WRESTLING – Bahrain’s star grappler Shamil Magomed Sharipov captured the men’s freestyle 125kg gold medal at the Zagreb Open in Croatia late Thursday night.
The prestigious meeting is an event being held as part of the United World Wrestling (UWW) Ranking Series, which features competitions that take place worldwide, supervised by UWW, where wrestlers earn points to establish their world ranking.
Sharipov secured his title after defeating Wyatt Avery Hendrickson from the US with an incredible cradle and turk position. The 28-year-old Bahraini locked his opponent in a leg-turn and then turned him on his back, keeping him down and securing the fall.
Earlier in the competition, Sharipov also won by fall against Kamil Tomasz Kosciolek from Poland in the semi-finals, while Hendrickson beat Robert Baran, also from Poland, by technical superiority 11-1.
In the quarter-finals, Sharipov outclassed Dinesh Dinesh of India by technical superiority, 13-1, while in the qualification round, he claimed another victory by technical superiority, 10-0, against Demetrius Murray Thomas from the US.
Joining Sharipov and Hendrickson on the 125kg podium for a share of the bronze medals were Dinesh and Mortaza Abolfazl Janmohammadzadehnamarvar of Iran.
Meanwhile, also in the Zagreb Open, Bahrain’s Magomed Sharipov bowed out from the qualification round in the men’s freestyle 97kg category. The 23-year-old lost to Yaraslau Slavikouski, representing UWW, on points, 4-6.
Sharipov’s gold medal earned Bahrain 25 points on the competition’s official team rankings for eighth place, behind the US (215pts), Iran (180pts), India (118pts), Georgia (114pts), France (60pts), Japan (41pts), and Hungary (38pts).
Both Shamil Magomed Sharipov and Magomed Sharipov, who are brothers, are expected to be part of Bahrain’s senior men’s wrestling national team that will be competing at home in the 2026 Senior World Championships, which will be hosted by the kingdom later this year.
Bahrain will be staging UWW’s annual showpiece event for the first time in its history from October 24 to November 1.
The kingdom will also be hosting the U20 World Championships this year from August 17 to 23. This international competition follows Bahrain’s successful hosting of the U20 Asian championships in 2022.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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