#WrestleXian

Younger Geraei Earns Shot at Asian Greco Gold; Iran, Uzbekistan Put 2 Each in Finals

Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 09:01 By Ken Marantz

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XI’AN, China (April 28)— Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) has already exceeded his older brother at the Asian Championships, while Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) prevented the possibility of a Iranian sweep of the four heaviest weights in Greco-Roman. 

Geraei was one of two Iranians to advance to the finals in the five remaining weight classes on the final day of the six-day tournament in Xi’an, setting up a clash for the 72kg gold with local favorite ZHANG Hujun (CHN).

Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) gained a place in the 82kg final against Singh HARPEET (IND), but world bronze medalist Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI) was denied a shot at the 97kg gold after suffering a nail-biting 7-5 loss to Dzhuzupbekov in the semifinals.

Uzbekistan also placed two wrestlers in the finals in the night session at Xidian University’s Invengo Gymnasium, with 2018 bronze medalist Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) advancing at 60kg and Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) taking on Dzhuzupbekov at 97kg.

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will wrestle China's ZHANG Hujun in the 72kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Geraei, third at last summer’s Asian Games in Jakarta, overcame a high hurdle in the semifinals by beating 2017 world silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 9-3, capping the victory with a highlight-reel four-point throw.

Geraei had watched as older brother Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) had to settle for the 77kg bronze the day before, when Iran picked up golds at 87kg and 130kg. 

 “There was no effect on my wrestling,” Geraei said of his brother’s defeat. “But I was little sad about my brother. My brother could have been first.”

Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) will wrestle Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) in a rematch of the Asian Games bronze-medal match. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

ZHANG Hujun (CHN) seemed to be heading to the 97kg final when Dzhuzupbekov reversed him to his back during a roll attempt with 30 seconds left for the winning points. That avenged a loss to the Iranian at a tournament in Istanbul last year.

“Everyone was screaming and it was motivating me,” said Dzhuzupbekov, a bronze medalist on home soil last year in Bishkek as well as at the Asian Games. “At the end, I was just thinking to keep attacking him.”

The final against Turdiev, who turns 37 this week, will be a rematch of the bronze-medal match in Jakarta won by Dzhuzupbekov.

RI Se Ung (PRK) knocked off world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) on his road to the 60kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The depth of quality in Asia in the 60kg division came out as neither 2017 world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) nor 2018 world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) made it to the final.

Both wrestlers were knocked off by crafty RI Se Ung (PRK), and will meet for a bronze medal. Ri will take on Bakhramov for the gold.

Ri, the silver medalist at Bishkek 2018, defeated Fumita, 5-3, in the quarterfnals. From the par terre position, Ri reeled off a pair of rolls before giving up a reversal to lead 5-1. In the second period, Fumita put the pressure on, but could only gain a two-point penalty for fleeing. 

“[The difference] was that I didn’t attack, that was big,” said Fumita, who returned from a knee injury to defeat 2018 Asian champion Shinobu OTA (JPN) at the national championships in December, a month after winning the world U23 title. 

Ri’s victory over Walihan in the semifinals followed a similar pattern, as he scored five points in the first period and went on to win 5-2.

Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ), the runner-up to Fumita at the Paris 2017 world championships and an Asian bronze medalist last year, failed to make it out of the first round, falling to LEE Jungbaik (KOR), who was subsequently ousted by Walihan.

RYU Hansu (KOR) will look to win his third Asian title when he competes against Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) in the 67kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

At 67kg, Asian Games champion RYU Hansu (KOR) will look to add to his long list of laurels, which includes two previous Asian titles, when he takes on world bronze medalist Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) in the final.

Ryu, a 2017 world champion, knocked off 2018 bronze medalist Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 7-2, in the semifinals, while Shermakhanbet trailed 2-0 going into the second period against gritty Abdulkarim ALHASAN (SYR) before blitzing his way to a 10-2 technical fall victory.

Day 6 results

Greco-Roman

60kg (12 entries)
Gold – Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) v RI Se Ung (PRK)
Bronze – HUANG Jui Chi (TPE) vs Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Bronze – Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) v Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)

Semifinals
RI Se Ung (PRK) df. Sailike WALIHAN (CHN), 5-2
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Gyanender GYANENDER (IND) by TF, 9-0, 1:24

67kg (14 entries)
Gold – Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) v RYU Hansu (KOR)
Bronze – ZHANG Gaoquan (CHN) v Abdulkarim AL HASAN (SYR)
Bronze – Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN) v Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

Semifinals
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) df. Abdulkarim AL HASAN (SYR) by TF, 10-2, 4:06
RYU Hansu (KOR) df. Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 7-2

72kg (9 entries)
Gold – ZHANG Hujun (CHN) v Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Bronze – Yogesh YOGESH (IND) v Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Bronze – Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) v Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)

Semifinals
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 9-3
ZHANG Hujun (CHN) df. Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ), 5-5

82kg (9 entries)
Gold – Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) v Singh HARPEET (IND)
Bronze – Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ) v Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
Bronze – Burgo BEISHALIEV (KGZ) v QIAN Haitao (CHN)

Semifinals
Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) df. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) by TF, 10-0, 4:27
Singh HARPEET (IND) df. QIAN Haitao (CHN) by TF, 10-1, 3:42

97kg (9 entries)
Gold – Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) v Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Bronze – LEE Seyeol (KOR) v XIAO Di (CHN)
Bronze – Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) v Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI)

Semifinals
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI), 7-5
Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) df. XIAO Di (CHN), 4-1

#WrestleBudapest

Ranking Series: Double delight for Japan, Sujeet gives India gold

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 22:39 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 17) -- Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) and world silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) showed on Thursday why they will be prime contenders for gold medal at the World Championships in Zagreb in September.

Suda and Aoyagi earned two gold medals at 61kg and 70kg respectively, and reminded the world about Freestyle powerhouse Yamanashi Gakuin University in Japan.

Suda, who has not lost a match this year, won his second Ranking Series gold medal in 2025, adding to his gold from Tirana. But he needed a big comeback in the 61kg final against Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) in the dying seconds, winning 5-3.

Zhumashbek Uulu led 3-1 with 13 seconds remaining in the match when Suda used a snap to off balance Zhumashbek Uulu and go behind. He tried a takedown but then switches the direction and brings Zhumashbek Uulu to the mat, back first.

Zhumashbek Uulu tried to defend it with a whizzer but failed and Suda turned on his head without any danger to get the two points and win 3-3 on criteria. Kyrgyzstan challenged the call but on review, Suda was awarded four points and the scored changed to a 5-3 win for the Japanese.

In February, Suda won the gold medal in Tirana after an 8-8 victory over Nachyn MONGUSH (UWW) and then won the Asian Championships gold medal over UDIT (IND) 6-4 in March.

Zhumashbek Uulu, who won Mongolian Open in June at 65kg, returned to 61kg after an year of competing at 65kg. He defeated Udit earlier in the day and reached the final but failed to cross the final hurdle.

With the win, Suda has clearly shown signs that he will be a gold-medal threat in Zagreb at 61kg, a weight class won by his high school and university teammate Masanosuke ONO (JPN) in 2024.

Aoyagi, who had also won gold medal in Tirana, was more dominant in his gold medal run. In Tirana, European silver medalist Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) had pulled out injured in the final.

Incidentally, he made the final against Aoyagi in Budapest on Thursday and this time he decided to wrestler. However, the winner was the same.

Aoyagi used a head-in-the-hole move to score four points in his 8-0 victory in the final of the 70kg weight class. Andreasyan had no answer to Aoyagi's attack despite being in advantageous positions during the final.

The Armenian was put on the activity clock during which he failed to score and gave up four points. Aoyagi, leading 5-0, won a challenge when Andreasyan was awarded two points for a takedown but on review, it was clear that Andreasyan had both his feet outside before completing a takedown.

With a 6-0 lead, Aoyagi scored a beautiful duck-under for two points and lead 8-0, the final score for the winner.

SUJEET (IND)SUJEET (IND) celebrates after beating Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet ends Indian drought

India failed to win any gold medals at the senior level in 2025 as it drew blank at the Asian Championships in March and Mongolian Open in June. However, Asian U23 champion SUJEET (IND) ended that curse for India by winning the 65kg gold medal in Budapest.

While he has age-group world and continental medals, Sujeet's run in Budapest and gold medal can be considered his biggest medal yet as he defeated Paris bronze medalist Islam DUDAEV (ALB) in the first bout, European U23 silver medalist Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) in the quarterfinal and world medalist Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) in the semifinal.

Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) was up in the final and Sujeet, who showed glimpses of Tokyo bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND), made sure he doesn't let his guard down in the last match.

Sujeet conceded an activity point in the first period and was down 1-0 at the break against Rahimzade. But as soon as the second period began, Sujeet put pressure on Rahimzade, who kept dropping on his knees in the zone to avoid the pushout.

But Sujeet did not back down and scored a takedown when Rahimzade was on the activity clock. Leading 3-1, Sujeet added another takedown and completed a 5-1 victory over Rahimzade and captured the gold medal, his first of Ranking Series events.

At 57kg, world U20 champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) needed three straight comebacks to win the gold medal. He defeated Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) 3-1 in the final to capture his first gold at the senior level.

Lilledahl scored a takedown using a reattack with 20 seconds remaining in the match against Bazarganov to clinch a 3-1 win. His semifinal victory over RAHUL (IND) was even more dramatic as he managed to come back from 6-2.

Rahul used a leg-turk to score six point and lead 6-2 but Lilledahl scored a stepout and then blocked an attempted duck-under and put Rahul's back on the mat for two points. In the final 20 seconds, he threw off Rahul when the Indian was trying to hit a double-leg attack and won 7-6. In his first bout of the day, he scored a pushout with just 0.01 seconds left on the clock and dashed the dreams of Niklas STECHELE (GER).

World silver medalist Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) returned to 79kg from 86kg and instantly showed results, winning the gold medal in Budapest. He blanked Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 5-0, in the final

At 125kg, Bahrain won its second gold of the tournament as Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) defeated Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW), 5-3.

Photo

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 3-1

BRONZE: RAHUL (IND) df. Niklas STECHELE (GER), 4-0
BRONZE: Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW) df. Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 10-0

61kg
GOLD: Takara SUDA (JPN) df. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ), 5-3

BRONZE: Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) df. Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR), 4-3
BRONZE: Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) df. Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE), 5-1

BRONZE: Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO) df. Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN), 7-7
BRONZE: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 9-0

70kg
GOLD: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) df. Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM), 8-0

BRONZE: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Austin GOMEZ (MEX), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) df. Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI), 11-4

79kg
GOLD: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) df. Magomet EVLOEV (TJK), 5-0

BRONZE: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Lucas KAHNT (GER), 10-0
BRONZE: Fariborz BABAEI (IRI) df. Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ), 2-0

97kg
GOLD: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) df. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), 11-0

BRONZE: Jonathan AIELLO (USA) df. Juhwan SEO (KOR), 10-0
BRONZE: Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) df. Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO), 9-4

125kg
GOLD: Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) df. Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW), 5-3

BRONZE: Robert BARAN (POL) df. Demetrius THOMAS (USA), 6-0
BRONZE: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Vladislav BAJCAJEV (HUN), 3-0