#WrestleBudapest

#WrestleBudapest: Senior European Championships Entries

By Eric Olanowski

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 17) -- The senior continental championships season kicks off with the European Championships from March 28 to April 3 in Budapest, Hungary.

A few rivalries will once again be revived as several World and Olympic medalists are named in the list of over 400 wrestlers that will be competing at the end of this month.

The biggest names will be Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO). The Turkey wrestler defeated the Georgian in the first-round match in the last edition. The two have not met since then despite wrestling at the Olympics and World Championships.

Haji ALIYEV (AZE), Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE), Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN) are some other big names in freestyle.

After a stellar last season, Ukraine is bringing a solid women's team to the competition led by Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR).

Anhelina LYSAK (POL), Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) are also entered for the competition.

Greco-Roman will see Riza KAYAALP (TUR) going for this 11th European title while other weight classes have a mix of some established stars and young studs.

ChamizoFrank CHAMIZO (ITA) will be making a return to mat since the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

57kg
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Gary GIORDMAINA (MLT)
Razvan Marian KOVACS (ROU)
Martin ZIDZIK (SVK)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)

61kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Viktor LYZEN (GER)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Shamil OMAROV (ITA)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Adam AL KANDOUSSI (NED)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)

65kg 
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
Vladimir DUBOV (BUL)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Adam VELLA (MLT)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Stevan MICIC (SRB)
Munir AKTAS (TUR)

70kg
Orges LILA (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Raul ZARBALIEV (ISR)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Alban SOPA (KOS)
Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)

74kg 
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Charlie BOWLING (GBR)
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
Artem AUGA (LTU)
Mihail SAVA (MDA)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Malik AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)

79kg
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Miroslav KIROV (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Dan TSESARSKY (ISR)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)

86kg
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Syerus ESLAMI (GBR)
Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Ahmed DUDAROV (GER)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Denis BALAUR (MDA)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Myles AMINE (SMR)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)

92kg
Hovhannes MKHITARYAN (ARM)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Damian IGLESIAS VILELA (ESP)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Alejandro CANADA PANCORBO (ESP)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Burak SAHIN (TUR)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Aydin AHMADOV (AZE)
Jere HEINO (FIN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Magomedgadzhi NURASULOV (SRB)
Gabriel TYSZ (SVK)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)


One of the world's most dominant pinners, Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL), headlines the women's wrestling entries. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg

Turkan NASIROVA (AZE)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Emilia CIRICU BUDEANU (MDA)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Evin DEMIRHAN YAVUZ (TUR)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)

53kg
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Tatiana SALAH DEBIEN (FRA)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Emma MALMGREN (SWE)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Laura STANELYTE (LTU)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Nova BERGMAN (SWE)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)

57kg
Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Jenna HEMIAE (FIN)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Taybe YUSEIN (BUL)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Nataliia SHAFIR MAZUR (ISR)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Anna FABIAN (SRB)
Olivia HENNINGSSON (SWE)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)

65kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Amina CAPEZAN (ROU)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

72kg
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Anna SCHELL (GER)
Tuende ELEKES (HUN)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Buse CAVUSOGLU TOSUN (TUR)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Georgina NELTHORPE (GBR)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Yasemin ADAR (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)

Turkish legend Riza KAYAALP will look to win his eleventh European title. He'll wrestle at 130kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg

Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian SCHMITT (GER)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)

60kg
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Abdolmohammad PAPI (GER)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Michal TRACZ (POL)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Dimitar SANDOV (SUI)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Mateusz SZEWCZUK (POL)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)

67kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Christoph BURGER (AUT)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mateusz BERNATEK (POL)
Pedro DE MATOS OLIVEIRA DE MORAIS CA (POR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Marcos SANCHEZ SILVA MEJIAS (ESP)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Leos DRMOLA (SVK)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)

77kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Mantas SINKEVICIUS (LTU)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Viktor NEMES (SRB)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Yunus BASAR (TUR)

82kg
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)

87kg
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN)
Raido LIITMAEE (EST)
Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO)
Ilias PAGKALIDIS (GRE)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Kristoffer BERG (SWE)
Metehan BASAR (TUR)

97kg
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Revazi NADAREISHVILI (GEO)
Ramsin AZIZSIR (GER)
Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE)
Robert ERSEK (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Michal DYBKA (POL)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)

130kg
David OVASAPYAN (ARM)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Marko KOSCEVIC (CRO)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Delian ALISHAHI (SUI)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)

#WrestleBudapest19

Elsayed Collects Second World Title in Less than Two Weeks at #WrestleBudapest

By Taylor Miller

Photo of Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) by Kadir Caliskan.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) capped off an amazing two-week run that saw him travel to two different continents to compete at two World Championships events, which he won.

Elsayed, who won the World Military Games just 10 days ago, dominated his way to the crown at the 2019 U23 World Championships on Sunday in Budapest, Hungary.

The returning U23 World champion Elsayed faced 2018 Junior European champion and 2019 U23 European bronze medalist Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR) in the 67 kg Greco-Roman title bout.

Elsayed used a strong first period to take a 5-0 lead into the break with a pair of gut wrenches after Liavonchyk was put down in par terre. Moments into the second period, Elsayed finished off the match with a takedown right into a gut wrench on the edge of the mat for a 9-0 victory.

Now a two-time U23 World champion, Elsayed wraps up an impressive 2019 season with a U23 World title, a World Military Games title and a fifth-place finish at the 2019 Senior World Championships in September to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Photo of Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) by Kadir Caliskan.

A pair of Junior World champions went to battle for the gold medal at 97 kg as 2018 Junior World champion Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) took on 2016 Junior World champion Giorgi MELIA (GEO).

Savolainen opened scoring with a four-point takedown, putting Melia to his back for a moment. Georgia challenged the call, but it stood, adding another point to Savolainen’s side of the scoreboard.

Later in the match, Melia scored a correct throw and was awarded a point for his opponent’s passivity, but it was not enough and Savolainen took the gold medal with a 5-3 victory.

At 60 kg, Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) knocked off 2018 Senior World silver medalist Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) in the first gold-medal match on Sunday night.

Melikyan led 4-4 on criteria at the break, thanks to a big four-point takedown halfway through the first period. In the second period, Melikyan and Sharshenbekov traded the lead, each scoring on step outs, but the Armenian hit a throw for four points, giving himself a lead that the Senior World runner-up could not overcome for an eventual 11-7 decision.

Photo of Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) by Sachiko Hotaka.

For the title at 82 kg, 2019 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) topped 2016 Junior World silver medalist Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO) in a first-period technical fall.

Alirzaev got a chance on top in par terre. The two had a wild scramble that ultimately resulted in a gut wrench for the Russian, but among the action, Luburic executed an illegal move to get hit with a caution-and-two.

Croatia challenged the call, but it failed, and they restarted in par terre, where Alirzaev scored quickly on a gut wrench for an 8-0 win in just two minutes.

The gold-medal bout at 72 kg resulted in a shutout victory for 2019 Senior Asian champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), who defeated 2012 Cadet World bronze medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE).

Geraei was on the board early, drawing a passivity from Suleymanov and capitalizing in par terre with a correct throw to go up 3-0. Not long after, Geraei scored a four-point throw for a 7-0 lead at the break. With no scoring in the second period, Geraei secured the gold medal with a 7-0 win.

In the team race, Iran came out on top with 122 points, thanks to three individual Greco champions, edging out second-place Georgia’s 121 points. Taking third was Russia with 118 points.

Finals results
60 kg
GOLD - Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) df. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), 11-7
BRONZE - Artur PETROSIAN (RUS) df. Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR), 9-0
BRONZE - Mehdi Seifollah MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) df. Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN), 9-5

67 kg
GOLD - Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) df. Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR), 9-0
BRONZE - Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) df. Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 9-0
BRONZE - Sajjad Ali IMENTALABFOUMANI (IRI) df. Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL), 2-0

72 kg
GOLD - Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 7-0
BRONZE - Valentin PETIC (MDA) df. Nao KUSAKA (JPN), 6-3
BRONZE - Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR) df. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 4-3

82 kg
GOLD - Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) df. Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO), 8-0
BRONZE - Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ) df. Arman VARDUMYAN (ARM), 16-7
BRONZE - Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) df. Tamas LEVAI (HUN), 4-2

97 kg
GOLD - Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Giorgi MELIA (GEO), 5-3
BRONZE - Dzmitry KAMINSKI (BLR) df. Ravi RAVI (IND), 8-0
BRONZE - Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR), fall

Final team standings
1. Iran – 122
2. Georgia – 121
3. Russia – 118
4. Ukraine – 77
5. Belarus – 69
6. Japan – 65
7. Turkey – 65
8. Armenia – 64
9. Kazakhstan – 54
10. Hungary – 42