#WrestleAcapulco

Five talking points from Pan-Am Championships brackets

Thursday, May 5, 2022 - 10:52 By Vinay Siwach

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 5) -- As the Pan-Am Championships kick off in the picturesque town of Acapulco, there will be some major talking points from the tournament.

Cuba has returned to the tournament after a break and has entered in all three styles. Apart from that, a few stars from the age-group level would be waiting to make their mark at the senior level and this is a perfect chance to pocket a Pan-Am medal.

Here are the five biggest talking points of the Championships over the next four days. Check all 30 brackets here

Greco-Roman

Oscar PINO (CUB), 130kg

More than two years after he last competed, Pino is returning to the mat. The three-time World Championships medalist at 130kg has to make way for four-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) every four years.

It was a similar case when he won the silver medal at the 2019 Worlds but had to vacate the space for Lopez for the Tokyo Games. He last participated in the '20 Pan-Am Championships at 125kg in freestyle and finished with a bronze.

In Mexico, he is pitted against Tanner FARMER (USA) in the opening round match at 130kg and a win will take him to the showdown against Olympian fifth-placer Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI). He wrestles Thursday.

It will be a test for Pino but he would like to add to his three Pan-Am gold, the last of which came in 2018.

TafurNestor TAFUR (COL) will be wrestling Greco-Roman in Mexico. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Nestor TAFUR (COL), 82kg

Another wrestler who will be competing in his non-favorable style is Nestor TAFUR (COL). But the 30-year-old will be making his debut in Greco-Roman on Friday.

A long-time freestyle wrestler for Colombia, Tafur will be wrestling at 82kg Greco-Roman and has been clubbed with Brayden AMBO (CAN) and Tyler CUNNINGHAM (USA) in Group B of the weight class.

Tafur, who trains in New York, has represented Colombia at the World Championships and has three Pan-Am Championships medals at 74kg and 79kg in freestyle.

But it is yet to be seen how he will take on the challenge of switching styles and winning another medal and first in Greco-Roman.

Lucia YEPEZLucia YEPEZ (ECU) will be eyeing her first senior Pan-Am medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women's wrestling

55kg - Karla GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) vs Lucia YEPEZ (ECU)

Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) will enter the Pan-Am Championships as the U23 world champion and has her reputation at stake. She is clubbed in Group B at 55kg with Brenda FERNANDEZ (MEX) and Karla GODINEZ (CAN).

Bout number 102 of the competition could well decide her position in the tournament as she faces Godinez, who was fifth at the U23 World Championships three years ago.

Yepez, a Tokyo Olympian at 50kg, will be making her debut at the senior Pan-Ams and will have to punch above her weight to challenge the likes of Godinez and Fernandez. If she wins the group, she will have to go through former world champion Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) to win the gold.

Milaimys MARINMilaimys MARIN (CUB) is a junior and U23 world champion. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko HOTAKA)

76kg -- Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) vs Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)

Another bout that will catch the attention of the fans is at 76kg. U23 World silver medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) and former U23 and junior world champion Milaimys MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) are drawn together in the first round. In action on Saturday, the two are expected to put on a show.

Marin burst into the scene when she won the Youth Olympics in 2018 and followed that by winning the junior and U23 world titles a year later. She was not able to repeat that performance at the senior level in 2020 and 2021.

But still 20, Marin end the year with a junior Pan-Am Games title at 76kg, a run which had a win over junior world champion Kylie WELKER (USA).

Renteria is also looking for her first senior Pan-Am medal. She won the silver at the U23 Worlds last year at 76kg but is still adjusting to the jump in weight class from 68kg.

 

Freestyle

Nishanpreet SINGH RANDHAWA (CAN), 97kg

Canada's freestyle team isn't talked about much but Randhawa can spring a surprise in Pan-Am Championships. After missing the '21 championships, Randhawa is back with the hope of winning a medal in the '22 edition in Mexico.

Back in 2015, Randhawa had secured a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships going 3-1 at the tournament. His only loss came against Iran while he defeated wrestlers from South Africa, Tunisia and India.

He later won the junior Pan-Am title in 2016 and defended that a year later. He finished eighth at the U23 Worlds in 2019.

The British Columbia is now hoping to win his second senior Pan-Am medal, the first came in 2017 when he won the bronze medal in Brazil. He will begin his tournament against Miller MONDRAGON ARBOLEDA (COL) and a win will take him to the likely semifinal against Kyle SNYDER (USA). He will be in action on Sunday.

'I was destroyed, couldn't sleep': Ghasempour recalls painful loss to Sadulaev

Monday, March 10, 2025 - 10:53 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 10) -- "I've thought about it a lot. Of course, it's in the past and thinking about it won't change anything. But I've thought a lot about why I made a mistake in those four seconds and I could have managed the wrestling differently and finished it very easily."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) stares at the empty walls of the interview room as he recalls the heartbreaking and shocking 5-3 loss to Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) in the semifinal of the World Championships last October.

The images of Ghasempour holding his head in hands after the loss went viral on social media. Sadulaev was praised for his champion mindset and his ability to script a remarkable late turnaround. Ghasempour was consoled by his fans, who urged him to not lose heart.

Those comforting words felt hollow at that point and Ghasempour felt 'lost'.

"The reality is that the fighting spirit and the feeling I had on the first day of the competition caused all those feelings to disappear and I was destroyed. I couldn't control myself and I just wanted the competition to end and go back," Ghasmepour says, with his voice breaking as he recollects his thoughts.

For 5 minutes and 55 seconds, Ghasempour controlled the 92kg semifinal against Sadulaev, a two-time Olympic champion known for his must-win attitude. A loss would have reinforced the belief that the Sauldaev aura was fading. A win for Ghasempour, a two-time world champion at 92kg, would make him only the third wrestler to beat Sadulaev.

But with five seconds remaining, Sadulaev snapped the Iranian down, spun behind, then managed to fling him to the mat for a 4-point takedown.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW), behind, hits the match-winning takedown on Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"It was also very difficult for me to come to terms with the loss," Ghasempour recalls. "After the match, I felt very bad and didn't sleep all night. I was awake from the intensity of thought and pressure, and it was very difficult for me. Due to the pressure I was under, I took four painkillers after the match."

A few hours of sleep was never going to be enough for Ghasempour to return for his bronze-medal bout against David TAYLOR (USA), which he lost 6-2.

Four months have passed since that day in Tirana, a city Ghasempour returned for the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series last week and captured the gold medal. Though not the World Championships and there was no Sadulaev in the field, Ghasempour managed to bring a smile on his face as he stood on the podium.

However, memories flashed back.

"When I was going up to the podium [after winning gold], I thought again that I could have been standing on the Worlds podium a few months ago, not this tournament," he said. "But that's how sports is, and if a professional athlete wants to continue their path, they must know that winning and losing are part of sports."

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) won the 92kg gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in February. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Ghasempour did take comfort from the messages he received. Yet, he is unable to move on from those five seconds of lapse in concentration.

"People gave me a lot of good energy and praised me constantly, which shows the kindness of the people," he says. "But what I wanted didn't happen and the result wasn't as I wanted. It would have been better if it ended with a good result."

As the new Olympic cycle begins, Ghasempour wants to make amends. There will be many pit stops before he can be at his first Olympics and he wants to capture every gold medal that comes his way.

"There are three more World Championships left before the Olympics [in 2028]," he says. "The World Championships are very important to me, and after that, it's the Olympic medal that I want to have in my medal showcase. In the year leading up to the Olympics, I will make the decision and compete in a weight class so that I can participate in the Olympics."