#WrestleZagreb

Tuesday night's European finals set

Tuesday, April 18, 2023 - 09:47 By Eric Olanowski

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ZAGREB, Croatia (April 18) --- The second day of freestyle action at the European Championships kicks off with action at 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg.

FULL EUROPEAN C'SHIP SCHEDULE:
- 11:30 - Qualification rounds
- 16:45 - Semifinals
- 18:00 - Finals

Tuesday's semifinal matchups:

61kg
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) vs. Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO) 
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) vs. Arman ELOYAN (FRA) 

74kg
Ali Pasha Ruslanovich UMARPASHAEV (BUL) vs. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) 
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) vs. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) 

86kg
Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR) vs. Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL) 
Boris MAKOEV (SVK) vs. Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) 

92kg
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) 
Ermak KARDANOV (SVK) vs. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) 

125kg
Taha AKGUL (TUR) vs. Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA) 
Daniel LIGETI (HUN) vs. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) 

14:31: Akgul trailed 1-0 after the opening period but scored three points in the closing frame to win a close 3-1 battle. He'll likely have Olympic bronze medalist Conyedo Ruano, who is up 3-0 with :20 seconds left.

14:12: Two of the all-time greats in Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) are wrestling on Mat B and C, respectively.

14:10: In typical Chamizo fashion, he got going when he needed to and picked up the 7-4 win. He'll meet fellow Olympic bronze medalist Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) in tonight's semifinals.

14:05: Things are getting heated between Chamizo and Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE). Chamizo has been punched, kicked and had his hair pulled in the opening three minutes.

14:01: We have a pair of world champions on the mat right now. Chamizo is wrestling on Mat B and Abakarov is on Mat C.

13:25: Amine picked up a third takedown on Rubaev and increased his lead to 7-0. It's been a weird match from the Moldovian. He hasn't taken a single shot and there's less than a minute left.

13:20: Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine is kicking off his quest for a second straight European title on Mat B. He's wrestling Georgii RUBAEV (MDA).

12:49: One of the most talked about storylines coming into the European Championships was the late transfer of Greek Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE). He just had his first match, where he dominated Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN), 10-0, in the first period.


12:43: One of the benefits of being seeded is having more time to recover after weigh-ins. The seeded athletes usually have around two hours of extra rest before competing. We're nearing that mark when the top athletes will be making their way to the mat, one after another.

Here are some of the stars that'll be making their way to Mat B soon:
- Bout 108 - Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR) 
- Bout 110 - Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) 
- Bout 111 - Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) 
- Bout 112 -  Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) 
- Bout 114 - Taha AKGUL (TUR)  

12:32: Daniel LIGETI (HUN) has a crowd behind him on Mat A. There's at least 20 people--one with a big drum--cheering for the Hungarian Big Man. He's in a tight 2-2 battle with Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT).

12:16: We'll stay on Mat B as U23 European champion Georgi Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL) is making his way to the mat. He'll wrestle against Alexandr ROMANOV (MDA).

If you're unfamiliar with Ivanov, he's a more compact heavyweight that loves to throw. His go-to move is an arm throw.


12:13:  Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA), who won Olympic gold in Tokyo at 97kg, moved up to 125kg a season ago. It's taken nearly two years, but he looks like a true 125kg guy. He picked up a 3-0 opening-round win over Paris KAREPI (ALB).

12:05: There's your upset of the day (keeping in mind we're only a half-hour into the session). Arman ELOYAN (FRA) just took out 2022 European champion Vladimir EGOROV (MKD), 2-2, to set up a matchup with Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU).

11:58: Reigning 57kg world champion Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) is up now on Mat B. He's wrestling up a weight class, competing at 61kg for the European Championships. He's wrestling Niklas STECHELE (GER).

11:45: We'll kick the morning session off with repechage matches for those who fell on Monday.

#WrestleSamokov

Shkarin, Javadov complete Worlds and Europeans U20 golden double

Friday, August 22, 2025 - 16:31 By Vinay Siwach

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SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 22) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) managed to pull off a continental and world double by winning the gold medal at the World U20 Championships on Friday. He won the gold medal at the European U20 Championships in July.

This is the second straight year that Shkarin has done that as he won the world and European U17 last year.

Wrestling Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ) in the 82kg final, Shkarin came out with his best defense in par terre to defend his 4-1 lead and win the gold medal.

"Last year I won Worlds and Europeans U17s, now Worlds and Europeans U20s," Shkarin said. "I don’t see anything supernatural in this. Everything is just working out for me."

Shkarin was in top form throughout the tournament with three technical superiority wins in three bouts and it was only in the final that he was test and did not manage to finish his bout before time.

In the semifinals, Shkarin blanked Martik PETROSYAN (ARM) while Seitkaliyev defeated Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) in the other semifinal. However, Shkarin was hoping to get a rematch against Yoshida who had defeated Shkarin in the 2023 world U17 final.

"The motivation for me at this World Championship was that I really wanted to take revenge on the Japanese wrestler," Shkarin said. "I even told my friends that I could leave this championship upset only if I lost to the Japanese again. Nothing else would upset me as much. But it’s not my fault, it’s his -- he didn’t reach the final."

With the World U20 gold won, Shkarin will look to move to the Olympic weight class -- 87kg -- next year and plan his journey towards winning the Olympic medal in the future.

"Next year I want to move up to the 87 kg weight category," he said. "I’ll start working on my physical shape, try to gain muscle mass, and gradually settle into the 87 kg weight class. I want to try competing at seniors level."

Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 60kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The last time the World U20 Championships were held in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan won crowned three champions in Greco-Roman. However, at the next two editions, the country failed to win gold.

The 2025 edition of the U20 Worlds, back in Bulgaria, seems to have brought luck back for Azerbaijan as the nation won its first gold in Greco-Roman in the first final.

European U20 champion and two-time world U17 champion Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) added a gold at the U20 level in his first year by beating Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) in the 60kg final.

The 18-year-old showed no signs of discomfort in the new age-group and won three out of his five bouts via technical superiority or fall. In the final, he maintained a good lead throughout and defeat Mkhitaryan, also 18 years old, 12-5.

Javadov was put in par terre in he first period and Mkhitaryan scored two turns using gut0-wrench for a 5-0 lead but as he was trying to complete the third one, Javadov blocked him and scored two points. Armenia challenged the call but it was clear block and two points and Mkhitaryan led 5-3 at the break.

Javadov got the par terre in the second period but he failed to score any points. It was the third passivity with which the momentum of the final changed. Javadov asked for par terre after third passivity, which doesn't award any points. But Javadov managed to turn him for two and then a reverse lift for another two points to lead 8-5.

Mkhitaryan tried to jump over the head but it did not work out as Javadov controlled him and slammed him on mat for four points. He ultimately won 12-5.

"Since childhood I have been very self-confident," Javadov said. "Age makes no difference, I always believe I deserve first place."

Javadov has now not faced defeat for three years and the gold medal in Samokov. But the debut at U20 Worlds made him a little nervous.

"I couldn’t fully prepare mentally for the final bout, most likely my opponent wasn’t that good either," he said. "I made a couple of mistakes and gave up points, but then I managed to pull myself together. In the second period I realized that my opponent was very tired, and I understood that I could take the advantage and win."

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 12-5

BRONZE: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Omer ALTAS (TUR), 9-0 (victory via cautions)
BRONZE: SURAJ (IND) df. Lucas LO GRASSO (FRA), 1-1

82kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (UWW) df. Dias SEITKALIYEV (KAZ), 4-1

BRONZE: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. PRINCE (IND), 11-0
BRONZE: Azimjon SOATULLAEV (UZB) df. Martik PETROSYAN (ARM), 8-0