Five World No. 1 Seeds Up for Grabs at Yasar Dogu

Thursday, June 20, 2019 - 15:07 By Eric Olanowski

VEVEY, Switzerland (July 16) – The fourth and final Ranking Series event, the Yasar Dogu, is set to have huge implications when it comes to seeding the top-four wrestlers at September's Nur-Sultan World Championships. Heading into Istanbul, 25 of the top-40 women’s wrestling seeds are still open for the taking. Combining that with freestyle's 23 top-four seeds that remain available, the Yasar Dogu could determine 48 of the 80 freestyle and women's wrestling top-four seeds.

With three Ranking Series events and the Continental Championships in the rear-view mirror, half of the top seeds have been claimed, but the story reads much different for the second through fourth seeds. Come Nur-Sultan, there will be 40 seeded wrestlers, but only 15 wrestlers have cemented their seed heading into the Yasar Dogu. Of those 25 openings still up for grabs, there are 74 wrestlers who head into the Yasar Dogu with enough points to overthrow one of the current top-four ranked wrestlers.

How Many Non-Seeded Wrestlers Can Still Earn A Seed?
50kg – 6
53kg – 1
55kg – 18
57kg – 2
59kg – 23
62kg – 3
65kg – 5
68kg – 7
72kg – 6
76kg – 3

Livach Likely to Takeover No. 1 Seed at 50kg
Oksana LIVACH (UKR) trails Yui SUSAKI (JPN) by 15 points heading into the Yasar Dogu, but barring a catastrophic meltdown in Istanbul, she’ll take over the top ranking at 50kg. Livach needs 16 points to gain the outright lead over Susaki for the top seed.

Susaki, the weights two-time defending world champion, will sit out of Yasar Dogu because she's gearing up for her July 6 special wrestle-off against Yuki IRIE. The winner of the one match wrestle-off will represent Japan at 50kg in Kazahkstan.

SUN Yanan (CHN) and Mariya STADNIK (AZE) round out the top four respectively at 50kg.

Kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR) and Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) both sit within ten points from earning a seed and will both wrestle at the Yasar Dogu.

Hildebrandt Headed to Nur-Sultan on Top of 53kg
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) has cemented her No. 1 seed at 53kg at the World Championships, but the other three world championship seeds will be shuffled after the Yasar Dogu. The reason being, seven points separate second-seeded Haruna OKUNO (JPN) from fourth-seeded Diana WEICKER (CAN), who'll compete in Turkey next month.

Just by showing up in Istanbul, Weicker, the reigning world bronze medalist, will move ahead of third-seeded PANG Qianyu (CHN), who she trails by two points. If the Canadian wrestler snags a medal, she'd push herself ahead of Okuno for the second spot.

Also of note, No. 5 Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) is entered into the Yasar Dogu. She’s five points behind Weicker but will earn the fourth seed if she makes it to the podium in Istanbul.

Mukaida’s Departure Gives Sidakova Bump to No. 1 at 55kg
As wrestlers scatter to the six Olympic weight classes, some weights become depleted – especially with Tokyo only being 399 days away. That’s the case at 55kg. The weight lost top-ranked reigning world champion Mayu MUKAIDA after she dropped down to the Olympic weight of 53kg.

With the departure of the Japanese hammer, Belarus’ Zalina SIDAKOVA will take over the top spot come the World Championships. Sidakova has a commanding 27-point lead over third-ranked Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ) heading into the final Ranking Series event.

Sofia MATTSSON is the third-ranked wrestler at this weight. For the time being, the Rio bronze medalist will stay at 55kg. She’s entered her name into the Yasar Dogu at 55kg, and with a placement in Istanbul, Mattsson will steal the second seed from Sedneva, who currently has a two-point advantage over the Swedish wrestlers.

The fifth and sixth-ranked wrestlers respectively, Myong Suk JONG (PRK) and Lianna MONTERO HERRERA (CUB), have also moved to an Olympic weight. They’ve both moved up to 57kg, which means seventh-ranked Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS) will receive the fourth seed at the World Championships.

Vaulina isn’t expected to compete at the Yasar Dogu which will put her potential fourth seed in jeopardy. Bediha GUN (TUR), the ninth-ranked wrestler at 55kg, will wrestle in her home country, and with two additional Ranking Series points, will pass the Russian wrestler for the fourth spot.

Rong Remains Atop 57kg with Most Points in the World
Reigning world champion RONG Ningning (CHN) has amassed 96 points and will be the top seed at the Nur-Sultan World Championships. Rong won’t be headed to Turkey but there’s a list of heavy hitters who sit just outside the top-four that entered into the Yasar Dogu with aspirations of improving their seed. This’ll cause some fluctuation from the second through the fourth spot.

As it sits, Grace BULLEN (NOR), Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), and Pooja DHANDA (IND) sit in the second through fourth spots respectively.

But it’s fifth-ranked Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) and sixth-ranked Emese BARKA (HUN) who are six points behind Dhanda. Both wrestlers have an opportunity to leap into the third slot if they are able to reach the top of the podium next month.

Kawai’s Move Down to 59kg Will Slide Yesilirmak to No. 1
Japan’s defending 59kg world champion Risako KAWAI dropped down to the Olympic weight of 57kg, which will eventually move Elif YESILIRMAK into the top spot at 59kg. Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) is the third-ranked wrestler and can sit out of the Yasar Dogu and still keep her top-three seed.

Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) is the fourth-ranked wrestler, but there are 23 wrestlers who can still overthrow her for the fourth spot with a win in Turkey. Of those 23 wrestlers that can grab the fourth spot, India’s Kumari MANJU is the only wrestler that’s entered into the Yasar Dogu. Manju is ranked ninth and sits eight points behind Inagaki.

Yusein Enters World Championships as Top Seed at 62kg
The first two ranked wrestlers at 62kg haven't changed since the Budapest World Championships. Reigning world champion Taybe YUSEIN, who is tied with Rong Ningning for most the most Ranking Series points in the world (96 points), will be the top seed at 62kg come September’s World Championships. Yukako KAWAI (JPN), the Budapest silver medalist, is ranked second at 62kg.

Though Mallory VELTE (USA) is ranked third in the latest rankings right now, she lost her starting spot last weekend and won’t compete in the World Championships. This’ll move Brazil’s Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA into the third spot and Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR) into the fourth position.

Olli Locks up First Seed at 65kg
Finland’s first-ever women’s wrestling world champion Petra OLLI is going to end the year just how she started it -- in the top spot at 65kg. Olli has 88 Ranking Series points, which is 46 points from her nearest competitor, Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) who has 42 points.

Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) made the move to 68kg and will vacate her third-ranking, moving Forrest MOLINARI (USA) and Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) into the third and fourth spots respectively.

But Molinari, who sits two points behind second-ranked Kuznetsova, can overthrow the Russian wrestler for the second spot with a placement at the Yasar Dogu. Right now, Molinari is the only wrestler that can improve her seed that’s entered into the Istanbul Ranking Series event.

Cherkasova Starts and Ends Year as 68kg Top-Ranked Wrestler
Ukraine’s defending world champion Alla CHERKASOVA has had a target on her back for the last twelve months, and that’ll remain there as she heads into Nur-Sultan looking to defend her title from Budapest. Cherkasova, with her 92 points, has a 19-point lead over second-ranked Tamyra MENSAH (USA) and has sealed up the 68kg top seed.

Mensah-Stock, the three-time Ranking Series champion, has also locked up her World Championship seed. She’ll be the second seed with her 73 points.

SORONZONBOLD Battsetseg (MGL) and ZHOU Feng (CHN) round out the top-four of the 68kg top-four respectively.

Seven women still have their eyes on a top-four seed, but tenth-ranked Divya KAKRAN is the only one entered into the Yasar Dogu. Kakran will bring 24 points into Istanbul and trails fourth-seeded Zhou by 17 points. She’d need to reach the top of the podium for her to reach a top-four seed.

Di Stasio Moving to 76kg, Tosun to Eventually Take Over Top Spot at 72kg
Reigning world champion Justina DI STASIO (CAN) sits atop the 72kg rankings, but she’s moving up to the Olympic weight of 76kg. Buse TOSUN (TUR) will transition into the No. 1 spot and will likely remain there until the World Championships. The reason being, Tosun is the only wrestler in the top four who is entered into the final Ranking Series event.

After receiving bumps from Di Stasio’s departure, Tosun, OCHIRBAT Nasanburmaa (MGL), Tatiana KOLESNIKOVA MOROZOVA (RUS), and Samar HAMZA (EGY) will round out the top four at the World Championships.

Adar Closing in on Gray for No. 1 Seed at 76kg
Yasemin ADAR (TUR) trails four-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) by two points heading into the Yasar Dogu and will likely take over the top spot at 76kg after closing out the regular season in her home country of Turkey. That is if Gray doesn’t compete.

Germany’s Aline FOCKEN will be making her fourth Ranking Series appearance of the year. In her three appearances, she finished with a bronze medal each time. If she stays the course and Gray doesn’t compete, she could end up earning the second seed in Nur-Sultan.

Japan’s Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI is ranked fourth, but Olympic champion Erica WIEBE is only two points behind the Japanese wrestler. Wiebe will compete at the Yasar Dogu, but Minagawa Suzuki won’t, leaving the Canadian with a great shot of jumping into a top-four seed of arguably the most stacked weight class in the world.

#WrestleIstanbul

Lee qualifies for Paris 2024; India, China earn first Freestyle spots

Sunday, May 12, 2024 - 11:36 By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Türkiye (May 11) -- Spencer LEE (USA) says it was a long day for him in Istanbul but he needed only 36 seconds to qualify for the Olympics.

After four bouts in over 10 hours at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, Lee thrashed Rakhat KALZAN (KAZ) 12-2 in just 36 seconds in the Paris 2024 qualification bout at 57kg to qualify the United States for the Olympics.

"It was kind of a long day because our bracket was a little smaller," Lee said. "Even though I was like first up pretty much, there was a little bit of a break, with the bronze medal, like people coming back to repechage. There's a lot of space between my matches."

Lee spent only 7 minutes and 50 seconds on the mat, winning three bouts before the first minute finished. The only match that went all the way was his 1/8 final against Wanhao ZOU (CHN) as Lee survived a scare, winning 10-9.

But in his quarterfinal, Lee rocked former European champion Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) 12-2 in 53 seconds using his high gut and used the same move to beat Kalzan 12-2 to confirm his journey.

"I do think that it was like 18 or 19 days I had before this," Lee said about his recovery time after the U.S. trials three weeks ago. "It was a really quick turnaround. I remember like having two or three days off and then I was already scrapping in the room again, like not 100 percent. But we were getting back into it because this is a big deal. It's a big tournament."

Lee also knew that winning the quota from the semifinals was important and did not leave it to Sunday when he would have to win the bronze medal and then the playoff.

"If you don't win right on the semis and you don't qualify, and in the long day, the next day to making weight again, and then competing in other two matches. Better is to win the semis than not," he said.

Lee, a two-time former U20 world champion, was out of international wrestling for eight years. He returned at the Pan-Am Championships earlier this year and won gold. He later defeated Thomas GILMAN (USA) in the best-of-three finals in the U.S. trials to earn the right to wrestle in Istanbul.

"It's not like you really excel in the layoff," he said. "I definitely needed some competition internationally before I competed at the Olympics anyway. So if anything, you see it as a blessing, it was a good thing. Americans are really, really into your face all over you most of the time. Then over here, they're a little more calculated, a little smarter. I think that it was good to get that feel again. Because like I said, you know, eight years has been a long time for me to compete internationally. So I'm glad that I'm back on the scene."

Apart from winning a medal at the Olympics, Lee has another special reason to be in Paris. His mother, a former judoka, hails from France and her family lives there.

"This is a big deal for me," he said. "My family lives in France. They live outside of Bordeaux. My grandmother never has seen me wrestle and it's a really big deal for me to compete in my mother's home country."

Spencer LEE (USA) and AMAN (IND) after their qualification for the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The second spot at 57kg was clinched by AMAN (IND), making him the first male wrestler from India to win a Paris Olympic quota, that it failed to win at the World Championships or the Asian Olympic Qualifier.

Aman, the Asian champion in 2023, defeated Asian Games silver medalist Chongsong HAN (PRK) 12-2 to complete a commanding day in which he had three wins, two of them via technical superiority.

"When I lost the Asian Olympic qualifier, my coaches told me that I should not wrestle outside my style," Aman said. "My style is not to allow the other wrestler to finish the bout. I have to wrestle for six minutes. I had only this target in my mind that I have to wrestle six minutes here."

Out of Aman's three wins on Saturday, only one bout went the full distance. He was up against Tokyo Olympian Georgi VANGELOV (BUL) in his first bout and built a 2-1 lead at the break. But relentless in his attacks, he quickly made it 6-1 before Vangelov hit a double-leg takedown to cut it to 6-3. But it was not enough as Aman won 10-4. Andri YATSENKO (UKR) was up next but Aman showed no mercy, winning the bout 12-2 a minute and eight seconds before time.

"I thought that Vangelov bout was a tight one," he said. "I didn't want him to get to my legs to finish it with a lace. So I kept my distance and scored points whenever I got a chance."

Aman was replacing Ravi DAHIYA (IND), a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and three-time Asian champion, and was under pressure to win India's first spot for the Paris 2024 in Freestyle.

"I am relieved," he said. "It was big responsibility on me to qualify especially in the lowest weight. I was checking the records and India has a wrestler qualifying at this weight since 2004. So I had not qualified, everyone would have blamed me."

India had a chance to win another spot as SUJEET (IND) reached the semifinal against Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) but the latter proved too strong for the former. Tumur Ochir, who earlier defeated Zain RETHERFORD (USA), beat Sujeet 6-1 to earn the Paris spot.

The two were in some intense scrambles but Tumur Ochir seemed the more active wrestler. Sujeet was put on the activity clock in each period, in which he failed to score, giving Tumur Ochir a 2-0 lead. Sujeet got a point for Tumur Ochir's passivity to come within one-point distance for a win.

But his desperate attempts to get a stepout or takedown went in vain and Tumur Ochir hit a four-pointer in the final seconds to claim a 6-1.

The second spot at 65kg was claimed by European champion Islam DUDAEV (ALB) who defeated Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) 12-2 in the semifinal. This was Albania's second Paris 2024 qualification in any style.

While Arushanian was easily seen off, Dudaev must thank his stars as he won his quarterfinals only after a long challenge that Albania threw, asking for a takedown against Kwang Jin KIM (PRK).

Kim led 2-0 with 30 seconds left on the clock when Dudaev hit a single-leg and attempted a takedown. As the time ticked, he failed to control Kim and complete a takedown. However, Albania challenged that at one point, Dudaev had control of the takedown with Kim in three-point contact with the mat.

On review, it was confirmed that Dudaev actually completed a takedown, giving him a 2-2 win which Kim did not accept and spent a few minutes protesting the decision.

Albania almost had a second Paris 2024 when Cherman VALIEV (ALB) defeated Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) 2-2 in the 74kg semifinal but Rassadin challenged and on review, it was seen that Valiev committed a singlet-pull. Rassadin was awarded a point that gave him a 3-2 win.

Valiev had defeated Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) in the quarterfinals and with his loss to Rassadin, Chamizo will not be at the Paris Olympics.

In the other 74kg semifinal, three-time world silver medalist and European champion Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) defeated Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), 4-2, to qualify for his first Olympics. After Salkazanov took 2-2 criteria lead with a stepout, Demirtas made attempts to score but Salkazanov countered one of them and scored a go-behind to make the score 4-2.

At 86kg, European champion Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) defeated Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 5-3, with a takedown in the final seconds to earn the Paris qualification while Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) controlled his semifinal and posted a 3-0 win over Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) and qualified Greece for the Paris Games.

In a stunning moment of brain-fade, Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) gave up a takedown in the final five seconds against Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) to drop his semifinal at 97kg, 2-2, and lose the Paris spot.

Erik THIELE (GER) won the other spot at 97kg after he tired out Radu LEFTER (MDA) and won 3-0.

China did achieve its first Paris quota in Freestyle when Zhiwei DENG (CHN) defeated Jose DIAZ (VEN), 4-0, in the 125kg semifinal and two-time Olympian Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) defeated Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 12-2, to win the other available spot.

RESULTS

57kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Spencer LEE (USA) df. Rakhat KALZAN (KAZ), 10-0
AMAN (IND) df. Chongsong HAN (PRK), 12-2

65kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Islam DUDAEV (ALB) df. Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), 12-2
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. SUJEET (IND), 6-1

74kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), 4-2
Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) df. Cherman VALIEV (ALB), 3-2

86kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 5-3
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) df. Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR), 3-0

97kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Awusayiman HABILA (CHN), 2-2
Erik THIELE (GER) df. Radu LEFTER (MDA), 3-0

125kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Zhiwei DENG (CHN) df. Jose DIAZ (VEN), 4-0
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) df. Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 12-2

Five World No. 1 Seeds Up for Grabs at Yasar Dogu

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Lee qualifies for Paris 2024; India, China earn first Freestyle spots