Beka Melelashvili (82 kg, NYAC) came close to punching his ticket to the gold round, which would have obviously guaranteed both him and the US a medal. Instead, the extremely skilled native of Georgia was the victim of a curiously-inaccurate call in the semifinal that bordered on absurdity, which paved the way for a hometown athlete to advance — and for Melelashvili to try and settle for the next best thing.
Day 2 of the 2025 Polyak Imre Memorial began at 10:30am local time from Budapest, Hungary (4:30am ET) and streamed live in the US on FLOWrestling.
Following three standout victories during the morning session, Melelashvili became the first United States competitor to appear in a Polyak Imre Memorial semifinal since Kamal Bey (77 kg, Army/WCAP) two years ago. In the ’23 edition of the event, Bey defeated ’22 World silver Zoltan Levai of Hungary in the round-of-four ahead of falling short to Sanan Suleymanov (AZE) for gold. Just as Bey tangled with Levai in the ’23 semifinal, so too did Melelashvili on Sunday.
And he was, colloquially-speaking, hosed.
Early in the contest, Melelashvili caught an arm spin attempt from Levai to collapse behind and net two points. Not long after, Levai was dinged for passive and the officials provided mere seconds for Melelashvili to work from top par terre and the pair were back standing. Nevertheless, the US carried a 3-0 margin into the second period.
When passivity/par terre arrived in Period 2 for Levai, he opted for a reverse lift. As Levai gathered to lock and load, Melelashvili adjusted and countered to put Levai briefly to his back. Two exposure points were awarded to the US but Levai’s corner wanted to challenge the call. Upon review, the officials determined that Melelashvili had committed a leg foul on account of his left arm having barely and momentarily grazed Levai’s backside prior to the conclusion of the sequence. Although it is highly-unlikely from a physics perspective that Melelashvili’s hand in any way, shape, or form influenced Levai’s failure to execute, the result of the challenge was a caution on Melelashvili, two points for Levai, and a restart for the Hungarian from top par terre — thus making the score 3-3 for Levai.
Melelashvili easily defended Levai’s second try from top par terre and proceeded to navigate the tie-ups with renewed intensity. But he couldn’t quite negotiate an opening from which to attack. Levai busied up the works through the remainder and Melelashvili had dropped a tough-to-swallow 3-3 decision. Following the post-match histrionics, Levai triumphantly raised his arms as though he had earned a definitive victory, much to the delight of the Hungarian fans in attendance. A last-gasp challenge from the US was reviewed; the officials conferred, no infractions were discerned, and Levai was gifted an inconsequential extra point to put the score at 4-3.
The day was not over yet for Melelashvili, for he had been deposited into the bronze round opposed by Erik Szilvassy, whose weight fluctuations in recent years have seen him go from 87 to 97 and now down at 82 kg. Melelashvili once again collected the opening period passivity/par terre chance but could not translate that opportunity into additional points. Later in the frame, Szilvassy ambled behind and close to a potentially problematic position for Melelashvili, but the US World Team member re-pummeled his way to a hip-to-hip posture towards the edge. The action careened out of bounds and Szilvassy had nabbed a step-out point to grab a point and trail via criteria (due to the updated rule set).
Passivity/par terre went to Szilvassy in the second period to give him the outright 2-1 lead. His lock was not fruitful, as Melelashvili clamped down to gain the reset. He then proceeded to breathlessly scan for openings in the ties. None were availed, and Szilvassy eventually collected the 2-1 decision along with bronze, relegating Melelashvili to 5th place.
No USA in Repechage
Following the morning session, Ellis Coleman (63 kg, Army/WCAP) and Alston Nutter (67 kg, Army/WCAP) were both hoping to be pulled back into repechage. Coleman had been defeated in the quarterfinal by ’24 World bronze Karen Aslanyan (ARM) while Nutter had downed Jeong Yeong-Woo of Korea before dropping an 8-3 decision to ’23 World champ Leri Abuladze (GEO). Unfortunately for the WCAP duo, both of their vanquishers fell short in the semifinal round. Aslanyan was downed by Vitalie Eriomenco (MDA) and Abuladze was clipped by Valentin Petic (MDA), thus eliminating Coleman and Nutter from re-entering the event through the repechage system.
Polyak Imre Memorial Notes
— The United States finished with an individual record of 7-13.
— Three of the US victories at the Polyak Imre Memorial were technical superiorities.
— Of the 12 Americans who competed this weekend, six were ’25 World Team members: Max Black (60 kg), Coleman, Nutter, Melelashvili, Payton Jacobson (87 kg), and Cohlton Schultz (130 kg).
— The US contingent will remain in Hungary throughout the week for a multi-national training camp.
2025 Polyak Imre Memorial
July 19-20 — Budapest, HUN
TEAM USA FULL RESULTS
55 kg: Brady Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC) — 8th
LOSS Alpamys Dastanbek (KAZ) 1-1
60 kg: Max Black (NYAC/NTS) — 11th
LOSS Mehroj Bakhramov (UZB) 7-1
60 kg: Dylan Koontz (TMWC/Dubuque RTC) — 14th
LOSS Amiran Shavadze (GEO) 8-0, TF
63 kg: Ellis Coleman (Army/WCAP) — 10th
LOSS Karen Aslanyan (ARM) 8-1
67 kg: Otto Black (NYAC/NTS) — 9th
WON Damir Ibrashov (KAZ) 8-0, TF
LOSS Din Koshkar (KAZ) via fall
67 kg: Alston Nutter (Army/WCAP) — 8th
WON Jeong Yeong-Woo (KOR) 9-0, TF
LOSS Leri Abuladze (GEO) 8-3
72 kg: Aliaksandr Kikiniou Jr. (NYAC) — 14th
LOSS Merey Maulitkanov (KAZ) 7-2
82 kg: Beka Melelashvili (NYAC) — 5th
WON Almir Tolebayev (KAZ) 3-1
WON Antal Vamos (SRB) 9-0, TF
WON Burhan Akbudak (TUR) via inj. def.
LOSS Zoltan Levai (HUN) 3-3 (criteria)
LOSS Erik Szilvassy (HUN) 2-1
87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) — 18th
LOSS Exauce Mukubu (NOR) 4-1
130 kg: Aden Attao (Beaver Dam RTC) — 13th
LOSS Sarkhan Mammadov (AZE) 9-0, VSU
130 kg: Courtney Denzel Freeman (Marines) — 7th
WON Assylbek Abdikalyk (KAZ) via fall
LOSS Sarkhan Mammadov (AZE) 4-3
130 kg: Cohlton Schultz (Atreus WC) — 9th
WON Mikheil Kajaia (SRB) 5-1
LOSS Matti Kuosmanen (FIN) 2-1
