#Zagreb2018

Four Cadet World Medalists Move onto World Championship Semifinals in #Zagreb2018

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – Two Cadet World champions and two other World medalists are in the mix for World titles after advancing to Monday’s World Championship semifinals in Zagreb, Croatia.

World champions Alihasan AMIRLI (IRI) and Daniel KERKVLIET JR. (USA) are still on the path to repeating their 2017 gold-medal performances.

At 48 kg, Amirli started his tournament with a 4-0 win over 2017 Cadet World bronze medalist Kaisei TANABE (JPN). In tonight’s semifinals, Amirli will take on two-time World medalist Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO), who won Cadet World bronze in 2016 and Cadet World silver last summer.

The other semifinal at 48 kg is Richard FIGUEROA II (USA) vs. Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR).

Kerkvliet, competing at 110 kg, claimed a 10-0 quarterfinal win over Cadet Asian silver medalist Kumar ANIRUDH (IND), after collecting a pair of tech falls to open his tournament. Tonight, Kerkvliet will take on 2018 Cadet European champion Sergey KOZYREV (RUS).

Two additional continental medalists highlight the other semifinal at 110 kg as Cadet Asian gold medalist Amir ZARE (IRI) will face off against 2018 Cadet European silver medalist Islam ABUEV (AZE).

2017 Cadet World silver medalist Tuan BAYRAMOV (AZE) looks to improve on last year’s finish, advancing to the 65 kg semifinal. Bayramov, who also owns a bronze medal from the 2017 Cadet Euro Championships and a gold medal from the 2018 Cadet Euros, will go head-to-head with the 2018 Cadet Asian champion Mohammed KARIMISEIFABAD (IRI).  

The Cadet Asian silver medalist, Bekzat ZHALGASSOV (KAZ), is on the opposite side of the bracket and will face Inalbek SHERIEV (RUS) in the semifinals.

In addition to Karimiseifabad, there are two other 2018 Cadet Asian champions in the semifinals, including Hayato FUJITA (JPN) at 55 kg and Mohammadreza GHIYASI (IRI) at 80 kg.

Fujita will take on Cadet European silver medal winner Davidi ABDALADZE (GEO). The other semifinal at 55 kg is Simone PIRODDU (ITA) against 2017 Cadet Asian bronze medalist Jamshidbek MARUFOV (UZB).

At 80 kg, Ghiyasi will take on Sagadulla AGAEV (AZE) and Dmitrii ELKANOV (RUS) will challenge Milan KORCSOG (HUN).

The semifinals start at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) and will be live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Semifinal pairings

48 kg
Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO) vs. Alihasan AMIRLI (AZE)  
Richard FIGUEROA II (USA) vs. Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR)

55 kg
Simone PIRODDU (ITA) vs. Jamshidbek MARUFOV (UZB)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO) vs. Hayato FUJITA (JPN)

65 kg
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. Mohammad KARIMISEIFABAD (IRI)
Bekzat ZHALGASSOV (KAZ) vs. Inalbek SHERIEV (RUS)

80 kg
Sagadulla AGAEV (AZE) vs. Mohammadreza Ezatollah GHIYASI (IRI)
Dmitrii ELKANOV (RUS) vs. Milan KORCSOG (HUN)

110 kg
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS) vs. Daniel KERKVLIET JR (USA)
Amir ZARE (IRI) vs. Islam ABUEV (AZE)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW Appeal Committee concludes investigation into Olympic qualification match

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 29) -- The United World Wrestling (UWW) Appeal Committee has reached a decision regarding the appeals filed against the UWW Disciplinary Chamber's ruling dated April 23, 2024, concerning the officiating of Match 266 (ITA vs AZE) at the European OG Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan.

After carefully considering the statements from the refereeing officials involved (Alexei Bazulin, Roman Pavlov, Ibrahim Cicioglu, Kamel Bouaziz, and Casey Goessl), the reports of the two review panels, and the opinions of impartial refereeing experts, the Appeal Committee concluded that there was no indication of bias in the officiating of the match. The issues identified were determined to be related to refereeing errors and technical aspects of officiating.

To ensure a fair and proportionate outcome, the Appeal Committee has referred the case back to the UWW Disciplinary Chamber for reconsideration. The Disciplinary Chamber has been instructed to reassess the appropriate sanctions, if any, based solely on the refereeing errors and technical officiating issues in accordance with the relevant UWW rules and regulations.

Considering the above, the Disciplinary Chamber revisited the case and issued the following decision:

Considering the above, in particular, that the appeal panel found that “there is no indication of bias amounting to a breach of the fundamental principles of integrity and fair play in the officiating of Match 266” and that “since this case is about the refereeing errors and questionable decisions of a technical nature”, pursuant to the UWW Regulations and rules the Disciplinary Chamber renders the following revised sanction:

  1. The suspension against the refereeing delegates (Mr. Bouaziz, Mr. Cicioglu, Mr. Goessl) is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, the refereeing delegates are reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate only as mat chairmen during the Games.
  2. The suspension against Mr. Bazulin is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, Mr. Bazulin is reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate as referee during the Games.
  3. The suspension against Mr. Pavlov is reduced to the same period as the judge’s, i.e. until 30 September 2024.

The UWW remains committed to upholding the integrity of the sport and ensuring that all competitions are conducted fairly and in accordance with the rules and regulations.