Bulgaria secured three medals at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, led by Semen Novikov’s gold medal in the Greco-Roman 87 kg category. The tournament runs through November 1.
Semen Novikov Breaks a 13-Year Drought With Gold in Astana
Semen Novikov secured the world title in the 87 kg Greco-Roman division, ending a 13-year dry spell without a global crown in the discipline for Bulgaria. The Olympic champion defeated Iran’s Alireza Mohamadipiani 4:0 in the final.
OLY 🥇 Semen Novikov 🇧🇬 wins 87KG gold at the 26' World Championships, with a shut out victory over Alireza Mohmedi 🇮🇷.In a rematch of the Paris Olympic Games final, Novikov wins again over the Iranian to win his first SR World Gold.———————————— CUSTOM WRESTLING… pic.twitter.com/rXK278DuM0
The path to the gold-medal match tested Novikov’s resilience. According to reporting from Segabg.com, the 28-year-old opened with a quick pin against Latana Soupa of American Samoa before narrowly escaping an upset against multiple European medalist Islam Abbasov of Azerbaijan, wiping out a 4:5 deficit with a takedown in the final ten seconds for a 6:5 victory. He then eliminated 2019 world champion Lasha Gobadze of Georgia 3:0.
In the semifinals, Novikov absorbed a heavy head-butt to the face from Mukhammadkodir Rasulov of Uzbekistan. He required medical attention to stanch the bleeding before finishing out a 2:0 win with a bandage wrapped around his head, punching his ticket to his first career world final and adding to his bronze from Belgrade 2023.
Kiril Milov Claims Bronze and Reflects on a Missed Gold
Kiril Milov captured the bronze medal in the 97 kg Greco-Roman division by dismantling Austria’s Markus Raginger via technical superiority at 10:0. The athlete capitalized on a parterre position in the opening period, executing two throws to build a five-point cushion before sealing the bout shortly after the restart.
Despite earning his third career world medal—supplementing two prior silver medals—Milov expressed frustration over dropping a 5:7 semifinal decision to Belarus’s Kiryl Maskevich.
Kiril Milov said that “until yesterday I was very pleased with my performance. Up until the semifinal match, I think I was performing brilliantly, at the level that I am at. In the semifinal match, in the first period I was leading exactly the way I wanted, but in the second period I made a very stupid mistake out of a reflex that I have practiced thousands of times in training,” according to BNT.
Todor Angelov, president of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation, defended the athlete’s performance in the wake of the semifinal miscue, asserting that for me he is a world champion and pointing to difficult institutional preparations preceding the event. In a statement posted to social media following the tournament, Milov called the outcome a lesson, remarking that he was not satisfied with third place and that a single mistake robbed him of the chance to contend for gold. Angelov praised the risks taken by federation leadership to ensure registration for top athletes including Milov, Novikov, and Edmond Nazaryan, noting that overall financial incentives for gold, silver, and bronze medalists at the global competition reach significant figures through prize funds covering thirty categories. Additional Bulgarian freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers competing across various weight classes in Astana included Abu-Muslim Amaev, Stefan Grigorov, Stoyan Kubatov, Dimitar Georgiev, Magomed Ramazanov, Ahmed Bataev, Ahmed Magamayev, Shamil Mamedov, Mikyay Naim, and Georgi Ivanov, while Bilyana Dudova represented the women’s team.
Bilyana Dudova Secures Bronze as Other Bulgarian Contenders Chase Podiums
Bilyana Dudova earned Bulgaria’s second bronze medal of the championships, overcoming Sweden’s Johanna Lindborg 4:2 in the 62 kg category. The athlete now holds three career medals from world championships.
- Edmond Nazaryan (63 kg) reached the bronze-medal match after defeating Sahil Sahil, Kerem Kamal, and Mohamad Keshtkar, but dropped a 4:12 semifinal to Karen Aslanyan.
- Stoyan Kubatov (77 kg) finished fifth after losing his semifinal bout to Moldova’s Alexandrin Gutu via a first-period fall, following earlier victories that included a comeback win over Merey Maulitkanov.
- Magomed Ramazanov (86 kg) fell 3:5 in an opening-round freestyle clash against two-time world champion Kamran Ghasempour of Iran.
- Georgi Ivanov (125 kg) opened with a pin against Sabriel Silva before losing on a fall to Moxen Siar with 1:45 remaining in a 5:5 match.
Live broadcasts of the finals continue daily through November 1 on BNT 3, with additional medal matches scheduled for Shamil Mamedov in the freestyle 65 kg division.
