Bozkurt joins list of rising Turkey heavyweights with U23 World gold

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 21:51 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 18) -- As if the Turkey super heavyweight class was not already packed, Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) is the latest name to enter the list of successors to five-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR).

Bozkurt won the 130kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships in dominating fashion in Pontevedra, Spain to inch closer to the spot on the senior team.

Apart from Kayaalp, Osman YILDIRIM (TUR), Muhammet BAKIR (TUR), Cemal BAKIR (TUR) and now Bozkurt are the wrestlers trying to fill the spot in the heaviest weight category.

Bozkurt, who finished fifth at the last edition of the U23 Worlds in Belgrade, outscored his opponents 31-2 in five bouts for the gold.

In the final, he wrestled U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) and came out with a technical superiority win, trouncing the Ukrainian at will.

He opened the scoring with a takedown when Vyshnyvetskyi tried a headlock. He also got the par terre position. When he scored the second takedown, he made sure he turns Vyshnyvetskyi and extends his lead.

Desperate to get back in the final with just one point on the board, Vyshnyvetskyi tried a bodylock throw but landed on his back to give two more points to Bozkurt.

Vyshnyvetskyi had used the bodylock to perfection Monday but the same became his undoing a day later.

“The final was a good one,” Bozkurt said. “ A little easy.”

Bozkurt also avenged his loss from the U23 European Championships final which he lost to Dariusz VITEK (HUN) 1-1. In the semifinals Monday, he scored a 6-1 win over Vitek.

“I was expecting to medal here and it's a relief that I was able to win the gold,” he said. “I am very pleased with this performance.”

While he aims to make the senior team in the coming time, Bozkurt is aware that it will be one challenging task.

“The competition in the Turkey national team is always tough, especially at 130kg,” he said. “It's good and that means I have to perform better to win.”

Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) upgraded his silver from 2021 to gold on Tuesday at the U23 Worlds. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

In the other four Greco-Roman gold medal bouts Tuesday, Iran managed to capture two while Armenia and Hungary shared one each.

For Iran, Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) made sure he doesn't return home with silver like last year. He defeated Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) 5-1 at 55kg to win the gold.

In a highly-paced bout, Dad Marz scored the first takedown. He did not let the guard down and got Guluzade to be passive. From par terre he got one gut wrench to lead 5-0 at the break.

In the second period, he was called passive but Guluzade did not get the turn that could have helped him remain in contention.

The former U20 world champion was also at the senior world championships this year but finished eighth. He was relieved that he managed to finish the season on a high.

Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) defeated Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) 8-0 in the 63kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostandin Andonov)

The second gold medal for Iran was won by Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) at 63kg. He defeated Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) via technical superiority in the final.

Shotadze was never able to match the high-paced wrestling of Khoon Mohammadi. He was warned for being inactive both in the first and second periods. Khoon Mohammadi then scored using a stepout. Shotadze was cautioned for fleeing.

Khoon Mohammadi then scored a takedown before Shotadze hit a desperate throw but fell on his back, giving Khoon Mohammadi a technical superiority win.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) now has three world titles -- U20, U23 and senior. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In a highly anticipated 77kg final, senior world champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) humbled Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) to win his first U23 world title.

Continuing his streak of winning medals in all the tournaments he has wrestled since the Individual World Cup in 2020, Amoyan captured the top medal to complete the set of U20, U23 and senior world gold.

Amoyan, who won the 72kg gold medal at the Oslo World Championships, also continues his smooth transition to 77kg, a weight in which he won bronze at the recent senior World Championships.

His opponent, 20-year-old Gutu was expected to put up a stronger challenge for the gold medal and did so at the start of the bout but was consistently caught off guard by Amoyan.

The first par terre advantage went to Amoyan. Gutu, however, managed to escape from the position before Amoyan caught him midway and exposed him with a high gut wrench. Gutu scored a stepout to cut the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Early in the second period, Gutu was once again caught in his own attack when Amoyan got one of his hands around Gutu's waist and after a little struggle, brought him to the mat for a takedown. He also turned Gutu for two more points.

In the end, Gutu, who finished 17th at the '21 U23 Worlds, had to contend with a silver medal as his search for the first world title since the U17 one in 2018 continues.

Istvan TAKACS (HUN) scored a 7-4 win over Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) in the 87kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another rapidly rising star captured the gold Tuesday. Istvan TAKACS (HUN) added a U23 world gold medal to his already impressive resume which boasts of U20 world and continental gold medals. Takacs also won the U23 European Championships this year.

In the 87kg gold medal bout, he faced Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM), a surprise finalist.

Tadevosyan built a 4-0 lead with a passivity call, a turn and a stepout. But just before the break, Takacs scored a big throw for four to lead on criteria.

The second period saw Takacs add three more points to his score to win the gold medal with no real trouble at the end.

After the medals were decided in five weight classes, Iran leads the team title race in Greco-Roman with Armenia in second and Turkey placed third.

The gold medal bouts of the remaining five weights were also decided Tuesday with eight different countries getting a finalist. Azerbaijan and Croatia were the only countries to have two finalists each.

Women's wrestling will begin at the U23 World Championships Wednesday with 50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg and 76kg wrestlers going on the mat.

Olympic and world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will be one of the wrestlers in action Wednesday as she begins her quest to win the U23 world gold and complete the Grand Slam in wrestling.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Nihad GULUZADE (AZE), 5-1

BRONZE: Ahmet TASKINOGLU (TUR) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU), 8-3
BRONZE: Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) df. Ken MATSUI (JPN), 8-0

63kg
GOLD: Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO), 8-0

BRONZE: Ryuto IKEDA (JPN) df. Ziya BABASHOV (AZE), 1-1
BRONZE: Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) df. Maksym LIU (UKR), 3-1

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), 7-2

BRONZE: Sajan BHANWALA (IND) df. Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR), 10-10
BRONZE: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM), 7-2

BRONZE: Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL) df. Beka MELELASHVILI (GEO), 4-1
BRONZE: Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) df. Maksat SAILAU (KAZ), 9-1

130kg
GOLD: Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) df. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), 9-1

BRONZE: Dariusz VITEK (HUN) df. Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE), 12-2
BRONZE: Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) df. Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE), 9-1

Semifinals

60kg
GOLD: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) vs. Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

SF 1: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ), 3-1
SF 2: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO), 4-4

67kg
GOLD: Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) vs. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)

SF 1: Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 6-3
SF 2: Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) df. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN), 9-1

72kg
GOLD: Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO) vs. Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)

SF 1: Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO) df. VIKAS (IND), 9-0
SF 2: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) df. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR), 7-1

82kg
GOLD: Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) vs. Karlo KODRIC (CRO)

SF 1: Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) df. Mats AHLGREN (SWE), 11-0
SF 2: Karlo KODRIC (CRO) df. Beka GURULI (GEO), 6-5

97kg
GOLD: Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) vs. Alex SZOKE (HUN)

SF 1: Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) df. Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO), 4-1
SF 2: Alex SZOKE (HUN) df. Igor ALVES (BRA), 3-0

#WrestleHangzhou

Iran bounces back to win two Asian Games golds in Greco-Roman

Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 11:18 By Vinay Siwach

LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 5) -- After the disappointment of two silver medals on Wednesday, Iran bounced back with two gold medals in Greco-Roman on Thursday. Both gold medals came at the expense of home wrestlers.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) gets the first par terre advantage and scores a turn to lead 3-0 against Yiming LI (CHN). A stepout to lead 4-0 at the break. Li got the par terre advantage in the second period and Saravi, confidently, defended the position without giving up any points.

A caution point was awarded to Saravi as Li was penalized for locking fingers. Saravi would calmly see off the remaining time on the clock to win 5-1 and Iran's first gold medal in wrestling at the Asian Games.

"It was a good competition," Saravi said of the final. "Thank God that I was able to win the gold medal with the correct planning that we did with the coaches."

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) won the 97kg gold medal at the Asian Games. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Saravi began the day with a big 6-3 win over two-time World Championships medalists Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) and followed that with a 3-1 victory over U. DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) in the quarterfinals. Islam UMAYEV (KAZ) failed to put up any challenge and Saravi moved into the finals with ease.

Having wrestled Li at the Bishkek Ranking Series this year, Saravi used the same strategy and kept it under control after the first turn in par terre. However, Saravi did not deny that the partisan crowd in the Lin'an Sport and Culture Exhibition Center.

"I wrestled with Li in the Ranking Series, but the conditions here were a little more difficult," he said. "The presence of Chinese spectators made the situation a little more difficult."

The 2021 world champion came into the Asian Games after a bronze-medal finish at the 2023 World Championships. But he said that the Belgrade tournament did not really affect his preparation for the Asian Games.

"I was ready because I trained hard for the World Championships and we had already planned for this competition," he said. "Thank God that my body was ready for this competition and I could get the best result."

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) won the 130kg gold after beating Lingzhe MENG (CHN) 1-1 in the final. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The second gold medal for Iran in Greco-Roman was captured by 130kg world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) who also defeated a Chinese wrestler, Lingzhe MENG (CHN), to win his Asian Games title.

In what was a repeat of the 2023 Asian Championships final, Mirzazadeh continued his unbeaten run this year with a 1-1 victory over Meng. The two wrestlers exchanged passivity points and Mirzazadeh won by the virtue of scoring the last point.

Mirzazadeh won his first world title in Belgrade after he stunned five-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) 2-2 in the final.

While Iran coach Hassan RANGREZ was happy with the result of two gold medals, he was worried about his wrestlers competing at two demanding tournaments in less than 10 days.

"Ideally we should have won four gold medals," Rangrez said. "However, with the World Championships and Asian Games being so close together, it was difficult to prepare and it impacted our performances."

For Mirzazadeh's gold, Rangrez said that he was never in doubt

"He is the new king of super heavyweight," the coach said. "He wrestled very well."

Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) won the 97kg bronze, thus completing the set of medals at the Asian Games. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Assakalov, 39, completes medal set

Two-time World Championships medalist Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) completed the medal set as he won the bronze medal in the 97kg weight class. The 39-year-old pinned Islam UMAYEV (KAZ) in the bronze-medal bout after leading 7-0. Assakalov was the 85kg Asian Games champion at the 2014 edition in Icheon and won a silver in the 2018 Games in Jakarta. Assakalov had earlier lost to Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) 6-3 in the opening round bout.

"I have a full set of Asian games medals," Assakalov said. "Thank God for everything, thanks to my solid team"

Assakalov has been wrestling for over two decades now but the hope of winning an Olympic medal keeps him going. He has been to two Olympic Games -- 2016 and 2020 -- but finished eighth in both editions.

"The Olympic medal makes me keep doing this sport," he said. "I am 39 years old. I still work hard to make my dream come true. My children are my motivation. When I leave home, they say, dad, bring us the medal."

The other 97kg bronze medal went to Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN) as he defeated Seyeol LEE (KOR) 4-3. Tsuruda would be thanking his stars as he was trailing 3-1 till the last 11 seconds when Lee headbutted Tsuruda and the referees awarded two points to the Japanese.

Lee challenged the call and on review, the jury upheld the original decision and awarded another point to Tsuruda.

At 130kg, multiple-time Asian medalist Minseok KIM (KOR) and 2022 Asian champion Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) won the bronze medals. Both won with an identical scoreline of 5-1.

Kim scored two turns from par terre to beat NAVEEN while Syzdykov managed to get the bronze by beating Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM) 5-1.

RESULTS

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Yiming LI (CHN), 5-1

BRONZE: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) df. Islam UMAYEV (KAZ), via fall (7-0)
BRONZE: Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN) df. Seyeol LEE (KOR), 4-3

130kg
GOLD: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN), 1-1

BRONZE: KIM Minseok KIM (KOR) df. NAVEEN, 5-1
BRONZE: Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) df. Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM), 5-1

Bozkurt joins list of rising Turkey heavyweights with U23 World gold

Comments

Iran bounces back to win two Asian Games golds in Greco-Roman