#WrestleUfa

#WrestleUfa Junior World Championship Entries

By Eric Olanowski

UFA, Russia (August 12) --- After a 729-day layoff due to the worldwide pandemic, United World Wrestling will host the Junior World Championships for the first time since the '19 Tallinn Junior Worlds. 

Over 500 athletes from 52 different nations will compete in Ufa, Russia, August 16-22 for junior world gold. Freestyle kicks off the schedule of events next Monday, with women's wrestling and Greco-Roman action following.

Freestyle
57kg
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Kiryl PRAKOPAU (BLR)
Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MARTIDIS (GRE)
Shubham SHUBHAM (IND)
Ali Abolfazl GHOLI ZADEGAN KOLOUKHI (IRI)
Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA)
Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Demian LIUTCANOV (MDA)
Dashtseren PURVEE (MGL)
Ramazan BAGAVUDINOV (RUS)
Hasintha Madhushika De Silva DUNUHINGA (SRI)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Richard FIGUEROA II (USA)

61kg
Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM)
Abulfaz NASIROV (AZE)
Ivan HRAMYKA (BLR)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Omar GAZASHVILI (GEO)
Ravinder RAVINDER (IND)
Rahman Mousa AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI)
Salamat MALIKOV (KAZ)
Aktan DOORONBEKOV (KGZ)
Pavel ANDRUSCA (MDA)
Battulga RAASH (MGL)
Bartosz Krzysztof SOLTYS (POL)
Fedor BALTUEV (RUS)
Lahiru Sumindya Fernando WANNAKU WATHTHA WADUGE (SRI)
Khairullo KULULOV (TJK)
Hamza ZOPALI (TUR)
Jesse Wayne MENDEZ (USA)

65kg
Davit MARGARYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Anatoli HRAMYKA (BLR)
Lachlan Maurice MCNEIL (CAN)
Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY)
Giorgi TCHOLADZE (GEO)
Marcell BUDAI KOVACS (HUN)
Rohit ROHIT (IND)
Seyedhassan Seyedhossein EBADIMERMETI (IRI)
Bekzat YERMEKBAY (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Viljams LUTKEVICS (LAT)
Alin CIORICI (MDA)
Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Piotr Patryk SOBOLEWSKI (POL)
Shamil MAMEDOV (RUS)
Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
Burak SININ (TUR)
Saif Mubarak Belal Saeed ALMESMARI (UAE)
Narek POHOSIAN (UKR)
Beau Reynald BARTLETT (USA)

70kg
Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Benedikt HUBER (AUT)
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Mikita DZEMCHANKA (BLR)
Ivan Nikolaev STOYANOV (BUL)
Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO)
Simon Jakob MONZ (GER)
Jonnathan Alejandro PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA)
Jaideep JAIDEEP (IND)
Erfan Mohammad ELAHI (IRI)
Asset BAUYRZHANOV (KAZ)
Alikhan ALISHER UULU (KGZ)
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA)
Stanislav SVINOBOEV (RUS)
Viktor Stiven VOINOVIC (SRB)
Anthony Chamoth Nethmina PETER COOREGE DON (SRI)
Kevin Gerry MAKOTA STROEM (SWE)
Jafarbek QURBONOV (TJK)
Mevlut OZDEMIR (TUR)
Bryce Parker ANDONIAN (USA)

74kg
Armen MUSIKYAN (ARM)
Joseph James Granich FALLON (AUS)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
David KISIYEU (BLR)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Stas David WOLF (GER)
Balint BALAZS (HUN)
Yash YASH (IND)
Sobhan Hooshang YARI (IRI)
Nurdaulet KUANYSHBAY (KAZ)
Stambul ZHANYBEK UULU (KGZ)
Daniels BENDIKS (LAT)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Patryk KOSTRZEWSKI (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Idar KHATANOV (RUS)
Ushan Nadishka MUTHUGAL PEDIGE (SRI)
Saidasan ASHRAFKHONOV (TJK)
Taner GARIP (TUR)
Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA)

79kg
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Dzmitry DZENISENIA (BLR)
Carson Barry LEE (CAN)
Saifeldin Shokry Mohamed Mahmoud ELKOUMY (EGY)
Bagrati GAGNIDZE (GEO)
Richard SCHROEDER (GER)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Baliyan GOURAV (IND)
Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI)
Makhambet NURZHAUBAYEV (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Osmans DZASEZEVS (LAT)
Lilian BALAN (MDA)
Munkhdavaa BAYARMUNKH (MGL)
Damian Daniel KORBUS (POL)
Arno VAN ZIJL (RSA)
Alik BADTIEV (RUS)
Jinuka Lankaja ABEYAGUNASEKARA (SRI)
Abubakr SHUKUROV (TJK)
Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR)
Ruslan AKHMETKHANOV (UKR)
Donnell Russell WASHINGTON JR (USA)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Sagadulla AGAEV (AZE)
Ilya KHAMTSOU (BLR)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua Philipp David MORODION (GER)
Cesar Andres UBICO ESTRADA (GUA)
Vetal Audumbar SHELKE (IND)
Amirhossein Biglar FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI)
Islyambek ILYASSOV (KAZ)
Samatbek STANBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Temuujin MENDBILEG (MGL)
Islam KARTOEV (RUS)
Avindu Srilak WANNIARACHCHI (SRI)
Emre CIFTCI (TUR)
Colton Gregory HAWKS (USA)

92kg
Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Abduljalil SHABANOV (AZE)
Uladzislau KAZLOU (BLR)
Juho Joel Eemeli RUUSILA (FIN)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Johannes MAYER (GER)
Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE)
Krisztian Gabor ANGYAL (HUN)
Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (IND)
Mahdi Moharamali HAJILOUEIANMORAFAH (IRI)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Nurbolot ADYL UULU (KGZ)
Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA)
Bayarbaatar NERGUIBAATAR (MGL)
Nicolaas Johannes Steyn DE LANGE (RSA)
Ivan KIRILLOV (RUS)
Sethusha Ruwel Vishmika Senanayake WADDUWA PALLIYA GURUNNANSELAGE DON (SRI)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR)
Rocky Joseph ELAM (USA)
Mukhammadrasul RAKHIMOV (UZB)

97kg
Khasay YUSIFOV (AZE)
Aliaksei PARKHOMENKA (BLR)
Luka KHUTCHUA (GEO)
Charalampos AFTOFORIDIS (GRE)
Milan Andras KORCSOG (HUN)
Deepak DEEPAK (IND)
Ali Reza Abbasali ABDOLLAHI (IRI)
Yunus GAFUROV (KAZ)
Baiaman MYKTYBEKOV (KGZ)
Olegs ROMANOVSKIS (LAT)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Myagmarsuren AMARSANAA (MGL)
Soslan DZHAGAEV (RUS)
Polat POLATCI (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Braxton James AMOS (USA)

125kg
Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM)
Aydin AHMADOV (AZE)
Danila DANILOV (BLR)
Georgi Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL)
Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed Mohamed KHALIL (EGY)
Giorgi CHIKHRADZE (GEO)
Csaba UBORNYAK (HUN)
Kumar ANIRUDH (IND)
Ali Mohammadebrahim AKBARPOURKHORDOUNI (IRI)
Bekzat TAZHI (KAZ)
Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ)
Batmagnai ENKHTUVSHIN (MGL)
Jakub CZERCZAK (POL)
Andrei BESTAEV (RUS)
Efe Anil AL (TUR)
Wyatt Avery HENDRICKSON (USA)


Greco-Roman
55kg
Garnik HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Elmir ALIYEV (AZE)
Artsiom KATSAR (BLR)
Denis Krasimirov DEMIROV (BUL)
Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Kumar ANUP (IND)
Amirreza Mohammadreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI)
Melkamu FETENE (ISR)
Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Akyikat KULZHIGIT UULU (KGZ)
Kaspars BONDARENKO (LAT)
Snorre Harsem LUND (NOR)
Denis Florin MIHAI (ROU)
Pavel BELKIN (RUS)
Aslamdzhon AZIZOV (TJK)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)
Vasyl MYSHANYCH (UKR)
William Dennis SULLIVAN IV (USA)

60kg
Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)
Nihat Zahid MAMMADLI (AZE)
Hleb MAKARANKA (BLR)
Edmond Armen NAZARYAN (BUL)
Ahmed Fouad Fouad Hussein BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Tino Tapio OJALA (FIN)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Vikas VIKAS (IND)
Saeid Morad Gholi ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Baktiiar AKBERDIEV (KGZ)
Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)
Arslanbek SALIMOV (POL)
Miguel Angelo LOUREIRO DOS SANTOS (POR)
Dinislam BAMMATOV (RUS)
Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
Mert ILBARS (TUR)
Nicholas Pierce BOUZAKIS (USA)

63kg
Gevorg SUKIASYAN (ARM)
Ziya BABASHOV (AZE)
Maksim STUPAKEVICH (BLR)
Ilia Dimitrov MUSTAKOV (BUL)
Domagoj CELICEK (CRO)
Kasperi Kristian KAUHANEN (FIN)
Yanis Driss NIFRI (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Ioannis PETKOS (GRE)
Anil ANIL (IND)
Iman Hossein Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Dias ASKERBAY (KAZ)
Omurzak TILEKABYLOV (KGZ)
Corneliu RUSU (MDA)
Mairbek SALIMOV (POL)
Manuel STOICA (ROU)
Said Khusein BAKAEV (RUS)
Niklas Jan Olov Pontus OEHLEN (SWE)
Ismail ORUCOGLU (TUR)
Oleg KHALILOV (UKR)
Chayse William Roy LAJOIE (USA)

67kg
Sahak HOVHANNISYAN (ARM)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Uladzimir KARPIYEVICH (BLR)
Kristijan BOSNJAK (CRO)
Ekke Kou LEITHAM (EST)
Nestori Kalle Mikael MANNILA (FIN)
Gagik Mishai SNJOYAN (FRA)
Luka OCHIGAVA (GEO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Nikolaos KALAIDOPOULOS (GRE)
Carlos Valerio FUENTES PERALTA (GUA)
Adam POHILEC (HUN)
Deepak DEEPAK (IND)
Seyed Danial Seyed Shamsollah SOHRABI (IRI)
Shon NADORGIN (ISR)
Din Mukhamed KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Vilius SAVICKAS (LTU)
Kamil Aleksander CZARNECKI (POL)
Muslim IMADAEV (RUS)
Georgios Michalis BARBANOS (SWE)
Nozimjon SOBIROV (TJK)
Serhat KIRIK (TUR)
Marian HOLUBOVSKYI (UKR)
Dominic John DAMON (USA)

72kg
Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Matthias HAUTHALER (AUT)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Andrei KAVALEUSKI (BLR)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Attila Tamas TOESMAGI (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Ariell SOSUNOV (ISR)
Abdiazim KARABAYEV (KAZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Eimantas VILIMAS (LTU)
Diogo Alexandre FERREIRA CANILHAS (POR)
Evgenii BAIDUSOV (RUS)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK)
Omer Can DOGAN (TUR)
Vladyslav YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)
Justus Rian SCOTT (USA)

77kg
Samvel GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Eljan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Aliaksei PIAKHOTA (BLR)
Marek VRBA (CZE)
Emad Ashraf Mohamed ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Robyn PAULBERG (EST)
Jonni Kunnari SARKKINEN (FIN)
Giorgi SHPETISHVILI (GEO)
Andreas VASILAKOPOULOS (GRE)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Deepak DEEPAK (IND)
Mohammadhossein Rezaali AZARMDOKHT (IRI)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Omar SATAYEV (KAZ)
Rassul ZHUNIS (KAZ)
Bakdaulet EGENBERDIEV (KGZ)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Konrad Lukasz KOZLOWSKI (POL)
Vasile Daniel COJOC (ROU)
Ravdan DZHUDZHINOV (RUS)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Matthew Arthur SINGLETON (USA)

82kg
Karen KHACHATRYAN (ARM)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Mikhail KHACHATURAU (BLR)
Ondrej HAVELKA (CZE)
Fares Mohamed Abdelsattar GHALY (EGY)
Robin USPENSKI (EST)
Saba MAMALADZE (GEO)
Kevin GREMM (GER)
Dominik Andras MEZEI (HUN)
Ravi MALIK (IND)
Mohammad Aziz NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Azimkhon ABDALIYEV (KAZ)
Zhenish ZHUMABEKOV (KGZ)
Semion BREKKELI (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Adam Mateusz GARDZIOLA (POL)
Amirkhan TSECHOEV (RUS)
Samet YALDIRAN (TUR)
Mykyta ALIEKSIEIEV (UKR)
Jonathon Crag FAGEN (USA)

87kg
Fadi ROUABAH (ALG)
Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM)
Lachin VALIYEV (AZE)
Dzmitry SALAUYANAU (BLR)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Kevin USPENSKI (EST)
Giorgi METREVELI (GEO)
Lucas Alexandros LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Patrik Janos MEZEI (HUN)
Sonu SONU (IND)
Ali Ramezanali ABEDIDARZI (IRI)
Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
Nartu ABDURAKHMANOV (KGZ)
Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Mukhammad EVLOEV (RUS)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Algot Lennart Botvid KAELLMAN (SWE)
Tansel Can ORTUCU (TUR)
Oleksandr PRYMACHENKO (UKR)
Kodiak Gary STEPHENS (USA)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (AZE)
Pavel HLINCHUK (BLR)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Richard KARELSON (EST)
Antti Henrik Juhani HAANPAEAE (FIN) 
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Anton Erich VIEWEG (GER)
Apostolos Panagiotis TSIOVOLOS (GRE)
Narinder CHEEMA (IND)
Morteza Rasoul ALGHOSI (IRI)
Yerzat YERLANOV (KAZ)
Arkyt OROZBEKOV (KGZ)
Ignas BUKAUSKAS (LTU)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Igor SHEPETUN (POL)
Aleksei MILESHIN (RUS)
Mustafa OLGUN (TUR)
Yurii DOROHAN (UKR)
Braxton James AMOS (USA)

125kg
Razmik KURDYAN (ARM)
Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE)
Mikita KAVALSKI (BLR)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Mate GOKADZE (GEO)
Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE)
Adolf BAZSO (HUN)
Parvesh PARVESH (IND)
Amirmohammad Mahdi BAYAT (IRI)
Assylbek ZHANIBEKULY (KAZ)
Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)
Tomasz Jacek WAWRZYNCZYK (POL)
Armen CHOLOKIAN (RUS)
Muhammet Hamza BAKIR (TUR)
Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)
Luke Andrew LUFFMAN (USA)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Natallia VARAKINA (BLR)
Shaimaa Atef Barakat MOHAMED (EGY)
Simran SIMRAN (IND)
Ayazhan MARKASHEVA (KAZ)
Nazik MIRLAN KYZY (KGZ)
Enkhzul BATBAATAR (MGL)
Natalia Edyta WALCZAK (POL)
Georgiana Lavinia ANTUCA (ROU)
Viktoriia ALEKSANDROVA (RUS)
Ellen Inger Kristina OESTMAN (SWE)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Emily King SHILSON (USA)

53kg
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Aliaksandra BULAVA (BLR)
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
Aizhan SABYRBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)
Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL)
Agata Paulina KAZIMIERCZAK (POL)
Beatrice Ionela FERENT (ROU)
Choigana TUMAT (RUS)
Chamodya Keshani MADURAVALAGE DON (SRI)
Emma Jonna Denise MALMGREN (SWE)
Emine CAKMAK (TUR)
Jaslynn Isabella GALLEGOS (USA)

55kg
Alesia HETMANAVA (BLR)
Antonia Alejandra VALDEZ ARRIAGADA (CHI)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Sito SITO (IND)
Sandugash DYUSSENGALIYEVA (KAZ)
Kalmira BILIMBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Munkhgerel MUNKHBAT (MGL)
Anne SVARSTAD (NOR)
Julia Wiktoria NOWICKA (POL)
Anastasiia IANDUSHKINA (RUS)
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR)
Payton Jane STROUD (USA)

57kg
Maryia HULIDA (BLR)
Mansi MANSI (IND)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Gantsetseg BATSUKH (MGL)
Jannicke Marie STROEMNES (NOR)
Patrycja Ewa STRZELCZYK (POL)
Anastasiia KOZLOVA (RUS)
Nethmi Ahinsa Fernando PORUTHOTAGE (SRI)
Nellie Anna Regina FLORENTIN (SWE)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Claire Marie DICUGNO (USA)

59kg
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Aryna MARTYNAVA (BLR)
Jolie Donna Elizabeth BRISCO (CAN)
Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)
Kusum KUSUM (IND)
Madina AMAN (KAZ)
Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Aleksandra Weronika WITOS (POL)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (RUS)
Ebru DAGBASI (TUR)
Mia Kaur MACALUSO (USA)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Nadzeya BULANAYA (BLR)
Meiriele CHARAMBA SANTOS HORA (BRA)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Luisa SCHEEL (GER)
Devi SANJU (IND)
Zhangul BOLD (KAZ)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
Viktoria Miriam OEVERBY (NOR)
Paulina Malgorzata DANISZ (POL)
Alina KASABIEVA (RUS)
Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR)
Korina Alexis BLADES (USA)

65kg
Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE)
Yana TRETSIAK (BLR)
Viktoria VESSO (EST)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Bhateri BHATERI (IND)
Ayazhan TOKTASH (KAZ)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL)
Ingrid Bergh SKARD (NOR)
Zuzanna WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Amina Roxana CAPEZAN (ROU)
Valeriia TRIFONOVA (RUS)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Seda BASGOL (TUR)
Alara Lea BOYD (USA)

68kg
Alina MIKLASHEUSKAYA (BLR)
Arju ARJU (IND)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ)
Karolina Gabriela KOZLOWSKA (POL)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (RUS)
Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Amit ELOR (USA)

72kg
Kseniya PATAPOVICH (BLR)
Marta PAJULA (EST)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Lili UJFALVI (HUN)
Saneh SANEH (IND)
Alexandra ZAITSEVA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Tsogzolmaa DORJSUREN (MGL)
Daniela TKACHUK (POL)
Paula Aurelia Izabela ROTARU (ROU)
Mariam GUSEINOVA (RUS)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Kennedy Alexis BLADES (USA)

76kg
Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)
Carla LERA CELDA (ESP)
Laura Celine KUEHN (GER)
Eleni PAPADOPOULOU (GRE)
Bipasha BIPASHA (IND)
Dilnaz MULKINOVA (KAZ)
Odbag ULZIIBAT (MGL)
Mariia SILINA (RUS)
Melisa SARITAC (TUR)
Kylie Renee WELKER (USA)

#WrestleBaku

Vyshnyvetskyi, Hasanli avenge losses to rivals, reach U23 European finals

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 20) -- The last time Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) faced Muhammet BAKIR (TUR), it ended in a bruising defeat that also deprived him of a world title. On Monday, he avenged that loss. And in doing so, the Greco-Roman wrestler has given himself a chance to defend his U23 European Championship crown in the 130kg category.

The first day of the continental age-group championship in Baku saw the third installment in a little more than a year of the riveting rivalry between two of the finest U23 wrestlers in this weight category.

When they met in the semifinals of the U23 European Championship in March 2023, Vyshnyvetskyi prevailed over his Turkish opponent in what turned out to be a lopsided bout. When the duo faced off later that year at the U23 World Championship, Bakir returned the favor in style, defeating his nemesis in the gold medal bout.

So, when the draws were out for the Greco-Roman bouts, it was hardly a surprise that the re-match between Vyshnyvetskyi and Bakir was one of the most anticipated matches of the day. And it lived up to the hype, although not in a way Bakir would have liked.

Vyshnyvetskyi beat his Turkish opponent 9-1 to advance to the final. Bakir had his chance when he got the par terre advantage in the first period but Vyshnyvetskyi stood up. Bakir was trying to lock his arms around the Ukrainian when Vyshnyvetskyi hit a four-pointer grabbing one of Bakir's arms. Turkiye challenged but to no avail, adding one more point to Vyshnyvetskyi's score for the lost challenge.

Vyshnyvetskyi used another four-pointer when the two were in a bear-hug position to finish the bout 9-1 in two minutes and 13 seconds.

It was a day when the Ukrainian wrestler hardly had to break a sweat. He began with a 2-1 win over Marcel ALBINI (CZE) in the qualification round, then pinned Dominik KRAWCZYK (POL) after leading 12-1 in the quarterfinals before he got the job done against Bakir in the last-four round.

Vyshnyvetskyi will take on Koppany LASZLO (HUN) in the final. The 18-year-old from Hungary got the better of Dmitrii BABORYKO (AIN) to reach Tuesday's gold medal match.

Khasay HASANLI (AZE)Khasay HASANLI (AZE) tries to score on Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) in the 77kg semifinal at the U23 European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

This wasn't the only bout on Monday that had a gripping backstory and ended with one of the wrestlers getting his revenge.

In the 77kg weight class, Khasay HASANLI (AZE) stunned the reigning world and European U23 champion Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) 7-0 to set up a final encounter with Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR).

Like Vyshnyvetskyi and Bakir, this was part three of the rivalry between Hasanli and Gutu. In fact, it was a rivalry only on paper as the Moldovan wrestler had defeated his Azerbaijani opponent twice. On both those occasions, it was in the finals: in the U23 European Championships last year, Gutu won 6-3 and at the U23 Worlds later, he won the gold with a 3-1 win.

Competing in front of his home crowd, the 22-year-old didn't concede a single point as he turned the tables in style. In the semifinal against Gutu, Hasanli got the par terre position and scored two points for a correct throw. Gutu was docked two caution points for committing a defensive foul and was put in par terre. Hasanli did not make any big moves but Gutu was cautioned again for a leg foul, ending the bout due to his two cautions.

Hasanli wasn't the only one with a chance to win a gold medal in front of his own supporters. In the 63kg category, Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) beat Abere FETENE (ISR) 5-3 to give himself a fighting chance of winning a title, when he faces off against the U23 World and European Championships bronze medallist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA).

Babashov, a 2022 senior European Championship silver medallist, began with a convincing 4-1 win over Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) and followed it up with another comfortable victory, this time over Talibsho KHAIBARAU (AIN).

The march to the final marks an improvement for Babashov, who made exits in the round of 16 at the U23 European and World Championships in 2023. However, in Eriomenco, he faces a formidable opponent, who gave up just two points en route to the final.

Meanwhile, in the 55 kg category, Adam ULBASHEV (AIN) upset defending champion Denis MIHAI (ROU) 3-2 in a close quarterfinal bout. However, he later lost 6-5 to Emre MUTLU (TUR) in the semifinals in an equally tough encounter.

Mutlu, the European Championship gold medallist in 2022, will wrestle Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) for the gold medal on Tuesday. Tokhadze beat Ivan STEFANSKYI (UKR) 13-4 in his first bout and followed it up with a commanding 8-0 win over Rashad MAMMADOV (AIN).

In the 87kg class, Aues GONIBOV (AIN) will take on Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) in the final. Gonibov did not concede a single point on his way to the gold medal bout. He started with a 9-0 win over Nikolaos IOSIFIDIS (GRE) and then defeated former U23 world champion Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) 3-0 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he got the better of Samet YALDIRAN (TUR) 2-0.

Bolkvadze's road to the final was a little more complicated, as he had to overcome stiff competition posed by Ilya MIALESHCHYK (AIN) before beating him 8-4 and sealing his spot in the title round.

 

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Emre MUTLU (TUR) vs. Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)

SF 1: Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) df. Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE), 8-0
SF 2: Emre MUTLU (TUR) df. Adam ULBASHEV (AIN), 6-5

63kg
GOLD: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) vs. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA)

SF 1: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Aleksandr ANDREEV (AIN), via fall (2-2
SF 2: Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) df. Abere FETENE (ISR), 5-3

77kg
GOLD: Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) vs. Khasay HASANLI (AZE)

SF 1: Khasay HASANLI (AZE) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), via cautions (7-0)
SF 2: Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) df. Attila TOESMAGI (HUN), 5-2

87kg
GOLD: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) vs. Aues GONIBOV (AIN)

SF 1: Aues GONIBOV (AIN) df. Samet YALDIRAN (TUR), 2-0
SF 2: Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Ilya MIALESHCHYK (AIN), 8-4

130kg
GOLD: Koppany LASZLO (HUN) vs. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR), 9-1
SF 2: Koppany LASZLO (HUN) df. Dmitrii BABORYKO (AIN), 1-1