MACON, France (31 August) – Defending champions Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) and Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) marched into the gold medal finals Wednesday with an eye on the Greco-Roman team title at the Junior World Wrestling Championships.

Zoidze at 66kg and Pataridze at 120kg will be joined by European junior bronze medal winner Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (55kg) at Le Spot exhibition hall for the final session of bouts in the classic style Wednesday evening.

Chkartishvili needed a late two-point headlock for a 9-8 victory over Asian junior silver medalist Nuzupbek TOPCHUBAEV (KGZ) in the 55kg semifinals to book his place in the final. For the gold medal, he will face Yo NAMBA (JPN), who defeated European silver medalist Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR) in the round of 16.

Zoidze takes on Asian junior champion Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) in the 66kg final, while Pataridze is set to square off with last year’s world bronze medal winner Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) in the 120kg championship bout.

Earlier, Pataridze held off a determined challenge from 2015 cadet world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) in the round of 16 for a 4-1 victory and then stormed to a pair of technical falls for his berth in the day’s finale.

The lone gold medal bout without a Georgian wrestler Wednesday will be a renewal of the rivalry between 2014 junior world champion Islam ABBASOV (AZE) and defending champ Ali CENGIZ (TUR). Abbasov defeated Cengiz for the European crown in June.

Abbasov, however, nearly did not make it to the final needing to fight off his back in the quarterfinals and overcome a 6-8 deficit to Asian junior silver medalist Arman ALIZADEH ABDEVALI (IRI) for a 14-6 technical fall midway through the second period.

 -- Results --

Greco-Roman

55kg (20 entries)

Gold – Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) v Yo NAMBA (JPN)
Bronze – Jacopo SANDRON (ITA) v Nuzubek TOPCHUBAEV (KGZ)                                   
Bronze – Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR) v Meysam DALKHANI (IRI)

Semifinals – Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) df. Nuzubek TOPCHUBAEV (KGZ), 9-8
Semifinals – Yo NAMBA (JPN) df. Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) by TF, 9-0, 5:16

66kg (31 entries)

Gold – Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) v Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Bronze – Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) v Islambek DADOV (AZE)
Bronze – Mohamed Ibrahim ELSAYED (EGY) v Mohammad Hossein MORAD ELYASI (IRI)

Semifinals – Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) df. Islambek DADOV (AZE), 7-1
Semifinals – Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Mohammad Hossein MORAD ELYASI (IRI), 7-5

84kg (25 entries)

Gold – Islam ABBASOV (AZE) v Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Bronze – Arman ALIZADEH ABDEVALI (IRI) v Vlas DUBROVIN (RUS)
Bronze – Kiril MILOV (BUL) v Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)

Semifinals – Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Vlas DUBROVNI (RUS) by TF, 8-0, 5:08
Semifinals – Ali CENGIZ (TUR) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 5-2

120kg (22 entries)

Gold – Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) v Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)
Bronze – Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) v Ferenc ALMASI (HUN)
Bronze – Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM) v Nikolai IZMAILOV (RUS)

Semifinals – Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) df. Ferenc ALMASI (HUN) by TF, 9-0, 1:35
Semifinals – Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) df. Nikolai IZMAILOV (RUS, 7-3