Olympic and world champion Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) defends his Greco-Roman 67kg gold medal at the World Championships despite facing new challengers.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (October 27) -- Paris Olympic champion Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) delivered a clear message to Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) when his fellow 2025 world champion tried an assault on his domain. Not on my watch.
Esmaeli completed a successful defense of his 67kg crown with a crushing victory by fall over Khalmakhanov on Tuesday, giving Iran its fourth champion as the Greco-Roman competition wrapped up at the World Championships in Astana.
“This is the World Championships, which is different from other tournaments,” Esmaeili said. “It gets tougher year after year. My opponents study and analyze me, making it very difficult to win medals consistently, especially in the 67kg weight class, which is one of the most competitive in the world.”
In earlier finals, Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) handed Iran a rare loss with a 4-0 victory over Alireza MOHMADI (IRI) in a repeat of the 2024 Paris Olympics final, while Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) defeated Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) 8-4 at 63kg to become a first-time champion.
Esmaeili’s victory over 2025 world 63kg champion Khalmakhanov capped one the most dominant team performances in modern World Championships history.
Not only did Iran easily top the team standings with 192 points, the powerhouse took home medals in nine of the 10 weight classes for the first time, and its seven finalists were its most ever in either men’s style.
“Before a match, we face a lot of pressure because expectations have risen,” Esmaeili said. “For many people, we are a primary source of joy. They rejoice in our victories and weep over our defeats. Hopefully, we can always keep all happy.”
Azerbaijan, with two champions, finished second with 104 points, while Uzbekistan placed third with 80 points.
The highly anticipated 67kg final turned into a one-sided display of Esmaeili’s incredible talent and determination, as he completely shut down the 20-year-old Khalmakhanov, who was coming off a victory at the recent Asian Games in Japan.
After an early stepout, Esmaeili added a two-point throw. He then got the first chance on top in par terre, and made the most of it with a lift-and-dump for four that he followed up by securing the fall in 2:22.
It was Esmaeili’s second win in two career meetings with Khalmakhanov, having previously notched a 9-0 win in the semifinals at the Islamic Solidarity Games in November 2025.
Esmaeili’s victory in Astana also marks his latest triumph in a remarkable run of success that includes back-to-back Asian golds in 2024 and 2025.
Dating back to 2022, the 23-year-old has suffered just a single defeat -- a 9-7 semifinal loss at the 2024 Budapest Ranking Series to former Olympic and world champion Luis ORTA (CUB).
Esmaeili said he stepped up his preparations for Astana knowing the tough path to victory that awaited him.
“It gets harder every year,” he said. “This time, we started our training earlier than last year and spent 10 months in a full-time, residential training camp. Thankfully, our hard work paid off -- nothing less than gold would have been a fitting reward, and truly, nothing else could make us happy.”
Looking ahead, Esmaeili pledged to put in the work that will keep him on top of the stacked weight class.
“There are about seven or eight contenders, world and Olympic champions, in this division, and the challenge grows greater for me with each passing year,” Esmaeili said. “I hope to win the gold medal every year and bring joy to everyone.”
At 87kg, Novikov added the world gold to his bronze from 2023 with a staid but solid victory over Mohmadi, who was relegated to his third career world silver and second in a row.
“It’s hard to describe this feeling,” Novikov said. “I was a two-time world champion at U23 and very, very wanted to be senior world champion. Today I completed all big medals, because I was European champion, Olympic champion and today, world champion. I am very, very happy.”
After the first period ended with a lone passivity point for Novikov, the Bulgarian gained a stepout and a 2-0 lead when Mohmadi lost his balance for a moment.
Novikov then clinched the victory with a spin-behind takedown as the Iranian side was left wondering about the lack of a passivity call against the Bulgarian that seemed to be warranted.
“The Iranian guy is very, very strong and a good wrestler,” Novikov said. “For four years in a row, he fought only in final matches and every year a silver medalist, but he’s strong and very difficult to wrestle.”
Following the Olympic final, Novikov and Mohmadi met again in February 2025 in the quarterfinals of the Tirana Ranking Series, where the Iranian came away with a 5-0 win -- a loss that the Bulgarian discounts as irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things.
“Everyone can beat me at a Ranking Series tournament, but it doesn’t matter to me,” Novikov said. “For me, the only [thing that] matters is big competitions like European, Olympic and World championships. And for this competition, I was ready 100 percent.”
The final at 63kg became a display of the explosive excitement of Greco, as Aslanyan and Mammadli each had a four-point move in a flashy opening 30 seconds.
Mammadli swooped in for a bear hug and sent Aslanyan straight to his back for four. But the Armenian bridged out the predicament and turned his opponent over for two, then gained a stepout as he attempted a throw at the edge.
Aslanyan then hit a textbook-perfect four-point arm throw to take the lead at 7-4. As both competitors tried to maneuver for points in the second period, in the end, the lone score came on a stepout by Aslanyan.
In the bronze-medal matches, Orta added a second world medal to his pair from the Olympics, while fellow Paris Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) was dealt a stunning defeat by local favorite Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ).
Orta came away with a 10-6 win in a wild free-for-all with lanky Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) that featured a number of scrambles and was extraordinarily stretched out by challenges and bleeding timeouts.
Orta, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist at 60kg and 2023 world champion, took a 6-5 lead into the second period, where he put the match away with a takedown and stepout to deny Galstyan a second straight world bronze and third overall.
Sabaz’s shocking win over returning silver medalist Jafarov sent the crowd into a frenzy, particularly when he responded to giving up a four-point throw by using a
headlock for a four-pointer of his own, then adding a takedown for an 8-5 win.
By knocking off the well-decorated Jafarov, whose resume includes four consecutive European golds and three world medals, Sabaz picked up his first major senior medal.
Up to now, his top accomplishments were limited to an Asian U23 gold in 2025 and Asian U20 bronze in 2020.
At 63kg, Sergey EMELIN (RUS) earned his third career world medal and first since 2019 when the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist overwhelmed Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT) 9-0.
The 31-year-old Emelin used a twisting arm lock to fling Mohammadi to the mat for four. Then, put on top in par terre, he cranked out a pair of gut wrenches to end it at 2:05.
Emelin, who this year won his first European title in five years and third overall, captured his lone world gold in 2018 at 60kg. He then took a silver in Astana the following year.
The other 63kg bronze went to Asian U23 silver medalist Ozodbek KHALIMBOEV (UZB), who scored all of his points in the first period and held on for a 7-3 win over 2022 world silver medalist Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL).
Khalimboev shrugged Nazaryan by for a pair of takedowns, adding an unsuccessful challenge point to the first one and a gut wrench to the second to lead 7-0 at the break.
Nazaryan picked up a takedown and a stepout in the second period but could close the gap no further.
At 87kg, Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) picked up his fourth world medal over an 11-year span with a 5-1 victory over two-time Asian bronze medalist Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB).
The 32-year-old Gobadze, who won his lone title in Astana seven years ago at 82kg, used a front chest lift for a 4-point throw from par terre in the first period, then held out on bottom in the second period.
The other 87kg bronze went to Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM), who denied Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) a third world bronze with a 4-1 win in a match with a wild and contentious conclusion.
Tadevosyan looked well on the way to victory when he scored a gut wrench from par terre for a 3-1 lead in the second period. But with time running out, Filchakov reached over and clamped on the chest, then hit a four-point roll with :02 left on the clock.
The Armenian side challenged and it was shown that Filchakov had used his leg to block Tadevosyan’s in executing the move, wiping out the four-pointer.
But it didn’t end there, as Filchakov also sought a challenge, contending that Tadevosyan had grabbed his singlet. But the mat chairman disallowed the challenge, as a second challenge cannot be accepted after the first one.
After several minutes of arguing and a penalty point assessed against him, Filchakov relented and finished up the final three seconds of the match, albeit by standing in place with his hands on his hips.
Day 4 Results
Greco-Roman
63kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), 8-4
BRONZE: Sergey EMELIN (RUS) df. Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT) by TS, 9-0, 2:05
BRONZE: Ozodbek KHALIMBOEV (UZB) df. Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL), 7-3
67kg (31 entries)
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) by Fall, 2:22 (8-0)
BRONZE: Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 8-5
BRONZE: Luis ORTA (CUB) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 10-6
87kg (32 entries)
GOLD: Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) df. Alireza MOHMADI (IRI), 4-0
BRONZE: Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) df. Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB), 5-1
BRONZE: Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) df. Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR), 4-1
Women’s Wrestling
50kg (20 entries)
SF1: NEELAM (IND) df. Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ), 7-3
SF2: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Ziqi FENG (CHN), 9-0
57kg (24 entries)
SF1: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) by TS, 10-0, 2:29
SF2: Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) df. Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) by TS, 11-0, 5:37
65kg (24 entries)
SF1: Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) df. Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR), 8-4
SF2: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Enkhjin TUVSHINJARGAL (MGL) by Fall, 1:53 (6-2)
76kg (20 entries)
SF1: KAJAL (IND) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 10-7
SF2: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Kadriye KOCAK AKSOY (TUR) by TS, 11-0, 2:46
Senior World Championships • Astana, Kazakhstan