#WrestleBuenosAires

Cuba battling for fourth and fifth Greco-Roman gold medals at #WrestleBuenosAires

Friday, April 19, 2019 - 17:01 By Taylor Miller

Share this article

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Cuba put two in tonight’s Greco-Roman finals, including Yosvanys PENA FLORES and Antonio DURAN ROBLES. The country is going for its fourth and fifth gold medals in Greco this week.

Pena Flores will face 2017 Junior World champion Kamal BEY (USA) in the 77 kg bracket, and Duran Robles will take on two-time Pan Am bronze medalist Luis AVENDANO ROJAS.

In position for gold at 82 kg is Cheney HAIGHT (USA) and Carlos ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER). Both won their first-round matches in round robin and will battle for the title tonight.

The first four weights of women’s freestyle was also contested, and USA has already won two gold medals, putting up winning-records in round-robin action.

At 55 kg, Alex HEDRICK began her tournament with a fall and followed it up with a decision, and wrestling at 65 kg, Julia SALATA registered two technical falls for the crown.

The gold medal at 59 kg will be decided between Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA) and Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN), who are each 2-0 going into tonight.

A similar situation at 72 kg, the title will come down to Rachel WATTERS (USA) and Dejah SLATER (CAN) in a three-man brackets.

Action will begin at 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. EST) live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals pairings

Greco-Roman

77 kg
GOLD - Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) vs. Kamal BEY (USA)
BRONZE - Juan ESCOBAR (MEX) vs. David CHOC HUOC (GUA)
BRONZE - Jair CUERO MUNOZ (COL) vs. Johan BATISTA (DOM)

82 kg – round three matches
Cheney HAIGHT (USA) vs. Carlos ESPINOZA CASTRO (PER)

87 kg
GOLD - Luis AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN) vs. Antonio DURAN ROBLES (CUB)
BRONZE - Carlos ADAMES PALMER (DOM) vs. Alfonso LEYVA YEPEZ (MEX)
BRONZE - Phillip BARREIRO (CAN) vs. Patrick MARTINEZ (USA)

Women’s freestyle

55 kg – round three matches
Elis AZERRAD PARODI (ARG) vs. Jayd DAVIS (CAN)

59 kg – round three matches
Karoline SILVA DE SANTANA (BRA) vs. Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Andribeth RIVERA BELLIARD (PUR) vs. Kelsey CAMPBELL (USA)

65 kg – round three matches
Jessica BROUILLETTE (CAN) vs. Grabriela PEDRO DA ROCHA (BRA)

72 kg – round three matches
Rachel WATTERS (USA) vs. Dejah SLATER (CAN)

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

Monday, August 19, 2024 - 20:29 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0