#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).

#WrestleAlexandria

Eight Golds Power Nigeria to Women's Team Title

By United World Wrestling Press

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (May 2) -- For a second day in a row, Nigeria was stopped from sweeping the gold medals in Women's Wrestling at the African Championships in Alexandria.

After winning four out of five golds on Friday, Nigeria was well on course to win all five remaining golds on Saturday but Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) defeated Ebi BIOGOS (NGR), 6-2, in the 72kg final to halt the march.

UWW Plus

Sghaier, wrestling for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympics, used a rather dangerous trip to score her first takedown and then rolled Biogos for two more points. Down 4-2, Biogos tried scoring the final few seconds but Sghaier scored a go-behind for the win, her third African gold.

But the evening began with Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) winning her sixth African title after beating Chahrazed AYACHI (TUN), 6-0, in a controlled 50kg final.

Genesis began with a stepout before using a snapdown to go-behind takedown to lead 3-0. Ayachi was called for passivity and put on the 30-second activity clock. As Ayachi failed to score any points, Genesis got another point to lead 4-0 at the break.

A simple go-behind takedown in the second period for Genesis made it 6-0, a lead she defended for the remaining 1:24 to win the gold medal.

At 55kg, Adijat IDRIS (NGR) won all three bouts in the round-robin bracket without giving up a single point to claim the gold medal, her second straight at the African Championships.

Esther ASAOLU (NGR), making her senior debut, then added the third gold medal by winning all her bouts at 59kg in the round-robin bracket. She began with a victory via fall over Kavelishimwe ABRAHAM (NAM), then a 10-0 win over Gloria NIYONKURU (BDI) before beating Chaima DAHI (TUN) and Mariam MESBAH (EGY) by an identical 10-0 score.

Though she lost to Asaolu, Abraham went on to win her remaining three bouts to claim the silver medal, the first in the history of Namibia in Women's Wrestling. She was also the first woman wrestler from Namibia to ever medal internationally when she won the silver medal at the U20 African Championships in 2023. She repeated in 2024 and on Saturday, she made history at the senior level.

The fourth gold medal for Nigeria came at 65kg after three-time African champion Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) swept through her three bouts, winning 10-0, 10-0 and via fall.

Photo

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) df. Chahrazed AYACHI (TUN), 6-0

BRONZE: Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG) df. Malak AHMED (EGY), 6-3

55kg
GOLD: Adijat IDRIS (NGR)
SILVER: Hagar ELSHAKHS (EGY)
BRONZE: Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)

59kg
GOLD: Esther ASAOLU (NGR)
SILVER: Kavelishimwe ABRAHAM (NAM)
BRONZE: Mariam MESBAH (EGY)

65kg
GOLD: Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
SILVER: Ritag ELMALTY (EGY)
BRONZE: Lec ANDE (CAF)

72kg
GOLD: Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) df. Ebi BIOGOS (NGR), 6-2

BRONZE: Rosie TABORA (COD) df. Aimelda NDIFFO (CMR), 12-2
BRONZE: Heba IBRAHIM (EGY) df. Yasmine BOUREGBA (ALG), via fall (6-2)