U20 Freestyle Wrestling World Championships Get Underway, First Finalists Confirmed

The men’s freestyle wrestling competition at the 2026 U20 World Championships got underway in Bratislava on August 20. Wrestlers in the 61 kg and 86 kg weight categories took to the mat on the opening day. The preliminary rounds and semifinals were held, determining the first final matchups.

Armenia was represented in the opening weight categories by Gagik Ghazaryan (61 kg) and Razmik Yepremyan (86 kg).

Gagik Ghazaryan Starts with Convincing Win but Loses in Round of 16

In the 61 kg category, Gagik Ghazaryan made a successful start to his campaign. The Armenian wrestler comfortably defeated his Austrian opponent, securing an early 12-2 victory.

In the Round of 16, Ghazaryan faced a wrestler from Turkey. The opening stages of the bout were completely dominated by the Armenian, who scored five unanswered points to take a 5-0 lead.

However, Ghazaryan was unable to hold on to his advantage. In the second part of the bout, his opponent turned the contest around, scored ten points and eventually won 10-5.

The Turkish wrestler later failed to reach the final, meaning Ghazaryan was denied the opportunity to continue in the repechage.

Razmik Yepremyan Loses Opening Bout

Razmik Yepremyan represented Armenia in the 86 kg category.

In his opening bout, the Armenian wrestler faced Askhab Khadzhiev of Kazakhstan. The high-scoring contest ended in a 12-7 victory for the Kazakh wrestler.

Khadzhiev also failed to reach the final of the weight category, bringing Yepremyan’s World Championships campaign to an end.

Semifinal Results

The evening session on August 20 concluded with the semifinals in the 61 kg and 86 kg weight categories.

61 kg

Aaron Seidel (USA) — Moses Mendoza Garza (Mexico) — 10-0

The American wrestler gave his opponent no chance and secured his place in the final with an early victory.

Bekassyl Assambek (Kazakhstan) — Itsuki Yonashiro (Japan) — 3-1

In the second semifinal, the Kazakh wrestler prevailed over his Japanese opponent in a closely contested bout.

As a result, American Aaron Seidel and Kazakhstan’s Bekassyl Assambek will compete for the 61 kg World Championship gold medal.

86 kg

Aeoden Sinclair (USA) — Natsura Okazawa (Japan) — 7-6

One of the most closely contested semifinals of the day ended with a narrow victory for the US representative.

Ahmad Mukutov (Russia) — Alp Arslan Begenyov (Turkmenistan) — 8-4

In the second semifinal, Mukutov won by a four-point margin to become the second finalist in the weight category.

U20 World Championships Final Matchups

The finals in the first two weight categories will take place on August 21. The final session is scheduled to begin at 19:00 Moscow time.

61 kg

Aaron Seidel (USA) — Bekassyl Assambek (Kazakhstan)

86 kg

Aeoden Sinclair (USA) — Ahmad Mukutov (Russia)

Three More Armenian Wrestlers to Compete on August 21

On the second day of the men’s freestyle wrestling competition, August 21, action will begin in four new weight categories — 57, 65, 79 and 92 kg.

Armenia will be represented in three of them:

• 57 kg — Sasha Petrosyan
• 65 kg — Aren Hayrapetyan
• 79 kg — Narek Nikoghosyan

Following the early exits of Ghazaryan and Yepremyan, the Armenian team will continue its pursuit of its first medals at the U20 World Championships on August 21.