#WrestleAstana

Asian Championships freestyle brackets breakdown

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).

#WrestleIstanbul

Friday's U17 World Championships semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkiye (August 4) --- The fifth day of wrestling at the 2023 U17 World Championships welcomes freestyle action at 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg.

The morning session, which starts at 11:00 (local time), will run through the quarterfinals before taking our mid-day break. We'll return at 17:00 for the semifinals, then roll directly into the first set of women's wrestling medal bouts at 18:00.

Friday's opening session will feature 30 medalists from this year's continental champions, including 11 wrestlers who reached the top of the podium at the 2023 Asian, European, African or Pan-American Championships.

Everything you need to know:
📍Istanbul, Turkiye 🇹🇷
🗓️: July 31-August 6
Qualification: 11:00
🥇🥈🥉= 18:00
#️⃣#WrestleIstanbul
🖥️: uww.org 
📱: UWW App

Here's a list of the reigning continental champs in action on Friday:
48kg - Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI)
55kg - Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
55kg - Ankush ANKUSH (IND)
55kg - Abdelghani AID (ALG)
65kg - Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI)
65kg - Manuel WAGIN (GER)
65kg - Fares Diaa Attia Hassan ELSAWY (EGY)
80kg - Abolfazl Yaser RAHMANI FIROUZJAEI (IRI)
110kg - Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
110kg - Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
110kg - Marwan Ehab Thabit MOHAMED (EGY)

Friday's semifinal matches:
45kg

Paul Joseph KENNY (USA) vs. Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI) 
Yamato FURUSAWA (JPN) vs. Joseph Ivan BACHMANN (PUR) 

55kg
Marcus Glenn BLAZE (USA) vs. Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM) 
Ankush ANKUSH (IND) vs. Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO) 

65kg
Manuel WAGIN (GER) vs. Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI) 
Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN) vs. Brock Ace MANTANONA (USA) 

80kg
Magomed Akhmedovitch IDRISOV (AIN) vs. Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) 
Zackary D RYDER (USA) vs. Alexandru BORS (MDA) 

110kg
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM) vs. Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) 
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) vs. Rakhman MALAKHMEDOV (AIN) ​​​​​​​

15:00: That does it for the morning session. We'll see you back at 17:00 for the semifinals, followed by the closing session of women's wrestling at the U17 World Championships.

14:43: Reigning U17 European champion Manuel WAGIN (GER) beat Zurab ABALAKI (GEO), 6-4, and moved to 8-0 on the season. He'll wrestle the winner of Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI) and Mirzaagha AKHUNDOV (AZE) in tonight's 65kg semifinals.

14:28: Brock Ace MANTANONA (USA) defeated Zafarbek KAMOLOV (UZB), 13-2, and locked up a spot in tonight's 65kg semifinals. He's scored 43 points in his first three matches.

14:20: Joseph Ivan BACHMANN (PUR)  just scored a takedown with 1.7 second left against Gegi ONIANI (GEO) to punch his ticket to the 48kg quarterfinals. He'll wrestle the winner of Mihran SLOYAN (ARM) and Ali SULTANOV (AIN).

13:54: I'm going to run and grab a bite to each before the quarterfinals get underway. Let's see if I can eat my lunch in under two matches.

13:46: We have four 1/8-final bouts left on each match before we head into the 1/4 finals. 

13:38: Byambadorj ENKHBAT (MGL), who is wrestling now on Mat C, has some impressive cauliflower ear. He had it wrapped, but the tape came off and he waved off the doctors from coming on the mat to retape it.

13:33:  Saurabh YADAV (IND) is someone to keep an eye on. He just blew through Vladislav RJABTSEV (EST), 10-0, in 60 seconds. He'll wrestle the winner of the match taking place on Mat C between Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ) and Zackary D RYDER (USA).

13:24: I've just confirmed that South Africa's Roehan DU PLESSIS (RSA), who is wrestling now on Mat C against Ali Tural ALIYEV (AZE), has no relation to UFC title-contender Dricus DU PLESSIS (RSA). His coach said, "He has the same surname and is from the same country, but there is no relation

13:07: What an impressive performance from Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM). His 13-3 win over Sampson Frank STILLWELL (USA) included a four and five point throw.

12:28: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO), who is wrestling now on Mat A against Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL), is the younger brother of three-time world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO).

12:21: Reigning U17 Asian champion Abolfazl Yaser RAHMANI FIROUZJAEI (IRI) is making his world championship debut over on Mat B. He's wrestling U17 European fifth-place finisher Grigor Dianov CHERNAKOV (BUL).

12:04: Early upset of the morning alert: Kazarian of Greece just upset U17 African champion Aid, 4-0, in the opening round. He'll wrestle U17 European bronze medalist  Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO) next.

12:01: There's a clash of continental champions--Marwan Ehab Thabit MOHAMED (EGY) and Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)--coming up four match. They'll wrestle on Mat C.

11:34: The first of today's 11 continental champions--Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)--is coming up in three matches. The reigning U17 African champion will wrestle Abdelghani AID (ALG) on Mat A.

11:26: That does it for our women's wrestling repechage matches. Welcome to the Big Show, freestyle.

11:24: What a match to close out the repechage session. Beyza Nur AKKUS (TUR) was down by six points when she pinned Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ) to punch her ticket to the bronze-medal bout at 61kg.

10:34: We're just under 30 minutes from the opening whistles of the day. We'll have three women's wrestling repechage matches before the start of freestyle action.