#WrestlePlovdiv

Abakarov, Gadzhiev Hungry for More after Taking Azerbaijan to Team Title

Sunday, March 13, 2022 - 20:12 By Vinay Siwach

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PLOVDIV, Bulgaria (March 13) -- Azerbaijan could not have asked for better preparation for the senior European Championships. It won four gold and three bronze at the U23 European Championships to claim the freestyle team title to make a serious statement before Budapest.

Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) and Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) were the two stars Sunday as they won the gold at 74kg and 86kg respectively, further establishing themselves as big names in the two Olympic weight classes.

Abakarov, who won a bronze medal at the Oslo World Championships, needed only 42 seconds against Lilian BALAN (MDA) to win 10-0. A combination of arm trap and gut-wrench helped him to win the gold with ease but he is looking at the bigger picture.

"I could win easily today," Abakarov said. "But this competition is not the main one since I compete at the senior level.

"For me, the senior European Championship is more important now. I haven’t been training for a while because of the injury and this was a trial event for me."

Since jumping to 86kg in 2020 in a bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, Abakarov has had mixed success. But he wants to start this Olympic cycle on a better note.

"I feel that I can compete at a higher level," he said. "I hope I’ll be a leader of this weight class by the time of the Paris Olympics."

That will take some doing as Olympic champion David TAYLOR (USA) and world champion Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) have dominated the weight class for more than six years now. Abakarov wrestled Taylor in Oslo and even scored points on him before losing.

"It was our first match and next time  I’ll be more confident," he said. "I’ll be ready to wrestle against the leaders. I should work on my physical shape as all the wrestlers from this weight category like Taylor, Yazdani, Naifonov are physically very well prepared."

The former U23 world silver medalist also praised fellow gold medalists Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Gadzhiev.

"I think that Gadzhiev at 74kg is good enough to compete at senior level," he said. "Bayramov at 65kg is also a good wrestler even though he is still young [21-years-old]. In a year or two, he will compete against the leaders."

Dzhabrail GAZHIEVDzhabrail GAZHIEV (AZE), blue, is now a two-time U23 European champion. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Gadzhiev wrestled for the full period of his 74kg final against Krisztian BIRO (ROU) and won 8-1. After being called passive in the first period, he went for a four-pointer and lead 4-1. He then earned two more points with a double-leg and continued for a leg-lace to make it 8-1. He was happy to hold on to his lead until the clock expired.

"Everything worked out successfully," Gadzhiev said. "It wasn’t easy at all. All the wrestlers are well prepared. But it's Azerbaijan's common success and our hard work."

Gadzhiev had won the 70kg U23 European title last year but he thinks that 74kg is a better category for him. But Azerbaijan has a two-way battle at 74kg with U23 world champion and Tokyo Olympian Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) also looking to stay at the same weight. But the two wrestled in the final at the Dan Kolov Invitation tournament last month with Gadzhiev winning the bout 2-1.

"At 74kg all the wrestlers are very good, but I want to be the leader," he said. "If I really want to achieve results, with the help of God I will get it. I came here with my coaches to become a champion. It was my prior intention to win the European championship."

Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) won the gold medal 61kg. (Photo: UWW / Konstadin Andonov)

Turkey also won two gold medals but finished eight points behind Azerbaijan in the team race with 151 points. Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) defeated Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1 in the 61kg final while Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) beat Joshua MORODION (GER), 10-0 in the 92kg final.

Ormanoglu was passive in the first period while Arsamerzouev was called passive in the second period. But the Turkey wrestler scored a stepout in the activity time to lead 2-1. Arsamerzouev tried hard to get a point for the win but failed. A desperate arm-spin ended in Ormanoglu getting a takedown and two points.

Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) won the gold medal at 92kg. (Photo: UWW / Konstadin Andonov)

At 92kg, Akturk and Morodion were involved in a slow-paced final with the former scoring all 10 points via stepout.

The fifth gold of the night went to Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) as he denied Milan KORCSOG (HUN) from becoming his country's first-ever U23 European champion. In the 8-1 win, Manashvili never looked in trouble and overpowered Korcsog.

His gold helped Georgia win the third spot in the team race as they finished with 149 points, just two behind Turkey.

A few of these wrestlers will now be in Budapest, Hungary as the action shifts to the senior European Championships, the second continental championships of the year.

Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) df Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1

BRONZE: Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO) df Ruhan RASIM (BUL), 10-0
BRONZE: Norik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df Besir ALILI (MKD), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df Krisztian BIRO (ROU), 8-1

BRONZE: Vasile DIACON (MDA) df Dimitar ANGELOV (BUL), 10-3
BRONZE: Ismet CIFTCI (TUR) df Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM), 2-1

86kg
GOLD: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df Lilian BALAN (MDA), 10-0

BRONZE: Emre CIFTCI (TUR) df Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), 4-3
BRONZE: Bagrati GAGNIDZE (GEO) df Mher MARKOSYAN (ARM), 7-2

92kg
GOLD: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df Joshua MORODION (GER), 10-0

BRONZE: Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO) df Redjep HAJDARI (MKD), 10-0
BRONZE: Ilia HRISTOV (BUL) df Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) df Milan KORCSOG (HUN), 8-1

BRONZE: Adil MISIRCI (TUR) df Lior ALTSHULER (ISR), 7-3
BRONZE: Aydin AHMADOV (AZE) df Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE), 7-3

#WrestlePontevedra

Begenjov wins Turkmenistan's historic world title in Freestyle

Saturday, September 7, 2024 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 7) -- After falling agonizingly short of a World Championship medal two years in a row, Alp BEGENJOV (TKM) made amends in the most impressive way possible -- winning Turkmenistan's first-ever world title in Freestyle.

Begenjov won the gold medal in 79kg weight class at the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on Saturday, becoming the first Freestyle world champion of his country. It is only the second time Turkmenistan has won a gold medal at any World Championships. Shorat KHODAYEV (TKM) won a U17 world gold in 1994.

"It was my dream," Begenjov said. "I made my dream come true. I’ve become a world champion. It’s the first time in the history of my country [in Freestyle]."

Begenjov had competed at the U17 World Championships in 2022 and 2023, finishing 12th and fifth respectively. This year, he finished fifth at Asian Championships, 12th at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers and won bronze at the U23 Asian Championships. The loss at the Asian Championships hurt Begenjov.

"I was so disappointed after losing at the Asian Championships," he said. "I started training harder and last month I won the U20 Asian Championships and now the World Championships."

Not only did he win gold, Begenjov did so without conceding a point in the tournament. He outscored his opponents 46-0, including the 5-0 win over Jackary RYDER (USA) in the final.

He led 1-0 at the break after Ryder failed to score after being put on the activity clock. Begenjov used his fake attacks to keep Ryder on check and scored a stepout to extend his lead to 2-0.

Ryder did get on Begenjov's leg a couple of times but failed to finish those attacks. On one occasion, Ryder was trying to lift after a single-leg attack but Begejnov grabbed Ryder's leg and he fell on his back, giving up two points as Begenjov extended his lead to 4-0. A lost challenge made it 5-0.

The 18-year-old plans to compete at the U23 World Championships but doesn't plan to compete at the senior level yet.

"I have to train harder to repeat this and win the senior world title," he said. "I am physically not strong enough yet for senior level."

Trained by his uncle in Ashgabat, Begenov graduated from school earlier this year and joined the university.

"I will start my first year," he said. "I will study stock exchange. We have this faculty in Turkmenistan."

Apart from Ryder's silver medal, the United States won gold and three bronze medals. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) upgraded his silver from last year to gold, winning the 57kg weight class by beating Lev PAVLOV (AIN) in the final.

This was Lilledahl's fourth straight age-group world final after he made two at U17 level and one at U20. He won silver in 2021 and upgraded to gold in 2022 at the U17 Worlds.

In the final against Pavlov, who he had beaten on his way to the final last year in Amman, Lilledahl got two activity points while Pavlov got one. Pavlov failed to find a perfect opening to score a point in the final seconds and dropped the final 2-1.

"When I wrestled him before, it was a lot more wide open," Lilledahl said. "With it being the finals [this year], he would kind of just wrestle to win. That's what you have to do. You're here to win. 

"That's pretty much what I figured would happen. He doesn't really like to create a lot of action, which kind of plays against me because I like the action. It was a stylistic matchup. Having wrestled him before, we kind of knew each other and knew how each other felt and stuff like that."

Aitmukhan adds U20 title

World champion at 92kg Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) gave the U20 World Championships a try and went home with a gold medal. Aitmukhan became Kazakhstan's first Freestyle world champion at the senior level last year at 92kg in Belgrade.

By winning the 97kg gold medal in Pontevedra, Aitmukhan as became only the fourth wrestler from Kazakhstan, and first in 24 years, to win a gold in Freestyle at U20 World Championships.

Aitmukhan was so dominant in the final that Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) could not stop him from winning the final 10-0.

Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) completes a takedown in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Iran won the gold medal at 65kg as Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) shut out Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN), and won the final 10-2. Khorramdel lost his semifinal to Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN) last year but won a bronze medal in the 61kg weight class.

The U20 Asian champion had a difficult path to the final as he had to make a comeback in his opening bout against Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), winning 12-11. Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE) also fought hard but lost 9-6 before Khorramdel hung on for a 6-4 win over Adam ARKHIEV (AIN) in the semifinals.

Hosokawa was displeased with his performance as Khorramdel blocked him from the right side and Hosokawa failed to score from his strong position. 

While Hosokawa lost, his Nippon Sports Science University teammate Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN) won the gold medal at 70kg. Two days before his bouts, Yamashita had announced in the dining hall that he could "only see the gold medal". Yamashita made sure he took it home.

In a high-paced final, Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) failed to challenge Yamashita's speed and style and lost 6-0 in the 70kg final.

"This was my first international world tournament," Yamashita said. "I played with the intention of having fun and had a lot of fun. This is my goal for this year, but after competing, I realized that the senior world championships or the Olympics would be even more amazing. "

It was not all fun for Baitukaev on the mat as Yamashita showed his A game. Yamashita got the first point via stepout and earned a second when the 30-second activity clock against Baitukaev ended. Yamashita blasted a double in the second period to get two points and turned using head-in-middle lace to lead 6-0. Baitukaev had no energy left to attack and Yamashita won the gold medal.

Yamashita celebrated by gesturing like he was taking out the imaginary Samurai swords. 

"I came up with it when I was thinking of doing a performance based on Japanese culture," he said. "It's a Japanese tradition since ancient times. I did it because I admired it."

Yamashita trains with Olympic champions Rei HIGUCHI (JPN and Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) at NSSU and wants to replicate the success his teammates had.

"I realized that what I was doing was correct," he said. "It was a great environment to have someone close to me that I was aiming for. I was really moved by watching the matches. I was inspired by that."

For him to be at the Olympics, Yamashita will have to wait at least four years and jump to 74kg to make the team for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"I'm still thinking about it, but I guess I can only be 74kg to qualify for the Olympics," he said "I would like to be at 74kg for Los Angeles."

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Lev PAVLOV (AIN), 2-1

BRONZE: Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) df. Myktybek UKIMETULY (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: ANKUSH (IND) df. Hayko GASPARYAN (ARM), 6-2

65kg
GOLD: Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)  df. Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN), 10-2

BRONZE: Bowen BASSETT (USA) df. Nikoloz BESHIDZE (GEO), 10-0
BRONZE: Adam ARKHIEV (AIN) df. Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN) df. Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN), 6-0

BRONZE: Ali KARAMPOUR (IRI) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), via fall (9-0) 
BRONZE: Peter DUKE (USA) df. Aikyn BOLATULY (KAZ), 18-7

79kg
GOLD: Alp BEGENJOV (TKM) df. Zackary RYDER (USA), 5-0

BRONZE: Leandro ARAUJO (BRA) df. Said SAIDULOV (AIN), 5-4
BRONZE: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. AMIT (IND), 13-2

97kg
GOLD: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) df. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 10-0 

BRONZE: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE), 10-0
BRONZE: Adam JAKSIK (SVK) df. Rifat GIDAK (TUR), 2-1

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) vs. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)

SF 1: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Marcus BLAZE (USA), 7-2
SF 2: Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) vs. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)

SF 1: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Shingo ANDO (JPN), 10-0
SF 2: Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 3-1

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Joshua BARR (USA)

SF 1: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI), 12-2
SF 2: Joshua BARR (USA) df. Ahmet YAGAN (TUR), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Sali SALIEV (BUL) vs. Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)

SF 1: Sali SALIEV (BUL) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 5-4
SF 2: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 5-0

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Benjamin KUETER (USA)

SF 1: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Benjamin KUETER (USA) df. Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 13-3