#WrestleZagreb

Youngsters Nazaryan, Jafarov take big steps with European gold

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (April 23) -- It's mind-blowing that 21-year-old Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) has reached the final of every European Championship he's participated in.

In 2020, his first year of eligibility at the senior level, he won the European Championships. Two years later, he fell short and finished with a silver medal, but he made amends by defeating world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) in Zagreb on Sunday to win his second European title in three years. In the gold medal bout, Nazaryan dominated his opponent, winning 13-0 in just two minutes and two seconds.

"I competed at all the European and World Championships after that [winning Euros in 2020]," Nazaryan said. "In 2021 I had an injury, that's why I missed those tournaments. In 2022, I came back to a new weight class. I won two silver medals. And this year I already got one gold in a new weight class."

A win against Ciobanu may not be a surprise but the way Nazaryan destroyed Ciobanu, a big thrower himself. Ciobanu, clearly struggling with the second-day weight cut at 60kg, was called passive after Nazaryan scored an early stepout. Nazaryan went on to get two points for a correct throw from par terre, executed a suplex, and locked Ciobanu's arm for another throw and the win.

Ciobanu had no clue what hit him. When Moldova challenged the final call, the score was changed from 9-0 to 13-0 in Nazaryan's favor.

"I was getting ready to wrestle for the whole match," Nazaryan said. "There were no specific tactics. I just went out there to wrestle with all my soul. I know his wrestling style. He is really good and quick."

Edmond's father, Armen NAZARYAN, who is a two-time Olympic, three-time world and six-time European champion, jumped around in the stands elated as his son won his second European title at the age of 21 years.

"My father is a great person," he said. "He is my motivation. I should do everything I can to make him happy."

Perhaps winning medals at World Championships and Olympic Games is one way. And for that, Nazaryan says he will have to prepare harder.

"This is just one of the steps that we accomplished together with the team," he said. "But we still have important preparations for the World Championships because there I will get the chance to win the Olympic license."

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) defeated Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO), 3-2 to win the 67kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another 2002-born wrestler who clinched the gold medal in Zagreb was Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE). Jafarov, the U20 and U23 world champion, defeated Joni Khetsuriani (GEO), 3-2, in the gold medal bout.

Jafarov did not get off to an ideal start as he was put in par terre first and then gave up a stepout when Khetsuriani used Jafarov's momentum to push him out.

Jafarov got the par terre advantage 30 seconds into the second period but failed to score any points. A minute later, Khetsuriani attempted an arm throw but could not get Jafarov in danger position. Khetsuriani tried to push Jafarov out but fell on the mat. Jafarov scored a go-behind for two points and led 3-2.

The world bronze medalist defended that lead for the remaining 75 seconds to claim his first European title after finishing with a bronze medal last year.

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) won his sixth European title after beating Kiril MILOV (BUL). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

At 97kg, world champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) returned to the top of the podium at the European Championships after three years as he defeated defending champion Kiril MILOV (BUL) 5-1 in the gold medal bout.

After missing the 2021 and 2022 editions of the tournament, Aleksanyan returned with a dominant performance and reached the final. Milov threatened to shock Aleksanyan in the final as he scored a takedown 10 seconds into the bout but Aleksanyan challenged his go-behind. On review, it was clear that Milov used his leg to trip Aleksanyan.

Milov was called for the first forced par terre and Aleksanyan used a trap-arm gut to score via exposure and a roll which gave him a 5-0 lead. Aleksanyan was put in par terre in the second period and when Milov was trying to get a front headlock, Aleksanyan got on his knees and out of the hold.

There was no further trouble for Aleksanyan in the bout as he calmly defended his lead and win his sixth European title.

Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) gets the winning turn against Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) in the 82kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

World champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) won his first European title after beating Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR), 3-3, in a thrilling 82kg final.

Filchakov was put in par terre in the first period but Akbudak could not get a turn to extend his 1-0 lead. The referees put Akbudak in par terre in the second period, giving Filchakov a 1-1 criteria lead. In a stunning show of strength, he managed to turn Akbudak and take a 3-1 lead with 1:55 remaining in the bout.

In a rare third passivity of the bout, Akbudak asked Filchakov to be in par terre. A tired Filchakov defended Akbudak's attempt to get a turn for 25 seconds but Akbudak attempted one last time close to the zone and got the turn. He now led 3-3 on criteria.

Akbudak's gold medal was Turkiye's third of the tournament in Greco-Roman which propelled it to the team title with 155 points. Azerbaijan finished second with 145 points and Georgia was third, finishing with 124 points.

At 72kg, Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) denied Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) a historic gold medal after he won the final 7-7, surviving a late scare by Ghanem.

The French wrestler was looking to become the first Greco-Roman European champion for France since 1995. He had already created history on Saturday by reaching the final, the first French Greco wrestler to achieve the feat since 1997.

No one would have given a chance to Ghanem against world silver medalist Ganizade who led 7-0 at the break after two stepouts, a point for passivity and a mesmerizing four-point throw from par terre.

But Ghanem began mounting a comeback in the second period when he was awarded the par terre against Ganizade. He got only a single turn from par terre but that gave him some cushion to score as the scoreboard led 7-3.

Ganizade was penalized for twisting the fingers and later Ghanem added a stepout to close the gap to 7-5. He scored another stepout with 12 seconds left and one more point was added for Ganizade's fleeing to make the score 7-7.

The 12 seconds were not enough for Ghanem to score for a win as Ganizade, totally exhausted, celebrated his win.

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RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 13-0

BRONZE: Georgii TIBILOV (SRB) df. Kerem KAMAL (TUR), 7-3
BRONZE: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM), 10-5

67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO), 3-2

BRONZE: Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) df. Murat FIRAT (TUR), 3-2
BRONZE: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Mihai MIHUT (ROU), 1-1

72kg
GOLD: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 7-7

BRONZE: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Andrii KULYK (UKR), 5-1
BRONZE: Kamil CZARNECKI (POL) df. Ali ARSALAN (SRB), 10-2

82kg
GOLD: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df. Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR), 3-3

BRONZE: Filip SACIC (CRO) df. Mihail BRADU (MDA), 5-4
BRONZE: Roland SCHWARZ (GER) df. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE), 2-1

97kg
GOLD: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Kiril MILOV (BUL), 5-1

BRONZE: Artur OMAROV (CZE) df. Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO), 1-1
BRONZE: Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 1-1

#WrestleZagreb

World Championships 2025 Freestyle Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (August 14) -- The Freestyle entries for the World Championships are set. In total, close to 900 wrestlers are participating in the September 13-21 tournament in Zagreb.

In Freestyle, 326 wrestlers are entered to compete at the World Championships that will begin with Freestyle action on September 13. The competition will also see 12 Paris Olympic medalist compete including two gold medalists.

Note: These are preliminary entries and subject to change 72 hours before the Freestyle draw at the World Championships.

Zagreb

57kg
Salah KATEB (ALG)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Ivaylo TISOV (BUL)
Garette SAUNDERS (CAN)
Chengtao WANG (CHN)
Roland TAMBI NFORSONG (CMR)
Rabby KILANDI (COD)
Peter HAMMER CUDE (CRC)
Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
AMAN (IND)
Ali Hossein MOMENI (IRI)
Husein ALBEHADILALBORS (IRQ)
Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Adilet ALMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Chong Song HAN (PRK)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR)
Spencer LEE (USA)
Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW)
Musa MEKHTIKHANOV (UWW)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
Pedro MEJIAS (VEN)

61kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Georgii OKOROKOV (AUS)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Jianhao LIU (CHN)
Ndjidda BOUBA (CMR)
Godefroid KALUBI (COD)
Joshua KRAMER (ECU)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon ADDICO (GHA)
UDIT (IND)
Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
Simone PIRODDU (ITA)
Takara SUDA (JPN)
Adil OSPANOV (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Sangboum HAN (KOR)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL)
Besir ALILI (MKD)
Ali ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Kum Hyok KIM (PRK)
Dylan SHAWVER (PUR)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)
Jaxen FORREST (USA)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (UWW)
Zavur UGUEV (UWW)
Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM)

65kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Chouaib SAHRAOUI (ALG)
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Peiman BIABANI (CAN)
Tao WEI (CHN)
Roland KALAMBAYI (COD)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
SUJEET (IND)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Mohammed KAREEM (IRQ)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)
Nachyn KUULAR (KAZ)
Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Gantulga BATBAATAR (MGL)
Stephen IZOLO (NGR)
Abdullah ASSAF (PLE)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Kwang KIM (PRK)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)
Cabbar DUYUM (TUR)
Andrii BILIICHUK (UKR)
Real WOODS (USA)
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (UWW)
Islam GUSEINOV (UWW)
Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB)
Wilfredo RODRIGUEZ BOCANEY (VEN)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Shannon HANNA (BAH)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Michael ZALE (CAN)
Jorge GATICA (CHI)
Shuang CHEN (CHN)
Gabriel MUANDA (COD)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
ROHIT (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Yongseok JEONG (KOR)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Austin GOMEZ (MEX)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Viktor VOINOVIC (SRB)
Viktor RASSADIN (TJK)
Khairiddine BEN TLILI (TUN)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Oleksii BORUTA (UKR)
PJ DUKE (USA)
Saiyn KAZYRYK (UWW)
Begijon KULDASHEV (UZB)

74kg
Chermen VALIEV (ALB)
Saad BOUGUERRA (ALG)
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Ibragim VELIEV (BEL)
Renato DA SILVA (BRA)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Feng LU (CHN)
Norvil BUKASA (COD)
Vedran LUKETIN (CRO)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Luca FINIZIO (ITA)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Alibek ABDIKASSYMOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Daegil HAN (KOR)
Egzon XHONI (KOS)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Cristian SANTIAGO (MEX)
Tugsjargal ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Rasul SHAPIEV (MKD)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Ok Chol HAN (PRK)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Ivan KUSYAK (UKR)
David CARR (USA)
Imam GANISHOV (UWW)
Mirzo KHAYITOV (UZB)
Anthony MONTERO (VEN)

79kg
Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG)
Farid JABBAROV (AZE)
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Patrik LEDER (CAN)
Tu AHEIYOU (CHN)
Andy MUKENDI (COD)
Marko NIKOLIC (CRO)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
AMIT (IND)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Bumgue SEO (KOR)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Vlad STRATAN (MDA)
Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Michael LABRIOLA (PUR)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Alfred DANIEL (SLE)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Azymberdi SAPAROV (TKM)
Okan TAHTACI (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Levi HAINES (USA)
Akhmed USMANOV (UWW)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Nan CAO (CHN)
Matteo MONTEIRO (CPV)
Kreso SKUGOR (CRO)
Ahmed MAHMOUD (EGY)
Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua MORODION (GER)
Mukul DAHIYA (IND)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Gyeongyeon LEE (KOR)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Traian CAPATINA (MDA)
Batbilguun NAADAMBAT (MGL)
Cezary SADOWSKI (POL)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Weng CHOW (SGP)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Soltan BEGENJOV (TKM)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Ibragim KADIEV (UWW)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Andrew JOHNSON (CAN)
Jumabayi AERGEN (CHN)
Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR)
Barthelemy TSHOSHA (COD)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Gwanuk KIM (KOR)
Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Demchigdorj TUMURBAATAR (MGL)
Redjep HAJDARI (MKD)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR)
Trent HIDLAY (USA)
Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (UWW)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Filip HUKLEK (CRO)
Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Ertugrul AGCA (GER)
Emmanuel OSEI SARFO (GHA)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
VICKY (IND)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Hosei FUJITA (JPN)
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Adam JAKSIK (SVK)
Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM)
Resul GUNE (TUR)
David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Gabriel DE SOUSA (BRA)
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
Jorawar DHINSA (CAN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Filip KOSCIC (CRO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Mohsen SIYAR (GER)
Issah FUSEINI (GHA)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
Rajat RUHAL (IND)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Gyeongmin KIM (KOR)
Dmitrii DUSCOV (MDA)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Omar SAREM (ROU)
Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA)
Abdulla KURBANOV (UWW)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW)
Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB)