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Commonwealth Games, Birmingham Day 1 finals set

Friday, August 5, 2022 - 09:05 By Vinay Siwach

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COVENTRY, England (August 5) -- The Commonwealth Games are moving towards the business end and wrestling will be one of the sports to be highlighted at the Games. At the Coventry Arena, wrestlers will be eyeing to win the gold medals in 12 freestyle and women's wrestling. On day one, six weight classes in action, three freestyle and three for women's.

MATCH ORDER

15:15: The finals for the night are set

FS 65kg:  Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN) vs. Bajrang PUNIA (IND)
FS 86kg:  Deepak PUNIA (IND) vs. Muhammad INAM (PAK)
FS 125kg: Zaman ANWAR (PAK) vs. Amarveer DHESI (CAN)

WW 57kg: Anshu MALIK (IND) vs. Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
WW 62kg: Ana GONZALEZ (CAN) vs. Sakshi MALIK (IND)
WW 68kg: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) vs. Linda MORAIS (CAN)

14:54: Deepak PUNIA (IND) will wrestle for the 86kg gold after beating Moore 3-1 in the semifinals. Dhesi with a technical superiority 12-2 win over Grewal. He will wrestle the 125kg gold 

14:51: Two India-Canada semifinals. At 86kg, Deepak PUNIA (IND) is wrestling Alexander MOORE (CAN) and leading 3-0. At 125kg, Mohit GREWAL (IND) and Amarveer DHESI (CAN) have exchanged takedowns with Dhesi leading 2-2 on criteria.

14:45: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) is back in the 68kg final at Commonwealth. At 57kg, Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) is up against Hannah TAYLOR (CAN) and begins with a double for four. A takedown makes it 6-0. A takedown before the break and one after gives her a 10-0 win and a place in the final against Anshu MALIK (IND)

15:42: Bajrang PUNIA (IND) with another top win. He beats George RAMM (ENG) 10-0 in the 65kg semifinal and will be defending his gold from four years ago. 

15:10: Anshu MALIK (IND) and Sakshi MALIK (IND) are the two finalists for India. At 57kg, Anshu has made it 10-0 while at 62kg, Sakshi also blanks her opponent 10-0

15:05: Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN) is going into the 65kg finals. He beats Inayat ULLAH (PAK) 11-0 and is a win away from being crowned as the Commonwealth champion. On Mat B, 86kg defending champion Muhammad INAM (PAK) is into the semifinals

14:50: The first semifinal of the night is Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) and U23 world champion Ana GONZALEZ (CAN) at 62kg. Gonzalez takes the first takedown but Kolawole blasts a double to lead 2-2 on criteria. Just before the break, Gonzalez is quick to score a takedown and lead 4-2. Another slow start but Gonzalez with a counter and go behind to extend her lead 6-2. Single leg counter from Kolawole and she trims the lead to 6-4. A minute left in the bout. Gonzalez gets her takedown and a turn to make it 10-4. That will be the end of this semifinal she will wrestle for gold at 62kg

14:45: Edward LESSING (RSA) with a huge five! He blanks Syerus ESLAMI (ENG) 10-0 in the 86kg and will wrestle for the spot in the finals

14:35: Former world champion Linda MORAIS (CAN) has jumped up to 68kg and she begins her campaign with a fall and will wrestle in the semifinal here in Birmingham.

14:26: A top bout at 68kg on Mat A. Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) up against Divya KAKRAN (IND). The two begin cautiously but Oborududu scores a stepout to lead 1-0. The Nigerian wrestler has raced to a 5-0 lead at the break after adding two takedowns. Kakran tries going for the far leg but Oborududu manages to keep her away and counters with two takedowns. She finishes things with another takedown and win 11-0 

14:25: Mohit GREWAL (IND) and Alexios KAOUSLIDIS (CYP) battle it out for six minutes but it's Grewal who keeps it under control and wins 10-1 at 125kg. Bajrang PUNIA (IND) moves into the semifinals at 65kg with another fall

14:10: Mandhir KOONER (ENG) was warned for passivity against Mohamed BUNDU (SLE) and looked like Bundu will make a move against Kooner. But the England wrestler pulled off a four-pointer and then secured the fall and the crowd enjoyed that

14:08: Defending champion at 86kg Muhammad INAM (PAK) gets going with a 10-0 win against Kieran MALONE (SCO). He will now wrestle in the 86kg quarterfinals

14:04: World silver medalist Anshu MALIK (IND) up against Irene SYMEONIDIS (AUS) for her 57kg quarterfinals. She begins with a go behind and turns to lead 8-0 in 36 seconds. Malik will close the bout with a takedown and win in a minute and four seconds

14:01: Returning bronze medalist at 86kg Syerus ESLAMI (ENG) trailed Charalampos CHOIRAS (CYP) for five minutes and 30 seconds but scored a takedown to claim a 6-4 lead and win his 86kg quarterfinals. The crowd has gone ecstatic.

13:55: Lachlan MCNEIL (CAN) with a figure-4 and he moves past Ross CONNELLY (SCO) with a 10-0 technical fall. He will wrestle in the 65kg semifinals

13:45: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) with a fantastic warm-up win against Blandine NGIRI (CMR). She used a series of takedowns to win 10-0

13:30: The referees and fans are ready. The bouts are resuming and set for the quarterfinals of the 6 weight classes

13:00: We had a longer delay than expected but seems like we should be back on track in the next 15 minutes. We will be resuming action at 13:30 local time

11:00: We are experiencing a small technical delay in the competition but we will be back soon. We are expecting a delay of an hour. Wrestling will resume at 12:15 local time.

10:55: Mandhir KOONER (ENG) with another win for England. The crowd loves it as Kooner beats Aaro LEHAULI (TGA) at 125kg. At 86kg, Deepak PUNIA (IND) also begins with a win.

10:50: George RAMM (ENG) absolutely puts the crowd on its feet. Mostafa REZAEIFAR (AUS) tried his best to break Ramm's defense but the England wrestler hangs on for 3-0 win

10:45: India's Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND) with a quick pin over  Lowe BINGHAM (NRU) at 65kg. He is the defending champion as well

10:40: Inayat ULLAH (PAK) starts with a dominating win over Adam VELLA (MLT) and Ross CONNELLY (SCO) beats Brahm RICHARDS (NZL) at 65kg.

10:30: Welcome to day one of the Commonwealth Games. Inayat ULLAH (PAK) and Adam VELLA (MLT) will begin the proceedings on Mat A at 57kg. Brahm RICHARDS (NZL) vs Ross CONNELLY (SCO) in the 65kg quarterfinals.

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez confident in his quest for fifth Olympic gold

Sunday, July 21, 2024 - 06:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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PARIS (July 21) -- In the history of the Olympic Games, only one athlete has won the gold medals five consecutive times: Ireen Wüst. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Dutch speed skater completed the milestone and etched her name into the history books when she won the 1,500m race.

No Summer Olympian has ever won gold medals in the same individual event five consecutive times. No wrestler has ever won five gold medals. All that could change in Paris. And the man sniffing at the record is Mijain LOPEZ (CUB).

The man they fondly call ‘Gigante de Herradura’ and ‘El Terrible’ currently holds the record of winning the same individual Olympic event four times along with swim legend Michael Phelps, track hero Carl Lewis, the American discus throw hero Al Oerter, the sailor from Denmark Paul Elvstrom and Kaori ICHO (JPN) who, like Lopez, has four gold medals.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Born on August 20, 1982, the super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler made his first appearance at the Olympics in 2004. He was accompanied in the contingent by his elder brother Michel, a boxer (his other older sibling, Misael, was a rower). Michel won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division in Athens, a medal that continued Cuba’s historic dominance in boxing.

Lopez observed everything quietly at his maiden Games and when he returned to the biggest stage of all, in Beijing four years later, he would take the field by storm. The 6-foot-5-inch tall wrestler won a gold and repeated that feat in 2012, then in 2016 and the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“I feel like it is a dream,” Lopez said. “I believe that it's a goal that I have had throughout my career. I have won four gold medals. I believe winning an Olympic gold medal is hard. So winning four and five is exceptional.”

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) defends his gold medal at 2012 London Olympic Games (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

His stranglehold in the super heavyweight division at the Olympics has played side-by-side with his dominance at the World Championships – where he has five titles and three silver medals – and the nine Pan American Championships crowns that are to his name.

Lopez last competed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. After beating Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the gold medal bout on superiority, he stayed away from the mat before resurfacing last year to renew his bid for a fifth Olympic gold.

In May 2023, he announced his intention to come back but didn’t straightaway dive into competition mode although he would have been the favorite to defend his Pan American Games title.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his third gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

But due to a personal loss in the weeks leading up to the Pan-Am Games, Lopez opted out of the competition and chose to prepare himself for the bigger battle. He watched from the sidelines as for the first time since 2003, a new face stood on the top of the podium at the Pan-Am Games.

All the while, Lopez had been training with single-minded focus at his bases in Varadero, the scenic beach resort roughly 150 km from Havana, and the Pelado High-Performance Centre in Havana.

In Paris, he might have to fight two battles simultaneously. The first against his aging body — he is 41 years old at the moment. And once he manages that, the Cuban will have to navigate through a tough field, especially since he isn’t among the seeded wrestlers in the 130kg category.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) won his fourth gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Lopez has sounded unfazed. If anything, he is itching to better the record of one of his favorite athletes, someone he has called the greatest Olympian of all time – Phelps.

“The preparation is done. I feel in optimal condition and all wrestlers are motivated both in Cuba and internationally. It has been a very important time for me to keep the motivation to get to my sixth Olympic Games and fight for my fifth medal,” he said. “Something I am doing with great focus to be able to show the world that everything you have in mind, and want to achieve, can be achieved. I know it's in my mind, and I believe the possibility of achieving that result is high.”

Lopez wrestles in Paris on August 5 and 6.