ATHENS, Greece (Sept. 4) – A gripping opening ceremony at Ano Liosia Olympic Hall set the stage for a night of climactic Greco-Roman semifinals to end day one of the Cadet World Championships.

The evening began with a World-class clash at 50kg between Cadet European champion Zaur ALIYEV (AZE) and Cadet European bronze medalist Hayk ASATRYAN (ARM). In a rematch of last year’s Cadet World bronze-medal bout won by Aliyev, the Azerbaijan contestant further distanced himself from Asatryan with crafty neutral wrestling to take a 10-2 win.

Aliyev’s opponent in the 50kg finals is Ken MATSUI (JPN), who scored a clutch 3-2 decision over 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist Vladimir ZABEYVOROTA (RUS). Zabeyvorota led the semifinal struggle by a point with under one minute remaining, but was dinged for fleeing to give Matsui two points and ultimately the win.

A pair of Cadet European medalists were upended in the 63kg showdowns. Reigning Cadet European champion Artem EROKHIN (RUS) was defeated by 2016 Cadet European runner-up Dmytro MIROSHNYK (UKR), 1-1, with the only points being awarded on passivity. Cadet European bronze medalist Otar ABULADZE (GEO) fell behind in the second 63kg semifinal to Mostafa KAYED KHORDEH (IRI) due to early miscues, and was unable to mount a comeback. 

The lone Russian to qualify for a gold-medal match was German DOEV (RUS), who soundly toppled Cadet European champion Beka GURULI (GEO) by technical fall, 9-0. Doev will be pitted against Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) in the 54kg finals. Bazarbayev was the only wrestler to secure a fall in tonight’s semifinal round.

Past Cadet Pan American champion Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) took down Cadet Asian champion Seyedmojtaba Seyedmostafa HOSSEINI (IRI), 1-0, with a single passivity point proving the difference. Schultz, the first U.S. Greco-Roman finalist in this event since 1998, stares down Cadet European champion Balint VATZI (HUN) for 100kg gold.

The remaining final comes at 58 kg, with Cadet Asian runner-up Mohsen Fathollah MADHANI (IRI) squaring off against Sonu SONU (IND). In the semifinals, Madhani was dominant in an 11-2 victory over Kosei TAKESHITA (JPN), while Sonu won with a takedown in the final 30 seconds against Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER), 3-1.

After day one, it would appear Iran and Russia are in a battle for the top spot in the team standings. Both nations boast three wrestlers in medal matches with the remaining five weight classes yet to compete. Iran was the only squad to put multiple athletes in the gold-medal finals today.

The Greco-Roman competition will resume at 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday with the repechage rounds for 50kg, 54kg, 58kg, 63kg and 100kg, as well as the qualification rounds in the five weight categories yet to compete. Medal matches for the first five Greco-Roman weights are scheduled to follow at 6 p.m.

Stay locked in to all the action from Greece with a live stream and updated results provided on the United World Wrestling event page.

Greco-Roman Results

50kg (25 entries)

Gold – Zaur ALIYEV (AZE) vs. Ken MATSUI (JPN)

Semifinal – Zaur ALIYEV (AZE) df. Hayk ASATRYAN (ARM) by VSU1, 10-2

Semifinal – Ken MATSUI (JPN) df. Vladimir ZABEYVOROTA (RUS) by VPO1, 3-2

54kg (20 entries)

Gold – Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) vs. German DOEV (RUS)

Semifinal – Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) df. Aliaksandr PECHURENKA (BLR) by VFA, 3:28

Semifinal – German DOEV (RUS) df. Beka GURULI (GEO) by VSU, 9-0

58kg (27 entries)

Gold – Mohsen Fathollah MADHANI (IRI) vs. Sonu SONU (IND)

Semifinal – Mohsen Fathollah MADHANI (IRI) df. Kosei TAKESHITA (JPN) by VSU1, 11-2

Semifinal – Sonu SONU (IND) df. Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER) by VPO1, 3-1

63kg (27 entries)

Gold – Dmytro MIROSHNYK (UKR) vs. Mostafa KAYED KHORDEH (IRI)

Semifinal – Dmytro MIROSHNYK (UKR) df. Artem EROKHIN (RUS) by VPO1, 1-1

Semifinal – Mostafa KAYED KHORDEH (IRI) df. Otar ABULADZE (GEO) by VPO1, 4-2

100kg (21 entries)

Gold – Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) vs. Balint VATZI (HUN)

Semifinal – Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) df. Seyedmojtaba Seyedmostafa HOSSEINI (IRI) by VPO, 1-0

Semifinal – Balint VATZI (HUN) df. Ciprian Ilie TRUFAN (ROU) by VPO1, 3-1