After 623 Days, World Championships Return with Cadets' in Budapest

Saturday, July 17, 2021 - 18:50 By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 18) --- When the wrestlers take the mat Monday in Budapest, Hungary, it will mark the start of a World Championships for United World Wrestling after a gap of 623 days. The last time wrestlers descended for a World Championships was back in October, 2019, incidentally in Budapest.

Though the event in Budapest will be a cadet level, more than 500 wrestlers will fight for 30 gold medals on offer in the Hungarian capital from July 19 to 25.

With the Tokyo Olympics beginning in the middle of the cadet Worlds, it may serve as extra motivation for a few who will go on to represent their respective countries in the Olympics in Paris or Los Angeles over the next two Olympic cycles.

Since the start of this year, United World Wrestling has successfully conducted international events including four Olympic qualifying tournaments, three senior continental championships, and two continental championships at the cadet level. The World Championships will only add to the success story of wrestling competitions being organized with highest preventive measures in place during the pandemic.

Six countries are bringing a full squad for 30 wrestlers each for the tournament with defending team champion in freestyle Russian Federation leading the way. Greco-Roman champions from the 2019 tournament in Sofia, Iran will look to defend their title as well.

Two international women's powerhouses Japan and China decided to give the tournament a skip owing to COVID-19 related restrictions around the world. But this gives teams like USA, third in Sofia, Russia, India and others to lay their claim for the team title.

This tournament will also see two wrestlers from the United Arab Emirates competing at the cadet Worlds for the first time after one each at the 2015 and 2016 editions.

A special condition will see Musza ARSUNKAEV (UWW) wrestling at 80kg in men's freestyle. under the United World Wrestling flag.

While the dull of 2020 saw many cadet stars shift to junior and senior groups and continue their careers, a few medalists from Sofia landed in Budapest to repeat their achievement from two years ago.

The field will be led by the only returning world champion KOMAL (IND) who won the gold medal at 40kg two years back. She will be jumping up to 46kg in Budapest.

Amit ELOR USA Amit ELOR (USA) won a bronze medal at 69kg at the cadet World Championships in 2019. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Amit ELOR (USA), a bronze medalist at 69kg from Sofia, will look to improve on her result from two years ago. She will once again wrestle at 69kg. She had lost in the semifinal last time.

With Japan and China missing from the field, the fight for the team title will be interesting especially with Ukraine women's wrestling seeing an unprecedented rise in recent times.

For that reason, all four medalists from five weight classes of cadet Euros are wrestling in Budapest. 33 medalists out of the 39 in Samokov will be in action in Hungary. All 10 gold medalists are entered.

At 40kg, Anastasiia POLSKA (UKR) won the gold at cadet Euros while her teammates from Ukraine -- Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR)) and Iryna BONDAR (UKR) – won the top medals at 49kg and 61kg respectively .

Russia also had a few gold medalists as Millena VINOGRADOVA (RUS) won at 43kg, Natalia KHRAMENKOVA (RUS) won at 53kg and Mariia AKULINCHEVA (RUS) won at 73kg.

Belarus is sending 49kg gold medalist Sviatlana KATENKA (BLR) in a hope that she repeats her feat at the world level. The same will be expected from Viktoryia RADZKOVA (BLR) at 69kg.

Georgiana LIRCA (ROU) and Angelina PERVUKHINA (RUS) will hope for a rematch at 57kg as the Romanian came out on top in the last month's tournament.

The home country has pinned their hopes for a gold medal on Eniko ELEKES (HUN) who stunned the field at 65kg in Samokov to win the gold medal.

Kamronbek KADAMOV UZB Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB) won a silver medal at the 2019 cadet World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In freestyle, the two biggest names are Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB) who won a silver medal at 48kg at the Sofia Worlds but has jumped to 60kg now. The other name is Javid JAVADOV (AZE). He finished fifth in Sofia but he was a young cadet that year. Just a month ago, Javadov won the silver medal at the cadet European Championships at 51kg and will perform at 55kg in Budapest.

Out of the 40 medalists at the cadet Euros in May, 29 are entered to wrestle in Budapest with all four medalists at 80kg and 110kg sending their names.

Andranik AVETISYAN (ARM), who won the gold medal at cadet Euros will look to repeat that success at the world level as well at 55kg. Another Armenian Aren ISRAYELYAN (ARM) will be looking to do the same at 71k.

At 80kg, Oleksandr MAMROSH (UKR) will have challenges from his fellow podium finishers from Samokov, Bulgaria and a chance of rematch against Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO) as the two in the finals in Samokov.

Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA) will be out to prove that his cadet Euro gold at 110kg was no fluke as he also has his fellow podium finishers in the field. Add to them the champion from Pan Am Championships James MULLEN (USA).

Other Pan Am champions who are entered in the freestyle field in Budapest are Bowen BASSETT (USA) at 45kg, Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) at 48kg and Beau MANTANONA (USA) at 60kg.

A similar situation awaits in Greco-Roman. However, there is only one returning medalist from Sofia -- Tamazi GLONTI (GEO) who won a bronze at 45kg and will now compete at 55kg.

Tamazi GLONTI GEO Tamazi GLONTI (GEO) won a bronze at 45kg at cadet World Championships 2019. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

While Iran has no returning medalist, the new team can still show why they are dubbed as the powerhouse of Greco-Roman wrestling. Along with Iran, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will also be challenging the world.

But a host of medalists from cadet Euros will be in action. Four weight classes have all the four medalists competing in Budapest and a total of 31 medalists out of 40 from Samokov.

Rahim HASANOV (AZE) will be looking to win a world gold as well after winning the Euro gold medal. But in his path will be the three other medalists from the same tournament and Bassett from USA who also won the 45kg Greco-Roman gold in Mexico.

Azerbaijan entered European champ Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) at 48kg and he will also look for his second gold medal of the year. At 51kg, Borislav KIRILOV (BUL) is the continental champion looking for world glory.

Another Azerbaijani, Farid KHALILOV (AZE) is the European champ entered in Budapest but so is Brock BOBZIEN (USA) who is the champion of Pan Ams at 60kg.

Ukraine will have their Euro champ at 65kg Imed KHUDZHADZE (UKR) looking to win a gold medal at Worlds but Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO), a silver medalist from Samokov, is also entered.

71kg European champion Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) is joined by Alperen BERBER (TUR) and Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE), silver and bronze medalist from Samkovo respectively.

The field at 80kg makes Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) and his fellow medalist -- Mihai GUTU (MDA), Ivan TSYBANEV (UKR) and Maksim MASIUKEVICH (BLR) – face each other again in less than a month's time. Ryder ROGOTZKE (USA), the Pan Am champ will also try to spring a surprise.

At 92kg, a rematch of the Euros is a possibility as gold medalist Vladyslav LUB (UKR) and silver medalist Timur CHERNYSHEV (RUS) are entered along with the two bronze medalists

Two continental champions -- Daniil CHASOVNIKOV (RUS) and Mullen – are entered at 110kg along with other medalists from Europe.

Wrestling will begin Monday with freestyle action in 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg and run through to Sunday with Greco-Roman capping off things.

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 23:21 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 8) -- Iran won two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal on the final day of the U20 World Championships, but it failed to stop the United States from winning the team title. The U.S. collected the top rank in the team race with 175 points, 15 better than Iran, which finished second. Japan finished third with 90 points.

This was the first time since 2017 that the U.S. won the team title and stopped Iran from completing a hat trick of top-place finishes. All 10 U.S. wrestlers competed for a medal and nine won a medal.

The U.S. fielded a very young team, with five wrestlers who were only 18 years old and eight wrestlers who could wrestle at the U20 level again next year.

"Everyone put themselves in the position to get on the podium and win the best medal they could," J'den COX, coach of Team USA, said. "Everyone is going to get better but overall it was great. They are the best in the world. I get it that individually in some cases we didn't get where we wanted to go but as a whole, we wrestled an amazing tournament."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) scores a takedown against Benjamin KUETER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

However, the final day of the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain did not go as planned for the U.S. It had five wrestlers on the mat and only one won his match. Marcus BLAZE (USA) won a bronze medal over Tolga OZBEK (TUR).

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), Joshua BARR (USA) and Benjamin KUETER (USA) all dropped their finals while Connor MIRASOLA (USA) lost his bronze medal match.

Kueter, a U20 world champion at 97kg in 2022, was wrestling at 125kg and reached the final. However, he ran into a mountain named Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) who already has a U23 world gold, two U20 world golds, and a U17 world gold.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) gestures towards the crowd after winning the 125kg final in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Championships / Jake Kirkman)

Masoumi added a third U20 world gold medal to his name after he won the 125kg final 4-2 over Kueter and is now a five-time age-group world champion. A naturally aggressive wrestler, Masoumi dropped that approach and was happy to win his matches by sitting on the lead.

He did the same against Kueter in the final as he scored a takedown, a point for Kueter's passivity and a stepout. As he defended his 4-0 lead, Kueter managed to trip him in the final 30 seconds to score a takedown for two points.

"My opponent in the final is a well-known wrestler as he won the World Championships Sofia, Bulgaria, two years ago," Masoumi said. "He had taken a year off from wrestling but had improved a lot since then. He’s a skilled and accomplished wrestler. Thank God I was able to use my knowledge of him to wrestle smartly and win 4-2"

Kueter did trouble Masoumi in the final but Masoumi, despite wrestling with a heavily tapped left hand, never dropped his guard. Masoumi said he had broken his wrist before coming to Spain so he was careful with his attacks.

While he won his four bouts outscoring his opponents 32-3, Masoumi had only one technical superiority win. In 2022, when he won both the U20 and U23 world titles, Masoumi won all but one of his matches via superiority.

"I had an injury in my hand and it was broken, so I tried to be careful with it," he said. "Otherwise, I’m always aggressive and a fighter."

He will be in Tirana, Albania in a month's time to wrestle at the U23 World Championships. He won the gold medal in 2022 but skipped the 2023 edition. But Masoumi said his main focus is to make the senior team.

"In the match against Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in Croatia, I lost," he said of his 5-0 loss to Olympic silver medalist Zare at the Ranking Series in Zagreb in January. "Some might say that Amir Reza Masoumi has settled, but no, I’m not satisfied at all. I’m preparing myself for the World Championships in Zagreb, aiming for the national team selection."

Ali REZAEI (IRI) scores the match-winning takedown against Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ali REZAEI (IRI) was the second gold medal for the day for Iran after he defeated 2023 U17 world champion Lockett 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling 74kg final. Rezaei is the first U20 world champion from Iran at 74kg in 15 years.

Lockett was leading the final 3-1 after scoring a takedown in the second period and Rezaei, who won a silver medal last year, needed at least a takedown to win.

It came in the fifth minute of the bout when Lockett missed a sweep single and Rezaei showed exceptional speed to get him a bodylock and finish with a takedown. Leading 3-3 on criteria, Rezaei did not allow Lockett to get into any attacking positions and won the gold medal.

Ali REZAEI (IRI) defends an attack from Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"I went through a tough final but with the great analysis from the coaches, I managed to defeat the strong American opponent," Rezaei said. "I hope to continue on this path and become a world and Olympic champion."

In Amman, Rezaei dropped the 70kg final against Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) 11-6 but planned to win the gold in Pontevedra.

"Last year, I won silver," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for about a year and a half, and thankfully, in the final, my opponent was an American, and I managed to beat him. This journey continues."

Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) won the 86kg gold medal in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The third American to suffer a loss in the final was Burr as Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) beat him 8-2 in the 86kg final. Kadiev won his second U20 world gold medal after winning the 79kg gold in Amman last year.

In the final against Burr, Kadiev jumped to a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the match. Burr did get on a few leg attacks but he was able to score only a stepout in the first period, cutting the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Kadiev, who took multiple medical timeouts for his injured knee, scored a counter against Burr and got two more points. The U.S. challenged the decision to award two points to Kadiev as Burr was never in danger but the replays showed Burr's back on the mat. The lost challenge made the score 6-1. Burr scored a stepout with 12 seconds left and then tried a front headlock throw but Kadiev stopped it to get two points and an 8-2 win.

"The American opponent was the toughest one for me," Kadiev said. "I also injured my knee. I didn’t attack much, because I couldn’t risk it. If only I hadn’t injured the knee, the match would have gone in a different way. My wrestling style is to attack from the very first second, and then in the second period the opponent gets tired and it’s easier to finish him."

Kadiev will get a chance to showcase his skills again at the U23 Worlds next month in Tirana. He also said that winning the gold medal last year made his more happy than this year.

"When I first won the U20 Worlds, I was much happier than now," he said. "This time there is no such feeling of excitement as it was last time. I wrestle more confidently, and we’ve worked on our mistakes with the coaches. I don’t know how fast I can recover from this knee injury. Hopefully, I can still make it to the U23 Worlds."

At 92kg, Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) got some motivation from Kadiev as he finished his final against Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0, well before time.

Malachdibirov got Saliev in a gut-wrench and managed to turn him to win the gold medal at 92kg.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN) asks for the 'champion belt' after his 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ono warning before Tirana

At the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana from October 28 to 31, one wrestler to watch will be Masanosuke ONO (JPN) who destroyed everyone in Pontevedra to win the 61kg gold medal.

After winning his four bouts on Saturday, Ono returned to wrestle Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) for the final. It was expected to be an action-packed final but Ono finished it in one action.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Ono got an attack on Khari and scored a takedown. 26 seconds later, Ono had finished the final using the gut-wrench to win the gold medal in 26 seconds.

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"I was surprised that it ended sooner than I expected, but it was a very enjoyable 25 seconds," Ono said. "I'm satisfied."

Ono will now look to win the gold medal at 61kg in Tirana. However, he is aware that his opponents in Tirana will be more powerful.

"I'm still not satisfied unless I win there (Tirana)," he said.

Ono began wrestling only after his teacher in the music class during kindergarten encouraged him to wrestle. Ono, now at the Yamanashi Gakuin University, trains under former world champion Yuka TAKAHASHI (JPN) and is from the Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is in the countryside.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: BHUVANESH (IND) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 5-0

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Shingo ANDO (JPN) df. Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT), 9-3

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Joshua BARR (USA), 8-2

BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 3-2
BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) vs. Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0

BRONZE: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Amirreza DALIRI (IRI), 8-5
BRONZE: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 6-2

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Benjamin KUETER (USA), 4-2

BRONZE: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) df. Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Jaspooran SINGH (IND), 3-2

After 623 Days, World Championships Return with Cadets' in Budapest

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U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title