Three Armenian Wrestlers Reach the 2026 Greco-Roman World Championships Semifinals: All Matchups Confirmed

The third competition day of the 2026 World Wrestling Championships is underway on October 26 in Astana, Kazakhstan. After two disappointing days, the Armenian national team made an impressive comeback, with all three Armenian wrestlers competing today advancing to the semifinals.

Karen Aslanyan (63 kg), Slavik Galstyan (67 kg), and Gevorg Tadevosyan (87 kg) each claimed three victories and are now just one win away from reaching the World Championships finals. Armenia has therefore secured three places in the medal bouts.

How the Armenian Wrestlers Reached the Semifinals

Karen Aslanyan (63 kg) — Three Technical Superiority Victories

Karen Aslanyan delivered the most impressive performance among the Armenian wrestlers, winning all three of his bouts by technical superiority without conceding a single point.

• Round of 32: Karen Aslanyan def. Corneliu Rusu (Moldova) — 10–0

• Round of 16: Karen Aslanyan def. Aftandil Talantbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) — 10–0

• Quarterfinal: Karen Aslanyan def. Ozodbek Khalimboev (Uzbekistan) — 9–0

What makes Aslanyan's performance particularly remarkable is the speed of his victories. The Armenian wrestler spent approximately three minutes on the mat across all three matches, scoring 29 points without conceding any.

In the semifinals, Karen will face Bulgaria's Edmond Nazaryan.

Slavik Galstyan (67 kg) — Three Victories and a Tough Quarterfinal

Slavik Galstyan also made an impressive start to the tournament, defeating France's Garik Snjoyan 5–1. He followed that up with a dominant 10–0 technical superiority victory over Moldova's Valentin Petic.

His toughest challenge came in the quarterfinals against Norway's Håvard Jørgensen, who had previously eliminated one of Galstyan's most difficult opponents, Turkey's Murat Firat.

In a closely contested bout, Slavik secured a 3–2 victory, becoming the first Armenian wrestler to qualify for the semifinals.

• Round of 32: Slavik Galstyan def. Garik Snjoyan (France) — 5–1

• Round of 16: Slavik Galstyan def. Valentin Petic (Moldova) — 10–0

• Quarterfinal: Slavik Galstyan def. Håvard Jørgensen (Norway) — 3–2

Galstyan will face Uzbekistan's Aitzhan Khalmakhanov for a place in the final.

Gevorg Tadevosyan (87 kg) — Armenia's Third Semifinalist

Gevorg Tadevosyan began his campaign with a hard-fought 6–3 victory over Milad Alirzayev, representing Russia.

In his second bout, the Armenian wrestler defeated Kazakhstan's Nursultan Tursynov 4–1 in front of the home crowd.

In the quarterfinals, Tadevosyan faced Norway's Exauce Mukubu and secured a convincing 10–4 victory, becoming Armenia's third semifinalist of the day.

• Round of 32: Gevorg Tadevosyan def. Milad Alirzayev (Russia) — 6–3

• Round of 16: Gevorg Tadevosyan def. Nursultan Tursynov (Kazakhstan) — 4–1

• Quarterfinal: Gevorg Tadevosyan def. Exauce Mukubu (Norway) — 10–4

Tadevosyan's next opponent will be Iran's Alireza Mohmadipiani.

All Semifinal Matchups on Day Three of the 2026 World Championships

63 kg

• Sergey Emelin (Russia) vs. Nihat Mammadli (Azerbaijan)

• Karen Aslanyan (Armenia) vs. Edmond Nazaryan (Bulgaria)

67 kg

• Hasrat Jafarov (Azerbaijan) vs. Saeid Esmaeili Leivesi (Iran)

• Aitzhan Khalmakhanov (Uzbekistan) vs. Slavik Galstyan (Armenia)

87 kg

• Mohammadkodir Rasulov (Uzbekistan) vs. Semen Novikov (Bulgaria)

• Alireza Mohmadipiani (Iran) vs. Gevorg Tadevosyan (Armenia)

When Will the Semifinals Take Place?

The semifinal bouts are scheduled for today, October 26, starting at 3:45 PM Yerevan time (4:45 PM in Astana).

The winners will advance to the World Championships finals, while the losing semifinalists will compete for bronze medals.

The finals and bronze medal bouts in the 63 kg, 67 kg, and 87 kg weight categories will take place on October 27.

After a disappointing start to the World Championships, Armenia now has three opportunities to compete for gold medals. The main objective for Aslanyan, Galstyan, and Tadevosyan is to turn their outstanding performances on the third day into places in the finals.