Local hero Akzhol Makhmudov gave the host country the victory it most wanted to see, winning the 77kg gold in Greco-Roman at the Asian Championships in Bishkek to repeat his breakout victory of 2018 in the same city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Makhmudov held off a fierce challenge from Iranian Ali Oskou for a 3-3 victory in the final to secure his fourth career Asian gold and fifth medal overall, much to delight of the thunderous Kyrgyzstani partisan crowd packed into Zhastyk Arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge, huge joy,\u201d Makhmudov said. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s hard to put into words, but at the same time, I\u2019m not going to stop here or dwell on it. Yes, I became the Asian champion, the anthem was played, the flag was raised. Now it\u2019s time to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the spotlight shined brightest on Makhmudov, he had to share it with compatriots Aftandil Taalaibek Uulu and Asan Zhanyshov, who also defeated Iranian opponents in striking gold at 63kg and 87kg, respectively, on the first night of medal matches in the seven-day tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The night wasn\u2019t a total washout for Iran, however, as reigning world champion Amin Mirzazadeh showed he was still the preeminent power at 130kg by snatching his fourth career Asian gold, while Ikhtiyor Botirov of Uzbekistan won the other gold at stake at 55kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was eight years ago that a then-teenaged Makhmudov burst onto the international stage at Bishkek\u2019s Soviet-era Kojomkul Sports Palace on the other side of Togolok Moldo Street, sending the home crowd into a cacophonous frenzy by winning the 72kg gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI still remember 2018 the most, because I was younger then and the wrestling was much more spectacular,\u201d Makhmudov said. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m not in my best shape, but I still managed to win my fourth gold medal. At the moment, I\u2019m only at about 25\u201330 percent of my form.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That 2018 win served as the launching pad for one of Asia\u2019s top Greco wrestlers in history, although his ascent was delayed for some time due to a severe knee injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After taking a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, he reached the pinnacle in 2022 with victories at 77kg at both the World and Asian Championships, a feat he repeated in 2023. He added a second Olympic medal the next year with a bronze in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He took his time returning to the sport from a break after Paris, winning the title at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in his lone competition that year. This year, his only action ahead of Bishkek came at the Zagreb Ranking Series in February, where he failed to medal at 82kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there were any concerns whether Makhmudov, who will turn 27 next week, has lost his edge, he put the matter to rest with his solid performance before the home fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final against Oskou, the winner of the Zagreb tournament, Makhmudov got the first chance in par terre and muscled the Iranian over with a reverse body lock, although Oskou rolled through for a reversal. The Kyrgyzstan side challenged for a leg foul, but it was denied, leaving Makhmudov with a slim 3-2 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second period, Oskou received a passivity point but could not turn Makhmudov, leaving the latter ahead 3-3 on criteria. Makhmudov got a second chance at par terre, but after failing to pad his lead, he successfully fended off Oskou for the final minute to clinch the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWithout a doubt, the toughest match for me was the final, as you saw yourselves,\u201d Makhmudov said. \u201cIt was very hard and intense. I prepared for it like any other match, there was responsibility, and of course, I wanted to win, as always.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making the moment more special was that his family was among the throng packed into the arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis victory was very important to me,\u201d he said. \u201cMy family was here, my father was in the stands, supporting me, praying for my victory. To win in front of him and to justify his hopes means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prior to Makhmudov\u2019s triumph, Taalaibek Uulu fired up the crowd with a stunning 7-2 victory in the 63kg final over Zagreb Ranking Series champion Erfan Jarkani of Iran for his first major medal of any kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taalaibek Uulu scored an opening takedown, then hit a 4-point throw from par terre, off of which Jarkani scored a reversal to make it 7-1 after the first period. Jarkani got his chance at par terre in the second, but couldn\u2019t budge Taalaibek Uulu, whose only previous senior international medal was a bronze in Antalya in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not to be outdone, world bronze medalist Zhanyshov completed Kyrgyzstan\u2019s triple crown of titles with a masterful 11-4 victory at 87kg over a very tough Gholamreza Farokhi of Iran, the 82kg champion at last year\u2019s World Championships in Zagreb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhanyshov, no doubt inspired by his compatriots\u2019 success and the crowd\u2019s fervor, stunned Farokhi with a spectacular 4-point lateral drop for a quick lead, which grew to 7-0 with an activity point, stepout and unsuccessful challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Farokhi, also the 2025 world U23 champion in this weight class, surged back with a barrel roll for 2 and a 2-point exposure. But when he tried a roll, Zhanyshov stepped over for a 2-point exposure, and another 2 was tacked on after Farokhi bridged out of the ring, making it 11-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was how it ended, as neither wrestler could generate any more points. A despondent Farokhi abandoned the fight with a full seven seconds still on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 130kg category, Mirzazadeh proved too much for Russian-born Rafael Tsitsuashvili, now representing Uzbekistan. He was never threatened in a 9-0 victory to add to his previous Asian golds from 2020, 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mirzazadeh, who won his second world title in Zagreb last September, rolled Tsitsuashvili twice from par terre in the first period for a 5-0 lead, then ended the match at 27 seconds into the second with a takedown-gut wrench combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter the World Championships in 2025, my first competition in 2026 started with the Asian Championships and I was able to achieve the gold medal with a brilliant performance,\u201d Mirzazadeh said. \u201cThis is the first step of my path this year in 2026 and I hope that I can achieve succes one after the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Mirzazadeh, getting to Bishkek was half the battle, given the limits on air travel out of his country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmotionally, it was definitely different,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were probably on the road for fifty hours, on the ground, because our country is in a difficult situation right now, but I thank God that I was able to win the gold medal despite these issues and the difficulty of the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope that I was able to bring a smile to the faces of the people of my country for a moment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 55kg category, two-time bronze medalist Ikhtiyor Botirov struck gold at last with an impressive 9-0 win in 1:47 over India’s Lalit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Botirov got the first chance in par terre, and that was all he needed, as he reeled off four gut wrenches despite some tough resistance from Lalit, who had been looking to become India\u2019s first Asian champion in Greco since 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the result of all our efforts, my first gold medal at the senior Asian Championships,\u201d Botirov said. \u201cI would like to express my sincere gratitude to my coaches who supported me closely throughout this journey.\u00a0We prepared very intensively for this competition. Before coming here, my coach told me, \u2018You will become a champion,\u2019 and sent me here with that belief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Botirov, who added to the bronze medals he took home in 2023 and 2025, had avenged a loss in this year\u2019s Zagreb Ranking Series final to Mohammad Hosseinvand of Iran in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI lost that match by two points,\u201d Botirov said of the defeat in Zagreb. \u201cBut this time, I changed my tactics. I started attacking from the very beginning, took the first period, and studied his movements. That\u2019s how I managed to win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ex-Freestyle champ Tanabe joins exclusive club with Greco bronze<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the bronze-medal matches, Kaisei Tanabe of Japan joined an exclusive club of wrestlers in Asian Championships history who have won medals in both Freestyle and Greco when he took home a bronze at 63kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanabe, the champion last year at Freestyle 65kg, secured his place in history when he forged out a 9-0 victory over Azatjan Achilov of Turkmenistan securing the winning point with a stepout at the first-period buzzer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy feeling is that I\u2019m relieved, but I also have a strong regret that I didn\u2019t put out in yesterday\u2019s match what I did today,\u201d Tanabe said, referring to his loss on Monday in the semifinals to Taalaibek Uluu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanabe pulled away with a 4-point back drop from par terre, then reeled off three consecutive stepouts. An unsuccessful challenge that the final one was scored in time added the final point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding the flashy 4-pointer, Tanabe said, \u201cA lot of people said they wanted me to put on an exciting match for the people watching. Whether I win or lose, I want to liven things up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanabe, who father and coach Chikara Tanabe was an Olympic bronze medalist, was unable to defend his Freestyle crown after losing in the semifinals at the All-Japan Championships in December, but earned his ticket to Bishkek by winning at Greco 63kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanabe, a product of powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University, said he will continue competing in both styles \u201cas long as it continues to be fun for me. I want to be a wrestler who people find incredibly entertaining, whether or not they wrestle or whether or not that know about wrestling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later today, Taishi Narikuni, the Freestyle 70kg champion in 2022, will get a chance to join Tanabe in becoming a double-style medalist when he competes in the bronze-medal match at Greco 72kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other 63kg bronze went to Choi Hyunwoong of Korea who jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a 4-point headlock throw, then held on to deny former champion Islomjon Bakhramov of Uzbekistan a fourth career Asian medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Korea also picked up a bronze in the wildest match of the tournament so far, with Korean Noh Yeonghun chalking up three 4-point throws while also nearly being pinned in coming away with a crazy 15-14 win at 77kg over India’s Aman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noh used a back trip, headlock and hip throw for his 4-pointers, the last of which should have ended the match at 12-3, but Aman rolled through to continue the movement and came up with a 2-point exposure that kept him alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind 14-7 heading into the second period, Aman countered for 2-point takedown, then stopped a throw attempt to send Noh straight to his back for 4 \u2013 and what the mat referee indicated was a fall. But it was not confirmed, and Noh survived the final 23 seconds, albeit there were the obligatory challenges that added to the drama but did not change the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the other 77kg match, Uzbekistan’s Doniyorkhon Nakibov got three gut wrenches from par terre in the first period, then finished up a 10-1 victory in the second over Kaharman Kissymetov of Kazakhstan for his second career Asian bronze.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 55kg, Hosseinvand, the lone Iranian to fail to make the final on the first day, assured he would not return empty-handed, silencing the home with a 7-1 victory over Ulan Muratbek Uulu .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hosseinvand, put on top in par terre for a second time in the first period after a foul, used the opportunity to score a 4-point throw to go up 7-0, then held out when he was on the bottom in the second period to deny Muratbek Uulu a second career Asian bronze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China’s Shi Huoying, who had his breakout year in 2025 with a bronze medal at the World Championships, added a continental bronze in his senior Asian debut with a 9-0 pasting of Mizuki Araki of Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huoying, who had failed to medal on the U20 and U23 levels at either of the Asian or World Championships, scored 2 with a counter to the back, then pancaked Asian debutante Araki for 4. From there, he went to a gut wrench to finish the match in 1:17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the 87kg category, former champions Nursultan Tursynov of Kazakhstan and Sunil Kumar of India both added to hefty Asian medal collections, one with an one-sided win and other having to come from behind for a close victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tursynov, who won the Asian title back in 2014 and won two silvers in the ensuing years, had little trouble demolishing Dovletmyrat Bayramov of Tukmenistan, scoring a roll, 4-point back suplex and another roll from par terre for a 9-0 win in 1:41.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kumar, the 2020 Asian champion, trailed by four points going into the second period when he used the par terre advantage to score two gut wrenches and walk off with a 5-4 victory over Mukhammadkodir Rasulov of Uzbekistan \u2013 a two-time past bronze medalist himself \u2013 and boost his medal tally to six overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the 130kg, Korea made it 3 for 3 in bronze-medal matches by winning the battle of the Kims, as Kim Minseok defeated Kim Roman of Kyrgyzstan 4-0, scoring all of his points with slick first-period arm throw that emulated wrestlers half his size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the Korean\u2019s fifth career Asian medal, adding to two bronzes from the Asian Games and another from the 2018 World Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three-time Asian U23 champion Jiang Wenhao of China earned his first senior Asian medal with a 9-2 win over returning bronze medalist Yuta Nara of Japan in the other 130kg match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 55kg (11 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Huoying SHI (CHN) df. Mizuki ARAKI (JPN) by TS, 9-0, 1:17 60kg (10 entries)<\/strong> 63kg (11 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Kaisei TANABE (JPN) df. Azatjan ACHILOV (TKM) by TS, 9-0, 3:00 67kg (11 entries)<\/strong> 72kg (10 entries)<\/strong> 77kg (12 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Yeonghun NOH (KOR) df. AMAN (IND), 15-14 82kg (10 entries)<\/strong> 87kg (11 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) df. Dovletmyrat BAYRAMOV (TKM) by TS, 9-0, 1:41 97kg (11 entries)<\/strong> 130kg (10 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Minseok KIM (KOR) df. Roman KIM (KGZ), 4-0 Local hero Akzhol Makhmudov gave the host country the victory it most wanted to see, winning the 77kg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-11391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-wrestling"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov.jpg",1300,731,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov.jpg",1300,731,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov.jpg",1300,731,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Akzhol-Makhmudov.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11391"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11393,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11391\/revisions\/11393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
GOLD: Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) df. LALIT (IND) by TS, 9-0, 1:47<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Mohammad HOSSEINVAND (IRI) df. Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ), 7-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) by TS, 10-0, 2:00
SF2: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Yerbol KAMALIYEV (KAZ) by TS, 8-0, :27<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Aftandil TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Erfan JARKANI (IRI), 7-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Hyunwoong CHOI (KOR) df. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), 9-6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) df. Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) by TS, 9-0, 1:58
SF2: Kensuke SHIMIZU (JPN) df. Abdumalik AMINOV (UZB), 5-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Almatbek AMANBEK (KAZ) df. Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ), 3-1
SF2: Javad REZAEI (IRI) df. Shakhzod KUCHKOROV (UZB) by TS, 9-0, 1:55<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Ali OSKOU (IRI), 3-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Doniyorkhon NAKIBOV (UZB) df. Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) by TS, 10-1, 4:59<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT) df. Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ), 9-8
SF2: Amin HOSSEINI (IRI) df. PRINCE (IND) by TS, 10-0, 2:25<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI), 11-4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Sunil KUMAR (IND) df. Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB), 5-4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Hadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 3-1
SF2: NITESH (IND) df. Zegang WANG (CHN), 7-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB) by TS, 9-0, 3:27<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Wenhao JIANG (CHN) df. Yuta NARA (JPN), 9-2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"