China sweeps Zagreb Open; Abuladze, Nasibov win Greco golds
Sunday, January 14, 2024 - 01:21 By Vinay Siwach
ZAGREB, Croatia (January 13) -- Out of the six Olympic weight classes, China won medals in five including three golds.
That was the level of domination China showed as Women's Wrestling closed at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series on Saturday, the penultimate day of the competition.
After Feng ZHOU (CHN) won the gold medal in 68kg and Ziqi FENG (CHN) finished with a silver medal in 50kg on Friday, Qianyu PANG (CHN) won gold at 53kg, Kexin HONG (CHN) won gold at 57kg, and Juan WANG (CHN) won a silver medal at 76kg.
Pang was on a mission as she began with a fall and continued to dominate her next bouts. In the semifinals, Pang pinned Min ZHANG (CHN) to confirm a spot on the Chinese team for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek in April. Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN) injury defaulted in the final to give Pang the gold.
Joining her on the team is Asian Games bronze medalist Kexin HONG (CHN) who also had to beat compatriot Qi ZHANG (CHN) to clinch a spot and the gold medal.
World bronze medalist at 59kg Qi ZHANG (CHN) tried to challenge Hong in the final but Zhang failed break through and dropped the final 7-2. Hong had earlier beaten Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) 3-1 to reach the final and make a statement.
Juan WANG (CHN) failed to win the gold medal at 76kg after dropping the final 2-1 against world silver medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ). Wang was called passive twice while Medet Kyzy was wanred only once.
Medet Kyzy, who suffered a knee injury in the World Championships final, showed no signs of discomfort throughout the day. She pinned Rita TALISMANOVAAA (AIN) in the opening bout followed by another pin over Justina DI STASIO (CAN) to set up a quarterfinal against Adeline GRAY (USA).
Unfazed by the six-time world champion Medet Kyzy got to work and scored a four-pointer to open hte scoring. She then got a lace and won 10-0. A 5-0 win over Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA) in the semifinals saw her reach the final.
Gray returned to win the bronze medal like Kennedy BLADES (USA) who defeated Kylie WELKER (USA) via fall to win the second gold medal.
Nasibov makes golden return
Tokyo silver medalist Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) punched above his weight on Saturday to stun the wrestling world. He defeated world silver medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) via fall in the 67kg semifinal. Jafarov got the third par terre advantage with Nasibov lead 2-2 on criteria. As soon as Jafarov tried to score a gut wrench, Nasibov caught him during the turn and pinned him.
In the final, Nasibov defeated Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) 4-3 and clinch the gold medal.
63kg world champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) is unbeaten since last year's European Championships and continued his streak in Zagreb as he won the title over Virgil BICA (SWE).
RESULTS
Women's Wrestling
53kg
GOLD: Qianyu PANG (CHN) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) df. Dominique PARRISH (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Annika WENDLE (GER) df. Min ZHANG (CHN), 5-3
57kg
GOLD: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Qi ZHANG (CHN), 7-2
BRONZE: Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) df. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), 14-4
BRONZE: Yongxin FENG (CHN) df. Hannah TAYLOR (CAN), 10-0
72kg
GOLD: Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR) df. Fanni NAGY NAD (SRB), 5-0
76kg
GOLD: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Juan WANG (CHN), 2-1
BRONZE: Kennedy BLADES (USA) df. Kylie WELKER (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Adeline GRAY (USA) df. Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA), 3-0
Greco-Roman
63kg
GOLD: Leri ABULADZE (GEO) df. Virgil BICA (SWE), 9-0
BRONZE: Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) df. Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT), 9-1
BRONZE: Jacopo SANDRON (ITA) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), via inj. def.
67kg
GOLD: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA), 4-3
BRONZE: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY), 5-1
BRONZE: Aslan VISAITOV (AIN) df. Sebastian NAD (SRB), 4-3
Gold medalist at 79kg in 2024, Nan CAO (CHN) will be wrestling at 86kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov) 
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) is the defending champion at 87kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)
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