WRESTLING – BAHRAIN bagged a sensational six medals in the United World Wrestling (UWW) Senior Asian Championships 2026, which came to a close late Sunday night in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The kingdom’s elite men’s grapplers captured three silver medals and three bronze medals in their respective freestyle competitions in the hotly contested multi-day event, which featured top athletes from across the continent.
Bahrain’s silver-medallists included Shamil Sharipov in the men’s 125kg weight class, Magomed Sharipov in the men’s 92kg division, and Magomedrasul Asluev in the men’s 74kg category.
Meanwhile, the bronze medals were won by Paris 2024 Olympics gold-medallist and former world champion Akhmed Tazhudinov in the men’s 97kg class, Khidir Saipudinov in the men’s 86kg category, and Alibeg Alibegov amongst the men’s 65kg competitors.
The kingdom’s haul placed them fourth overall on the final teams’ rankings from the nearly 20 national squads that took part in the UWW meeting’s freestyle wrestling events. The Bahrainis scored a total of 105 points from their six participating wrestlers.
Iran clinched first place with 178 points, followed by India as runners-up with 162 points and Japan in third on 127 points.
In the 125kg class, Shamil Sharipov had to settle for silver after losing to Amir Hossein Zare from Iran 0-4 in the final. He had earlier defeated Dinesh Dinesh of India by a fall in the last four, after taking care of Arslanbek Turdubekov of Kyrgyzstan 7-0 in the quarter-finals. Dinesh shared the bronze medals with Yedige Kassimbek of Kazakhstan.
In the 92kg division, Magomed Sharipov lost to Mohammadmobin Azimi of Iran 0-11 in the gold medal match. He made it to the final after outclassing Iakov Chaplin of Kyrgyzstan 8-0 in the semis, after earlier beating Hade Ayidusi of China 5-2 in the round of eight. Chaplin and Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan were the bronze-medallists.
Asluev claimed his silver medal in the 74kg category after losing 0-2 to Yoshinosuke Aoyagi of Japan in the title-decider. In the final four, Asluev narrowly edged past Begijon Kuldashev of Uzbekistan 4-3, after previously defeating Mustafo Akhmedov of Tajikistan 3-1 in the quarters. Taking a bronze medal apiece were Akhmedov and Iran’s Amirmohammad Yazdanicherati.
In the 97kg competition, Tazhudinov was dominant with a 14-0 victory over Bekzat Urkimbay of Kazakhstan in their bronze medal contest. Tazhudinov earlier lost 6-15 to Arash Yoshida of Japan in the semi-finals, after beating Gankhuyag Ganbaatar of Mongolia 6-2 in the elite eight.
Tazhudinov shared the podium step for third with Uzbekistan’s Sherzod Poyonov. Yoshida went on to claim the gold medal after outclassing Iran’s Amirali Azarpira in the final.
Saipudinov added his 86kg bronze medal for Bahrain after beating Bolat Sakayev of Kazakhstan in one of two matches for third place. He earned his spot in the contest after winning his repechage against Bobur Islomov of Uzbekistan 4-1. Saipudinov earlier lost to Mukul Dahiya of India in the quarter-finals but defeated Malik Shavaev of Kyrgyzstan in the qualification round.
Saipudinov was joined as a bronze-medallist by Alp Begenjov of Turkmenistan. Iran’s Kamran Ghasempour won gold while Dahiya took the silver medal.
In the 65kg category, Alibegov secured his place on the podium with a 3-1 win over Zeneemeder Byambasuren of Mongolia in their bronze medal duel. Alibegov missed out on the gold medal affair after bowing to Umidjon Jalolov of Uzbekistan 3-5 in the semis. He won his quarters clash against Xuexian Ou of China on criteria after it ended tied on points 4-4.
Alibegov shared his bronze medal with Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan, while Sujeet Sujeet of India captured gold and Jalolov won silver.
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