Harutyunyan and Alikhanyan to Start at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships

On September 14, the second day of the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in freestyle wrestling, two athletes will debut for the Armenian national team, while two others will continue their fight for medals.

Four-time European champion Arsen Harutyunyan (57 kg) will enter the competition, aiming to win his first-ever world gold medal. Previously, he claimed three World Championship bronze medals at the senior level and twice won the U23 World Championships.

The 25-year-old Armenian will start from the 1/16 finals, facing 23-year-old Ukrainian Vladislav Abramov. In the 1/8 finals, Harutyunyan is likely to meet a tougher opponent — the winner of Azamat Tuskaev (Serbia) vs. Munkh Batkhuyag (Mongolia). If he advances to the quarterfinals, he will face Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee (USA).

Notably, one of the favorites in the 57 kg category — Olympic bronze medalist Aman Aman — has withdrawn from the tournament. His opponent Vladimir Egorov automatically advanced to the 1/8 finals.

Another Armenian representative, 26-year-old Hrayr Alikhanyan (74 kg), will compete in his third senior World Championship. So far, he has no medals to his name. He will begin his campaign in the 1/16 finals against Iran’s Younes Emami, a multiple World Championship medalist and Olympian, ranked 5th in the world.

In addition, on September 14, Manvel Khndzrtsyan (61 kg) and Arman Andreasyan (70 kg) will continue their medal quests. In the morning session, Manvel will wrestle in the repechage rounds to earn a chance for bronze, while Arman Andreasyan will contest for a bronze medal in the evening.

The matches start at 10:30 local time (Zagreb).

How and Where to Watch the 2025 World Wrestling Championships Online