10 Years Worth Of Historic Junior Worlds Matches
10 Years Worth Of Historic Junior Worlds Matches
Check out these matches from past Junior World Championships highlighting current NCAA, World, and Olympic Champions.
Unlock this article, live events, and more with a subscription!
Already a subscriber? Log In
The Junior World Championships will be held in Ufa, Russia and will take place from August 16-22. With the benefit of hindsight, we can look back over the past 10 years of Junior Worlds to see how future world/Olympic medalists and champions first made their mark at Junior Worlds. This article will highlight some of the best matches from the past 10 years.
Junior World Championships Aug 16-22, 2:00 AM EST
Toghrul Asgarov (AZE) vs Logan Stieber (USA) - 2010, Finals at 60kg
Toghrul Asgarov would go on to win a senior world title a few months after he defeated Logan Stieber in the Junior World finals. Asgarov didn’t stop there either - he added an Olympic title in 2012 and won Olympic silver in 2016. Of course American fans know Stieber would go on to win four national titles from 2012-2015, going down as one of the best collegiate wrestlers of all time. On top of his college accolades, Stieber added a World Title in 2016 to cap of his incredible wrestling career.
Thomas Gilman (USA) vs Reza Atri (IRI) - 2014, Quarters at 55kg
Thomas Gilman just defeated Reza Atri to win Olympic bronze in Tokyo. 7 years prior, Gilman also came out on top in their quarter-final match at Junior Worlds. Gilman would go on to lose in the semis-finals, but ultimately win bronze at those junior worlds.
Hassan Yazdani (IRI) vs Aaron Pico (USA), 2014, Finals at 66kg
American fans were first introduced to “Yazdani the Greatest” when he defeated the phenom Aaron Pico in the 2014 Junior World finals. Yazdani has since won two world titles, an Olympic title and had epic battles with David Taylor. Pico made the finals of the 2016 Olympic trials before falling to Frank Molinaro and transitioning to MMA.
Ravi Kumar (IND) vs Stevan Micic (USA) - 2015, Round of 16 at 55kg
Ravi Kumar made the Olympic Finals in Tokyo at 57kg where Stevan Micic was the #1 seed. In 2015, Kumar defeated Micic and would go on to take a silver medal at Junior Worlds. Micic, still representing the USA at this point, went on to take bronze in this bracket.
Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) vs Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) - 2015, Bronze Medal Match at 66kg
Zaurbek Sidakov is currently the #2 pound for pound wrestler in the world and has won 2 world titles and an Olympic title at 74kg. Despite the world dominance now, in 2015 he was battling for junior world bronze with fellow Tokyo Olympian Avtandil Kentchadze.
Spencer Lee (USA) vs Alireza Goodarzi (IRI) - 2015, Finals at 50kg
In 2015, Spencer Lee put the international wrestling world on notice when he teched his way through the 50kg Junior World bracket. Though he hasn’t made his international senior level debut yet, he has gone on to win 3 NCAA titles and led the Iowa Hawkeyes back to the top of the college world with a NCAA Team Title.
Daton Fix (USA) vs Ismail Gadzhiev (RUS) - 2017, Finals at 55kg
Daton Fix made a statement in 2017 with his Junior World Title. He teched all five of his opponents and outscored them by a combined 53-1. Two years later, Fix would go on to make the Senior World team for the United States.
Zahid Valencia (USA) vs Deepak Punia (IND) - 2017, Semi-Finals at 84kg
Zahid Valencia (USA) vs Artur Naifonov (RUS) - 2017, Finals at 84kg
In the two above matches from 2017 Junior Worlds, Zahid Valencia shows his potential on the senior level. In the first match, Valencia defeated Deepak Punia to make the junior world semis. Punia would go on to take silver at the 2019 senior world championships and 5th at the 2020 Olympics. In the second match, Valencia lost a close, 7-5 bout in the gold medal bout to Russia’s Artur Naifonov. Since that match, Naifonov has proven to be the 3rd best 86kg wrestler in the world and has taken bronze at the 2019 world championships and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) vs Josh Saunders (USA) - 2018, Round of 16 at 61kg
If you don’t know the name now, you will more than likely be familiar with Abasgadzhi Magomedov come October at the World Championships. In 2018, Magomedov teched his way to a junior world title. Still wrestling 61kg, Magomedov looks to be the best wrestler in the world at the weight and will likely represent Russia at the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, Norway.
Mason Parris (USA) vs Amir Zare (IRI) - 2019, Finals at 125kg
This heavyweight showdown is one we could see on the senior level for years to come. In the 2019 Junior World finals, Mason Parris shocked Iran’s Amir Zare with a first period pin. Zare, however, was not set back by the loss and went on to defeat 3X world champion Geno Petriashvili just a few months after the loss to Parris. Most recently, Zare won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics at 125kg.
What historic matches will we see go down at the 2021 Junior World Championships? Only time will tell, but we're sure to see some incredible matches and future world/Olympic medalists and champions on display in Ufa, Russia.