev wins 1-1 ion criteria.

10:36: Saiyn KAZYRYK (UWW) built an 8-2 lead before securing a fall over Oleksii BORUTA (UKR) in the opening round bout at 70kg.

10:34: Two-time world medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) makes short work of Jorge GATICA (CHI) in the opening bout on Mat D at 70kg, finishing off a 10-0 win in just a tick over two minutes. With the win, Akmataliev has set up a rematch with top-seeded Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) of his wild semifinal win at the Asian Championships.

10:30: The World Championships at the Arena Zagreb kicks off today! We have wrestling in 61kg, 70kg, 86kg and 125kg. 

#WrestleZagreb

Fujinami displays dominance in winning return at Zagreb Open

By Vinay Siwach


ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- Among all the noise around new world champions last year in Belgrade and her absence from international competitions due to injury, Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)'s name got lost in the discussions regarding being a threat for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But the 19-year-old on Saturday reminded the world of her domination with a gold medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series. In her five bouts, she finished with a 51-0 record, including a 10-0 win over Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bolortuya BAT-OCHIR (MGL).

The five wins extended her winning streak to 111 bouts, dating back to junior high school in 2017.

"I am happy to be here. I am fully fit as well," Fujinami said.

Since the Asian Championships in April last year, Fujinami remained out of action internationally due to injuries. She pulled out of the U20 World Championships in August owing to cellulitis in her leg and was forced to sit out of the senior World Championships in September after suffering ligament damage in the left foot on the first day of the national camp.

The 2021 world champion returned to the mat at the Emperor's Cup in December and won the 53kg weight class albeit without facing Tokyo Olympic champion Mayu SHIDOCHI (JPN).

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) outscored her opponents 51-0 in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

When that bout happens is to be seen but before that, Fujinami is making sure that no one takes her lightly.

Beginning with Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL), Fujinami worked with multiple takedowns instead of her favorite ankle pick to leg lace transition. She defeated the former U23 world champion Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) 10-0 before taking out two Canadian world medalists in succession. Karla GODINEZ (CAN) and Samantha STEWART (CAN) suffered 10-0 and 11-0 losses respectively.

One of the surprises she threw at her opponents was to not go for the leg lace and instead score more through takedowns. Fujinami explained that it was her conscious effort to try new techniques.

"Now my favorite technique is to go for single leg or ankle pick and it's working," Fujinami said. "But I cannot win using the same technique every time. So I need to change and improve my technique."

In the final against Bat-Ochir, Fujinami was aware of the threat that Mongolian wrestlers pose with their ability to pin. Dropping the idea of ankle pick which would need her to reach deep, Fujinami kept her distance and worked on takedowns.

"I felt that the Mongolian wanted me to do the ankle pick to her so I was very careful to transition into a lace," she said. "I wanted to try my new and small techniques which my coaches taught at Nippon Sports Science University. I am training for these things and I tried if they will work here."

Fujinami also regretted the fact that she failed to defend her world title in Belgrade but treats that time as motivation to work harder for Paris Olympics.

"I was very frustrated but I take that as a trial for the Paris Olympics," she said. "After I go back, I will watch the videos of this tournament with my coaches. This is the most important time for me. I have to struggle and train more."

Fujinami will now be preparing for the Asian Championships before the all-important Meiji Cup in June. Winning the gold medal in Meiji Cup will mean that she will wrestle at the World Championships in Belgrade. A medal in Belgrade will give her an automatic qualification for Paris Olympics.

Sae NANJO (JPN) won the 57kg final against Yongxin FENG (CHN) 12-1. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

It will be a similar path for Sae NANJO (JPN) as she tries to reach her first Olympics. She won the 57kg gold medal in Zagreb after beating Yongxin FENG (CHN) 12-1 in the final.

Placed with the lower half of the bracket with Ningning RONG (CHN), Helen MAROULIS (USA), and Alexandria TOWN (CAN), it was a shock that Patrycja GIL (POL) reached the semifinal against Nanjo.

Gil defeated Rong 5-4 before shocking Maroulis 10-5 in the quarterfinals. But she failed to put up a fight against Nanjo who scored a technical superiority win over Gil.

In the final, Nanjo turned it up in the second period with tight defense and enough attacks to keep the lead. In the dying seconds, she got a takedown and roll.

Returning to senior-level competition for the first time since winning a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships, Nanjo felt nervous.

"I was nervous about this competition because this was my first senior competition since the 2021 Oslo World Championships," Nanjo said. "But my teammates told me that I won against the world champion [Tsugumi SAKURA (JPN) at Emperor's Cup] so everything will be okay."

When asked if beating Sakurai gave her more confidence than before, Nanjo said it did not matter.

"Nothing changed much because I defeated Sakurai," she said. "I don't care who I wrestle against."

Japan finished women's wrestling with six gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

Yelena MAKOYED (USA) pins Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) in the 76kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Makoyed shines again

Yelena is quickly making a name for herself in the 76kg weight class as she ran through the field to win the gold medal. That was her third Ranking Series gold medal as she captured two last year.

In Zagreb, she pinned world bronze medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) in the final using an arm-bar inside the first period.

In her previous three bouts, she won all three by technical superiority. In the semifinal, she defeated Dymond GUILFORD (USA) 12-2.

Skylar GROTE (USA) added the second gold for the USA on Saturday as she won the 72kg weight classes with some convincing wins throughout the day.

In the final, she defeated Dalma CAVENA (ITA) 3-1, capturing her second Ranking Series gold medal.

HUSIYUETU (CHN) stunned Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB) 13-4 in the semifinals. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Husiyuetu stuns 67kg

HUSIYUETU (CHN), who finished ninth at the senior World Championships, stunned the 67kg field with the gold medal after being drawn in one of the toughest sides of the bracket.

He opened with a win over Elmer MATTILA (FIN) 3-1, Hasiyeutu survived a scare against Mihai MIHUT (ROU) who scored three points in the first half. But Hasiyeutu got the opportunity to be in par terre and he turned Mattila to win 4-3.

The semifinal against Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB) gave a peek into Hasiyeutu's strength. Despite trailing 4-0, Hasiyeutu scored 13 points and won 13-4, exposing Orta using an unconventional grip. 

"I am so happy with the wrestling," Hasiyeutu said. "The bout against Orta from Cuba was very hard for me."

In the final, he was up against Reza ABBASI (IRI) and waited for his turn to be on top. Once there, he used a similar grip and git two rolls to win 5-2.

The 63kg gold medal went to Taleh MAMADOV (AZE) who defeated Aref Hossein Khoun MOHAMMADI (IRI) 7-2 in the final.

sd

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD: Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) df. Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL), 10-0

BRONZE: Iulia LEORDA (MDA) df. Diana WEICKER (CAN), 10-0
BRONZE: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Karla GODINEZ (CAN), 6-1

57kg
GOLD: Sae NANJO (JPN) df. Yongxin FENG (CHN), 12-1

BRONZE: Qi ZHANG (CHN) df. Patrycja GIL (POL), 4-2
BRONZE: Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) df. Giullia PENALBER (BRA), 3-2

72kg
GOLD: Skylar GROTE (USA) df. Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 3-1

BRONZE: Sumire NIIKURA (JPN) df. Milla ANDELIC (CRO), 18-7

76kg
GOLD: Yelena MAKOYED (USA) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 4-2

BRONZE: Justina DI STASIO (CAN) df. Juan WANG (CHN), 6-3
BRONZE: Dymond GUILFORD (USA) df. Precious BELL (USA), 13-0

Greco-Roman

63kg
GOLD:  Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Aref Hossein Khoun MOHAMMADI (IRI), 7-2

BRONZE: Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO) df. Aker AL OBAIDI (AUT), 3-1
BRONZE: Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Shermukhammad SHARIBJANOV (UZB), 10-0

67kg
GOLD: HUSIYUETU (CHN) df. Reza ABBASI (IRI), 5-2

BRONZE: ASHU (IND) df. Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU), 5-0
BRONZE: Luis ORTA (CUB) df. Elmer MATTILA (FIN), 4-2