#Grappling

Four earn double titles at European Grappling Championships

By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 29) -- The dominance of Individual Neutral Athletes was challenged by the field in the Grappling Gi competition at the European Grappling Championships in Baku. After AINs won all 10 gold medals in men's grappling, they were stopped to five in Grappling Gi.

Magomedbek TEMEEV (AIN), Artur AGASHIRINOV (AIN) and Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA) upgraded their silver medals to gold in grappling while Shamil MAZHIDKHANOV (AIN) repeated as the European champion.

Jerzy IZDEBSKI (POL), Samy MEZACHE (FRA) and Mateusz MAZUR (POL) were bronze medalists in grappling but managed to win the gold medal in Grappling Gi with some stunning performances.

In women's Grappling Gi, Alicja IRENA (POL) upgraded her silver to gold at 53kg, avenging her loss to Carlota PRENDES (ESP) in the final. Olesia ZHURAVLEVA (AIN) repeated as the champion at 58kg as did Alsu IANSHINA (AIN) at 71kg and Justyna SITKO (POL) at 90kg.

Laila OHLHOFF (GER) made sure she capped off her run at 64kg with a gold medal, beating Veronika KARAKHONOVA (AIN), 6-5, in a thrilling final.

RESULTS

Men’s Grappling Gi

58k
GOLD: Jerzy IZDEBSKI (POL) df. Ilia ABRAMENKO (AIN), via submission

BRONZE: Vahid ALAKBAROV (AZE) df. Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR), via submission

62kg
GOLD: Magomedbek TEMEEV (AIN) df. Dmytro BARANOV (UKR), 7-4

BRONZE: Wojciech GRYZ (POL) df. Philippe ALILAT (FRA), via forfeit
BRONZE: Vladimir KOZLOV (AIN) df. Mykola NYKYFORUK (UKR), via submission

66kg
GOLD: Artur AGASHIRINOV (AIN) df. Giorgi RAZMADZE (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Gazimagomed TAGAEV (AIN) df. Bartosz TYRKIEL (POL), via submission
BRONZE: Giovanni SUAREZ (ESP) df. Vadym SKRYNYTSIA (UKR), 4-2

71kg
GOLD: Kurban KADIEV (AIN) df. Sandor LAKATOS (HUN), 3-0

BRONZE: Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER) df. Vladyslav POHORILOV (UKR), 11-0
BRONZE: Dzhimsher RAZMADZE (GEO) df. Piotr DUDZINSKI (POL), 8-0

77kg
GOLD: Magomed DAURBEKOV (AIN) df. Iker CAMARA (ESP), 3-1

BRONZE: Adilkhan VALIEV (AIN) by forfeit
BRONZE: Dumitru CEBAN (MDA) df. Arthur LEROY (FRA), 2-2 in overtime

84kg
GOLD: Samy MEZACHE (FRA) df. Eneko DIEZ PUEBLA (ESP), 3-2

BRONZE: Igor DZIAG (POL) df. Pawel JAWORSKI (POL), via submission (0-4)
BRONZE: Pierre MANZO (FRA) df. Rasul ABDULVADUDOV (AIN), 5-4

92kg
GOLD: Mateusz MAZUR (POL) df. Mantas DAUBLYS (LTU), via cautions (6-2)

BRONZE: Pablo ESTEPA NIETO (ESP) df. Murat KHASANOV (AIN), via disqualification
BRONZE: Imran KHAMIDOV (AIN) df. Levente LAKY (HUN), via submission

100kg
GOLD: Shamil MAZHIDKHANOV (AIN) df. Francisco MARTINEZ VILA (ESP), 18-0

BRONZE: Ivan MALIN (UKR) df. Andrzej IWAT (POL), via decision
BRONZE: Vasif SAFARBAYOV (AZE) df. Arnold OCULI (FRA), 8-2

130kg
GOLD: Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA) df. Eldar MAMMADOV (AZE), via submission (0-2)

BRONZE: Wojciech WILK (POL) df. Viktor KLIUEV (AIN), 2-0

Women’s Grappling Gi

53kg
GOLD: Alicja IRENA (POL) df. Carlota PRENDES (ESP), 7-5

BRONZE: Kristina RAU (GER) df. Daria LUKIANCHIKOVA (AIN), via submission

58kg
GOLD: Olesia ZHURAVLEVA (AIN) df. Irina KUPRINA (AIN), via submission

BRONZE: Jazmin ARJONA (ESP) df. Paulina STASKIEWICZ (POL), 5-3

64kg
GOLD: Laila OHLHOFF (GER) df. Veronika KARAKHONOVA (AIN), 6-5

BRONZE: Anna CASTELLS (ESP) df. Joanna ZABULEWICZ (POL), 2-1
BRONZE: Daria CHIBISOVA (UKR) df. Viktoriia PANCHENKO (UKR), via submission

71kg
GOLD: Alsu IANSHINA (AIN)
SILVER: Alycia QUENEE (FRA)
BRONZE: Emily GUENZLER (GER)

90kg
GOLD: Justyna SITKO (POL)
SILVER: Alena VLASOVA (AIN)
BRONZE: Paula MARTINEZ (ESP)

#WrestleAmman

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

By Vinay Siwach

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