2026 U23 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships Conclude: Full Results and Armenia's Performance

The 2026 U23 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships have concluded in Las Vegas, USA. On the final day of competition, the last five sets of medals were awarded in the 57 kg, 65 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, and 97 kg weight categories.

Iran topped the team standings with 180 points. Russia finished second with 171 points, while the United States completed the top three with 104 points.

Iranian and Russian wrestlers each claimed four gold medals. The remaining two world titles went to representatives of the United States and Kazakhstan.

Armenia finished the tournament with one bronze medal, placing ninth in the team standings with 49 points. The Armenian team's only medal was won by Sargis Begoyan in the 61 kg weight category.

This marked an improvement compared to last year's U23 World Championships in Serbia, where Armenian wrestlers finished without medals and placed 12th with 42 points. Armenia therefore climbed three positions and earned seven more points than in 2025.

Two Armenian Wrestlers Fall Just Short of Bronze

On the final day of the championships, two more Armenian wrestlers competed for medals, but both suffered defeats in their bronze-medal matches.

In the 57 kg category, Arman Harutyunyan faced India's Rohit Rohit and lost 3–8, finishing the tournament in fifth place.

In the 97 kg division, Gurgen Simonyan competed against Iran's Mohammadmobin Azimi for bronze. The Iranian secured a 10–0 victory by technical superiority, leaving Simonyan in fifth place as well.

Sargis Begoyan (61 kg) delivered Armenia's best performance at the tournament. The Armenian wrestler reached the semifinals, where he narrowly lost 8–10 to Kyrgyzstan's Yukhan Dokturbek Uulu. In the bronze-medal bout, Begoyan defeated Uzbekistan's Behruzbek Turanmuratov 14–9.

Overall, Begoyan competed in four bouts, winning three of them.

Interestingly, Russian wrestlers suffered two defeats against Armenian opponents and four against Iranian wrestlers during the U23 World Championships.

In the 57 kg division, Magomed-Salyakh Ozdamirov lost 4–5 to Arman Harutyunyan, while in the 61 kg category, Viktor Yakovlev was defeated 3–8 by Sargis Begoyan.

Iranian wrestlers handed Russian competitors four more defeats: two in finals, one in a semifinal, and one in a quarterfinal. Additionally, in the 125 kg bronze-medal match, Russia's Andrey Bestaev lost 1–8 to Azerbaijan's Khetag Karsanov.

Results of the Final Day of the U23 World Championships

On the final day of competition, Iran and Russia each claimed two gold medals, while Kazakhstan secured one world title.

In the 57 kg final, Kazakhstan's Merei Bazarbayev defeated Turkey's Bekir Keser 8–0, securing an early victory.

In the 65 kg division, Iran's Ahora Khateri edged Japan's Kaiji Ogino 7–6 in a closely contested final.

At 70 kg, Russia's Magomed-Emi Eltemirov defeated Iran's Ebrahim Elahichouran 5–3.

In the 79 kg final, Iran's Mahdi Yousefihajivar claimed a 3–1 victory over Russia's Said Saidulov.

In the final gold-medal bout at 97 kg, Russia's Mukhamed-Takhir Khaniev defeated the United States' Justin Rademacher 9–7.

Full Results of the 2026 U23 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships

57 kg

1. Merei Bazarbayev (Kazakhstan)

2. Bekir Keser (Turkey)

3. Daito Katsume (Japan) and Rohit Rohit (India)

5th place — Arman Harutyunyan (Armenia)

61 kg

1. Benjamin Davino (USA)

2. Yukhan Dokturbek Uulu (Kyrgyzstan)

3. Ebrahim Khari (Iran) and Sargis Begoyan (Armenia)

65 kg

1. Ahora Khateri (Iran)

2. Kaiji Ogino (Japan)

3. Eldar Akhmadudinov (Russia) and Jaskaran Singh (India)

8th place — Hayk Abrahamyan (Armenia)

70 kg

1. Magomed-Emi Eltemirov (Russia)

2. Ebrahim Elahichouran (Iran)

3. Abdullah Torpak (Turkey) and Alexandru Gaidarli (Moldova)

11th place — Davit Margaryan (Armenia)

74 kg

1. Magomed Baitukaev (Russia)

2. Jayden James (USA)

3. Toki Ogawa (Japan) and Ali Karampour (Iran)

25th place — Grigor Cholakyan (Armenia)

79 kg

1. Mahdi Yousefihajivar (Iran)

2. Said Saidulov (Russia)

3. Kamata Yamaguchi (Japan) and Chandermohan Chandermohan (India)

11th place — Hayk Papipikyan (Armenia)

86 kg

1. Arsen Balayan (Russia)

2. Ahmet Yagan (Turkey)

3. Reza Afshar (Iran) and Batbilguun Naadambat (Mongolia)

7th place — Razmik Yepremyan (Armenia)

92 kg

1. Abolfazl Firouzaei (Iran)

2. Arslan Bagaev (Russia)

3. Anar Jafarli (Azerbaijan) and Sandro Kurashvili (Georgia)

12th place — Mushegh Mkrtchyan (Armenia)

97 kg

1. Mukhamed-Takhir Khaniev (Russia)

2. Justin Rademacher (USA)

3. Mohammadmobin Azimi (Iran) and Konstantine Petriashvili (Georgia)

5th place — Gurgen Simonyan (Armenia)

125 kg

1. Abolfazl Nejad (Iran)

2. Alexandre Abramishvili (Georgia)

3. Khetag Karsanov (Azerbaijan) and Cody Merrill (USA)

17th place — Khachatur Khachatryan (Armenia)

U23 World Championships Team Standings

1. Iran — 180 points

2. Russia — 171 points

3. USA — 104 points

4. Turkey — 99 points

5. Japan — 78 points

9. Armenia — 49 points

Armenia concluded the U23 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships with one bronze medal and two fifth-place finishes. Although no Armenian wrestlers reached the finals, the national team improved on last year's performance in both medal count and overall team ranking.