Adar and Gray Set to Clash in Klippan Finals

Saturday, February 17, 2018 - 11:05 By Eric Olanowski

Wrestlers from ten different nations will be represented in tomorrow’s Klippan Lady Open finals. Japan leads the way with six finalists, followed by Ukraine with three. The trio of Turkey, Russia, and the United States each have a pair of finalists.

Without question, 76kg is the toughest weight class of the tournament, hosting three previous world champions and two Olympic medalists.

In round-one, Yasemin ADAR (TUR), returning world champion faced off against 2016 Olympic champion, Eric WIEBE (CAN). Adar used the entire six minutes, picking up the go-ahead takedown with seconds left to win the match, 6-5.

She’ll wrestle three-time world champion, Adeline GRAY (USA) in the finals tomorrow afternoon. When asked about competing against Adar in tomorrow’s finals, Gray said “I’m excited to have another shot at her…I’m looking forward to getting back on top. She’s looking strong, but I’m excited to wrestle her again.”

At 50kg, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will try to capture back-to-back Klippan titles, but she’ll have to slow down Mariya STADNIK (AZE), the two-time world and Olympic silver medalist who was the most dominant wrestler during the first day of action.

Through Stadnik’s first three matches, she’s outscored her opponents 32-0, including a 12-0 win over Alina Emilia VUC (ROM), the 2017 world silver medalist.

The 53kg finals will host a duo of Japanese women in Nanami IRIE (JPN), junior world champion and 2017 Asian cadet champion, Umi IMAI (JPN). On their way to the finals, these two have outscored their opponents 37-5.

Bediha GUN (TUR) stopped an all-Russian final at 55kg when she defeated Nina MENKENOVA (RUS), the U23 world bronze medalist in the semifinals, 3-3. Gun will wrestle Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS), the 2018 Yarygin runner-up for the gold medal.

Wrestling for the title at 57kg will be 2017 junior world champion Sae NANJO (JPN) and 2016 world silver medalist and 2017 European champion, Tetyana KIT (UKR). These two have only surrendered a total of three points on their way to the finals.

When Grace BULLEN (NOR), the 2017 European champion was asked about what she’s looking for in the 59kg finals, she said: “I have a silver and bronze, now I want a gold medal.” For Bullen to capture the gold medal, she’ll have to defeat Asian Indoor Games bronze medalist, Akie HANAI (JPN).

Yulia TKACH’s (UKR) quest to win her first Klippan Lady Open title since 2015 will have to go through Dave Schultz Memorial champion, Kayla MIRACLE (USA). Miracle’s final appearance at 62kg improves on her 2014 fifth place performance.

Wrestling in the 65kg finals will be Petra OLLI (FIN), 2015 world silver medalist and last year’s Klippan Lady Open fifth-place finisher, Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

Olympians Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) and Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) will compete for the 68kg crown. The 68kg finalists outscored their opponents 34-5 on their way to the gold medal bout.

Sweden’s lone finalist, Jenny FRANSSON (SWE), the Olympic bronze medalist will wrestle Russian runner-up, Tatiana KOLESNIKOVA MOROZOVA (RUS) in the finals at 72kg.

RESULTS: http://uww.io/sozMD

50kg
GOLD - Mariya STADNIK (AZE) vs. Yui SUSAKI (JPN)

BRONZE - Winner 133 vs. Patricia alejandra BERMUDEZ (ARG)
BRONZE - Winner 129 vs. Amy ann FEARNSIDE (USA)

53kg
GOLD - Nanami IRIE (JPN) vs. Umi IMAI (JPN)

BRONZE - Winner 117 vs. Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Aysun ERGE (TUR) vs. Sarah ann HILDEBRANDT (USA)

55kg
GOLD - Bediha GUN (TUR) vs. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)

BRONZE - Jacarra gwenisha WINCHESTER (USA) vs. Nina MENKENOVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Winner 143 vs. Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN)

57kg
GOLD - Sae NANJO (JPN) vs. Tetyana KIT (UKR)

BRONZE - Winner 131 vs. Laura MERTENS (GER)
BRONZE - Irina OLOGONOVA (RUS) vs. Simona PRICOB (ROU)

59kg
GOLD - Grace jacob BULLEN (NOR) vs. Akie HANAI (JPN)

BRONZE - Winner 144 vs. Elif jale YESILIRMAK (TUR)
BRONZE - Lauren nora LOUIVE (USA) vs. Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)

62kg
GOLD - Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) vs. Kayla colleen kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)

BRONZE - Winner 132 vs. Olivia louise HENNINGSSON (SWE)
BRONZE - Winner 119 vs. Luisa helga gerda NIEMESCH (GER)

65kg
GOLD - Petra maarit OLLI (FIN) vs. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)

BRONZE - Winner 120 vs. Henna katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
BRONZE - Winner 145 vs. Yulia PRONTSEVITCH (RUS)

68kg
GOLD - Danielle suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN) vs. Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)

BRONZE - Winner 146 vs. Olivia grace DI BACCO (CAN)
BRONZE - Tamyra mariama MENSAH (USA) vs. Laura SKUJINA (LAT)

72kg
GOLD - Anna jenny eva maria FRANSSON (SWE) vs. Tatiana KOLESNIKOVA MOROZOVA (RUS

BRONZE - Alexandra nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU) vs. Victoria christine FRANCIS (USA)
BRONZE - Winner 121 vs. Burcu UGDULER ORSKAYA (TUR)

76kg
GOLD - Yasemin ADAR (TUR) vs. Adeline maria GRAY (USA)

BRONZE - Winner 147 vs. Epp MAE (EST)
BRONZE - Winner 135 vs. Francy RAEDELT (GER)

START OF KLIPPAN OPEN LIVE NOTEBOOK
12:10 PM - The first whistle for the senior-level competition is a little over an hour away.
12:15 PM: Three matches to pay attention to in round-one
Star-Studded Round-One Match-Ups
50kg - Two-time world silver medalist M. STADNIK (AZE) df. 2017 world silver medalist E. VUC (ROU), 10-0.

57kg - 2017 junior world champion S. NANJO df. 2016 world silver medalist I. OLOGONOVA (RUS), 6-0.

76kg - World champion Y. ADAR (TUR) df. 2016 Olympic Champion Erica WIEBE (CAN), 6-5

1:16 PM - 2017 world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) is up now on Mat A.
1:18 PM - Susaki picks up the 10-0 technical superiority victory early in the first period.

1:30 PM - U23 world runner-up Braxton STONE (CAN) is up 8-1 over B. GRAHAM (CAN) on Mat A. Stone picks up a four-point throw to take the 12-1 win.

1:34 PM Two-time Yarygin champion Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) is making her way to Mat A. Mensah-Stock takes the 4-0 lead after a right side swing single to a leg lace. Mensah-Stock finished with another takedown, giving her the 6-3 victory.

1:45 PM - Adar and Wiebe are up in two matches over on Mat C.

1:49 PM - T. SJOEBERG (SWE) picks up the first FIVE of the day over on Mat B.

1:56 PM - Adar and Wiebe are up now on Mat C.
Wiebe is pushing the pace of the match midway through the first period. Adar hit with passivity and is placed on the shot clock. Wiebe takes the 1-1 lead into the second period as Adar failed to score while she was on the shot clock. Adar goes for an arm spin and Wiebe counters, extending her lead to 3-1, but the call is under review. The call is reversed and the score remains 1-1 in favor of Wiebe. Adar picks up a takedown with one minute remaining to take the 3-1 lead. Wiebe scores four off a snatch single to a leg lace and takes the 5-3 lead with 12-seconds remaining. Adar steals the match with a last-second effort to take the 6-5 win!

2:47 PM - The last time S. NANJO (JPN) lost at an international competition was back in 2015! I. OLOGONOVA (RUS) will look to knock off the junior world champ in two matches on Mat A.

2:50 PM - World finalist Yulia TKACH (UKR) picks up a quick fall after being up 8-0 over on Mat C.

3:00 PM - E. VUC (ROM) and M. STADNIK (AZE) are making their way to Mat A. Stadnik is back! She uses two takedowns, and three gut wrenches to defeat Vuc, 10-0.

3:07 PM - Susaki is wrestling on Mat A! She is taking on A. VETOSHKINA (RUS).

3:18 PM - Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) leads U23 world runner-up Braxton STONE (CAN), 8-1 heading into the second period.

3:36 PM - Adeline GRAY (USA), the three-time world champion is coming up next on Mat A.

3:43 PM - The crowd erupts as Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) scores late in the second period to beat Mallory VELTE (USA), 1-1.

3:53 PM - Three-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) is wrestling on Mat A and 2017 world champion Y. Adar is wrestling on Mat B.

3:59 PM - Y. ADAR (TUR) picks up the fall and moves into the semifinals. She'll take on the winner of Francy RAEDELT (GER) v. Catalina AXENTE (ROU).

3:59 PM - Gray also picks up the fall and moves into the 76kg semifinals.

4:14 PM - Nanjo strikes first and heads into the second period with a 2-0 lead.She would pick up two additional takedowns, winning the match 6-0.

4:40 PM - The #Klippan2018 semifinals will start at 5:30 PM (local time).

4: 42 PM - Jenny FRANSSON (SWE), Olympic bronze medalist has made her way to Mat A! Fransson uses three takedowns to defeat Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), 6-0.

5:03 PM - 50kg 1/4 finalists - Jessica MACDONALD (CAN) and Mariya STADNIK (AZE) are making their way to Mat B.
Stadnik takes the 9-0 lead into the second period. Stadnik picks up another takedown, giving her the 11-0 technical superiority victory.

5:12 PM - Coming up on Mat B, Victoria ANTHONY (USA) and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in a 50kg quarterfinal bout.
No action from Susaki and she's put on the shot clock and immediately get to a right side high crotch to take the 2-0 lead. She heads into the second period 4-0. Susaki picked up three additional points in the second period, giving her the 7-0 victory.

5:20 PM - That does it for the quarterfinals! We'll take a quick 10-minute break and be back for the semifinals!

SEMIFINALS

50kg - Stadnik continues her dominance, picking up a technical superiority victory in the first period to seal her spot in tomorrows finals.

50kg - Susaki erased an early 2-0 deficit by scoring 12 unanswered points to make the 50kg finals.

53kg - Nanami IRIE (JPN) extends her lead over Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) to 6-0 after a takedown and two leg laces.

57kg - Junior world champion S. Nanjo will wrestle S. PRICOB (ROU) for a spot in tomorrows finals.

59kg SEMIFINAL - Grace BULLEN (NOR) leads Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU), 6-0 on Mat C.

59kg SEMIFINAL - Akie HANAI (JPN) df. Elif jale YESILIRMAK (TUR), 3-0.

#WrestleZagreb

Kusaka earns shot at world title; Iran puts 3 in final

Thursday, September 18, 2025 - 15:57 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 18) -- Olympic champion Nao KUSAKA (JPN) is a step away from winning his first world title.

After finishing with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships at 77kg, Kusaka went on to win the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the same weight. The Olympic champion now wants the tag of world champion.

Returning for the first time since Paris, Kusaka wrestled like is the Olympic champion, beating Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1, in the semifinals. He scored a takedown to open the scoring before getting the par terre advantage. He failed to score but led 3-0. Fritsch was in danger of giving up a four-pointer but he flung Kusaka on counter for a point to make it 3-1.

There was no action in the second period and Kusaka defended his lead till the time expired to earn his first trip to the finals at a World Championships.

"Like at the Olympics, you can't predict what will happen. But a year after the Olympics, I want to show my strength to the world again," Yoshida said after the win. " I always worked out with him, so we know each other well. But to me, it didn't matter if he had a strategy or not."

Earlier in the quarterfinals, he defeated Olympic silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 4-2, in a rematch of the Olympic final. Kusaka had to come back as he was down 2-2 on criteria as Zhadrayev launched a counter throw for two points. But Kusaka added two stepouts in the second period to win 4-2.

He will now face Olympic bronze medalist Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) for the gold medal after the Armenian defeated world U20 champion Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) in a one-move semifinal.

Amoyan got the first chance in par terre and he loaded for a suplex on the edge. Abdevali was ready to land on his hands but Amoyan changed his throw and slammed the Iranian in a reverse throw for four and lead 5-0.

Abdevali failed to score from par terre in the second period and dropped the semifinal 5-1 against Amoyan.

Despite Abdevali's loss, Iran managed three other wrestlers in the finals with world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) leading the way. Two World Championships debutants, Payam AHMADI (IRI) and Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) reached the finals at 55kg and 82kg, respectively.

At 130kg, world champion Mirzazadeh had no trouble reaching the final after he defeated Wenhao JIANG (CHN), 3-1, in the semifinals. He got a roll from par terre for two points and despite par terre position in the second period, he won 3-1.

He will face a surprise finalist Darius VITEK (HUN) who denied Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), 1-1, as he got the criteria for the first point in a 1-1 finish.

Farokhi, who won the Zagreb Open this year, powered his way to the 82kg final after denying local star Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-1, in the semifinals. Farokhi led 3-1 at the break after a takedown. He scored another as soon as the second period began before adding two stepouts to win.

He will face Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) for the gold medal after the Georgian denied Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) yet another comeback as he had all day on Thursday. Yoshida began with two stepouts before getting the par terre. He failed to score any points but led 3-0 at the break.

It was all Bolkvadze in the second period as he scored three turns from par terre to take a 7-3 lead. Japan challenged the last turn saying that Yoshida's head was out of bounds before last turn. However, the review showed that it was inside and Bolkvadze got a point for the lost challenge to make it 8-3 with 1:10 remaining.

Yoshida used an arm drag to takedown and make it 8-5 but he did not have any another action and Georgia got its second finalist of the night.

Ahmadi upsets Azizli

Iran's gamble to switch Pouya DAD MARZ (IRI) with world U20 champion Payam AHMADI (IRI) a week before the World Championships paid off as he denied four-time world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) a record fifth at 55kg.

Ahmadi was subjected to a selection bout against Dad Marz in Iran and he defeated the former world silver medalist with ease thus earning a trip to Zagreb a month after winning the gold at the U20 World Championships.

In the semifinals, Ahmadi got a takedown to put Azizli on the backfoot. He was awarded the par terre position as well but failed to score. However, he led 3-0 at the break. Azizli got his chance in the second period but Ahmadi brought out his top defense to not give up any points and keep his 3-1 lead, a score he went on to win with.

He will face another teenager for the gold medal, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO), who defeated Emin CAKIR (TUR), 2-2, on last point criteria to earn a spot in the final.

Lolua, just 18 years of age, won a bronze medal at 55kg at the U20 World Championships in which Ahmadi was the champion. Lolua and Cakir traded passivity points with the latter holding first-point criteria. Lolua got a third passivity which is without points and only position, but he failed to score from that as well. Georgia challenged for a leg-foul but there was none.

Cakir got a point for lost challenge from Georgia which made it 2-1 with 40 seconds left. However, Lolua got a stepout soon after and got the 2-2 criteria for the last point scored to win.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Payam AHMADI (IRI) vs. Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)

SF 1: Payam AHMADI (IRI) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Emin CAKIR (TUR), 2-2

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) vs. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1
SF 2: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI), 5-1

82kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) vs. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)

BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN), 8-5
BRONZE: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-1

130kg
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) vs. Darius VITEK (HUN)

SF 1: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Wenhao JIANG (CHN), 3-1
SF 2: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), 1-1

Adar and Gray Set to Clash in Klippan Finals

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Kusaka earns shot at world title; Iran puts 3 in final