#WrestleZagreb

Monday night's semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

ZAGREB, Croatia (April 17) --- The final details are being made to the Arena Zagreb before the start of today's European Championships. We're just over 90 minutes away from the beginning of freestyle action 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 92kg.

FULL EUROPEAN C'SHIP SCHEDULE:
- 11:30 - Qualification rounds
- 17:15 - Opening Ceremony
- 18:00 -  Semifinals

Monday's semifinal matches:

57kg 
Suleyman ATLI (TUR) vs. Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO) 
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) vs. Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA) 

65kg
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL) vs. Stefan Ionut COMAN (ROU) 
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) vs. Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) 

70kg​​​​​​​
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR) vs. Ramazan Eldarovitch RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Vasile DIACON (MDA) vs. Haji ALIYEV (AZE) 

79kg
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) vs. Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) 
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) vs. Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) 

97kg​​​​​​​
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) vs. Vladislav BAITCAEV (HUN) 
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) vs. Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) 

2:20: That'll do it for the morning session. We'll see you back at the Arena Zagreb at 18:00 for tonight's semifinals.

2:10: World bronze medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) just scored a step out with less than a second left to beat Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR), 4-3. He'll wrestle Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) in the 97kg semifinals. 

1:43: What a battle between Atli and Vangelov.

Atli led 5-0, but Vangelov fought back and cut the Turkish wrestler's lead to one point. He was in a shot as time expired, but failed to pick up any more points. He'll now have the winner of  Razvan Marian KOVACS (ROU) and Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO).

1:32: Three-time world medalist Suleyman ATLI (TUR) is making his way to Mat C to take on Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)

1:24: Arsamerzouev just upset returning world bronze medalist Micic to reach the quarterfinals. He'll wrestle Coman for a spot in tonight's semifinals.

1:11: That's why you wrestle until the last whistle. Stefan Ionut COMAN (ROU) just took Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) down with .08 seconds left on the clock to win, 3-2. 

Coman will wrestle the winner of Khamzat Timourovitch ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB), who are wrestling now on Mat C. Currently, Arsamerzouev leads 2-0 after the first period.

12:54: U23 world champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) leads Muhammed AKDENİZ (TUR), 6-0, on Mat B. 

12:30: Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) and Benjamin Konrad HONIS (ITA) were in a tight race on Mat B but the reigning European champion blew the match open with a takedown and four leg laces. The Azeri will wrestle  Samuel SCHERRER (SUI) next. 

12:18:  Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) just upset returning world silver medalist Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SVK), 6-4, and punched his ticket to the 97kg quarterfinals. He'll wrestle the winner of  Erik Sven THIELE (GER) and Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)

12:14: Cabolov and Micic both pick up technical superiority wins and continue their quest for Euro gold. 

12:00: World bronze medalist Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) is wrestling Carlos ALVAREZ IGLESIAS (ESP) over on Mat C. Micic is up from his world bronze-medal weight of the 57kg.
On a side note regarding Micic: He's fresh off a two-week training camp in Japan, where he was invited by world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) and Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN).

11:50: Former world champion Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) is up now against  Kreso SKUGOR (CRO) on Mat B. The Russian-turn-Serbian is up at 79kg for the first time in his career. 

11:38: Aliyev is on an 8-0 run after giving up the opening point of the match. He closed out the first period with his patented single leg and a trapped arm gut wrench. In the second, he ended the bout early with three takedowns and a leg lace. He'll wrestle  Kevin Christopher HENKEL (GER) in the 70kg quarterfinals. 

11:31: The wait is over. Wrestlers are being called to the mats. We'll kick things off at 70kg across the board. The biggest star on the elevated stage is up on Mat B as three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE) is taking on Gianluca TALAMO (ITA).

2027 World Championships

Las Vegas to Host 2027 World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

LAS VEGAS (May 10) -- The 2027 World Championships will be held in Las Vegas, United States.

United World Wrestling and USA Wrestling have announced that next year's Senior World Championships, that will also serve as the first Olympic qualifier for 2028 LA Games, will be held at the historic Thomas & Mack Center, University of Las Vegas, Nevada from September 11 to 19. The center has a capacity of around 20,000.

The announcement came on the sidelines of the Pan-American Championships that are being held in Coralville, Iowa from May 7 to 10. The 2027 World Championships will mark a return of the mega event to the U.S. after 12 years as the country hosted the competition in 2015.

It will also award the first direct quotas for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The 72 medalists in 18 Olympic weight classes at the 2027 World Championships will earn quotas for their respective National Olympic Committees.

"USA Wrestling is thrilled to bring the World Championships back to U.S. soil for the first time since 2015,” said Rich BENDER, USA Wrestling Executive Director. "Las Vegas will provide an elite experience for our world-class athletes and spectators, while building great momentum for the sport leading into the 2028 Olympic Games down the road in Los Angeles."

Earlier in January, UWW had detailed how wrestlers can qualify their respective NOCs for LA 2028 trough World Championships, Continental Olympic Qualifiers, UWW Rankings and the World Olympic Qualifiers.

The calendar for "Road to LA 2028" was also shared by UWW last week, detailing an expansive calendar with World Championships, Continental Championships, UWW Ranking Events and World and Continental Olympic Qualifiers.

Age-Group Worlds Calendar

In addition to the Senior World Championships, UWW also announced the U17, U20 and U23 World Championships for 2027.

The World Championships season will kick off in Amman, Jordan which will host the U17 World Championships from August 2 to 8. Two weeks later, Novi Sad, Serbia will play host to the U20 World Championships from August 23 to 29.

Next up will be the Veteran World Championships that will travel to the scenic town of Porec, Croatia and will be held from October 5 to 10. The last world event for the year will be the U23 World Championships and Brasov, Romania is scheduled to host it from October 18 to 24.

2027 World Championships
U17 - AMMAN, Jordan (August 2-8)
U20 - NOVI SAD, Serbia (August 23-29)
Senior - LAS VEGAS, U.S. (September 11-19)
Veteran - POREC, Croatia (October 5-10)
U23 - BRASOV, Romania (October 18-24)

As previously communicated by UWW, the age-group World Championships will see a significant change starting 2028 calendar. The U20 World Championships will be held before the U17 World Championships and the U23 World Championships will take place before the Senior World Championships.

The detailed progamme of the World Championships will be shared by UWW in due time. For more information about wrestling events, visit uww.org/events.