#WrestleIstanbul

Bakir defends U17 World title at home

By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL (August 1) -- Cemal BAKIR (TUR) and SURAJ (IND) won their first U17 World Championships title on the same day in Rome. Just over a year later, both had a chance to win consecutive gold medals at the U17 Worlds.

However, only one did.

In Istanbul, Bakir claimed his second straight U17 World title at 110kg while Suraj, who created history by ending India's 32-year Greco-Roman title drought, suffered a devastating loss in the final on Tuesday, the second day of the U17 World Championships.

Bakir's dominance in the 110kg weight class was evident on day one as he began with a strong 10-0 win over Bekzhan ISMAGULOV (KAZ) before beating Mohamed AHMED (EGY) 4-1 in the quarterfinals. He moved closer to the gold medal when he scored a massive 4-2 win over U17 Asian champion Amirhossein ABDEVALI (IRI) in the semifinal.

Backed by a loud home crowd, Bakir, who hails from Basaksehir where the event is held, wrestled U17 Asian silver medalist RONAK (IND) for the gold and looked in complete control of the bout for four minutes.

After both wrestlers initially hesitated to go all out, Bakir managed to pressure Ronak outside the zone and get a stepout for one point. Ronak was called for fleeing, adding another point to Bakir's score.

The Turkish wrestler held on to the 2-0 lead for the rest of the bout as in a rare occurrence in a Greco-Roman bout, the referee did not call for inactivity.

Bakir celebrated with the fans in the stands and gave Turkiye a golden start to the tournament at home.

Jordyn RANEY (USA)Jordyn RANEY (USA) celebrates after winning the gold medal at the U17 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

For Suraj to achieve the same, he had to beat Jordyn RANEY (USA) in the 55kg final. Both wrestlers had been equally dominant on Monday with Raney beating U17 Asia champion Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI) in the semifinal in dramatic fashion, scoring seven points in the last 20 seconds. Suraj defeated home favorite Halil CINAR (TUR) 6-0 in the other semifinal. But nothing worked for Suraj in the final as Raney, like on Monday, scored at will and big.

To reach the final, Raney defeated Ahmed SHABAN (EGY) and Shu Wei CHUNG (TPE) via technical superiority and scored a clutch 8-6 win over returning champion Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) in the quarterfinals.

In the final, both wrestlers played the waiting game in the first period with Raney scoring a stepout for a 1-0 lead. As soon as the whistle blew to mark the start of the second period, Raney executed a pro-level arm-drag to which Suraj had no answer but to give up.

"My coach from Illinois RTC sent a text message to my dad saying he [Suraj] will be game in that second period," Raney said. "I knew my drag. As soon as he came in, I got the drag and he was straight to the mad and go behind."

Suraj got a takedown to cut the lead to 3-2 but Raney answered with a headlock for two and another headlock for four points to extend his lead to 9-2. He continued the action and scored a turn to finish the match 11-2. India's challenge was as clueless as Suraj in the final and a lost challenge gave one more point to Raney.

"The headlock came through. Everyone thinks it's a kid move, trash move but still works," he said. "I knew he was a very tough opponent and I knew he was great on top so I made sure my defense was on point."

With the gold medal, Raney became only the third U17 world champion from the United States since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017 and Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022.

"It's awesome and encouraging other kids," he said. "Next year, we'll do better."

Payam AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI)Payam AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI) upgraded his bronze to gold at the U17 World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's returning bronze medalist Payam AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI) upgraded the bronze from Rome to gold in Istanbul as he defeated returning silver medalist and U17 Asian champion Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB) 4-0 in the 48kg final. Both wrestlers were medalists at last year's U17 World Championships at 45kg.

Almost two months back, Balootaki had suffered a shocking loss to Beknur MUKAN (KAZ) in the opening round at the U17 Asian Championships, a year after he defeated Mukan 9-0 to win the bronze in Rome.

Balootaki seemed to have recovered from that U17 Asian loss as he began his competition on Monday with back-to-back technical superiority wins over Maksim BRADZIAK (AIN) and Haruku SHIINA (JPN). He defeated Elnar ZIYADOV (AZE) 4-2 in the quarterfinals before notching up a solid 3-2 victory over U17 European champion Murat KHATIT (AIN).

Ruziokhunov too had technical superiority wins over Ionut MEREUTA (ROU) and Ivan SEIBEL (GER) before a 4-1 win over Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM) in the semifinals.

The final was all about Balootaki as he did not look in any trouble against Ruziokhunov as he blanked the Uzbekistan wrestler 4-0. He got the lead when Ruziokhunov was called passive and was penalized for fleeing the hold.

In the second period, Ruziokhunov was trying to put pressure on Balootaki and at one point committed himself too much towards a pushout. Balootaki moved away from the line of attack and scored a takedown to lead 4-0. He defended his lead to win the world title.

Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN)Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN), blue, defeated Yusif AHMADLI (AZE) to win the gold at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The Individual Neutral Athletes team also got a gold medal as Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN) defeated 15-year-old Yusif AHMADLI (AZE) 5-1 in the 65kg gold medal bout.

Beslekoev, who won a bronze medal at the U17 European Championships, was up 1-0 when Ahmadli was called passive in the first period. However, he failed to get a turn from par terre. Ahmadli got the 1-1 criteria lead in the second period when Beslekoev was called for inactivity but he too failed to score from par terre.

The two wrestlers got hold of each other in a bodylock and went for the big throw. Ahmadli managed to throw Beslekoev but fell on his own back with Beslekoev holding his grip. That resulted in Beslekoev getting two points and a turn got him two more as he stuck to the 5-1 lead.

Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN)Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) celebrates after winning the 80kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Japan's heavy gold

At 80kg, rarely would someone give a chance to Japan to have a wrestler in the final, less winning the gold at the World Championships. But Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) pulled off a remarkable feat by winning the gold medal at 80kg on Tuesday.

Yoshida, who finished eighth at 80kg last year, became Japan's first-ever Greco-Roman world champion for a weight class above 69kg at any level. This is Japan's first Greco-Roman gold at U17 Worlds since 2017 and fourth overall in the history of the tournament. Japan had finished without a medal at the last U17 Worlds but began this one on a golden note.

Yoshida's streak saw him win 12-2 against Emir DAYAL (TUR) in the opening round, 10-0 against Itzhak NEMSADZE (ISR) in the next round, and beat Alireza ABBASI (IRI) 11-2 in the quarterfinal. It must have come as a relief for Yoshida as he had lost to an Iran wrestler in the quarterfinals last year.

He scored another technical superiority in the semifinals as he defeated Uladzislau DUBROUSKI (AIN) 10-2 to reach the final against Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

The final began with Yoshida jumping to a 4-0 lead with go-behind in the zone in the first period. The second period saw Shkarin called passive which added a point to Yoshida who was able to turn Shkarin to stand a point away from gold.

But there was late drama in the bout as Shkarin scored two points and added another two when he secured the arm-drag. Yoshida held on to the 7-4 lead despite a few anxious final moments.

Yoshida's gold has set the perfect tone for Japan in women's wrestling which begins Wednesday in Istanbul.

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RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Payam AHMADI BALOOTAKI (IRI) df. Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB), 4-0

BRONZE: Edgar PETROSYAN (ARM) df. Ivan SEIBEL (GER), via fall (8-0)
BRONZE: Elnar ZIYADOV (AZE) df. Murat KHATIT (AIN), 5-4

55kg
GOLD: Jordyn RANEY (USA) df. SURAJ (IND), 12-2

BRONZE: Kuttubek RYSMATOV (KGZ) df. Halil CINAR (TUR), 11-1
BRONZE: AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI), 11-2

65kg
GOLD: Zaur BESLEKOEV (AIN) df. Yusif AHMADLI (AZE), 5-1

BRONZE: Sachin KUMAR (IND) df. Giorgi TCHIKAIDZE (GEO), 6-2
BRONZE: Islombek KARIMJONOV (UZB) df. Octavian CERNETCHI (MDA), 8-0

80kg
GOLD: Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN), 8-6

BRONZE: Uladzislau DUBROUSKI (AIN) df. Alireza ABBASI (IRI), 2-1
BRONZE: Erik TER MATEVOSYAN (ARM) df. Eleftherios PAPPAS (GRE), 8-2

110kg
GOLD: Cemal BAKIR df. RONAK (IND), 2-0

BRONZE: Amirhossein ABDEVALI (IRI) df. Mohamed AHMED (EGY), 2-0
BRONZE: Eldar EMIROV (AIN) df. Nicholas SAHAKIAN (USA), via fall (7-1)

Semifinals

45kg
GOLD: Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE) vs. RUSTEM ABATSIEV (AIN)

SF 1: RUSTEM ABATSIEV (AIN) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 10-2
SF 2: Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE) df. Alireza AMIRIGHASRODDASHTI (IRI), 5-1

51kg
GOLD: Artur BROYAN (ARM) vs. Ilia KANDALIN (AIN)

SF 1: Ilia KANDALIN (AIN) df. Dostonbek ORIPOV (UZB), 11-7
SF 2: Artur BROYAN (ARM) df. Manu YADAV (IND), via fall

60kg
GOLD: Roman KARIMOV (AZE) vs. Saba SURMANIDZE (GEO)

SF 1: Saba SURMANIDZE (GEO) df. Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN), 7-5
SF 2: Roman KARIMOV (AZE) df. Mingiian GORIAEV (AIN), 9-5

71kg
GOLD: Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE) vs. Ahmadreza MOHAMADIAN (IRI)

SF 1: Ahmadreza MOHAMADIAN (IRI) df. Alkan AKAR (TUR), 4-0
SF 2: Arionas KOLITSOPOULOS (GRE) df. Abdurakhman ABDULKADYROV (AIN), 2-1

92kg
GOLD: Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (AIN) vs. Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO)

SF 1: Saba PURTSELADZE (GEO) df. Mikayil ISMAYILOV (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Saipula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Gabriel STAN (ROU), 9-0

#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.