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Vlasov wins third World title and first four Greco-Roman champions crowned at Senior Worlds in Oslo
by Joe Wedra, USA Wrestling
Roman Vlasov of the Russian Wrestling Federation celebrates his World title at 77 kg. Photo by Kadir Caliskan/United World Wrestling
OSLO, Norway – The first Greco-Roman finals matches are in the books as the action from the Group One weights officially wrapped up Friday night. No members of Team USA competed in the first Greco-Roman medal match session. After the first four weights, the Russian Wrestling Federation leads the team race with 80 points, while Azerbaijan is in second with 66 points.
At 55 kg, Japan’s Ken Matsui capped off an impressive tournament with his 7-1 finals victory over Emin Sefershaev of the Russian Wrestling Federation, the top-ranked wrestler in the field. Matsui, who had previously beaten the second and third-ranked wrestlers en route to the championship, established momentum in the second period with about two minutes left when he used a reverse-grip lock to get a turn and take the 3-1 lead.
Sefershaev nearly scored late with a four-point move, but it was not confirmed. After that action, Matsui scored on an impressive exchange to further his lead and ended up finishing up the bout with a 7-1 win and a gold medal for Japan.
Eldaniz Azizli of Azerbaijan and Nugzari Tsurtsumia of Georgia were the bronze medal winners at 55 kg.
Armenia’s Malkhas Amoyan won the 72 kg gold medal, defeating Sergei Kutuzov of the Russian Wrestling Federation in a 3-1 bout. After Kutuzov was called for passivity halfway through the first period, Amoyan was awarded two points for a proper throw at the edge, giving him the advantage into the break. He wrestled and defended well throughout the final three minutes, securing the gold.
Gevorg Sahakyan of Poland and Kristupas Sleiv of Lithuania both won bronze medals at 72 kg.
In the 77 kg gold medal match, Roman Vlasov of the Russian Wrestling Federation won his third World championship (2011, 2015, 2021) with a 2-1 win over Sanan Suleymanov of Azerbaijan. The two-time Olympic gold medalist was called for passivity in the second period, but used strong par terre defense to avoid Suleymanov’s turn attempts. Vlasov dominated the ties throughout the final two minutes, finishing up the 77 kg win.
Mohammadali Geraei of Iran and Roland Schwarz of Germany won bronze medals at 77 kg.
Wrapping up Friday’s competition, Rafig Huseynov of Azerbaijan won the title over Turkey’s Burhan Akbudak. Huseynov, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics, went up 2-1 on a passivity call in the second period and finished a well-battled match to post the win. He outscored his competition 36-3 in Oslo, winning five matches to capture the title.
Max Nowry (55 kg) placed ninth, the only U.S. wrestler in Group One to place in the top 10 of his weight class.
Greco-Roman action begins again tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. local time in Oslo, which is six hours ahead of U.S. eastern time. For Team USA, Sam Jones (63kg), Peyton Omania (67kg) and Alan Vera (87kg) will begin their tournaments. These are the final three weight classes being contested at the Senior Worlds..
Jones will wrestle Deniz Menekse of Germany. Omania is matched up against Hasrat Jafarov of Azerbaijan, a 2021 Junior World champion. Vera will see Turpal-Ali Bisultanov of Denmark, a 2021 European Junior champion. You can watch all of these matches live on FloWrestling.
SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Oslo, Norway, October 8
Group One Greco-Roman final results
55 kg
Gold – Ken Matsui (Japan)
Silver – Emin Sefershaev (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze – Eldaniz Azizli (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Nugzari Tsurtsumia (Georgia)
5th – Ekrem Ozturk (Turkey)
5th – Norayr Hakhoyan (Armenia)
7th – Sardarbek Konushbaev (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Khorlan Zhakansha (Kazakhstan)
9th – Max Nowry (USA)
10th – Fabian Schmitt (Germany)
Gold – Matsui dec. Sefershaev, 7-1
Bronze – Azizli dec. Ozturk, 5-2
Bronze – Tsurtsumia tech fall Hakhoyan, 9-0 2:22
72 kg
Gold – Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia)
Silver – Sergei Kutuzov (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze – Gevorg Sahakyan (Poland)
Bronze – Kristupas Sleiva (Lithuania)
5th – Cengiz Arslan (Turkey)
5th – Mohammad Mokhtari (Iran)
7th – Valentin Petic (Moldova)
8th – Ulvu Ganizade (Azerbaijan)
9th – Jiyul Lee (Korea)
10th – Haavard Joergensen (Norway)
Gold – Amoyan dec. Kutuzov, 3-1
Bronze – Sahakyan dec. Arslan, 1-1
Bronze – Sleiva tech fall Mokhtari, 10-1 1:40
77 kg
Gold – Roman Vlasov (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Silver – Sanan Suleymanov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Mohammadali Geraei (Iran)
Bronze – Roland Schwarz (Germany)
5th – Tsimur Berdyieu (Belarus)
5th – Tamas Levai (Hungary)
7th – Viktor Nemes (Serbia)
8th – Kodai Sakuraba (Japan)
9th – Dmytro Pyshkov (Ukraine)
10th – Daler Zade (Tajikistan)
Gold – Vlasov dec. Suleymanov, 2-1
Bronze – Schwarz dec. Berdyieu, 10-5
Bronze – Geraei tech fall Levai, 9-0 1:59
82 kg
Gold – Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Burhan Akbudak (Turkey)
Bronze – Adlan Akiev (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze – Pejman Poshtam (Iran)
5th – Alex Kessdis (Sweden)
5th – Laszlo Szabo (Hungary)
7th – Edgar Babayan (Poland)
8th – Ranet Kaljola (Estonia)
9th – Hannes Wagner (Germany)
10th – Tarek Abdelslam Sheble Mohamed (Bulgaria)
Gold – Huseynov dec. Akbudak, 2-1
Bronze – Akiev tech fall Kessidis, 8-0, 2:12
Bronze – Poshtam dec. Szabo, 4-0
U.S. Greco-Roman Group One final results
55 kg – Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP), 9th place
WIN Sajjad Abbaspourragani (Iran), tech fall 10-1, 3:00
LOSS Norayr Hakhoyan (Armenia), tech. fall 9-0, 2:04
72 kg – Patrick Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm), dnp/19th
LOSS Valentin Petic (Moldova), 6-3
77 kg – Jesse Porter (Clifton Park, N.Y./NMU-OTS/New York AC), dnp/23rd
LOSS Bogdan Kourinnoi (Sweden), 3-1
82 kg – No. 2 seed Ben Provisor (Des Moines, Iowa/New York AC), dnp/14th
WIN Satoki Mukai (Japan), 2-1
LOSS Burhan Akbudak (Turkey), tech. fall 8-0, 2:21
LOSS Laszlo Szabo (Hungary), 2-1
Team standings after four weights
1. Russian Wrestling Federation, 80
2. Azerbaijan, 66
3. (tie) Turkey and Iran, 40
5. Armenia, 35
6. Japan, 31
7. Poland, 23
8. Germany, 21
9. Hungary, 20
10. (tie) Georgia and Lithuania, 15
12. (tie) Belarus and Sweden, 10
14. (tie) Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Serbia, 8
OSLO, Norway – The first Greco-Roman finals matches are in the books as the action from the Group One weights officially wrapped up Friday night. No members of Team USA competed in the first Greco-Roman medal match session. After the first four weights, the Russian Wrestling Federation leads the team race with 80 points, while Azerbaijan is in second with 66 points.
At 55 kg, Japan’s Ken Matsui capped off an impressive tournament with his 7-1 finals victory over Emin Sefershaev of the Russian Wrestling Federation, the top-ranked wrestler in the field. Matsui, who had previously beaten the second and third-ranked wrestlers en route to the championship, established momentum in the second period with about two minutes left when he used a reverse-grip lock to get a turn and take the 3-1 lead.
Sefershaev nearly scored late with a four-point move, but it was not confirmed. After that action, Matsui scored on an impressive exchange to further his lead and ended up finishing up the bout with a 7-1 win and a gold medal for Japan.
Eldaniz Azizli of Azerbaijan and Nugzari Tsurtsumia of Georgia were the bronze medal winners at 55 kg.
Armenia’s Malkhas Amoyan won the 72 kg gold medal, defeating Sergei Kutuzov of the Russian Wrestling Federation in a 3-1 bout. After Kutuzov was called for passivity halfway through the first period, Amoyan was awarded two points for a proper throw at the edge, giving him the advantage into the break. He wrestled and defended well throughout the final three minutes, securing the gold.
Gevorg Sahakyan of Poland and Kristupas Sleiv of Lithuania both won bronze medals at 72 kg.
In the 77 kg gold medal match, Roman Vlasov of the Russian Wrestling Federation won his third World championship (2011, 2015, 2021) with a 2-1 win over Sanan Suleymanov of Azerbaijan. The two-time Olympic gold medalist was called for passivity in the second period, but used strong par terre defense to avoid Suleymanov’s turn attempts. Vlasov dominated the ties throughout the final two minutes, finishing up the 77 kg win.
Mohammadali Geraei of Iran and Roland Schwarz of Germany won bronze medals at 77 kg.
Wrapping up Friday’s competition, Rafig Huseynov of Azerbaijan won the title over Turkey’s Burhan Akbudak. Huseynov, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics, went up 2-1 on a passivity call in the second period and finished a well-battled match to post the win. He outscored his competition 36-3 in Oslo, winning five matches to capture the title.
Max Nowry (55 kg) placed ninth, the only U.S. wrestler in Group One to place in the top 10 of his weight class.
Greco-Roman action begins again tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. local time in Oslo, which is six hours ahead of U.S. eastern time. For Team USA, Sam Jones (63kg), Peyton Omania (67kg) and Alan Vera (87kg) will begin their tournaments. These are the final three weight classes being contested at the Senior Worlds..
Jones will wrestle Deniz Menekse of Germany. Omania is matched up against Hasrat Jafarov of Azerbaijan, a 2021 Junior World champion. Vera will see Turpal-Ali Bisultanov of Denmark, a 2021 European Junior champion. You can watch all of these matches live on FloWrestling.
SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Oslo, Norway, October 8
Group One Greco-Roman final results
55 kg
Gold – Ken Matsui (Japan)
Silver – Emin Sefershaev (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze – Eldaniz Azizli (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Nugzari Tsurtsumia (Georgia)
5th – Ekrem Ozturk (Turkey)
5th – Norayr Hakhoyan (Armenia)
7th – Sardarbek Konushbaev (Kyrgyzstan)
8th – Khorlan Zhakansha (Kazakhstan)
9th – Max Nowry (USA)
10th – Fabian Schmitt (Germany)
Gold – Matsui dec. Sefershaev, 7-1
Bronze – Azizli dec. Ozturk, 5-2
Bronze – Tsurtsumia tech fall Hakhoyan, 9-0 2:22
72 kg
Gold – Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia)
Silver – Sergei Kutuzov (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze – Gevorg Sahakyan (Poland)
Bronze – Kristupas Sleiva (Lithuania)
5th – Cengiz Arslan (Turkey)
5th – Mohammad Mokhtari (Iran)
7th – Valentin Petic (Moldova)
8th – Ulvu Ganizade (Azerbaijan)
9th – Jiyul Lee (Korea)
10th – Haavard Joergensen (Norway)
Gold – Amoyan dec. Kutuzov, 3-1
Bronze – Sahakyan dec. Arslan, 1-1
Bronze – Sleiva tech fall Mokhtari, 10-1 1:40
77 kg
Gold – Roman Vlasov (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Silver – Sanan Suleymanov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Mohammadali Geraei (Iran)
Bronze – Roland Schwarz (Germany)
5th – Tsimur Berdyieu (Belarus)
5th – Tamas Levai (Hungary)
7th – Viktor Nemes (Serbia)
8th – Kodai Sakuraba (Japan)
9th – Dmytro Pyshkov (Ukraine)
10th – Daler Zade (Tajikistan)
Gold – Vlasov dec. Suleymanov, 2-1
Bronze – Schwarz dec. Berdyieu, 10-5
Bronze – Geraei tech fall Levai, 9-0 1:59
82 kg
Gold – Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan)
Silver – Burhan Akbudak (Turkey)
Bronze – Adlan Akiev (Russian Wrestling Federation)
Bronze – Pejman Poshtam (Iran)
5th – Alex Kessdis (Sweden)
5th – Laszlo Szabo (Hungary)
7th – Edgar Babayan (Poland)
8th – Ranet Kaljola (Estonia)
9th – Hannes Wagner (Germany)
10th – Tarek Abdelslam Sheble Mohamed (Bulgaria)
Gold – Huseynov dec. Akbudak, 2-1
Bronze – Akiev tech fall Kessidis, 8-0, 2:12
Bronze – Poshtam dec. Szabo, 4-0
U.S. Greco-Roman Group One final results
55 kg – Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP), 9th place
WIN Sajjad Abbaspourragani (Iran), tech fall 10-1, 3:00
LOSS Norayr Hakhoyan (Armenia), tech. fall 9-0, 2:04
72 kg – Patrick Smith (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm), dnp/19th
LOSS Valentin Petic (Moldova), 6-3
77 kg – Jesse Porter (Clifton Park, N.Y./NMU-OTS/New York AC), dnp/23rd
LOSS Bogdan Kourinnoi (Sweden), 3-1
82 kg – No. 2 seed Ben Provisor (Des Moines, Iowa/New York AC), dnp/14th
WIN Satoki Mukai (Japan), 2-1
LOSS Burhan Akbudak (Turkey), tech. fall 8-0, 2:21
LOSS Laszlo Szabo (Hungary), 2-1
Team standings after four weights
1. Russian Wrestling Federation, 80
2. Azerbaijan, 66
3. (tie) Turkey and Iran, 40
5. Armenia, 35
6. Japan, 31
7. Poland, 23
8. Germany, 21
9. Hungary, 20
10. (tie) Georgia and Lithuania, 15
12. (tie) Belarus and Sweden, 10
14. (tie) Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Serbia, 8