#WrestleBudapest

Four Nations Earn Pair of Olympic Berths on Friday

Friday, March 19, 2021 - 20:02 By Eric Olanowski

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 19) --- Belarus, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine earned a pair of Tokyo Olympic berths, while Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) outscored their semifinal opponents 20-0 on Friday night at the European Olympic Qualifier.

Hrushyna Akobiia and Koliadenko were flawless en route to booking Ukrainian Olympic tickets at 57kg and 62kg, respectively.

Hrushyna Akobiia, the ’20 European runner-up, scored 16 points and only surrendered one on her way to reaching the 57kg finals. She stopped two-time world medalist Emese BARKA (HUN), 6-1, then shot down Sara LINDBORG’S (SWE) hopes of booking Sweden’s second ticket of the day to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

In her semifinals meeting with Lindborg, Hrushyna Akobiia scored four takedowns before sticking Lindborg to her back in the bout's closing seconds. She was inches away from booking the fall but time expired and she was awarded the 10-0 technical superiority victory.

She’ll wrestle Bulgaria’s Evelina NIKOLOVA for gold on Saturday night. The ’15 world bronze medalist earned her nation's Tokyo berth with a 4-2 come-from-behind win over Bediha GUN (TUR). Nikolova and Gun traded takedowns, but the Bulgarian restored her lead with a late second-period takedown to gain the two-point advantage.

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) snaps down her Geman opponent at the European Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Koliadenko was the second Ukrainian wrestler to score a perfect ten and earn an Olympic license. She barely broke a sweat in her semifinals match agast Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA). She blew through the Moldovian wrestler, 10-0, in the first period and will compete tomorrow night for 62kg European OG Qualifier gold.

She’ll square off with Latvia’s now-three-time Olympian, Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT). The 30-year-old and former European champion denied Elif YESILIRMAK’s (TUR) attempt at becoming the first Turkish woman to reach three Olympic Games with a 4-4 come-from-behind victory.

Grigorjeva trailed 3-0 but capitalized on two second-period shot attempts and won, 4-4.

Belarus, Bulgaria and Russia also cemented a pair of Olympic spots through Friday night’s semifinal winning performances.

Belarus’ berths came from Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) and Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), who put on semifinal shows at 53kg and 76kg, respectively.

Kaladzinskaya, a two-time world champion, led Iulia LEORDA (MDA), 9-0, when she stopped wrestling after thinking she earned the 11-0 technical superiority win. She surrendered a reversal and a takedown but comfortably cruised to the 9-3 win.

She’ll go toe-to-toe with Rio Olympic bronze medalist and fellow world champion Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) on Saturday night.

Mattsson seized Sweden’s 53kg Olympic quota with a semifinal fall over Russia’s Stalvira ORSHUSH.

Marzaliuk looked marvelous in her semifinals meeting against Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL). The '17 world finalist got to her double underhooks and the rest was history. She only needed just over two minutes to pick up the fall and move into the 76kg finals. 

Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) and the aforementioned Nikolova punched Bulgaria’s pair of women’s wrestling tickets to Tokyo with wins on Friday night.

Selishka fell behind 1-0 against Poland’s 38-year-old Iwona MATKOWSKA but strung together two takedowns for the 4-1 victory. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), a two-time world medalist, awaits the European champion in the 50kg finals.

The 25-year-old had a minimal 1-0 lead over Julie SABATIE (FRA) after the first period but flew out of the gates in the second period with a head inside single, coupled with a gut wrench to extend to lead to 5-0. Although she shut it down with 30 seconds, she cried tears of joy with a 5-1 victory.

Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) was one of two Russian wrestlers who earn Olympic berths on Friday night. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Russia was the final country that had a pair of semifinal winners on Friday night.

Heavy hitters Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) and Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) were the ticket punchers that we’ll wrestle for gold on Saturday night.

Velieva, the stone-cold 21-year-old, completely shut down fellow European champion Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) in their semifinals clash. The young Russian earned back-to-back one-point exchanges in the first period, then grabbed a pair of second-period takedowns to win, 6-0.

Velieva will wrestle 21-year-old Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) for 68kg gold.

Larroque, who became the ninth French woman to qualify for the Olympic Games, rocked Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 10-0, in the semifinals. The two-time world-medal winner scored three takedowns in the first period and closed out the match with a takedown and an exposure in the second period to claim the 11-0 shutout win.

Although it wasn’t the ideal way you’d want to qualify, London Olympic champion Vorobeva snuck past Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-1, thanks to a pair of inactivity calls. She’ll wrestle the long and lengthy Marzaliuk for the 76kg crown on Saturday night.

The European Olympic Qualifiers resume on Saturday morning at 11:00 with Greco-Roman action taking center stage.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD - Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) vs. Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
SEMIFINAL - Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) df. Iwona Nina MATKOWSKA (POL), 4 – 1
SEMIFINAL - Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Julie SABATIE (FRA), 5-1

53kg
GOLD - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) vs. Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)
SEMIFINAL - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS), via fall
SEMIFINAL - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) df. Iulia LEORDA (MDA), 

57kg
GOLD - Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL) vs. Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) df. Sara LINDBORG (SWE), 10-0
SEMIFINAL - Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) df. Bediha GUN (TUR), 4-2

62kg
GOLD - Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) vs. Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
SEMIFINAL - Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) df. Elif Jale YESILIRMAK (TUR), 4-4
SEMIFINAL - Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA),10-0

68kg
GOLD - Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), 6-0
SEMIFINAL - Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA) df. Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 11-0

76kg
GOLD - Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) vs. Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-1
SEMIFINAL - Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) df. Mariya ORYASHKOVA (BUL), via fall

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Snyder beats Ghasempour, Zare vs Masoumi in 125kg final

Thursday, January 11, 2024 - 09:09 By United World Wrestling Press

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ZAGREB, Croatia (January 11) -- Zagreb Open day two is about to give wrestling fans a Kyle SNYDER (USA) vs Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) and Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) vs Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) at 125kg. Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will also be in action.

Catch all the action from the Zagreb Open Ranking Series free using promo code ZAGREB100.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

The finals for the evening session are set:

Women's Wrestling

50kg: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) vs. Ziqi FENG (CHN)
55kg: Samantha STEWART (CAN) vs. Roksana ZASINA (POL)

Freestyle

79kg:  Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) vs Mohamad NOKHODI (IRI)
92kg: Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) vs Nathan JACKSON (USA)
97kg: Kyle SNYDER (USA) vs Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
125kg: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) vs Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)

13:45: Over on Mat A, world bronze medalist Ziqi FENG (CHN) rolled to a 12-2 win over world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) to reach the 50kg final. She will take on Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in a rematch of the World Championships semifinal which Susaki won 4-2.

13:40: Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) step out for the 97kg semifinal. Snyder with the first attacks and gets a stepout. Ghasempour is warned for activity and put on the 30-second clock. Snyder leads 2-0 at the break. Ghasempour gets a single leg but switches for a stepout. Snyder circles and scores a takedown with ease. Snyder leads 4-0 with a minute left. Snyder will hold off Ghasempour and march into the 97kg final with a 4-0 win. He will face Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI).

13:30: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) and Mason PARRIS (USA) on Mat A now. An underhook heavy Masoumi scores the first stepout but Parris with a takedown. Masoumi with another stepout. Parris shoots for a single leg but Masoumi blocks and gets exposure but Parris rolls him over for two points. 4-4 criteria lead for Parris. Masoumi with a takedown and Parris is put in par terre for fleeing the hold. Masoumi gets a gut wrench and makes it 8-4 at the break. Parris gets on some of the leg attacks but doesn't finish any. Masoumi still leads 8-4. Parris gives up a stepout but scores a takedown to make it 9-6. Masoumi is still with the lead. Two to finish the match and Masoumi wins 11-6 and sets up a final against Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)

13:20: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) pulls out injured against Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) in their 125kg semifinal. Zare had defeated Petraishvili in the World Championships final last year.

13:15: World bronze medalist Anna LUKASIAK (POL) had the world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) in trouble with four points but Dolgorjav hung on for a 5-4 win.

13:10: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) keeps off a stunning comeback from Isaac TRUMBLE (USA) t to win 8-7 and advance to the 97kg semifinals.

13:05: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) is called for passivity against Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR) and gives up the activity point. Ghasempour with a takedown just before the break to lead 2-1. He begins the second period with a takedown and adds another to lead 6-1. No more scores in the bout and we have Kyle SNYDER vs Kamran GHASEMPOUR semifinal at 97kg.

12:55: Kyle SNYDER (USA) into the semifinals at 97kg with a 10-0 win over Cristian SARCO (VEN). Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) taking on Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR) now to see if he can set up the semifinal against Snyder. 

12:50: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) with another victory via superiority and she moves into the 50kg semifinals. Susaki looks in dominant form so far, as expected.

12:45: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) with a technical superiority win over Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) at 125kg. He will get Petriashvili in the semifinals.

12:40: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), leading 3-0 against Robert BARAN (POL) at 125kg, seems to have pulled a muscle around his ribs. He has called for medical attention. He resumes the bout and wins 10-0 but looks in trouble. He also has a heavily tapped left knee.

12:30: A surprise entry into the semifinals at 97kg as VICKY (UWW) beat Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO) 5-0. Solid performance from Vicky so far for his three wins.

12:15: Elizaveta SMIRNOVA (AIN) scored a takedown on Yui SUSAKI (JPN) but the Japanese answered with a reversal and then an arm bar to pin Smirnova! Into the quarterfinals at 50kg.

12:00: That was a long bout for Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) against Awusayiman HABILA (CHN). Perhaps saving some energy for later but Habila cut the lead to 4-2 before Ghasempour scored a takedown to win 6-2.

11:30: Kyle SNYDER (USA) wins at 97kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) holds off Youssif HEMIDA (EGY) at 125kg. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) is up next on Mat B

11:20: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) survives a scare. Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) scored a takedown to lead 2-0 but Petriasvili, seemingly in some trouble, managed to crawl back and win 3-2. On Mat B, Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) blanks Zhewei DENG (CHN) 10-0.

10:55: 20 seconds! That's the time Yui SUSAKI (JPN) needed to pin Mariana ROJAS (VEN) at 50kg.

10:50: Two-time world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) rolls to a 10-0 lead before securing a fall against Agata WALERZAK (POL) at 50kg to kick off Women's Wrestling at the Zagreb Open.

10:45: Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN) wrestling on Mat C. Snyder with a stepout. Mueite answers with his own. Snyder with a double-leg with a four. He adds one more in the second and a takedown to win 11-1 at 97kg.

10:30: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) and Givi MATCHRASHVILI (GEO) wrestling at 125kg. The Georgian is a 97kg wrestler but has decided not to cut weight at the start of the season. He is up at 125kg but trailing 4-0 at the break against Masoumi. A match that was never in Matchrashvili's grabs as Masoumi beats him 6-2 at 125kg.

10:00: Welcome to day two of the Zagreb Open! Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Daniel LIGETI (HUN) at 125kg put on a show, sort of. Petriashvili was trailing 3-0 but added three takedowns in the second period to win 6-3 and advance.