#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)

#WrestleTirana

Bisultanov Throws His Way to Second European Gold

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- In one of the most viral and recognizable videos of the many social media edits of wrestling is the one of Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) performing a huge arm throw. He did it at the 2022 European Championships, which he went on to win.

Four years later, Bisultanov had to rely on the arm throw again to beat an Olympic champion and to win his second European title, making him the first wrestler from Denmark to achieve the feat.

Starting as the underdog against Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) in the 87kg final in Tirana on Tuesday, Bisultanov performed a near-perfect throw, tossing Novikov on the mat for four points. That gave Bisultanov a huge advantage and Novikov played catch up in the six-minute final. He scored two counter exposure in the same sequence but Bisultanov still led 4-4 on criteria.

Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), red, performs the arm throw to score four points against Semen NOVIKOV (BUL). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The Denmark wrestler scored a stepout and got the passivity point in the second period to extend his lead to 6-4, leaving Novikov needing at least three points for the win. Novikov tried a desperate throw in the final moments but Bisultanov blocked him and secured the fall.

When the final ended, Bisultanov was a two-time European champion. Novikov, who had defeated Bisultanov twice before including at the Paris Olympics, was now the second best in Europe two times in a row. 

"Last time I lost to him, it was the Olympics," Bisultanov said. "Before that, it was the European Championships [2023]. I have not wrestled at the European Championships since that."

Returning the continental tournament after three years, Paris bronze medalist Bisultanov showed early signs of form in Tiran when he won three bouts via technical superiority. He began with an 8-0 win against Matej MANDIC (CRO), then a similar victory over Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) and a 9-0 shutout in the quarterfinals against Ihar YARASHEVICH (UKR).

In the semifinals, he faced Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) but took just 46 seconds in the second period to pin the Ukrainian, who had beaten Novikov last week.

"I'm speechless," Bisultanov said. "Actually, I told my coaches I would win it by finishing every match before time. And thank God, a few seconds before the time finished in the final, they called the pin. So I completed my promise to my coaches."

WATCH: All Matches of Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) at European Championships

Giving a small insight into the planning he had for Novikov, Bisultanov explained how one training session in Porec, Croatia in February helped them devise a strategy.

"I had only one sparring session with Novikov in that camp," he said. "My coach told me defend the par terre by moving behind. But during that training session, I tried to defend and Novikov rolled me two times."

"So before the final, my coach reminded me how to defend. And I told my coach. that the last time I tried this defense, he rolled me. Then coach said just do what you would like to do. I did the arm throw."

Bisultanov missed out on a medal at the 2025 World Championships, but the 24-year-old reteriated that he is not finished yet.

"I want to achieve even more," he said. "I know I'm not done. My ultimate goal is to be an Olympic champion."

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is now a five-time European champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Amoyan Claims Fifth Straight Title

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is quickly becoming a European legend as he claimed his fifth straight gold medal on Tuesday.

In what was a rematch of the 2025 final, Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) was looking to avenge his 3-1 loss against Amoyan. While Zoidze was able to make it a close final this time around, he was not able to stop Amoyan from a 1-1 win.

Both wrestlers exchanged passivity points but it was Amoyan who got the first position which gave the Armenian the criteria for the win.

"Every year the victory becomes more difficult for me," Amoyan said. "I have truly gone through a very difficult journey, and I still have more to achieve in order to accomplish even greater victory."

Amoyan began his European Championships career in 2020 but he finished 16th at 72kg, In 2021, he fell short at the last hurdle and finished with a silver medal at 72kg.

But in 2022, he moved up to 77kg and won his first of the five gold medals. 

"Honestly, I don’t think about whether it will be the 5th, 6th, or 7th title," he said. What matters to me is the victory itself. I go into every tournament aiming only to win the gold medal."

At 55kg, 18-year-old Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) fell short against the experienced Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) who defended his European title with a 2-1 victory.

Lolua had the 1-1 criteria lead after both wrestlers exchanged par terre positions. However, in a flurry of action with just about a minute remaining, Sefershaev managed to push Lolua out of bounds and take a 2-1 lead. He defended the lead to claim the gold medal, his third at the European Championships.

Veteran Sergey EMELIN (UWW) also won his third European title in contrasting manner than Sefershaev. Facing U23 world champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) for the gold medal, Emelin got the par terre and gut-wrenched the Moldova wrestler for a 9-0 win.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) df. Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), 2-1

BRONZE: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Omer RECEP (TUR), 8-0
BRONZE: Stefan GRIGOROV (BUL) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 3-1

63kg
GOLD: Sergey EMELIN (UWW) df. Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), 9-0

BRONZE: Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Mairbek SALIMOV (POL), 11-0
BRONZE: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Pridon ABULADZE (GEO), 6-2

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 1-1

BRONZE: Edvin BAFF (SWE) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), 2-1
BRONZE: Robert FRITSCH (HUN) df. Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO), 1-1

87kg
GOLD: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), via fall (8-4)

BRONZE: Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) df. Ihar YARASHEVICH (UWW), 1-1
BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Dogan KAYA (TUR), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1

BRONZE: Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW) df. Marat KAMPAROV (UWW), 10-5
BRONZE: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 3-1