#BeachWrestlingWorldSeries

Georgian Men, Brazilian Women Sweep Beach Gold in Rio

Saturday, May 11, 2019 - 21:42 By Tim Foley

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RIO DE JANEIRO (May 11) – Brazilian funk music thumped Saturday afternoon as four of the nation’s beach wrestling women captured gold at the second stop of the Beach Wrestling World Series (BWWS). The Brazilian side, who laughed and danced their way to the unlikely quadruple gold also each collected 1000 CHF for winning their respective weight classes at the event.

Kamila BARBOSA (50kg), Camila FAMA (60kg), Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS (70kg), and Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) each cruised their way to gold over the course of the two-day event, creating a buzz among the hometown crowd.

“It was so special to win all four gold medals and to do it here in Rio,” said Fama. “I’m so happy with the way that we wrestled and love beach wrestling!”

As with the first BWWS stop in Portugal the mood in Rio was festive with wrestlers from a dozen nations mingling and dancing between their turns in the wrestling circle.

Also similar to the first stop, four Georgians made the finals of the event, only this time all four Georgians managed to take home top billing. The effort was led by ever-smiling Dato MARSAGISHVILI (90kg) who managed a tough-fought final versus two-time world champion Muhammed INAM (PAK), 2-0.

“This is very fun,” said Marsagishvili. “I enjoy beach wrestling and the competition was good.”

The Georgians were on top of their wrestling throughout the two-day event, scoring a number of close victories and big throws. The former mat wrestlers used a combination of snap downs and leg snatches to earn a combined 20 victories in the sand.

The BWWS awards 1000 CHF to gold medalists, 500 CHF to silver medalists, and 250 CHF to bronze medalists. The fans at each event also vote for their favorite “Best Throw” of the event. The Rio winner for “Best Throw” was Semen RADULOV (UKR) who won 1000 CHF for his blast double leg on day one of the competition.

Ukraine will host the third stop with Odessa entertaining athletes at the Beach Wrestling World Series on August 9-10. The fourth and final stop will be the 2019 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia on September 6-7.

Men's Beach Wrestling

70kg
GOLD: Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO)
SILVER: Semen RADULOV (UKR)
BRONZE: Reece HUMPHREY (USA)

80kg
GOLD: Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO)
SILVER: Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE)
BRONZE: Efe Sami UNAL (TUR)

90kg
GOLD: Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO)
SILVER: Muhammad INAM (PAK)
BRONZE: Kanan ALIYEV (AZE)

+90kg
GOLD: Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)
SILVER: Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE)
BRONZE: Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE)

Women's Beach Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
SILVER: Susana Paula DE ALMEIDA DOS SANTOS (BRA)
BRONZE: Claudia Soledad CABRERA (ARG)

60kg
GOLD: Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA)
SILVER: Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
BRONZE: Ana Luiza PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA)

70kg
GOLD: Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS (BRA)
SILVER: Nikeli FERREIRA DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
BRONZE: Sonia Marina PEREIRA BRAZIO (POR)

+70kg
GOLD: Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
SILVER: Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
BRONZE: Dailane GOMES DOS REIS (BRA)

#BeachWrestling

Asian Champs Long, Xie Shine for Hosts China at 6th Asian Beach Games

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 - 15:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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SANYA, China (April 28) -- Just two weeks ago, Jia LONG (CHN) and Mengyu XIE (CHN) were winning Asian Championships gold medals on mat in Bishkek.

Now on the beach in home country, Long and Xie entered the Beach Wrestling finals at the 6th Asian Beach Games that are underway in Sanya, China.

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Apart from China, India and Vietnam also entered two wrestlers each in the gold medal bouts while Sri Lanka and Mongolia managed one each.

In men's, Iran has a chance to sweep the gold medals after all four its wrestlers reached the final. Pakistan was the most successful country after Iran with two wrestlers in the final whereas India and China made one final each.

Beach WrestlingBeach Wrestling at the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Beach Wrestling got underway at the Games on April 28, Tuesday, with knockout rounds, group round-robin bouts, quarterfinals and semifinals in eight weight categories -- four men's and four women's.

Also Read: Inam Reaches For Beach Wrestling Glory

Asian champion at 72kg Long reached making the 70kg final in Sanya. Long defeated Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ), 3-1, in the semifinals. She will now face Thi Linh DANG (VIE) for the gold medal after the Vietnam wrestler pinned Jaspreet KAUR (IND) in the other semifinal.

The host country's chances of gold were further boosted when Asian champion at 59kg Xie reached the final in 60kg. She had to battle it out against Thi My Hanh NGUYEN (VIE) but prevailed 3-2. She will now take on Pushpa YADAV (IND) who claimed a 3-1 win over Asian bronze medalist Youngjin KWON (KOR).

PRIYA (IND)PRIYA (IND) defeated Wenji LI (CHN) in the +70kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Former U17 and U20 world champion PRIYA (IND) reached the final at +70kg after a close 2-0 win over Asian bronze medalist Wenji LI (CHN). She will now face Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL) who defeated Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ), 3-0, in the other semifinal.

At 50kg, Nipuni HEWA PEDIGE (SRI) has put her country within reach of its first gold medal of the Games after making the final with fall over Funa YANO (JPN). She will now have to beat Thi Kim Oanh DOAN (VIE) for the historic gold. The Vietnam wrestler made it to the final after beating Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND), 3-0, in the other semifinals.

Seyedamirreza SAHRAEMAHALI (IRI)Seyedamirreza SAHRAEMAHALI (IRI) defeated world bronze medalist Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) in the +90kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Iran Puts 4 in Finals

Iran's first finalist came at 70kg as Aliakbar ZAROUDI (IRI) defeated Adis RAKHAT UULU (KGZ), 2-0, in a close semifinal. He will face SIDDARTH (IND) who defeated Muhammad ABDULLAH (PAK), 1-0 to advance.

At 80kg, winner of Katerini World Series in 2025 Ali GHOLAMI (IRI) had no trouble beating Yermakhan KOSHKINBAYEV (KAZ) via fall in the semifinals. He will take on Muhammad Asad ULLAH (PAK) for the gold medal after the Pakistan wrestler confirmed a 4-0 victory over world bronze medalist Feng LU (CHN).

Muhammad INAM (PAK)Muhammad INAM (PAK) reached the 90kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling File)

A mouth-watering final is set in 90kg after former Asian Championships bronze medalist and Katerini World Series gold medalist Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) secured the spot in last two against former Beach Wrestling world champion Muhammad INAM (PAK).

While Kavousi secured a 3-0 win over Peilong LI (CHN), Inam defeated Turbold GANBOLD (MGL) by 1-0 to enter the finals.

The +90kg category will see Seyedamirreza SAHRAEIMAHALI (IRI) take on Da LU (CHN) in the final. Sahraeimahali stunned Asian Championships silver medalist Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN) by pinning him to enter the final. Lu also won via fall, pinning Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ).

Da LU (CHN)Da LU (CHN) reached the +90kg final at the 6th Asian Beach Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

RESULTS

Men's Beach Wrestling

70kg
SF 1: SIDDHARTH (IND) df. Muhammad ABDULLAH (PAK), 1-0
SF 2: Aliakbar ZAROUDI (IRI) df. Adis RAKHAT UULU (KGZ), 2-0

80kg
SF 1: Muhammad Asad ULLAH (PAK) df. Feng LU (CHN), 4-0
SF 2: Ali GHOLAMI (IRI) df. Yermakhan KOSHKINBAYEV (KAZ), via fall

90kg
SF 1: Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) df. Peilong LI (CHN), 3-0
SF 2: Muhammad INAM (PAK) df. Turbold GANBOLD (MGL), 1-0

+90kg
SF 1: Seyedamirreza SAHRAEIMAHALI (IRI) df. Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN), via fall
SF 2: Da LU (CHN) df. Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ), via fall

Women's Beach Wrestling

50kg
SF 1: Nipuni HEWA PEDIGE (SRI) df. Funa YANO (JPN), via fall
SF 2: Thi Kim Oanh DOAN (VIE) df. Priyanshi PRAJAPAT (IND), 3-0

60kg
SF 1: Mengyu XIE (CHN) df. Thi My Hanh NGUYEN (VIE), 3-1
SF 2: Pushpa YADAV (IND) df. Youngjin KWON (KOR), 3-1

70kg
SF 1: Thi Linh DANG (VIE) df. Jaspreet KAUR (IND), via fall
SF 2: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Beibit SEIDUALY (KAZ), 3-1

+70kg
SF 1: PRIYA (IND) df. Wenji LI (CHN), 2-0
SF 2: Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL) df. Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ), 3-0