Asian Championships freestyle brackets breakdown

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - 13:29 By Vinay Siwach

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (April 12) -- If freestyle is exciting on the mat, the draws paint an even better picture. The freestyle draws for the Asian Championships concluded Wednesday with wrestlers from 10 weight classes receiving them. Freestyle begins Thursday with 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg wrestlers going on the mat and the wrestlers from the remaining five on Friday.

Wrestling will begin at 11:00 am on Thursday and Friday instead of the regular 11:00 am. The timing for the medal bouts remains the same -- 18:00 hours.

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN) gets the number seed and he will be waiting for the winner of Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) and Sunggwon KIM (KOR) to meet in the quarterfinal. If he wins, he will reach the semifinals which will be a tough battle.

The top half has Alireza SARLAK (IRI) wrestling Rikuto ARAI (JPN) in the qualification and the winner will take on AMAN (IND) in the quarterfinal as he is the fourth seed.

The bottom half of this bracket has Zanabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL) as the second seed and he faces the winner of Gayan KATHURANGANA (SRI) and Sunatullo BOBOEV (TJK).

Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ) is seeded third and already in the quarterfinals. He has to wait for the winner of Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) and Muhammad BILAL (PAK) to know his opponent.

61kg
PANKAJ (IND) gets the top seed in this weight class and a direct quarterfinal spot. He will face the winner of Sardor RUZIMOV (UZB) and Ibrahim GUZAN (YEM).

Two qualification bouts will be held to know the other quarterfinalists in the top half. Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK) will take on Tokyo Olympian Minghu LIU (CHN) in the first bout and Nurbolat ABDUALIYEV (KAZ) will face Tuvshintulga TUMENBILEG (MGL) to decide the quarterfinalists.

In the bottom half, U23 world champion Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) gets the winner of Kodai OGAWA (JPN) and Myrat HOJANEPESOV (TKM). Third seed Yasin REZAEI (IRI) will wait for the winner of Hyeonsik SONG (KOR) and Eddy BIN KHIDZER (SGP) in the quarterfinal.

65kg
World champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) will be hoping to defend his Asian title as he is the top seed for the competition. He sits in the quarterfinal with Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ) and Mohammed KAREEM (IRQ) trying to earn the spot to wrestle him.

Others will go through qualification to fill the quarterfinal spot. Changsu KIM (KOR) will wrestle Gurbanmuhammet CHARYYEV (TKM) for a spot in the last eight. Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) has fourth seed Ryoma ANRAKU (JPN) in the other bout.

The lower side of the bracket has second seed Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) in the quarterfinal with the winner of Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) and Chlovelle ADOLFO (PHI) wrestling him.

U20 world champion Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) will be wrestling Charles FERNANDO (SRI) for a spot in the quarterfinal while Shaohua YUAN (CHN) has Anuj KUMAR (IND).

70kg
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) will be the top seed for the weight class and as the weight class has 16 wrestlers, it will kick off with the 1/16 finals.

Toktomambetov wrestles Perman HOMMADOV (TKM) in the first bout while the second one sees Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ) take on Suhyeon PARK (KOR).

Mohamed BIN ABDULLAH (SGP) will be up against Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK) for a spot in the quarterfinal while Inayat ULLAH (PAK) has Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IR) in the other 1/16 final.

The bottom half will have second seed AGUDAMU (CHN) take on Anil PELI GEDARA (SRI). Ali AL OBAIDI (IRQ) faces Orts ISAKOV (JOR) for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) gets Khanburged GANKHUYAG (MGL) and U20 bronze medalist Mulaym YADAV (IND) will be up against third seed Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB).

74kg
While the big names are missing, 74kg will not be short of action. The top seed will be Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) and he will face Abdullrahman IBRAHIM (QAT) in his 1/16 final. Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) and Jumadurdy MAMISHOV (TKM) will be the second face-off before former Asian champion Byungmin GONG (KOR) faces Udayantha FERNANDO (SRI). Fourth seed Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) has YASH (IND) in his 1/16 finals.

In the bottom half, Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) will face HONG YEOW LOU (SGP) and Jafar CHULIBOYEV (UZB) gets to take on Adilet ZHAPARKULOV (KGZ). Hossein ABOUZARIPASHKOLAEI (IRI) will be up against Erzo ISAKOV (JOR). Third seed Shengsong XIA (CHN) will be facing Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN).

79kg
Veteran Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) will be the top seed for this weight class and will be in the quarterfinals. The winner of Gunwoo LEE (KOR) and Shuhrat BOZOROV (TJK) will be his first opponent.

Peilong LI (CHN) and Byambadorj BAT ERDENE (MGL) will be wrestling for a spot in the quarterfinal against DEEPAK (IND) who will be the fourth seed.

Second seed Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) will be in the quarterfinal as well with one of Adilet MARATBAEV (KGZ) or Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) to be his opponent.

Yajuro YAMASAKI (JPN) will face Vepa HEMENEKOV (TKM) and the winner earning a spot in the quarterfinal against Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) who is the third seed.

86kg
Defending champion Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) will be the top seed for the competition and he is placed in the quarterfinal. He will face the winner of Noman ZAKA (PAK) and Weng CHOW (SGP).

The second quarterfinal will be between the winner of Jointy KUMAR (IND) and Nurtilek KARYPBAEV (KGZ). Though he is the fourth seed Bobur ISLOMOV (UZB) will have to wrestle Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM) for a place in the quarterfinal against the previous winner.

Second seed Zushen LIN (CHN) will be in the quarterfinal and his opponent will be decided by a bout between Gwanuk KIM (KOR) and Alireza KARIMI (IRI). In the other quarterfinal of the bottom half, third seed Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) will wait for Mustafa AL OBAIDI (IRQ) or Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL).

92kg
The top seed and a quarterfinal spot at 92kg go Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL). He will face the winner of Arashk MOHEBI (IRI) and Arash YOSHIDA (JPN). In the other quarterfinal, fourth seed Abdul ABUIDAIJ (JOR) will wait for the winner of Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB) and Woomin JANG (KOR).

In the bottom half, Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) is the second seed and will face one of Mirlan CHYNYBEKOV (KGZ) or Issa AL OBAIDI (IRQ). The third seed Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) will have a test against Xiao SUN (CHN) or Deepak PUNIA (IND).

97kg
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) is the top seed and will have a spot in the quarterfinal. He will face the winner of DEEPAK (IND) and Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ). The second quarterfinal of the top half will see fourth seed Makhsud VEYSALOV (UZB) take on Juhwan SEO (KOR).

Going to the bottom half, Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) is seeded second and will face the winner of Ulziisaikhan BAASANTSOGT (MGL) and Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI).

Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) enjoys the third seed and will be in the quarterfinals. He will wait for the winner of Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ) and Shatlyk HEMELYAYEV (TKM).

125kg
World silver medalist Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) will be the top seed for the weight class and will face one of BUHEEERDUN (CHN) and Ahmed AL JAMIE (IRQ). U23 world champion Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) will be in the quarterfinal against fourth seed Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM).

The bottom half has second seed Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) in the quarterfinal. He has to wrestle the winner of Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN) and Anirudh KUMAR (IND).

Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB) is third seed and will be facing the winner of Muzafar ZHAPPUEV (KGZ) and Yeihyun JUNG (KOR).

#WrestleCoralville

FS World Cup: 5 match-ups to watch

Sunday, November 27, 2022 - 09:58 By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, Iowa (November 22) -- The World Cup in Coralville will offer spectacular match-ups with a few being repeats from the Belgrade World Championships while others being first timers.

There will be no dearth of action for the fans who will assemble at the Xtreme Arena for the tournament on December 10 and 11.

The freestyle competition will see stars from hosts USA, Iran, Japan, Mongolia, Georgia and the All-Star team in action with plenty to look forward to. But here are the top five potential match-ups.

The six teams are divided into two groups with the USA paired alongside Georgia and Mongolia while Iran is pooled with Japan and the All-World Team.

65kg - Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)

The 65kg final in Belgrade saw two of the most exciting young talents right now in the world. Amouzad and Diakomihalis put on a show in a 21-point gold-medal bout in Belgrade. It began with both going for attacks from the start and in one sequence, the two managed to score 14 points with Diakomihalis leading 8-6. However, Amouzad ran away in the second period, adding seven points to win the gold. A rematch only promises to be better with Diakomihalis turning up with the support of the home crowd and in familiar territory. Having wrestled Amouzad will help him change his tactics, if any, for the rematch. The fans can expect a flurry of attacks from both wrestlers to get the early advantage.

For Amouzad, it will be a chance to set himself as the 65kg favorite with Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) being away from the mat. Like Otoguro in 2018 when he beat Bajrang PUNIA (IND) 15-9 to win the world gold, Amouzad showed his caliber against Diakomihalis. From here, it can get better for Amouzad or Diakomihalis can emerge as the challenger.

70kg - Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) vs Ernazar AKMATALIEV (UWW)

Another rematch that promises to be a thriller. Yazdani and Akmataliev met in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Almaty last year and managed to let it fly from the first whistle. Yazdani built a 12-8 lead at the break but Akmataliev used the front chest wrap to score two exposure in the second period and managed to win against Yazdani who failed to keep the pace. That was at 65kg.

Both wrestlers have now moved up to 70kg. In Oslo, Yazdani won silver at 65kg while Akmataliev won the same medal at 70kg. Akmataliev added bronze at Belgrade and will now be a crucial member of the All-World Team at the World Cup. Yazdani will be burning to get on the mat after missing out in Belgrade and finishing second at the U23 World Championships.

The two bring high-quality wrestling to the mat with Akmataliev depending on big throws while Yazdani counters most attacks of his opponents. If the two meet at the World Cup, it is sure going to be another humdinger.

Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (UWW) is a two-time world silver medalist. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

74kg - Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (UWW) vs. Jason NOLF (USA)

Salkazanov has been in two World Championships finals but failed to cross the final barrier -- Kyle DAKE (USA). But with world champion Dake deciding to sit out of the World Cup, Salkazanov will get a chance to square up against another American wrestler at 74kg in Jason NOLF (USA).

Nolf has been an exciting prospect for the USA but Salkazanov has the experience of beating world-class wrestlers. He will be bringing all that experience to Coralville and Nolf will be waiting for him. Nolf won silver at the prestigious Ivan Yarguin Grand Prix at the start of the year. However, it will be a test for him if he can break the defense of Salkazanov.

The match can turn out to be a fierce battle if Nolf can build an early lead that will put Salkazanov in a spot of bother. He will then try to cover up the lead, making the match exciting.

86kg - Alireza KARIMI (IRI) vs Azamat DAULETBEKOV (UWW)

Three-time world medalist Karimi will be on the Iran team in the absence of superstar Hassan YAZDANI (IRI). Karimi has been playing second fiddle to Yazdani for a long time and this trip can help him gain experience if he wants to beat Yazdani in Iran. A match-up against Azamat DAULETBEKOV (UWW) will be a perfect start.

While Karimi has beaten Dauletbekov in their previous three meetings, Dauletbekov will have the confidence to pull one back. He won the bronze medal at the World Championships, apart from being the Asian champion this year. He brings a style of wrestling that is full of attacks and counters. Unlike others, Daletbekov doesn't suffer from conditioning issues and can battle Karimi who last competed internationally at the Islamic Solidarity Games in August. He won the gold medal over Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) at 86kg. But he will be tested against Dauletbekov who has constantly improved since making his World Championships debut in 2017.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) won his third world title in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

97kg - Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) vs Kyle SNYDER (USA)

It's a bout that no one asked for, but every wrestling fan needed. World and Olympic champion Snyder can potentially wrestle two-time world champion Ghasempour. Snyder is a regular at 97kg while Ghasempour is jumping up from 92kg for the World Cup. Ghasempour won his second world title in Belgrade after a scintillating final against J'Den COX (USA).

Snyder also won the gold in Belgrade, five years since his last world title in Paris. Over the years, Snyder has ended up being the second best at 97kg and a bout against Ghasempour will throw up a new challenge for Snyder who won the gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. No one has really managed to match his level since he won the first world title in 2015 apart from Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF).

Ghamespour produces some of the most controlled attacks in wrestling and has a solid defense as well. With some quick movements on the mat, Ghamespour appears to be an ideal wrestler but it will be a challenge for him to show up at 97kg against Snyder, a complete wrestler in his own form.

Asian Championships freestyle brackets breakdown

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FS World Cup: 5 match-ups to watch