FS Preview: Iran and USA favored to clash for team title

Saturday, September 3, 2022 - 12:52 By Eric Olanowski

COSIER-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 30) --- The United States and Iran account for 11 returning world medalists – six of which were gold medalists in Oslo -- and are poised to go toe-to-toe for the freestyle team title at the 2022 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

The elite group of freestyle competitors will be led by defending world champions Thomas GILMAN (USA), Kyle DAKE (USA), Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) and Amir ZARE (IRI).

The tournament gets underway September 10, but the freestyle portion of the competition will be on the tail end of 2022 World Championships. The world’s most popular wrestling style starts Thursday, September 15.

Last year in Oslo, the United States (168 points) medaled in seven of ten weights and edged Iran (162 points) and their seven medalists by six points in the team race. Each squad returns a trio of world champions, setting up what’s expected to be the closest team race since the 2017 World Championships, when Snyder beat Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) in the final match of the event, helping America edge the Russians by one point.

What are placements worth?
Gold = 25 points
Silver = 20 points
Bronze = 15 points
Fifth = 10 points
Seventh = 8 points
Eighth = 6 points
Ninth = 4 points
Tenth = 2 points

Without 125kg Tokyo Olympic champion Gable STEVESON (USA) in America’s lineup and defending world champion Zare expected to finish with at least a bronze medal, the Stars and Stripes enter the World Championships in a 15-point hole.

There most critical weights where the USA can expunge that 15-point deficit are 57kg, 74kg and 97kg. These are the three weights where seeded American and Iranian wrestlers are on the same side of the bracket, setting up potential quarter or semifinal meetings.

Alireza SARLAK (IRI) and Thomas GILMAN (USA) clash in the 2021 world finals. They are expected to meet in the semifinals in Belgrade. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

At 57kg, reigning world champion and Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo Gilman could see Alireza SARLAK (IRI) in the semifinals. The American is seeded No. 1 at the weight, while the Iranian is seeded fourth.

Gilman owns the two-match advantage against Sarlak, having picked up victories in the 2021 world finals and the semifinals at the '22 Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series event.

For that matchup to happen in the semifinals, Gilman must get through No. 8 Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR), and Sarlak must take out No. 5 Vladimir EGOROV (MKD).

At 74kg, Dake is the top-seeded wrestler. He'll share the top side of the chart with Iran’s No. 5 Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI).

Dake will likely take on European bronze medalist No. 8 Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) in the quarterfinals. They met at the ’21 Henri Deglane, where Dake took out the Israeli wrestler 11-0 in the opening period.

If fifth-seeded Emamichoghaei wants to keep Iran’s hopes of winning the freestyle team title alive and down Dake in the semifinals, he’s going to have to get through No. 4 Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the quarterfinals.

At 97kg, the biggest storyline is how the seeds played out.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) sit together on the top side of the chart. The reason it’s significant is that the last time these two met – in the 2020 Matteo Pellicone semifinals – the Iranian pinned the two-time world champion.

Snyder is the top-seeded wrestler, while Mohammadian is seeded fifth.

For the Snyder and Mohammadian semifinal match to come to fruition, the American must beat No. 8 Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ), while the Iranian must defeat No. 4 Mahamed ZAKARIIEV (UKR).

Outside of the weights where American and Iranian are positioned on the same side of the bracket, other key weights in the team race include 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 86kg and 92kg.

Iran holds a slight advantage at 61kg due to Reza ATRI's (IRI) world and Olympic experience. He'll be making his fourth appearance in Iran's senior world lineup. Last year, he finished in fifth place at the Tokyo Olympic Games and World Championships.

Seth GROSS (USA) will represent the USA at 61kg. He earned her first Worlds berth by beating 2021 world silver medalist Daton FIX (USA) in a three-match playoff.

The biggest unseeded dark horses in the 65kg bracket are Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) and Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA).

Both Amouzad and Diakomihalis underperformed at last year’s World Championships. They both went 1-1 in Norway. Amouzad finished in 11th place, while Diakomihalis finished in 12th place.

But with another year of experience under their belt, they’re poised to welcome the pressure that comes along with fighting for a team title.

The Belgrade Worlds will be Amouzad’s second competition up at 65kg after continuing his four-year growth spurt. Since 2018, he’s wrestled at 45kg, 48kg, 57kg, 61kg and seems to have settled in at 65kg. The lengthy Iranian competed at 61kg in his senior world debut a season ago but moved up to 65kg for April’s Asian Championships.

Amouzad showed that he’s a true 65kg guy by winning Asian gold in Ulan-Baatar earlier this year. In the gold-medal match, he scooped up a massive win over Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang PUNIA (IND).

Diakomihalis will try to end America’s 65kg non-world-medal curse that dates back to the ’06 Guangzhou World Championships when USA’s freestyle head coach Mike ZADDICK won world gold and secured the Stars and Stripe's last 65kg/66kg world medal.

At 70kg, No. 5 Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) and No. 6 Zain Allen RETHERFORD (USA) are on opposite sides of the chart and wouldn’t wrestle until the finals.

Yazdanicheratri made his world team debut last year at 65kg, finishing with a silver medal. He’s moved up to 70kg to ultimately prepare himself for a run at Iran's 74kg spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Retherford will make his third appearance for the Red, White and Blue on the senior-level world stage. He finished in 11th place in Paris and 26th place in Nur-Sultan.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) could meet in the 79kg world finals. They met for gold in Oslo, with the American picking up the victory. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Last year’s world finals opponents Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) are seeded first and second at 79kg, respectively, and wouldn't wrestle again until the finals.

Burroughs is heading to Belgrade looking to bag his sixth world title, which would be an American male record. His road to rewriting the history books will go through No. 8 Baliyan GOURAV (IND) in the semifinals before wrestling either No. 4 Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) or No. 5 Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) in the semifinals.

Nokhodilrimi has a tougher path to the gold-medal match. In the quarters, he’ll compete against No. 7 Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA), who was last year’s European runner-up. If he beats the French wrestler, he’ll compete against reigning European champion No. 3 Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) or European bronze medal winner No. 6 Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR).

Regarding the 86kg bracket, all eyes will be on two guys: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) and David TAYLOR (USA). The pair of Olympic champions are in a league of their own and are expected to meet for the fifth time in their career.

Yazdani is the first-seeded wrestler, and Taylor is seeded second. Barring a catastrophic meltdown, the superstars would meet for a second consecutive year for a world title.

Heading into Belgrade, Taylor owns the 3-1 advantage, but Yazdani gained the momentum after beating his American rival in the 2021 world finals.

Kamran GHSEMPOUR (IRI) stopped J’den COX (USA) in the semifinals and stopped the American from winning a third world title. They are both entered at 92kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

There are two headliners entered in the 92kg field, but Kamran Ghasempour holds the upper hand on two-time world champion J’den COX (USA) after winning their Oslo semifinal meeting en route to winning world gold last year.

Ghasempour heads into Belgrade as the top seed in the 92kg chart after his world title run and gold-medal performance at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Ranking Series event.

Ghasempour is looking to win an 11th consecutive tournament. Since 2018, he’s claimed gold at 10 straight events. Those events include the senior-level World Championships, two U23 World Championships, and a pair of Asian Championships, among others.

Ghasempour sits on opposite sides of the bracket from the Rio Olympic bronze medalist Cox. They’d have to remain unbeaten until the finals to clash for a second time.

But to get to Cox, Ghasempour must take out No. 8 Orgilokh DAGVADORJ (MGL) in the quarters and either No. 4 Andrii VLASOV (UKR) or No. 5 Viky VIKY (IND) in the semifinals.

Cox is seeded third and sits on the bottom of the bracket with his quarterfinals opponent No. 6 Adilet DAVLUMBAYEV (KAZ). The American must beat the Kazakh, then defeat either No. 2 Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) or No. 7 Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) to reach the finals against Ghasempour.

#WrestleBaku

Golden hattrick for Kougiomtsidis, historic gold for Lefter at U23 Euros

Saturday, May 25, 2024 - 16:08 By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (May 25) -- Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) seems to enjoy competing against Azerbaijani wrestlers.

In September last year at the World Championships, the former European champion got the better of Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the fifth-place bout to book his Paris Olympics quota. On Saturday, he underlined his preparedness for this summer’s Games by defeating another Azerbaijan wrestler, Ali TCOKAEV (AZE).

And in doing so, he completed a rare golden hat-trick. A U23 European champion in 2022 and 2023, Kougioumtsidis completed the ‘three-peat’ in style. The 22-year-old needed barely five minutes to reach the semifinals, where he had to dig into his experience to overcome rookie wrestler Arsen BALAIAN (AIN).

Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) won his third successive U23 European Championships gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In the final, Kougioumtsidis was up against the local hero Tcokaev. Only 21, the Azerbaijan wrestler was looking for his first-ever gold medal in this competition. Like his opponent, Tcokaev looked sharp coming into the final and he was the one making all the early moves. But in a blink of an eye, the wrestler from Greece turned the 79kg final on its head.

Kougioumtsidis was placed on the passivity clock just over a minute into the bout. That call seemed to have woken him up from his slumber. As the clock ticked down, Kougioumtsidis first went for Tcokaev’s left leg but the Azerbaijani was quick to defend. He then went for the right. This time, not only did he successfully execute the single-leg attack, but Kougioumtsidis also tripped him for a four-pointer.

Tcokaev tried making a comeback but Kougioumtsidis used his long limbs to keep his opponent at bay and closed out the match 4-1, not scoring any more points.

It was a statement win. But it also broke the hearts of the home fans who were expecting to see their wrestlers turn on the style on the penultimate day of the championships. Instead, they had to witness two Azerbaijani defeats in the finals.

Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) won the 70kg gold medal after beating Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Moments before Tcokaev lost to Kougioumtsidis, Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) was defeated 6-2 by Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) in the 70kg final.

Sheriev’s was one of the three Individual Neutral Athletes who won gold medals on Saturday. The finals session on the second last day of championships began with Artem GOBAEV (AIN) beating Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR) 8-3 for the 57kg gold medal.

Gobaev was dominant throughout the final, deftly evading Karavus’s moves and launching vicious counterattacks to give his Turkish rival no chance of winning and being crowned as the U23 continental champion for the first time.

Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN) captured the 65kg title after beating defending champion Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

If Gobaev was patient enough to capitalize on his opponent’s mistakes, Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN) was like a flashy sports car that takes less than 10 seconds to go full throttle.

Since winning the U23 World Championship title last year, Ibragimov hasn’t had a lot to show from his fledgling wrestling career. Big wins and titles have both been missing. That drought ended in Baku.

Ibragimov had spent less than 10 minutes on the mat on Friday to reach the final, scoring 21 points and allowing just one. But in Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), he was up against the defending U23 European Championship gold medallist in the 65kg final.

He might not have won anything eye-popping of late, but Ibragimov didn’t look too overwhelmed by the quality of his opponent. The Frenchman was still to settle into the final when Ibragimov bent forward and got a grip of his leg for a swift two-point takedown.

The bout was only eight seconds old, but from that moment on, the writing was on the wall. Ibragimov kept chipping away constantly at his opponent to keep the scorecard ticking in his favor through a series of push-outs and passivity points Arsamerzouev conceded.

Eventually, in the battle between the U23 world champion, Ibragimov, and the U23 European champion, it was the former who prevailed 6-2.

Radu LEFTER (MDA) celebrates after winning the 97kg gold medal, a first for Moldova at the U23 European Championships in Freestyle. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Lefter wins historic gold

Radu LEFTER (MDA) will remember this day for a long time. Not only did he win his first gold medal at a championship, Lefter became the first wrestler from Moldova to win a Freestyle gold medal at the U23 European Championships after he defeated Soslan DZHAGAEV (AIN) in the final.

A two-time U23 World Championships silver medalist, Lefter got a huge baggage off his back after winning the gold in Baku. This was Lefter's fourth U23 European Championships where he has previously won a silver and two bronze medals. He also has a silver at the U20 and a bronze at the U17 European Championships.

In Baku, Lefter reached the final after two technical superiority wins but was challenged by Dzhagaev. He was put on the activity clock in the first period and trailed 1-0 at the break. But the second period was a completely different story.

Dzhagaev was put on the activity clock during which he hit a single-leg attack but Lefter countered it with exposure to get two points in addition to one after the activity clock expired to lead 3-1. With the clock ticking, Dzhagaev felt the pressure and made half-attacks, including an inside trip in the final 10 seconds which Lefter countered for a takedown and secure the historic win.

2022 U23 European champion Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) will look to win his second title on Sunday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Gadzhiev, Magamadov eye titles

On the final day of the competition, former U23 European champion Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) will face Kamil ABDULVAGABOV (AIN) for the bragging rights in the 74kg.

Abdulvagabov had to overcome a tough opening round where he was stretched all the way by Irahim YAPRAK (TUR) before winning 5-4. After that initial hiccup, Abdulvagabov had little trouble beating other opponents, winning the quarterfinal by technical superiority and scoring a 7-3 win over Krisztian BIRO (ROU).

Gadzhiev’s route was a lot more straightforward wherein he didn’t have to survive any scares, scoring 28 points so far and conceding only 6.

The battle in the 86kg weight class, too, promises to be a mouthwatering as defending champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) will face Arslan BAGAEV (AIN). Only 20, Magamadov has a slew of titles to his name and will hope to add another U23 European title to his already impressive trophy cabinet.

In the 125kg class, Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) gave himself a fighting chance to win his first-ever gold medal at an international level after he reached the final, where he will face SOLOMON MANASHVILI (GEO).

Both wrestlers have had more or less an identical path to the final, with Khubulov playing an extra bout as he had to first compete in the qualifying round, which he convincingly won.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Artem GOBAEV (AIN) df. Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR), 8-3

BRONZE: Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) df. Thomas EPP (SUI), 4-1
BRONZE: Vladyslav ABRAMOV (UKR) df. Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN), 8-3

65kg
GOLD: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 6-2

BRONZE: Serghei CILCIC (MDA) df. Daniel KULCZYNSKI (POL), 4-0
BRONZE: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) df. Ayub MUSAEV (BEL), 3-2

70kg
GOLD: Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) df. Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE), 6-2

BRONZE: Constantin CHIRILOV (MDA) df. Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR), 3-1
BRONZE: Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO) df. Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN), 5-0

79kg
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE), 4-1

BRONZE: Radomir STOYANOV (BUL) df. Marius RETCO (MDA), 6-4
BRONZE: Arsen BALAIAN (AIN) df. RAFFAELE MATRULLO (ITA), via fall (2-0)

97kg
GOLD: Radu LEFTER (MDA) df. Soslan DZHAGAEV (AIN), 6-1

BRONZE: Rifat GIDAK (TUR) df. Ravan MUSAYEV (AZE), 2-2
BRONZE: Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO) df. Angelos KOUKLARIS (GRE), 10-8

Freestyle Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) vs. Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR)

SF 1: Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR) df. Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE), 15-12
SF 2: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Simone PIRODDU (ITA), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Kamil ABDULVAGABOV (AIN) vs. Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)

SF 1: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df. Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO), 7-4
SF 2: Kamil ABDULVAGABOV (AIN) df. Krisztian BIRO (ROU), 7-3

86kg
GOLD: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) vs. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)

SF 1: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 5-1
SF 2: Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) df. Emre CIFTCI (TUR), 11-0

92kg
GOLD: Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE) vs. Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)

SF 1: Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA) df. Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN), 10-4
SF 2: Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 4-2

125kg
GOLD: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) vs. Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)

SF 1: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN), 3-2
SF 2: Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) df. Milan KORCSOG (HUN), 4-1

FS Preview: Iran and USA favored to clash for team title

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Golden hattrick for Kougiomtsidis, historic gold for Lefter at U23 Euros