Azerbaijan opens Matteo Pellicone with four golds

Wednesday, June 22, 2022 - 18:41 By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (June 22) -- Despite the absence of superstars Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) in the Matteo Pellicone lineup, Azerbaijan's young core of rising stars showed how poised they are to carry the baton when it's ready to be handed over.

Azerbaijan built a commanding 59-point lead over Hungary in the team title race after the opening day of the third Ranking Series event of the season. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) moved into at least the top four of the world rankings, while Islam ABBASOV (AZE) leaped into the top ten by winning gold medals on Wednesday night.

Hungary sits in second place with 69 points, but more importantly, they may have locked in their World Championships roster after the in-country battle at 87kg and 97kg.

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In the all-Azeri battle at 60kg, Murad Mammadov used his size to overpower the smaller Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), who was up from his world and European title-winning weight of 55kg.

Mammadov was creative with his lifts from the par terre position, picking up a four-pointer after earning a mid-period inactivity point. The 2021 world bronze medalist carried that momentum into the second period and exposed Azizli for two points before throwing the former world champ for the 9-1 win.

Mammadov will represent Azerbaijan at the World Championships at 60kg. He came into the Matteo Pellicone ranked fifth in the world, but after collecting 8000 first-place Ranking Series points, he leaped Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and is now ranked fourth in the world with 48,500 points.

Azizli will now move back to his normal weight of 55kg in preparation for Belgrade.

In the 63kg finals, Taleh Mammadov handed Azerbaijan their second gold medal of the night. The European runner-up upset reigning 60kg world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) in a chippy final that featured multiple stoppages due to repeated head butts from both parties.

But in the end, Mammadov picked up the 4-2 win and earned 8000 Ranking Series points. That pushed him ahead of Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) for the No. 2 ranking with 49,200 points. He's now only 800 points shy of stealing the top seed at the World Championships from Georgia's Leri ABULADZE, who has 50,000 points.

The future of Azeri Greco-Roman wrestling, Jafarov cruised to his first Ranking Series gold medal with a blistering 9-0 win over Furkan YILDIZ (TUR). He closed out his Ranking Series debut by outscoring his four opponents, 34-3.

In the final, Jafarov, last year's U20 and U23 world champion, scored four points in the first period after stopping a Yildiz headlock and then transitioned into a correct throw. The up-and-comer only needed 32 seconds in the second period to toss Yildiz to his back for the easy 9-0 win.

Jafarov came into the Matteo Pellicone with 36,500 points and was ranked sixth in the world at 67kg. However, he earned 8,000 points for his gold medal and jumped Nazir ABDULLAEV (RWF), Murat FIRAT (TUR) and Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) to be ranked No. 3 in the world with 44,500 points.

Islam Abbasov was the fourth Azeri wrestler who claimed gold on the first day of wrestling.

In the anticlimactic 87kg gold medal match, Abbasov traded inactivity points with Erik SZILVASSY (HUN), but his second-period inactivity was the difference in the finals.

Abbasov had 22,900 points before the competition, but after collecting 11,000 points on Wednesday, he now has 33,900. That's good enough to push him up to No. 9 in the world rankings.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR) celebrates winning his third career Ranking Series title. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Kayaalp's golden return

With his daughter and wife on hand in Italy, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) returned to the mat after dealing with personal matters and improved on his bronze-medal Ranking Series finish from earlier this year. The Turkish big man picked up a four-point shutout win over Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sabah SHARIATI (AZE).

Kayaalp grabbed up a stepout point after being handed an inactivity point with 40 seconds left in the first period. Then, the four-time world champ tacked on two additional points with a reverse lift and carried the 4-0 lead into the second period.

After a scoreless second frame, Kayaalp hung on to the four-point win and claimed the third Ranking Series title of his career.

Now, the question that begs to be answered: what will Turkey do at 130kg for the Belgrade World Championships? Their first option, most would think, would be Kayaalp. But Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) is undefeated in the season, with a pair of 2022 Ranking Series titles to his name. Not to mention, Yildirim won gold at the Yasar Dogu, where Kayaalp fell in the semifinals and fought back to win a bronze medal.

David LOSONCZI (HUN) celebrates claiming the 97kg Matteo Pellicone gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Hungary's world spots nearly determined

Coming into the Matteo Pellicone, Hungary entered multiple guys into 87kg and 97kg, hoping it would help the Federation determine their world team roster.

David LOSONCZI (HUN) may have locked himself into the Hungarian lineup at 97kg after winning gold in Rome.

In a reasonably slow 97kg finals match, Losonczi hung on to beat Italy's own Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 2-1. The determining factor in the gold-medal match was Losonczi's push-out in the first period after trading inactivity points with Kakhelashvili.

Losonczi came to Italy fighting with Alex SZOKE (HUN) for the start spot.

Szoke lost to Kakhelashvili in the semifinals, and with Losonczi's win against the Italian, he's almost a shoo-in for the World Championships at 97kg.

Another weight Hungary was looking for clarification on was 87kg, where Szilvassy, Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and Tamas LEVAI (HUN) were in a tight race.

Szilvassy proved to be Hungary's top option after finishing in second place and beating Levai en route to the finals.

Takacs and Levai fought back and won bronze medals despite falling in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

Hosseinvand wins 55kg

In the three-man 55kg Nordic-style bracket, Mohammad HOSSEINVAND (IRI) picked up the gold medal with his 11-7 come-from-behind win over Florin TITA (ROU).

Panahisani showed his never-say-die Iranian attitude against the Romanian in their opening-round match. He was in jeopardy of giving up the technical superiority after falling behind 7-0 in the first period. But in the second period, the Iranian stormed back to score 11 unanswered points and win his first Ranking Series title.

RESULTS
50kg
GOLD - Mohammad HOSSEINVAND (IRI)
SILVER - Florin TITA (ROU)
BRONZE - Max NOWRY (USA)

60kg
GOLD - Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 9-1
BRONZE - Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Helary MAEGISALU (EST),10-0

63kg
GOLD - Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 4-2
BRONZE - Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) df. Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU), via inj. def.

67kg
GOLD - Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Furkan YILDIZ (TUR), 9-0
BRONZE - Mohammad REZAEI (IRI) df. Niklas OEHLEN (SWE), 7-2
BRONZE - Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA) df. Mihai MIHUT (ROU), 3-1

87kg
GOLD - Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Erik SZILVASSY (HUN), 1-1
BRONZE - Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Alex KESSIDIS (SWE), via inj. def.
BRONZE - Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Kristoffer BERG (SWE), 9-1

97kg
GOLD - David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 2-1
BRONZE - Alex SZOKE (HUN) df. Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI), 7-4
BRONZE - Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE), 8-0

130kg
GOLD - Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 4-0
BRONZE - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) df. Oskar MARVIK (NOR), 6-3
BRONZE - Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) df. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA), 4-2

#WrestleRome

Four continental champs enter U17 World finals

Monday, July 25, 2022 - 18:22 By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (July 25) -- Four different continental champions reached the gold medal bouts on day one of the U17 World Championships in Rome, Italy.

Ronit SHARMA (IND) at 48kg, Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) at 55kg, Joel ADAMS (USA) at 65kg and Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) at 110kg will be looking to add a world gold after being crowned continental champions last month.

Out of the five weight classes that were competed on the opening day at the Pala Pellicone, Azerbaijan put all five wrestlers into the semifinal with Turkey and Iran sending three each. India and Ukraine entered two wrestlers each in the semifinals while Kazakhstan, the USA, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan and Hungary put a wrestler each in the last four.

By the end of the day, Azerbaijan, India, Turkey and Iran managed to send two wrestlers each to the five finals, two of which will see rematches of the continental finals.

Ronit SHARMA (IND) defeated Said KHALILOV (AZE) 7-0 win the semifinals. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Sharma set up a rematch of the U17 Asian Championships final against Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI). He won the bout in Bishkek 7-6 despite losing the earlier group stage bout to Ahmadi Vafa. With the head-to-head record tied at 1-1, it will be interesting to see who takes the lead when the two clash in the final Tuesday.

Outscoring his opponents 26-0 in three bouts, Sharma was equally impressive in the semifinal against Said KHALILOV (AZE). He opened the scoring with a takedown and showcased solid defense using underhook. After the break, Khalilov was called passive which resulted in Sharma getting a turn from par terre to lead 5-0. He ended the bout 7-0.

Ahmadi Vafa had the same score against Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ), an Asian bronze medalist, in the semifinal. But his earlier bouts were close one-point wins. He began with a 2-1 win against Tigran GALSTYAN (ARM) before beating Kurmanbek ALIMZHANOV (KGZ) 5-4, thanks to a late exchange that resulted in two points for each wrestler.

U17 European champion Laszlo DARABOS (HUN), red, defeated U17 Asian champion Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI) in the 110kg quarterfinals. (Photo: Martin Gabor)

In another continental final rematch, U17 European champion at 110kg Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) will face Cemal BAKIR (TUR) on Tuesday.

Darabos dominated like he did in Bucharest a month ago and a golden repeat is on the cards if he continues his form Tuesday. He had pinned Bakir for the gold ar the Euros.

Incidentally, the semifinals at 110kg in Rome were the same as the U17 European Championships and both Darabos and Bakir ended up having similar scores from that tournament.

Darabos wrestled Dmytro STRYZHEKOZIN (UKR) in the semifinal and once the Ukrainian was called passive in the first period, the Hungarian wrestlers worked a strong gut wrench to end the bout 9-0 before the break.

In the quarterfinals, he defeated U17 Asian champion Mohammad JAHANGIRI (IRI) in a tense fashion, winning 5-4.

Bakir took a minute extra than Darabos but he got the job done in an equally dominant fashion. Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE) gave up a takedown in the first period to trail 2-0 at the break. But the referee called him passive and from there, Bakir scored six points, three turns from par terre, to win 9-0.

With the win, he gets a chance to avenge his European loss to Darabos and claim the gold medal at the World Championships.

Joel ADAMS (USA) hits a five-point throw against Takaku SUZUKI (JPN) at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

One of the stars of the day was Joel ADAMS (USA) as the Pan-Am champion put on a show to reach the 65kg final against Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI).

Adams began the tournament with a dreamy five-pointer against Takaku SUZUKI (JPN). He then toyed with Saya BRUNNER (SUI) for an 8-0 win in the pre-quarters. He faced his toughest test in Aleksandre RUSITASHVILI (GEO) in the quarterfinals but dominated the bout for a 6-0 win.

In the semifinals, he was up against Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR) and began with a one-on-two drag and got the takedown. Just when Shafranskyi looked to get heavy in the second period, Adams hit a duck under and scored another takedown. He won 6-0 to set up the final against Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI).

Bouveiri defeated Ali ALIZADA (AZE), 1-1, as the two wrestlers exchanged passivity points in the semifinal.

At 55kg, Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) will look to add world gold to his European title after he reached the 55kg final. But he will have to work harder than he did Monday as he faces a strong opponent in SURAJ (IND).

Mustafayev wrestled three bouts to make the final and looked effortless in all of them. In the quarterfinal, he faced Saba SURMANIDZE (GEO) and pinned him, an equally dominant win as his European quarterfinals in which he won 8-0 against Surmanidze.

In the semifinal, Halil CINAR (TUR) tried stopping Mustafayev but got taken down early in the bout. Mustafayev used an exposure and stepout to lead 5-0. In the second period, he got a takedown and a big throw to win 11-0.

SURAJ (IND) will face European champion Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) for the 55kg gold in Rome. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Suraj, who finished fifth at the U17 Asian Championships after losing to Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB) and then to Byeonggi SEO (KOR), avenged his opening round loss to Normukhammadov at the biggest stage. He beat the Uzbekistan wrestler 7-3 in the semifinal.

It looked like Normukhammadov will take the bout again after leading 3-0. But Suraj added a takedown before the break to cut the lead to 3-2. When he got the par terre advantage in the second period, he got two turns over Normukhammadov with ease and controlled the bout to win 7-3.

Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) celebrates after beating Seyed Reza AZARSHAB (IRI) in the 80kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

At 80kg, a mini-European battle ensued throughout the day. In the end, silver medalist in Bucharest Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) and fifth-placer Alperen BERBER (TUR) made it to the final and will wrestle for the gold.

European champion Mihai GUTU (MDA) lost to Luka GELASHVILI (GEO) 5-2 in the qualification. Later, Gelashvili suffered a 3-0 defeat against Berber, who had lost to Gutu in the opening rounds of the Euros.

In the semifinals, Rzayev faced U17 Asian silver medalist Seyed Reza AZARSHAB (IRI) but was quick to finish the bout after getting the gut wrench from par terre in a 9-0 win.

Berber too was quick to move on with a 9-0 win over Andrey ATANASOV (BUL) and set up the gold bout against Rzayev.

After the medal bouts of these five weights, qualifying and semifinals of the remaining five Greco-Roman weights -- 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg -- will be in action Tuesday.

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Ronit SHARMA (IND) vs Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)

SF 1: Ronit SHARMA (IND) df. Said KHALILOV (AZE), 7-0
SF 2: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Arsen ZHUMA (KAZ), 7-0

55kg
GOLD: Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) vs SURAJ (IND)

SF 1: Faraim MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) df. Halil CINAR (TUR), 11-0
SF 2: SURAJ (IND) df. Khurshidbek NORMUKHAMMADOV (UZB), 7-3

65kg
GOLD: Joel ADAMS (USA) vs Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI)

SF 1: Joel ADAMS (USA) df. Petro SHAFRANSKYI (UKR), 6-0
SF 2: Ahoura BOUVEIRI (IRI) df. Ali ALIZADA (AZE), 1-1

80kg
GOLD: Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) vs Alperen BERBER (TUR)

SF 1: Ismayil RZAYEV (AZE) df. Seyed Reza AZARSHAB (IRI), 9-0
SF 2: Alperen BERBER (TUR) df. Andrey ATANASOV (BUL), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Cemal BAKIR (TUR) vs Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)

SF 1: Cemal BAKIR (TUR) df. Mazaim MARDANOV (AZE), 9-0
SF 2: Laszlo DARABOS (HUN) df. Dmytro STRYZHEKOZIN (UKR), 9-0

Azerbaijan opens Matteo Pellicone with four golds

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Four continental champs enter U17 World finals