Two golds, a silver and a bronze: Armenian wrestlers shine at Poland Open 2026

Armenia’s Greco-Roman wrestlers won four medals at the international Poland Open 2026 — the 69th Władysław Pytlasiński Memorial, which concluded in Poland on August 27. Suren Aghajanyan and Samvel Grigoryan won gold, Gevorg Tadevosyan claimed silver, while Hrachya Poghosyan earned bronze.

Six Armenian wrestlers competed at the tournament in total. Gaspar Terteryan, who lost his bronze-medal bout, and reigning world champion Malkhas Amoyan, who was unable to complete the tournament due to an injury, finished without medals.

The competition at 60 kg was particularly significant, as the tournament effectively served as one of the selection stages for Armenia’s team for the 2026 World Championships. Suren Aghajanyan won gold, but Hrachya Poghosyan also produced a strong performance and finished third. The two Armenian wrestlers did not face each other, however, meaning the coaching staff will have to make the final decision on who will represent Armenia at the World Championships.

Samvel Grigoryan wins the 82 kg title

Samvel Grigoryan confidently won the competition in the 82 kg weight category.

In the final, the Armenian wrestler gave promising Serbian representative Antal Vamos no chance, cruising to a 7-0 victory.

On his way to the decisive bout, Grigoryan also defeated opponents from the United States, Sweden and Ukraine.

Samvel therefore finished the tournament with a perfect record and delivered one of Armenia’s two gold medals at Poland Open 2026.

Suren Aghajanyan wins gold and boosts his claim to Armenia’s No. 1 spot at 60 kg

Armenia’s other gold medal was won by Suren Aghajanyan, who claimed the title in the 60 kg category.

In the final, Aghajanyan faced Germany’s Abdulmohammad Papi, who had earlier handed Hrachya Poghosyan his only defeat of the tournament. Suren produced a dominant performance in the decisive bout and secured an early 9-0 victory.

Before reaching the final, the Armenian wrestler defeated a representative of the United States 7-0 and then edged his Ukrainian opponent 3-2 in a tense contest.

Aghajanyan’s result is particularly significant ahead of the upcoming World Championships. The tournament in Poland was expected to help determine Armenia’s first-choice wrestler at 60 kg.

Hrachya Poghosyan takes bronze at Poland Open 2026

Hrachya Poghosyan also delivered an impressive tournament at 60 kg and finished the competition with a bronze medal.

In the third-place bout, Poghosyan overwhelmed Kyrgyzstan’s Kubanych Arionov 9-0.

The Armenian wrestler contested five bouts at Poland Open and won four of them. Hrachya defeated two representatives of the United States by scores of 9-0 and 8-0, as well as a Ukrainian wrestler 8-0.

Poghosyan’s only defeat came against eventual finalist Abdulmohammad Papi, 5-7.

Hrachya was also one of Armenia’s most spectacular performers at the tournament, executing no fewer than eight four-point throws during the competition.

Despite Aghajanyan’s gold medal, the question of who will represent Armenia at the World Championships at 60 kg has not yet been definitively settled. Aghajanyan and Poghosyan did not meet head-to-head in Poland, so the national team’s coaching staff will have to make the final decision.

Gevorg Tadevosyan wins silver at 87 kg

Gevorg Tadevosyan won the silver medal at Poland Open 2026 in the 87 kg weight category.

In the final, the Armenian representative faced the No. 1 wrestler in the UWW world rankings, Kyrgyzstan’s Asan Zhanyshov, and lost 0-6.

Before the decisive bout, Tadevosyan successfully progressed through the bracket with victories over opponents from Poland, Hungary and the United States.

Tadevosyan’s silver was the Armenian team’s fourth medal of the tournament.

Gaspar Terteryan falls just short of a medal

At 72 kg, Gaspar Terteryan reached the bronze-medal bout.

In a very closely contested match, the Armenian wrestler faced Hungary’s Krisztian Vancza. The bout ended 5-5, but the Hungarian was awarded the victory on criteria.

During the tournament, Terteryan defeated a wrestler from the United States as well as a World Championship medalist from Kyrgyzstan. In another bout, Gaspar lost to an Olympic champion from Iran.

The Armenian athlete therefore finished the competition just one step short of the podium.

Malkhas Amoyan unable to finish tournament due to injury

Reigning world champion Malkhas Amoyan, competing in the 77 kg category, was forced to end his Poland Open 2026 campaign prematurely.

The reason was an injury sustained during the competition. Malkhas Amoyan opened the tournament with an 8-0 victory over Idris Ibaev, but then suffered an injury in his bout against Ukraine’s Andrii Kulyk and lost 1-4. As a result, one of the leaders of the Armenian national team finished the tournament without a medal.

All Greco-Roman champions at Poland Open 2026

The winners in the tournament’s ten weight categories were:

• 55 kg: Brady Koontz (USA)
• 60 kg: Suren Aghajanyan (Armenia)
• 63 kg: Maksym Liu (Ukraine)
• 67 kg: Razak Beishekeev (Kyrgyzstan)
• 72 kg: Saeid Esmaeili (Iran)
• 77 kg: Andrii Kulyk (Ukraine)
• 82 kg: Samvel Grigoryan (Armenia)
• 87 kg: Asan Zhanyshov (Kyrgyzstan)
• 97 kg: Richard Karelson (Estonia)
• 130 kg: Franz Richter (Germany)

Armenian wrestlers therefore won two of the ten weight categories at Poland Open 2026. Suren Aghajanyan and Samvel Grigoryan claimed gold, Gevorg Tadevosyan took silver, and Hrachya Poghosyan won bronze.