Blades the latest star at 76kg with Alexandria gold

Friday, February 24, 2023 - 20:16 By Vinay Siwach

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (February 24) -- Yelena MAKOYED (USA) had just won the Zagreb Open Ranking Series gold medal two weeks ago and talked about the competition she has to navigate in the USA to be a national team member at 76kg

Apart from the well-established name of Adeline GRAY (USA), Makoyed mentioned wrestlers who will be jumping from 72kg to 76kg, calling them "very good."

One of the wrestlers from that bunch is Kennedy BLADES (USA).

After wrestling at 68kg before Tokyo Olympics, Baldes has been at 72kg, winning the U20 World Championships in 2021, her last international competition for a long time.

With just over a year left for the Paris Olympics, Blades has decided to move up to 76kg and made her senior-level debut at a United World Wrestling event on Friday.

And to prove Makoyed right, she won the gold medal at 76kg at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series event in Alexandria, Egypt in dominating fashion.

In the previous three Ranking Series events, Makoyed had dominated the 76kg weight class, winning all three gold medals. But her sitting out of this one meant that a new champion would be crowned. Few would have thought that it would be Blades.

The 19-year-old, who did not give up a single point in the U20 World Championships in 2021, was unfazed by the number of stars in her weight class and went on with her wrestling as if she was a seasoned campaigner, evident in her win over World bronze medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) in the semifinal.

Blades brought varied attacks with her to Egypt. If she used ankle picks to score points at the beginning of the day, she used the double-leg to great effect later in the evening.

In the final against Juan WANG (CHN), Blades displayed signs of maturity but also some inexperience. Like when Wang was not ready to engage and Blades found it difficult to score, she waited patiently. Once Wang got a little comfortable, Blades used a fake and switched to a leg attack, scoring four points.

From there, Baldes never let Wang wrestle her style. Blades' active wrestling proved to be too much for the Chinese as she gave up another takedown. Blades extended her lead to 6-5. With a five-point lead, she maintained her distance from Wang, eliminating the risk of getting countered. Blades wanted Wang to attack.

It was the last anxious moments when Blades slipped. She took her eyes off Wang who managed to score a takedown and add a gut wrench with three seconds left. Blades managed to navigate those and win 6-5 for her first senior-level gold medal.

Her performance in the morning session was far more dominant and assuring. In the semifinal against Medet Kyzy, which Blades won 12-1, she attacked with purpose and completed those low attacks to score quickly. She managed to square up Medet Kyzy on various occasions, scoring takedowns using double-leg attacks. Her quick feet made her extremely superior to the Kyrgyz wrestler.

Blades shut off attacks in the second period which worked well in Alexandria but she will have to be cautious of that approach while facing a more aggressive wrestler in the future.

Kennedy BLADES (USA) kept off a spirited Genesis REASCO (ECU) in the quarterfinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The first bout of the morning saw Blades run through Qian ZHOU (CHN) with a mix of double-leg attacks and ankle picks. But her quarterfinal against Genesis REASCO (ECU) was an extremely close affair.

Blades used defense as her attack and never let Reasco go behind even in the last moments of the bout. She ended up winning 5-4, thanks to a big double-leg attack she used to score four points.

The gold will also give Blades a lot of confidence after a forgetful outing in the Henri Deglane Grand Priz in January in which she finished fifth. But in less than a month's time, she has managed to turn it around.

With the World Championships in September offering quota places for the Paris Olympics, a USA wrestler winning one of the five available sports is a no-brainer. But who will actually be on the flight to Paris will depend on the outcome of the Olympic trials in the USA with Adeline GRAY (USA), Amit ELOR (USA), Makoyed, Blades, Kylie WELKER (USA), Dymond GUILFORD (USA), Precious BELL (USA) and Skylar GROTE (USA) being some of the names eyeing that coveted ticket.

Forrest MOLINARI (USA) scores four points on Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) in a heated 68kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another USA wrestler who made a switch to an Olympic weight class and won gold was Forrest MOLINARI (USA). Wrestling against three-time world medalist Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), who won the Zagreb Open gold recently, in the final, Molinari dictated proceedings and won 13-2.

The aggression which Molinari brought to the mat complimented her snap and counter style of wrestling. Larroque could never find a way to get out of the ties and kept running out of time.

That turned the final into a heated one but Molinari wrestled with continuous pressure and kept scoring. At one point, she countered Larroque's attempt to score a takedown with a four-pointer which made the score 7-2. She added a roll in the same sequence to lead 9-2.

Larroque was cautioned for fleeing when Molinari scored a stepout and she then gave up a takedown before time to give up the gold.

Molinari's performance on Friday also included a 6-3 win over 2021 world champion Meerim ZHUMANAZAROV (KGZ). Her first two wins of the day were both via fall.

Both Blades and Molinari will take home 1500 Swiss Francs while Wang and Larroque will pocket 750 Swiss Francs each. The four bronze medalists in the two weight classes will get 500 Swiss Francs each as well.

Beginning this year, the Ranking Series awards medal winners with prize money and also a two-kilogram weight tolerance to help wrestlers remain in their preferred weight class.

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) won the 62kg final to end her gold medal drought. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In two other women's wrestling finals, Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) ended her gold medal drought by winning the 62kg weight class while Alexandria TOWN (CAN) was rewarded for her exceptional run Friday with the 57kg gold after Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) injury defaulted.

Tynybekova last won a gold medal at the 2021 World Championships and has since suffered surprising losses to younger wrestlers with the latest being a first-round loss to Xiaojuan LUO (CHN) at the Zagreb Open.

But Tynybekova rolled back the years and avenged that loss to Luo in a low-scoring but tough final in Alexandria, winning 3-2 for the gold.

Her day began with a solid 7-0 win against Ameline DOUARRE (FRA) and then a 10-0 technical superiority win over Kayla MIRACLE (USA). Tynybekova had beaten Miracle in the final of the 2021 World Championships but the American secured a 9-3 win over Tynybekova at the recent World Cup in Iowa.

The semifinal against Tokyo bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) tested Tynybekova, who won silver in Tokyo. However, her strong defense kept in the bout after Koliadenko's passivity, eventually winning 2-0.

Luo reached the final from the other side of the bracket by beating Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB) via fall, Kriszta INCZE (ROU) 5-1, Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) 6-3 and Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) 6-4 with a last-second takedown in the semifinal.

Luo led 1-1 late into the bout but Tynybekova got a single leg for a takedown to take the lead 3-1. Luo managed to duck and get behind Tynybekova but failed to bring her down, scoring only a stepout.

It is a mere coincidence that Alexandria TOWN (CAN), center, won the gold in the town of Alexandria. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 57kg, Town's run included a big victory via fall over Tokyo bronze medalist Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) in the semifinals after she had defeated Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) 14-2 and Elena BRUGGER (GER) 12-4.

Akobiia did not wrestle in the final but looked good throughout the day, winning via fall against Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER), 11-0 against Giullia OLIVEIRA (BRA) and 7-1 against Qi ZHANG (CHN) in the semifinals.

Despite the silver, it would have been an emotional day for Akobiia as exactly a year ago she had to abandon the plan of reaching the Kyiv airport and fly to Istanbul for the Ranking Series event last year after Ukraine came under attack.

Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) throws Otar ABULADZE (GEO) for four points in the 72kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Georgia wins two GR golds

Three Greco-Roman gold medals were also decided as Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) captured the 72kg gold medal by beating fellow countryman Otar ABULADZE (GEO) in the final.

Abuladze had knocked out Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) 8-0 in the final. Gereaei was wrestling a weight up than his preferred 67kg in which he won an Olympic and world title.

At 77kg, Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) won the gold medal by beating Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) 1-1 after the two wrestlers exchanged passivity points in the final. Mnatsakanian defeated Yunus BASAR (TUR) 3-1 in the quarterfinal and Rui LIU (CHN) 1-1 in the semifinal.

The final gold medal in Greco-Roman went to Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) who breezed past Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ) 10-0 in the final using a strong gut wrench.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

57kg
GOLD - Alexandria TOWN (CAN) df. Alina AKOBIIA (UKR), via inj. def.

BRONZE - Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL), 10-5
BRONZE - Qi ZHANG (CHN) df. Giullia OLIVEIRA (BRA), 9-1

62kg
GOLD - Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Xiaojuan LUO (CHN), 3-2

BRONZE - Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 9-0
BRONZE - Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Kayla MIRACLE (USA), via fall

68kg
GOLD - Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), 13-2

BRONZE - Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Alexandria GLAUDE (USA), via fall
BRONZE - Alla BELINSKA (UKR) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), 6-1

76kg
GOLD - Kennedy BLADES (USA) df. Juan WANG (CHN), 6-5

BRONZE - Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Qian ZHOU (CHN), 3-0
BRONZE - Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) df. KIRAN (IND), 11-0

Greco-Roman

72kg
GOLD - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Otar ABULADZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE - Daniyar KALENOV (KAZ) df. Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY), 4-1
BRONZE - Ankit GULIA (IND) df. Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), via inj. def.

77kg
GOLD - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 1-1

BRONZE - Yunus BASAR (TUR) df. Rui LIU (CHN), 8-0
BRONZE - Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Per OLOFSSON (SWE), 6-4

82kg
GOLD - Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ), 10-0

BRONZE - Kristoffer BERG (SWE) df. Michael WAGNER (AUT), 1-1
BRONZE - Abd OUAKALI (ALG) df. Roland SCHWARZ (GER), 4-4

#WrestleTirana

Ghasempour buries ghosts of past to win Tirana gold; Yoshida stuns Snyder

Thursday, February 27, 2025 - 20:14 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (February 27) -- "Today when I was standing on the podium, I remembered it."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) replays the match in his mind as he speaks. He remembers the move and the loss clearly. At the World Championships in October last year, Ghasempour was four seconds away from upsetting Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) but the latter pulled off an incredible move to beat Ghasempour in the semifinal. While Sadulaev won the gold, Ghasempour returned empty-handed after losing his bronze-medal bout to David TAYLOR (USA).

Ghasempour may not be able to completely erase the memories of that loss with the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series gold medal he won on Thursday, but he says it will help him move on.

"Last year, in this very hall, it was a very bad scene for me," Ghasempour said. "Even today when I was standing on the podium, I remembered it. I should have gone to the Championship podium [at the World Championships]. The regret remained. But well, it's wrestling, and that's part of the events in sports. I tried to forget it and continue on my path."

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On Thursday, Ghasempour returned to Tirana at 92kg and showed once again why he is one of the best at 92kg in the world. Wrestling in three bouts, he did not give up a single point [28-0], and scored two technical superiority wins including the final.

"The competition went well," he said. "I was able to wrestle with three good opponents in this tournament and fortunately, I managed to achieve first place. The wrestler [in the final] was a good competitor. I had watched his matches beforehand and planned well. My goal was to put on a good performance, and thankfully, I succeeded."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) sees off Alan BAGAEV (UWW) in the 92kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In his first bout against world silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), Ghasempour ran to an 8-0 lead before moving to defense. He then gut-wrenched Feyzulla AKTURK (TUR) and in the final, he broke Alan BAGAEV (UWW) with ease to win with two minutes remaining.

"I've been wrestling in the 92 kg weight class for several years," he said. "Despite that unfortunate result [last year], this arena was a good field for me. I'm trying to increase my readiness and participate in the next competitions."

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) defeated Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW) 10-0 in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Paris Olympic silver medalist Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) added a second gold medal to Iran's tally on Thursday as he defeated Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW) in the 125kg final.

Leading up to the final Zare, who had his elbow tapped, looked shaky in his movements on the mat but come the final, he made sure Khizriev wasn't much of a problem.

Zare scored a step out to open the final and then got a point for Khizriev's passivity. A takedown and turn later, Zare was up 6-0 and by the break, Zare had Khizriev struggling with conditioning. As soon as the second period began, Zare was not having any of Khizriev's flamboyance and scored a takedown and a gut to finish it in no time.

Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) blocks an attack from Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

A third Iranian wrestler could have won gold medal but Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), who had perhaps his biggest day in international wrestling, denied Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI) in the 97kg final.

Yoshida led 1-1 on criteria at the break in the final after he scored the stepout after Alizadeh's stepout. In the second period, Yoshida got the point for Alizadeh's passivity and then scored a stepout to lead 3-1 with 90 seconds left on the clock.

Alizadeh managed to score a stepout with seven seconds on the clock but Yoshida closed it out to win 3-2 to cap off a remarkable day of wrestling for him.

"I can say that it was a great day because I won at 97kg category," Yoshida said.

Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) scores a takedown against Kyle SNYDER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

This final, however, was not Yoshida's biggest win of the day. Earlier in the semifinals, he defeated former world and Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) 5-5, his biggest win of the career.

Yoshida, however, dismissed that.

"That was kind a win by luck," he said. "Good technique at good timing but it was by chance I think."

Yoshida, who seems small for 97kg, was in all sorts of trouble for five minutes and 30 seconds of the match. Snyder clearly overpowered Yoshida and scored a takedown on the edge and as Yoshida was trying to sneak out of the hold, Snyder scored a pushout, all while Yoshida was on activity time.

Snyder led 4-0 before giving up a stepout and as both wrestlers maintained the intensity in the second period, Snyder's strength and positioning didn't let Yoshida get his on his attacks.

However, Yoshida managed to get a cut-back and a turn to lead 5-5 on criteria with 30 seconds on the clock. Despite Snyder's efforts, Yoshida managed to remain in contact and not get scored on to complete a top-class win.

"I compete in Bulgaria. I tried my best to prepare perfectly for this tournament also, but yeah I can say I still have tiredness from that," he said.

Despite the win over Snyder, Yoshida will continue training in his usual style to remain calm for big tournaments.

"I train like I always do," he said. "When I’m preparing for tournaments I become nervous but I think it’s important to do usual things to keep calm"

At 79kg, Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (UWW) managed a perfect final to beat Paris Olympian Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-1, and claim the gold medal.

Alikhmaev as wrestling only at the his second Ranking Series event of the career, having wrestling last at the Yasar Dogu in 2022. Since, he has been out of action for three years.

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Japan dominated Women's Wrestling as usual winning two golds on offer on Thursday.

Umi ITO (JPN), who suffered her first international loss at the U23 World Championships in Tirana last year, made sure she took home better memories, winning the gold medal at 50kg.

Wrestling Paris Olympian Oksana LIVACH (UKR) in the final, Ito needed just 33 seconds to get a 10-0 technical superiority win, her fourth of the day.

Barring the quarterfinal against Nadezha SOKOLOVA (UWW) who threw Ito for a four-pointer using a headlock, the Japanese was in complete control of her bouts.

"In October, I lost at the U23 World Championships in Tirana and I felt extremely frustrated," Ito said. "But I'm very happy to be able to talk about that frustration on the same stage. After the U23s ended, I learned that I make small mistakes and give chances to my opponents, and that those kind of mistakes can affect the outcome of a match."

Despite her impeccable record internationally, Ito has not representated Japan at the senior World Championships as she is stuck behind Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN).

"Both Sasaki and Yoshimoto are opponents I have to defeat in order to participate in the Olympics," she said. "I believe that if I don't win at home first, we won't be able to win at the World Championships. So even after I return to Japan, I'll continue to practice and overcome the challenges so that I can win the Meiji Cup next June."

Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) defeated Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) in the 55kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Japan won its second gold medal in Women's Wrestling through three-time world champion Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO (JPN) defeated Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW) 5-0 in the 55kg final.

She opened the day on a slow note, winning only 2-0 against Karla GODINEZ (CAN) but blanked former world silver medalist Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) 10-0.

In the final, Khoroshavtseva was cautioned when Maruyama scored a stepout. With a 2-0 lead, Maruyama was content to keep the lead but Khoroshavtseva used open hands on the face and was cautioned again which gave one more point to the Japanese. A takedown late in the bout made it 5-0 for Maruyama.

RESULTS

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (UWW) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-1

BRONZE: Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD) df. Evan WICK (USA), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) df. Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM), 5-2

92kg
GOLD: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Alan BAGAEV (UWW), 11-0

BRONZE: Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA) df. Ahmed BATAEV (BUL), 3-1
BRONZE: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), via inj. def.

97kg
GOLD: Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI), 3-2

BRONZE: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Dato PIRUZASHVILI (GEO), 10-0
BRONZE: Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD) df. Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK), 4-0

125kg
GOLD: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) df. Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (UWW), 10-0

BRONZE: Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) df. Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) df. Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), via inj. (8-6)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Umi ITO (JPN) df. Oksana LIVACH (UKR), 10-0

BRONZE: Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (UWW) df. Katie DUTCHAK (CAN), 10-0
BRONZE: Erin GOLSTON (USA) df. MEIDUOLAJI (CHN), 4-2

55kg
GOLD: Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) df. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (UWW), 5-0

BRONZE: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), 10-0
BRONZE: Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) df. Karla GODINEZ (CAN), 3-1

Blades the latest star at 76kg with Alexandria gold

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Ghasempour buries ghosts of past to win Tirana gold; Yoshida stuns Snyder