Beka Melelashvili (87 kg, NYAC) is in yet another medal round at a United World Wrestling “Ranking Series” event.
The second day of Greco-Roman at the 2026 Polyak Imre Memorial began at 10:30am local time from Budapest, Hungary (4:30am ET) and is streaming live in the US on FLOWrestling.
Melelashvili was one of three Americans scheduled to compete on Saturday as he was joined by current World Teammate Benji Peak (72 kg, NYAC/Position) and surging Senior prospect Brett Back (72 kg, Position). Back was on the wrong end of a tight decision to Anil Anil (IND) in the qualification round and Peak was defeated by Mishiko Aleksandria of Georgia, with both bouts having been contested in the qualification round. Aleskandria did make the semifinal in the 72 kg bracket, thus providing hope for Peak to return in the repechage round; however, the Georgian was downed by countryman Nika Broladze to end Peak’s time in the tournament.
Melelashvili’s experience in Budapest has been quite different.
Sans his familiar beard, Melelashvili sauntered into action on Saturday in the qualification round against Mohamed Elkasem Dyab (EGY), a match-up that he won on the strength of two first-period takedowns. There was decidedly more technical violence on display in the proceeding round. Opposed by solid competitor Rohit Bura (IND), Melelashvili embarked upon a convicted run of dominance that was as effective as it was precise. After securing a takedown (his third of the tournament in two matches), Melelashvili bombed Bura with a five-point lift and transitioned immediately into a gutwrench on the back-end of the sequence. It was over as far as the scoreboard was concerned, though Melelashvili still managed to torque Bura over once more despite having already logged the points required for what was a blistering 9-0 VSU.
The quarterfinal then pitted Melelashvili against former teammate and ’19 U23 World silver (as well as noted Senior athlete) Gurami Khetsuriani. For the third match in a row, Melelashvili’s initial points arrived via takedown. Khetsuriani had hawked over for a try at a headlock and Melelashvili held position to slink behind for two. Passive on Khetsuriani gave Melelashvili a 3-0 lead, an advantage he owned well into Period 2. The passives flipped, thus delivering to Khetsuriani as good of an opportunity as he would have to take control of the bout. But Melelashvili defended — and after a reset, he scored a land-on-top to make the score 5-1, which is how the match would end.
Melelashvili’s ride to the gold-medal final was cut short in the round-of-four by Islam Aliev (RUS) by a score of 6-1 and so he will now prepare to compete for bronze against Croatia’s potent young 87 Matej Mandic. In February, Melelashvili appeared in the bronze round at the Grand Prix Zagreb Open and ultimately placed 5th. In May, the ’24 U23 World silver won the Pan-Am Championships. Both aforementioned events, along with the Polyak Imre Memorial, offer “Ranking Series” points based on placing.
The finals and bronze rounds on Saturday are scheduled for 6:00pm local time (12:00pm ET) and can be steamed live on FLOWrestling.
2026 Polyak Imre Memorial
July 17-19 — Budapest, HUN
DAY 2 TEAM USA RESULTS
72 kg: Brett Back (Position)
LOSS Anil Anil (IND) 3-1
72 kg: Benji Peak (NYAC/Position)
LOSS Mishiko Aleksandria (EGY) 4-2
87 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC)
WON Mohamed Elkasem Dyab (EGY) 4-0
WON Rohit Bura (IND) 9-0, TF
WON Gurami Khetsuriani (GEO) 5-1
LOSS Islam Aliev (RUS) 6-1
vs. Mantej Mandic (CRO) — bronze-medal match
TEAM USA DAY 1 RESULTS
67 kg: Otto Black (NYAC) — 10th
WON Valentin Petic (MDA) 5-1
LOSS Mohamed Abdelrehim (EGY) 2-1
LOSS Tsuchika Shimoyamada (AUS) 8-0, TF
77 kg: Joel Adams (Beaver Dam RTC) — 28th
LOSS Danil Grigorev (RUS) 8-0, TF
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