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Two Olympic Champs, Two World Champs Headline Wednesday Night’s Freestyle Finals

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - 19:43 By Eric Olanowski

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BUCHAREST, Romania (April 9) – Olympic champions Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE), and two-time world champions Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) won their semifinal matches on Tuesday night and will wrestle for a European gold medal on the third day of wrestling in Bucharest, Romania. 

Rivals Akgul and Petriashvili both scored semifinals wins against opponents who they’ve previously lost to, setting up a rematch of last year’s European finals. 

Akgul, the reigning European champion, avenged his Ivan Yariguin finals loss to Russia’s Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS). In that January meeting, Khizriev used a pair of second-period counter-offensive crotch lifts to win his first Ranking Series title, 7-3. But on Tuesday night, it was a different story when the Turkish superstar took his Russian opponent down four times, inserting himself into the finals with the 8-1 win.  

He’ll wrestle two-time world champion Geno Petriashvili in a rematch of last year’s European finals. 

Petriashvili edged his semifinals opponent Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR), 3-2, and gained the 2-1 match advantage on the Ukranian wrestler. The pair split their two previous career meetings. The Georgian won their 2015 European Games meeting, but most recently, it was the Ukrainian wrestler who came out on top of the pair’s 2018 International Ukrainian Tournament finals meeting. 

On Tuesday night, Petriashvili was able to skate past Khotsianivskyi, 3-2. 

The second Olympic champion that won their Tuesday night semifinals match was Azerbaijan’s  Sharif Sharifov. The Azeri, who dropped last year’s 92kg finals to Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS), defeated Georgia’s Irakli MTSITURI and made his third European finals appearance. 

In his first match of the day, Sharifov defeated Russia’s Magomed KURBANOV, 6-2, then defeated his Georgian semifinal opponent 8-2. 

He’ll wrestle Poland’s Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL), who scored the 6-5 come-from-behind win over Turkey’s Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR) with a late takedown. 

At 74kg, Italy’s two-time world champion Frank Chamzio made it back to the European finals for the first time since 2017 after he defeated Azerbaijan’s Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE), 6-2. With that win, Chamzio, the two-time European champion, improved on his third-place finish from a year ago. 

He’ll wrestle Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA), who knocked off Ukraine’s Vasyl MYKHAILOV and Georgia’s Budapest runner-up Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 3-3.  

Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), who is making his senior-level debut, will wrestle for a European gold medal on Wednesday night. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

The other two finals spots that were claimed came at 61kg and 86kg. 

At 61kg, returning European finalist Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) will meet Armenia's senior-level rookie Arsen HARUTYUNYAN for the gold medal. 

Lomtadze topped Switzerland’s Randy Adrian VOCK on the top half of the bracket, and Hartuyunyan took down Romania’s Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU) on the bottom half of the bracket. 

The final weight of the night, 86kg, featured one of the biggest upsets up the day when Moldova’s Piotr IANULOV flattened reigning world runner-up and current world No. 1 Fatih ERDIN (TUR) to reach the finals. 

He’ll take on 2017 world bronze medalist Vladislav VALIEV (RUS), who stopped Murad SULEYMANOV (AZE) to reach the continental finals. 

Wednesday nights final are expected to begin at 17:15 (local time) and can be followed on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

RESULTS 
61kg 
GOLD - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) vs. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), 10-4 
SEMIFINAL - Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) df. Randy Adrian VOCK (SUI), 10-0 

74kg
GOLD - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) vs. Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
SEMIFINAL - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) df. Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE), 6-2
SEMIFINAL - Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) df. Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)  , 4-2 

86kg
GOLD - Vladislav VALIEV (RUS) vs. Piotr IANULOV (MDA)
SEMIFINAL - Vladislav VALIEV (RUS) df. Murad SULEYMANOV (AZE), 7-0 
SEMIFINAL - Piotr IANULOV (MDA) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), via fall 

92kg
GOLD -  Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) vs. Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR), 6-5 
SEMIFINAL - Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) df. Irakli MTSITURI (GEO), 6-0 

125kg
GOLD - Taha AKGUL (TUR) vs. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)  
SEMIFINAL - Taha AKGUL (TUR) df. Anzor Ruslanovitch KHIZRIEV (RUS), 8-1 
SEMIFINAL - Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR), 3-2 

Stadnik retires: Europe's best who rewrote history

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - 11:06 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (February 4) -- Four Olympic medals, six World Championships medals, 10 European titles, two European Games golds, many triumphs and heartbreaks later, Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has called it a day.

Stadnik, who debuted 22 years ago in 2003, announced her decision to retire from wrestling in an event organized by Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Baku on Monday. In an emotional video, Stadnik can be seen removing her shoes on the mat in front of a crowd and then speaking about her career.

"I recorded my name in the history of Women's Wrestling. Thank you to everyone who created this story together with me," Stadnik wrote on Instagram. "Now it's time to close this page of my life and write a new history."

Back in 2003, Stadnik began with a gold medal at the U17 European Championships, won a U20 world title two years later, added senior one as well and had a storied Olympic career which was laden with heartbreaks.

"I always had the motivation and will to win," Stadnik said last year. "I have had this will since early childhood, and this is endless."

READ MORE: Stadnik, 34, remains unbeaten in Europe

Though her will has stretched her career over two decades, Stadnik's decision to retire came after a lot of thought.

"In wrestling, I used all my chances," Stadnik said. "Now I understand that the time has come when I can be useful for wrestling in another role."

The 36-year-old, who was born in Ukraine but competed for Azerbaijan, will be moving into a caretaker role with the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Women's Wrestling and will be responsible for churning out new stars.

When Stadnik made her debut in 2003, Japan, China, United States and Canada were top nations. However, Stadnik changed that. She won her first World Championships medal in 2007 and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in which she won a bronze medal as an 18-year-old.

Soon, she won her first world title in 2009 and emerged as the new force from Europe. She went on to win the European Championships as well. Stadnik brought competition to Women's Wrestling.

"For these countries, the competition with me was always serious," she said. "We always had tense and intriguing fights that were followed by the whole world. Mariya Stadnik from Azerbaijan was always a danger for them."

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Perhaps it was no surprise that she was in the final of 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Games. However, she came up short both times to Hitomi OBARI (JPN).

"I give a lot of respect to Obara because she was stronger than me at that moment and the London gold was hers," she said. "She was my strongest opponent whom I respect very much."

Barring those Japanese hurdles, Stadnik was unstoppable. She added more medals at the continental level and always stood on the podium at the World Championships.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)A dejected Mariya STADNIK (AZE) at the 48kg medal ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Then came the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Stadnik was at the peak of her wrestling her. A Olympic gold would take so much off her back. She was in the final of the 48kg in Rio and the gold medal was within touching distance as she was leading Eri TOSAKA (JPN) 2-1 in the final. But Tosaka crushed those dreams in the final five seconds, beating Stadnik 3-2.

Stadnik till today has no explanation as to what happened in those last five seconds of the final against Tosaka.

"I didn't watch my match from Rio for two years and still can't find an explanation why that competition ended like that," Stadnik said. "I knew and felt that the Rio gold should have been mine."

Stadnik geared up for one more time. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics would have been perfect ending for her. But by then, wrestling had changed with two-day weight ins, a newer generation of wrestlers had come up and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) was on a mission.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) lost her first meeting with Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 2-2 at the Klippan Lady Open in 2018. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fynn)

The first time Stadnik and Susaki faced each other was in the Klippan Lady Open final in 2018. Stadnik was winning the final but Susaki scored a stepout in the final second to shock Stadnik.

People doubted Stadnik and her mental strength. The 2019 World Championships gave a huge boost of confidence for Stadnik who won her second of the two world titles in Astana, exactly ten years after winning her first.

The Tokyo Olympics were just 10 months away and Stadnik was ready for it. However, with COVID-19 pandemic, it got pushed to 2021 and Susaki went on to win the gold medal with a 41-0 record in four bouts including a 10-0 rout of Stadnik in the semifinals.

Stadnik still managed to win a bronze medal, her fourth of the Olympics, tying her with Kaori ICHO (JPN) and Saori YOSHIDA (JPN). Icho was four golds and Yoshida has three silver and one bronze.

"I know people talk about the gold medal but I am so happy with this bronze. It's satisfying," she said back in 2021.

But Stadnik wasn't satisfied with wrestling. After being away from the mat in 2022, she returned in 2023 and won her ninth European title, the most in Women's Wrestling, extending her unbeaten streak in European Championships to 34 bouts.

Then she made a run for the Paris Olympics and though that meant taking losses to opponents she used to toy with in the past, the mother of two secured her place for Paris in the final qualifiers in Istanbul. Her body was ageing, reducing weight was becoming gruesome and her opponents were becoming quicker.

She returned home without a medal but became the first female wrestler to compete at five Olympics. Soon after Paris, Stadnik reflected on what she has left for wrestling and decided that a role off the mat was more suited now. Letting go off something so big in her life was hard and emotional for her.

"When I watched the video in which I take my shoes off, I had tears," she said. "This is the end of an important part of my life. What I loved so much for many years is ending."