Kazakhstan's Aidos Sultangali claims historic gold at World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships

Sultangali clashed with Alisher Ganiev of Uzbekistan in the 60kg bout.

From the opening seconds, Sultangali went on the offensive, delivering three successful moves in the first minute to score eight points and leave his opponent no chance to respond. An additional point was awarded to the Kazakh wrestler after Uzbekistan lost a challenge against the referee’s call, sealing a swift and commanding 9:0 victory for Sultangali.

On his way to the final, Aidos Sultangali defeated American Maxwell Hopper Black, Israeli Melkamu Fetene, North Korean Se Ung Ri, and Georgian Amiran Shavadze.

To note, the 60kg Greco-Roman division is an Olympic weight class, making Sultangali’s gold medal a powerful statement of his ambitions for a future Olympic podium.

It is worth noting that the Kazakh wrestler had previously earned two World Championship bronze medals, with his 2025 victory marking the highlight of his career so far. His opponent, Ganiev, is a former World Junior Champion.

Throughout Kazakhstan’s history as an independent team at the World Wrestling Championships, the country has now collected five gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling. Past champions include Yuriy Melnichenko (1994, 1997), Mkhitar Manukyan (1998, 1999), and Bakhtiyar Baiseitov (1998).

As reported earlier, Kazakh freestyle wrestlers have wrapped up the World Championships with two medals.