#WrestleWarsaw

#WrestleWarsaw Rivalry-to-Watch: Geno vs. Taha

Friday, April 16, 2021 - 12:22 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

WARSAW, Poland (April 15) --- When it comes to heavyweight wrestling rivalries, few capture the attention of fans more than “Taha vs. Geno” the multiyear joust between future Hall of Famers Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO).

Combined, their trophy cases include an Olympic gold medal, Olympic bronze, five world titles and eight European golds. The pair of dominant legends have claimed every world or Olympic title since the ’14 World Championships and every continental gold medal since the ’12 European Championships.

The career-long rivals have met again and again in their quest for continental supremacy – a ballad of wills that’s likely to be repeated at this week's European Championships (April 19-25).

“It doesn’t matter what round we meet in the tournament; our matches are always close. He’s definitely my hardest opponent,” said Akgul, the Rio Olympic champion.

Since their first meeting at the ’11 Yasar Dogu, they knew the talents the other possessed. Akgul said, “I knew right away that he’s a strong opponent. We have a very similar physique and wrestling style.” Geno added, “He’s a strong sportsman. In every aspect, whether it’s a physical, technical or tactical – he’s a well-rounded wrestler.”

Akgul won that initial meeting at the ’11 Yasar Dogu and held the upper hand in the rivalry until the ’17 World Championships. Prior to that epic Paris meeting, Akgul had a stronghold on the weight class. He won five European gold medals and summited the 125kg podium at the ’14 and ’15 World Championships before grabbing Olympic gold in Rio.

The momentum shifted in the rivalry on the final night of the 2017 World Championships when Geno overtook Akgul in the 125kg finals. Petriashvili trailed 4-0 with two minutes left but stormed back to upset Akgul in what many fans consider one of the sport's greatest heavyweight matches.

Since that momentum-shifting win in Paris, the 27-year-old Georgian added a pair of world golds to his resume, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Geno momentarily surrendered supremacy after falling to Akgul, 7-0, in the gold-medal match at the ’19 European Championships. Five months later, in their latest meeting, Petriashvili stopped Taha from winning his third world title and claimed his third consecutive 125kg world crown.

Freestyle wrestling at the European Championships begins on Monday (April 19), but 125kg action starts on Tuesday, with the finals taking place on Wednesday night. Depending on how the brackets play out, this means we could see the Geno and Taha rivalry renewed as early as Tuesday morning.

#WrestleZagreb

Tazhudinov in search for answers despite bronze medal

Thursday, September 18, 2025 - 08:45 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- A World Championships medal might be a career milestone for most wrestlers, but for Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), the bronze he won in Zagreb is a prize he hopes to forget.

Coming into the tournament in Zagreb, Tazhudinov was considered as the best wrestler in the world and the favorite to win the gold medal at the 97kg. He had built a reputation of a wrestler who bulldozes anyone who stands in his path, as he did to win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But Tazhudinov was anything but an Olympic and world champion in Zagreb.

He almost dropped his quarterfinal match with Mogomed KURBANOV (UWW), needing a front headlock roll to survive. The thrill of victory was short lived, as Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) showed that Tazhudinov is indeed human, winning their semifinal 5-2 to end Tazhudinov's golden run.

"My initial goal was the gold medal," Tazhudinov said. "I wanted to become a two-time world champion. Unfortunately, it didn't happen -- maybe it was meant to be this way. It's very painful to lose."

As he searched for answers for his performance, Tazhudinov said that recent shoulder surgery may have affected his wrestling at the World Championships.

"I was coming back after surgery, after a serious injury," Tazhudinov said. "Maybe that had an effect, I don't even know. It took me a very long time to get myself together. At the beginning, training sessions were very difficult."

Tazhudinov returned from surgery to win two gold medals in a one-month span -- first at the Spain Grand Prix and then at the Budapest Ranking Series in June.

After the semifinal loss to Azarpira, Tazhudinov returned the next night for the bronze-medal bout with 34-year-old Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL), which only further put Tazhudinov under the scanner despite winning the match.

Magamaev was on the activity clock when he bodylocked Tazhudinov and slammed him for four points just before the 30 seconds elapsed. Tazhudinov rebounded with a takedown to make it 4-2 at the break.

He began the second period with another takedown to make it 4-4, but Magamaev continued the scramble and both wrestlers were awarded two exposure points each, putting the Bulgarian ahead 6-6 on criteria.

A counter lift to exposure gave Tazhudinov the lead for the first time, 8-6, and as Magamaev tried doing the counter lift, he gave up two as Tazhudinov blocked him. The final scramble, which gave Tazhudinov an 11-10 win, was challenged by Bulgaria. Eventually, it was scored 13-10.

Despite winning the bout, Tazhudinov shook his head as he left the mat, perhaps surprised himself by his lackluster performance.

"Honestly, I don't even know what went wrong," he said. "It means I wasn't well enough prepared. It means I wasn't in my best shape. It means I need to work even more."

Tazhudinov said he had difficulty preparing mentally for the bronze-medal bout after the loss to Azarpira.

"After the semifinal loss, I couldn't motivate myself at all for the bronze-medal match," he said. "I don't even know how I stepped onto the mat. I wasn't mentally ready to wrestle at all, and that's why the match was so difficult.

"But I will not give up -- I'll go home, work on my mistakes, and train even harder to come back stronger."