#BeachWrestlingWorldSeries

Beach Wrestlers Inam, Marsigashvilli on Golden Collision Course

By Tim Foley

RIO DE JANEIRO (May 10) – With 6000 miles of travel logged in the past 48 hours, Muhammed INAM (PAK) should have limped onto the Rio sand and groggy and bleary eyed. But on Friday afternoon, the two-time defending Beach Wrestling World Champion showed no signs of fatigue, winning his opening two matches.

Inam, who cruised 3-0 in the opening round, ran up against experienced wrestler Kanan ALIYEV (AZE) in the second round. The match started slow, but Inam exploded with a flurry of action at the edge of the circle to earn a one-point step out on a three-point takedown attempt that was deemed out of bounds. Inam would control the center for the remainder of the

“I’m feeling very good in my matches,” said Inam. “Tonight, I will watch videos and prepare strategies for tomorrow’s opponents, especially the Georgian. I will prepare techniques to try and beat him … because he is amazing.”

On the other side of the 90kg bracket “The Georgian” Dato MARSIGASHVILLI – who won the BWWS stop in Chaves -- had a tough first-round battle ceding two points to Grigorios KRIARIDIS (GRE) before scoring back-back-back takedowns to win 3-2. In the second round, Marsigashvilli quickly disposed of Brazil’s Andre Luiz RAMOS PINTO (BRA).

With one pool match to complete in the morning Inam and Marsigashvilli are headed for a gold medal showdown in the evening finals.

In women’s beach wrestling, Aline De SILVA FERREIRA proved to be golden winning her first beach wrestling series event. She Brazilian, who won a world silver medal on the mats in 2014 was all smiles after learning she was taking home 1000 CHF for her efforts.

“For me beach wrestling is good because I like to shoot high crotches,” said Silva. “The girls here are a little slower than me and I can use my strength.”

Silva also gushed about the new wrestling style and her hopes for its future in Brazil. “I like the way beach wrestling is organized – and it’s beautiful. I brought friends and they like its short time and rules are simple. It’s a great part for people in Brazil to learn wrestling. We have a lot of beaches.”

Wrestling continues tomorrow morning at 10am local time, following by the finals of the Beach Wrestling World Series are set to start at 2pm local.  

Full results from day one can be found, here: https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/rio-de-janeiro-beach-wrestling-world-series?tab=results

#WrestleBudapest

Yazdani, Jamalov reach final; China dominates WW in Budapest

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 7) -- With three Freestyle and four Women's Wrestling weight classes in action, the Budapest Ranking Series enters day two. Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will be competing for the first time since his surgery.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

13:00: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) with some high-paced action in his 86kg semifinal to blank Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) 10-0. He will wrestle for the gold medal at 86kg against Trent HIDLAY (USA).

12:50: ANTIM (IND) hangs on! Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) went all out for a takedown in the final seconds but Antim kept her at bay. A 3-1 win for Antim and she will wrestle for gold at 53kg against Jonna MALMGREN (SWE), a rematch of the bronze medal bout from the World Championships.

12:45: Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) seems to have upped her game since that fifth-place finish at the Asian Championships. She beats Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN) 12-8 in an action-packed bout.

12:35: Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) is in the 53kg final without wrestling in Budapest. First, Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) pulled out injured and now Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) is injured.

12:30: Incredible bout between Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) and Anshu MALIK (IND) at 57kg. Nichita trailed 4-3 but she got a stepout and Anshu was cautioned for fleeing which gave Nichita a 5-4 lead with 19 seconds on the clock. Anshu continues the pressure and scores a takedown on the edge to claim a 6-5 lead and the win.

12:15: Kexin HONG (CHN) with a brutal lace over Anhelina LYSAK (POL) to finish the 57kg bout 10-0. 59kg world champion then scores an 11-1 win over Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) to advance to the semifinal.

12:10: Ali Abbas REZAEI (IRI) beats Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) 5-0 in the 74kg quarterfinal. Bayramov was warned for passivity in the first period, he committed two defensive fouls in the second as Rezaei built a 3-0 lead. Bayramov tried getting some opening but Rezaei solid in defense and finished with a solid takedown.

12:00: Jiang ZHU (CHN) blanks VINESH (IND) 5-0. Two counter takedowns for Zhu and a point for Vinesh's inactivity were the points for Zhu. No openings for Vinesh in that bout.

11:55: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) and Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) have set up a semifinal at 86kg. Yazdani with a high-scoring 12-2 win over Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN) while Dauletbekov with a controlled 3-0 win over Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN).

11:50: Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) needs to dig deep to keep Yu ZHANG (CHN) at bay. Zhang kept the pressure high even when trailing 4-3 but Dolgorjav hit a counter to win 6-3 at 50kg.

11:30: Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) pulls out of her bout against Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) at 53kg. Malmgren will now wrestle Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) in the semifinal.

11:25:  Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) is looking to grab the 74kg spot for the Paris Olympics for Uzbekistan over Bekzod ABDURAKHAMANOV (UZB) who qualified the weight. He begins that journey with a 5-0 win over Anthony MONTERO (VEN) in Budapest.   

11:15: Quick 10-0 win for ANTIM (IND) over Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB) at 53kg. She sets up a semifinal against Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL). 

11:10: VINESH (IND) begins her 50kg campaign in Budapest with a 10-0 technical superiority over Alisson CARDOZO (COL). She sets up a quarterfinal against Jian ZHU (CHN) which will prove to be a big test. 

11:00: No clutch comeback from Myles AMINE (SMR) this time. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) holds on to a 3-1 lead and beat Amine with that scoreline at 86kg.

10:50: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) was in danger position twice in the match against Ethan RAMOS (PUR) but bailed out both times to race to a 13-2 victory over Ramos who seems to have hurt his back. Once the wrestlers are off mat, Ramos is carried in a stretcher as he is unable to walk.

10:30: Ranking points up for grabs, Olympics opponents facing each other and some Paris 2024 line-ups to be finalized. Day two of the Ranking Series in Budapest has everything to offer.