#WrestleWarsaw

Akgul Bests Geno and Salkazanov Shocks 74kg Field in Warsaw

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - 19:15 By Eric Olanowski

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WARSAW, Poland (April 20) – In a colossal battle of titans, Taha AKGUL (TUR) avenged his ’19 world finals loss to Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and kept his hopes of winning an eighth continental title alive.

The two superstars who have won every continental gold medal since the ’12 European Championships met early Tuesday morning in the opening round at European Championships in Poland’s Hala Widowiskowo-Sportowa COS Torwar.

“My last match before surgery was against Geno, and my first match back was against Geno,” said the Rio Olympic champion who returned from a 15-month layoff after undergoing shoulder surgery last January. He continued, saying, “It’s been well over a year since I wrestled, but I felt good. I think it’s a good point to move forward to the Olympics and I’ll continue to train and hopefully get better before Tokyo.”

Akgul put on a near-flawless performance and controlled the match from whistle to whistle. He scored a trio of takedowns against the reigning three-time world champ – two of which came from go behinds off Petriashvili’s shot attempts – and won the match 6-1.

“For me, I don’t care too much about when Geno and I wrestle. I knew we were going to wrestle at some point during the competition, so It didn’t change much whether it was in the qualification round, semifinals or finals.”

Akgul continued to roll throughout the day and picked up wins against Kamil Tomasz KOSCIOLEK (POL) and Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR) en route to the 125kg finals where he’ll wrestle Russia’s Sergei KOZYREV (RUS).

Meanwhile, underdog Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) scored three shocking wins on Tuesday and punched his ticket to the 74kg finals. The former Russian-turned-Slovakian picked up wins over a two-time world champion, U23 world champion and world silver medalist.

After running through Switzerland’s Marc DIETSCHE, Salkazanov threw two-time world champion Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) to his back with less than 10 seconds left and won, 6-2. That set up a quarterfinals match against ’18 world silver medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO).

Salkazanov trailed Kentchadze, 5-0, but scored six unanswered points in the second period and upset the Georgian Tokyo Olympian, 6-5. Then, in the semifinals, he erased a five-point deficit for a second consecutive match and moved into the finals with a surprising 6-5 win over tournament-favorite and Individual World Cup champion Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS).

Salkazanov will square off with Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL) on Wednesday night for 74kg gold.

On the finals side of the day, Zagir SHAKHIEV (61kg), Israil KASUMOV (70kg) and Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (97kg) finished atop the podium for the Russian Federation, while Nachyn MONGUSH (57kg) finished in second place.

Shakhiev slashed the title hopes of Poland’s battle-tested 30-year-old veteran Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI. After the heavy-footed Russian surrendered a takedown from a snatch single, he scored 13 unanswered points from two takedowns and four leg laces to win the 61kg title, 13-2.

The second Russian to hoist his nation’s flag was Israil Kasumov. The reigning Russian National champion had a slender 1-0 disadvantage after the first period but struck early in the second period with a stepout and a takedown. Despite leading by two points, Kasumov was never threatened offensively by Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE). Last year’s 12th-place European finisher played defense for the final two minutes and walked away with the 3-1 win.

Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) grabbed Russia’s third gold of the night. He stopped Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR) from winning back-to-back European titles with a 6-4 victory.

In the opening period, Zhabrailov got to a low-level attack and chased down the ankles of Karadeniz. The pair went out of bounds and the Russian thought he had a takedown near the edge, but the refs had differing opinions. Zharailov’s corner threw the brick but lost the challenge and headed into the second period with the 2-1 advantage.

In the closing frame, Zhabrailov fired off an attack and transitioned to a gut wrench. He extended his lead to 6-2 before conceding a takedown but hung on to win 97kg gold, 6-4.

The other two golds on the night went to Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK).

At 57kg, Atli wrestled until exhaustion and claimed his second European title in the last three years with a 6-5 win over Russia’s Nachyn Mongush.

“This gold medal shows me that I'm on the right track,” said Atli. “For me, it's one of the main stages before the Olympics. Now, I have a gold medal to win, and I'll be training more to win it.”

This is an improvement from his silver medal from a year ago, but the goal for Atli is to remain on top. “It is not important to become a champion, but to remain the champion.” He’ll have the opportunity to stay on top as he’s set to compete in three upcoming competitions before Tokyo. “I want to wrestle in as many tournaments as possible before the Olympic Games. I’d like to take part in the Polish Ranking Series event, the Ivan Yariguin and Yasar Dogu.”

Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) defeated Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA), 2-1, in the 79kg finals and became Slovakia's second-ever freestyle European champion. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

The final gold of the night went to Slovakia's Akhsarbek Gulaev. He planted Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA) on his back and had the French wrestler dead to rights but the clock expired and the Slovakian led, 2-1, heading into the final period. After a scoreless second period, Gulaev hung on to improve on his ninth-place finish from a year ago and became Slovakia's second-ever freestyle European champion.

Wrestling resumes tomorrow at 11:30 (local time) with women’s wrestling action. The freestyle medal matches are set to begin at 18:00.

Semifinal Results

61kg
GOLD - Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) vs. Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Eduard GRIGOREV (POL), 4-2
SEMIFINAL - Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) df. Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), 5-3

74kg
GOLD - Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) vs. Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS, 6-5
SEMIFINAL - Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL) df. Valentin BORZIN (MDA), 5-0

86kg
GOLD - Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) vs. Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) 
SEMIFINAL - Artur NAIFONOV (RUS) df. Boris MAKOEV (SVK), 9-0
SEMIFINAL - Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)  df. Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 3-2

92kg
GOLD - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) vs. Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
SEMIFINAL - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 6-2
SEMIFINAL - Samuel SCHERRER (SUI) df. Hajy RAJABAU (BLR), 5-4

125kg
GOLD - Taha AKGUL (TUR) vs. Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Taha AKGUL (TUR) df. Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR), 4-0
SEMIFINAL - Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) df . Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 10-0

Final Results
57kg
GOLD - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) vdf Nachyn MONGUSH (RUS), 6-5
BRONZE - Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE) df. Aryan TSIUTRYN (BLR), 2-2
BRONZE - Kamil KERYMOV (UKR) df. Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL), 9-4

65kg
GOLD - Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS) df. Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL), 13-2
BRONZE – Maxim SACULTAN (MDA) df. Andrei BEKRENEU (BLR), 5 - 2
BRONZE - Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE) df. Andrii SVYRYD (UKR), 3-2

70kg
GOLD - Israil KASUMOV (RUS) df. Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE), 3-1
BRONZE - Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) df. Mihail SAVA (MDA), 4-3
BRONZE - Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR) df. Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR), via inj. def.

79kg
GOLD - Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) vs. Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA), 2-1
BRONZE - Alans AMIROVS (LAT) vs. Rashad YUSIFLI (AZE), 4-3
BRONZE - Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Arman AVAGYAN (ARM), 10-0

97kg
GOLD - Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) df. Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR), 6-4
BRONZE - Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) df. Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE), via fall
BRONZE - Radoslaw BARAN (POL) df. Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR), 8-1

#WrestleBelgrade

Japanese legends head Class of 2022 inductees into UWW Hall of Fame

Friday, September 9, 2022 - 16:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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BELGRADE, Serbia (September 9) --- Superstars Saori YOSHIDA and Kaori ICHO, who combined for seven Olympic and 23 world championship gold medals and inspired the next generation of Japanese women that continue to dominate the sport, were among nine immortals inducted into the UWW Hall of Fame on Friday.

Two Greco-Roman wrestlers, a pair of American brothers in freestyle, another Japanese woman, one referee and one coach also gained a place in the shrine to wrestling greatness during a ceremony held in Belgrade, Serbia, as a prelude to this year's World Championships starting Saturday.

The inductees will be permanently recognized on the UWW website, at the UWW headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, and in the international wing of the USA Hall of Fame located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Yoshida and Icho, who were both among the four inaugural Olympic champions when women's wrestling was added to the Olympic program at Athens 2004, were appropriately selected in the Legends category.

Yoshida struck gold in three straight Olympics and an unprecedented 13 World Championships, mostly at 55kg. Japan's flag-bearer at the London 2012 Olympics, Yoshida put together a streak of 119 consecutive wins in individual tournaments, a run that ended in the final match of her career that left her with the silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Her only two other losses to non-Japanese opponents came at World Cup team events.

Icho made history when she became the first wrestler and the first female athlete in any sport in Olympic history to win four consecutive gold medals, not to mention winning 10 world titles. She competed at 63kg for much of her career before moving down to 58kg when that became an Olympic weight class (now 57kg).

After Icho's epic victory at the Rio 2016 Olympics for her fourth gold, she was named a recipient of the People's Honor Award, used by the Japanese government to honor individuals in sports, entertainment and culture whose accomplishments have inspired society. Yoshida received the award in 2012 after winning her 13th straight world title.

The new Hall of Fame members in the Greco-Roman category are Pertti UKKOLA of Finland and Gheorghe BERCEANU of Romania, both winners of Olympic and world golds.

Ukkola won the gold at 57kg at the Montreal 1976 Olympics, and captured the world title the following year. He also won two world bronzes in his career, in 1975 and 1981. Berceanu made the top of the Olympic podium at Munich 1972 at 48kg, then took the silver at Montreal 1976. The Romanian won world titles in 1969 and 1970, and a silver medal in 1975, and was also a three-time European champion.

In Freestyle, American brothers John and Ben PETERSON will enter the Hall together. At Munich 1972, Ben, the younger of the two by two years, won the gold at 90kg and John the silver at 82kg. Four years later at Montreal 1976, they reversed that finish, with John taking a gold and Ben settling for the silver. Both brothers also won one silver and one bronze at the World Championships, while John had three World Cup golds and Ben had one gold and two silvers.

The Women's Wrestling inductee is Japan's Hitomi OBARA, the London 2012 Olympic champion at 48kg and an eight-time world champion. She won all but the last of her world under her maiden name of SAKAMOTO, and almost all at 51kg.

In the Coaches category, the newest Hall member is Yuri SHAKMURADOV of Russia. A 1970 world champion and three-time European champion himself, he coached 16 wrestlers, both male and female, to Olympic gold medals between 1976 and 2012.

The new inductee in the Referees category is Orestes MOLINA, who officiated at Olympics in four different decades. A long-time instructor and head referee, he held the position of vice-president of the FILA/UWW Referee Commission from 2013 to 2016. He called matches at Olympics in 1980, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.