#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2024 Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 1) -- The new season kicks off in Zagreb, Croatia with the Zagreb Open. The Ranking Series event from January 10 to 15 will begin with Freestyle, followed by Women's Wrestling and end with Greco-Roman.

The biggest names in wrestling will look to begin the Olympic year in their respective Olympic weight class along with a two-kilogram weight allowance.

Former world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) will be returning to action after nursing an injury. He will be at 97kg.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is entered at 74kg for Zagreb Open. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Freestyle

57kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Brandon COURTNEY (USA)
AMAN (UWW)

61kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)
Michael MCGEE (USA)

65kg
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Baowen WEI (CHN)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Abbas EBRAHIMZADEHSAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Joshua FINESILVER (ISR)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
Nahshon GARRETT (USA)
Joseph MCKENNA (USA)

70kg
Nikolay DIMITROV (BUL)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Douglas ZAPF (USA)

74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Ivan STOYANOV (BUL)
Feng LU (CHN)
Nuerlanbieke WURENIBAI (CHN)
Amr REDA (EGY)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Hossein ABOUZARIPASHKOLAEI (IRI)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Krisztian BIRO (ROU)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR)
Quincy MONDAY (USA)
Jason NOLF (USA)
YASH (UWW)
Anthony MONTERO (VEN)

79kg
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Abdollah SHEIKHAZAMI (IRI)
Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)
Evan WICK (USA)
Joseph LAVALLEE (USA)

86kg
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Zushen LIN (CHN)
Suhe GANG (CHN)
Peilong LI (CHN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Hadi VAFAEIPOUR (IRI)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Matthew FINESILVER (ISR)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Ethan RAMOS (PUR)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR)
Valentyn BABII (UKR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA)
Maxwell DEAN (USA)
Deepak PUNIA (UWW)
Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN)

92kg
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO)
Balazs JUHASZ (HUN)
Denys SAHALIUK (UKR)
Eric SCHULTZ (USA)
Taylor LUJAN (USA)
Nathan JACKSON (USA)

97kg
Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN)
Maxwell LACEY (CRC)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)
Isaac TRUMBLE (USA)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
VICKY (UWW)
Cristian SARCO (VEN)

125kg
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Youssif HEMIDA (EGY)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR)
Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)
Christian LANCE (USA)
Mason PARRIS (USA)
SUMIT (UWW)
Jose DIAZ (VEN)

Luis ORTA (CUB)World Championships finalists Luis ORTA (CUB) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) are entered at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN)
Adem Burak UZUN (TUR)

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN)
Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Leo TUDEZCA (FRA)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Georgios SCARPELLO (GER)
Hassan ALHARTHI (KSA)
Munthir JANDU (KSA)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Bohdan HRYSHYN (UKR)
Hayden TUMA (USA)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
GYANENDER (UWW)
Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

63kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Matej REBIC (CRO)
Ivan LIZATOVIC (CRO)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Rayan HAWSAWI (KSA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Georgij TIBILOV (SRB)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)

67kg
Aslan VISAITOV (AIN)
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Nestor ALMANZA (CHI)
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Luis ORTA (CUB)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY)
Yanis GUENDEZ NIFRI (FRA)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
David MANYIK (HUN)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Faisal E ALDOSSARY (KSA)
Saud ALSUBAIE (KSA)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Maksym LIU (UKR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Peyton OMANIA (USA)
Robert PEREZ (USA)
NEERAJ (UWW)

72kg
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (AIN)
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Calebe CORREA FERREIRA (BRA)
Luka MALOBABIC (CRO)
Dominik ETLINGER (CRO)
Aaron BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Zsolt TAKACS (HUN)
Ahmed BARAHMAH (KSA)
Iulian LUNGU (ROU)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR)
Murat DAG (TUR)

77kg
Pavel LIAKH (AIN)
Tsimur BERDYIEU (AIN)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Michal ZELENKA (CZE)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Amir Ali ABDI (IRI)
Riccardo ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Nao KUSAKA (JPN)
Hassan A BARNAWI (KSA)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Volodymyr YAKOVLIEV (UKR)
Elmar NURALIIEV (UKR)
Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR)
Benjamin PEAK (USA)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Ravaughn PERKINS (USA)
VIKAS (UWW)

82kg
Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO)
Deni NAKAEV (GER)
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Mahmoud HAWSAWI (KSA)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Timmy SKOELD (SWE)
Alperen BERBER (TUR)

87kg
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)
Ihar YARASHEVICH (AIN)
Alan OSTAEV (AIN)
Milad ALIRZAEV (AIN)
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Yoan DIMITROV (BUL)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Jose MORENO BUSTOS (CHI)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Chengwu WANG (CHN)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Nicu OJOG (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Dogan KAYA (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)
Mahmoud Fawzy SEBIE (USA)
Sunil KUMAR (UWW)
Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)
Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Filip SMETKO (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Peter OEHLER (GER)
Anton VIEWEG (GER)
Kevin CASTILLO (HON)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Marcus WORREN (NOR)
Luka KATIC (SRB)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Mario VUKOVIC (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Serhii OMELIN (UKR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)
Josef RAU (USA)
Alan VERA GARCIA (USA)
Narinder CHEEMA (UWW)
Luillys PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
Kiryl HRYSHCHANKA (AIN)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Sulkhan BUIDZE (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Franz RICHTER (GER)
Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Boris PETRUSIC (SRB)
Delian Hossein ALISHAHI (SUI)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)
Vladyslav VORONYI (UKR)
Adam COON (USA)
NAVEEN (UWW)
Moises PEREZ (VEN)

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) is returning to the Zagreb Open to defend her 50kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN)
Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (AIN)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Ziqi FENG (CHN)
Chun LEI (CHN)
Jacqueline MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Julie SABATIE (FRA)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Yui SUSAKI (JPN)
Gabija DILYTE (LTU)
Mariana DIAZ MUNOZ (MEX)
Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL)
Agata Marta WALERZAK (POL)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Mariana ROJAS DIAZ (VEN)

53kg
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Antonia VALDES ARRIAGADA (CHI)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Min ZHANG (CHN)
Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Nethmi AHINSA (SRI)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Haley AUGELLO (USA)
Dominique PARRISH (USA)
Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

55kg
Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN)
Gerda TEREK (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Roksana ZASINA (POL)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)
Albina RILLIA (UKR)

57kg
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (AIN)
Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)
Giullia PENALBER (BRA)
Hannah TAYLOR (CAN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Kexin HONG (CHN)
Yongxin FENG (CHN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Amel REBIHA (FRA)
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)
Betzabeth SARCO (VEN)

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA)
Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (AIN)
Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE)
Lais NUNES (BRA)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Virginia JIMENEZ (CHI)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Yaru WU (CHN)
Lili LILI (CHN)
Iva GERIC (CRO)
Iris THIEBAUX (FRA)
Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Iryna BONDAR (UKR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
SONAM (UWW)
Astrid MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN)

65kg
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

68kg
Hanna SADCHANKA (AIN)
Vusala PARFIANOVICH (AIN)
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL)
Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Qian JIANG (CHN)
Veronika VILK (CRO)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Sophia SCHAEFLE (GER)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Karolina POK (HUN)
Yelena SHALYGINA (KAZ)
Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Buse TOSUN (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
RADHIKA (UWW)
Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN)

72kg
Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB)
Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR)

76kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN)
Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Juan WANG (CHN)
Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Veronika NYIKOS (HUN)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)
Adeline GRAY (USA)
Kennedy BLADES (USA)
Kylie WELKER (USA)
Maria ACOSTA (VEN)

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Championships: Iran Puts Four into Greco-Roman Finals

By Ken Marantz

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 6) – On an opening day bereft of big surprises, the Iranians were their usual dominant selves, while local hero Azkhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) sent the partisan crowd into a frenzy by doing what he does best.

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) and fellow reigning world champion Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) were among four Iranians who qualified for the finals in the five Greco-Roman weight classes in action on the first day of the Asian Championships on Monday in Bishkek.

For the first time, the two-day format for all weight classes is being used at the Asian Championships, so that the five divisions on the first day were competed only through the semifinals.

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) turns Minseok KIM (KOR) during the 130kg semifinal at the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Mirzazadeh’s march toward a fourth Asian gold at 130kg over a seven-year span could not be regarded as unscathed – he was on the receiving end of a painful head butt in his 8-0 semifinal victory over Minseok KIM (KOR).

Other than that, it was smooth sailing as the Paris Olympic bronze medalist and two-time world champion advanced with a pair of wins by technical superiority.

Mirzazadeh and Farokhi were joined in the finals by Erfan JARKANI (IRI) and Ali OSKOU (IRI) as Iran looks on track to surpass its 2025 gold medal tally of five in Amman, Jordan.

“We were expecting Farokhi and Mirzazadeh to reach the final, but over the last two years, both Jarkani and Oksou have improved a lot and good results were expected from them and they showed that,” Iran head coach Hassan RANGRAZ said. “Hopefully, tomorrow also our wrestlers will achieve good results.”

Against Kim, Mirzazadeh jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a pair of gut wrenches in par terre. In the second period, Kim rose his head as Mirzazadeh approached, causing a collision that left both rubbing their wounds.

Kim was assessed a 2-point penalty, and when a Korean challenge of the call was denied, that gave the Iranian his eighth and decisive point.

In the final, Mirzazadeh will face a newcomer to the Asian scene, former Russian national champion Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB), who advanced with a 7-2 victory over two-time bronze medalist Yuta NARA (JPN).

Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI), the world champion at 82kg, defeated Sunil KUMAR (IND) in 87kg semifinals at the Asian Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

In one of those blink-and-you-missed-it dominant victories, Farokhi swiftly powered to an 8-0 victory over three-time Asian medalist Sunil KUMAR (IND) to advance to the 87kg final.

Farokhi, last year’s world champion at 82kg who has not lost an international match since 2022, shrugged Kumar by to get behind, then used an arm lock for four quicksilver back-and-forth exposures to end the match in 37 seconds.

In the final, Farokhi will take on world bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ), who put together a slightly less dominant 8-0 victory over Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) to become one of three wrestlers from the host country to make the finals.

Zhanyshov, a two-time Asian U23 champion, finished up the win with a go-behind takedown to top Tursynov, who has three Asian medals over a 10-year span – from a gold in 2014 to silvers in 2015 and 2023.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) launches Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) for four points during the 77kg semifinals in Bishkek. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The biggest cheers of the night at the new Zhastyk Arena came in response to the exploits at 77kg of Makhmudov, who first stole the spotlight when he won the first of his three Asian golds in 2018 across the street at the Soviet-era Kojomkul Sports Palace.

Facing 2024 Asian bronze medalist Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), Makhmudov got the first shot at par terre and took full advantage, thrilling the crowd with not one but two powerful reverse body lifts in which he flipped his opponent over like a pancake on the griddle.

Makhmudov, a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist, began the year on a sluggish note, falling in the 82kg quarterfinals of the Tirana Ranking Series tournament in February to Tunjay VAZIRZADE (AZE).

But back at his usual weight, Makhmudov is looking more like his old self – and he’ll need to be in that form in a challenging final against Iran’s Oskou, this year’s Zagreb Ranking Series champion and a 2024 world U23 bronze medalist.

Oskou had a pair of four-point throws and, while having to fight off his back when one roll attempt was stopped, still managed to forge a solid 13-3 victory over AMAN (IND) in the other semifinal.

Erfan JARKANI (IRI)Erfan JARKANI (IRI) battles it out with Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) in the 63kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 63kg, Zagreb Open champion and 2024 world U23 and U20 bronze medalist Jarkani held off former Asian champion Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) in a 5-3 win to advance to the final in his senior Asian debut.

Jarkani opened with a takedown, then quickly went up 5-0 when he received single points for passivity, fleeing and an unsuccessful challenge.

In the second period, Bakhramov showed the fight that led him to the 60kg gold in 2019, but could only manage a single gut wrench from par terre to fall short of victory.

Bakhramov, a world bronze medalist in 2023, still has a chance for his fourth career Asian medal and third bronze.

Jarkani will battle for the gold against Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), who become the first wrestler from the home team to make the finals when he bulldozed his way to a 10-0 victory over Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM) in the other semifinal.

Taalaibek Uulu started the rout with a four-point arm throw onto which a challenge point was added. A passivity call put Taalaibek Uulu on top in par terre, and he hit his second four-pointer of the match to end it at 2:05.

Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) raises the hand of Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ) after beating the home wrestler in the 55kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov) 

At 55kg, two-time bronze medalist Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) shrugged off the vocal partisan crowd and a potentially costly penalty against 2024 bronze medalist Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ), riding a five-point first period to a 5-3 victory and a place in tomorrow’s final.

Botirov, the silver medalist in Zagreb, reeled off a pair of gut wrenches from par terre for a 5-0 lead. In the second period, Muratbek Uulu was put on top and before the action even started, Botirov was assessed a two-point penalty for moving too soon.

Despite the crowd’s efforts to spur their wrestler on, Botirov withstood Muratbek Uulu’s late attacks and assured he will improve on the bronze medals he won last year and in 2023 by making the final, where he will face LALIT (IND).

Botirov earlier defeated the only Iranian to not make the final on the day, Hajiali HOSSEINVAND (IRI), in the quarterfinals.

“Hosseinvand, too, should have been in the final given his recent performances, but it was unfortunate that he lost 8-0 [officially 10-0] against the Uzbekistan wrestler,” Rangraz added. “He beat him in February and he deserved to reach the final.”

LALIT (IND)LALIT (IND) reached the 55kg final after beating Houying SHI (CHN), 11-3. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Lalit put himself in position to become just the fourth Asian champion from India in Greco and first since 2020 when he battled back after losing the lead to defeat world bronze medalist Huoying SHI (CHN) 11-3.

Lalit, who likes to use a standing roll through from par terre, hit the move to take a 3-1 lead in the second period, but got stuck when he tried it again and Shi got around front, clamped on a front headlock and bulled Lalit over to go ahead 3-3 on criteria.

But Lalit struck back right away with a slick duck under for a takedown, then went to the roll through for two more, with an unsuccessful challenge point tacked on. A stepout and a defensive takedown gave Lalit the win by technical superiority as time ran out.

Photo

RESULTS

55kg
GOLDLALIT (IND) vs. Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB)

SF 1: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) df. Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ), 5-3
SF 2: LALIT (IND) df. Huoying SHI (CHN), 11-3

63kg
GOLD: Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) vs. Erfan Behnam JARKANI (IRI) 

SF 1: Erfan JARKANI (IRI) df. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), 5-3
SF 2: Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM), 10-0

77kg
GOLD: Ali OSKOU (IRI) vs. Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) 

SF 1: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB), 9-0
SF 2: Ali OSKOU (IRI) df. AMAN (IND), 13-3

87kg
GOLD: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) vs. Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)

SF 1: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Suni KUMAR (IND), 8-0
SF 2: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), 8-0

130kg
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB) 

SF 1: Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB) df. Yuta NARA (JPN), 7-2
SF 2: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Minseok KIM (KOR), 8-0