#WrestleBudapest19

Furuichi Wins Seventh World Gold, Paliha Defends U23 World Title at #WrestleBudapest

By Taylor Miller

Photo of Masako FURUICHI (JPN) by Sachiko Hotaka.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Masako FURUICHI (JPN) won her seventh World title on Thursday in convincing fashion at the 2019 U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Wrestling at 68 kg, Furuichi, a 2019 Senior World bronze medalist, wrestled 2018 Cadet World champion and two-time Junior World silver medalist Macey KILTY (USA) in the gold-medal finals.

Furuichi used three takedowns to give her a 7-2 victory and another World gold medal, which she added to her three Junior World titles and three Cadet World titles.

Japan won two other U23 gold medals on Thursday, coming from Kika KAGATA (JPN) at 50 kg and Yumeka TANABE (JPN) at 59 kg.

2017 Junior World champion and two-time Cadet World champion Kagata edged out Ziqi FENG (CHN) in a nail biter. Feng led by one point with less than a minute left, but Kagata pulled out a clutch takedown and held on for a 7-6 win.

At 59 kg, Tanabe, a two-time Cadet World champion, shut down 2018 Junior World champion and two-time Junior World silver medalist Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) in the gold match, 4-0.

Tanabe used a second-period takedown to separate herself from Nichita to win the title.

Photo of Paliha PALIHA (CHN) by Kadir Caliskan. 

China claimed gold medals at the other two weights.

Paliha PALIHA (CHN) defended her 2018 U23 World title with a 1-1 win on criteria in the 76 kg finals over Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), who was the 2019 Junior World champion and two-time Cadet World champion.

Paliha and Kagami traded passivity points, and it was Pahlia who earned the win on criteria by scoring the last point. She finishes off a successful international season with a Senior World bronze and a second-straight U23 World championship.

At 55 kg, 2018 Senior World bronze medalist Lannuan LUO (CHN) knocked off returning U23 World champion Saki IGARASHI (JPN) in a 2-2 criteria bout.

Luo struck first with a takedown near the edge from a single and took a 2-0 lead into the break. In the second period, Igarashi scored on passivity and caution-and-one against Luo, but it was not enough as Luo won on criteria, scoring a two-pointer.

Women’s freestyle action continues on Friday at 10:30 a.m. local time live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Finals matchups                                                                              
50 kg
GOLD - Kika KAGATA (JPN) df. Ziqi FENG (CHN), 7-6
BRONZE - Jade DUFOUR (CAN) df. Mariia VYNNYK (UKR), 7-4
BRONZE - Nadezhda SOKOLOVA df. (RUS) Jyoti JYOTI (IND), 10-0

55 kg
GOLD - Lannuan LUO (CHN) df. Saki IGARASHI (JPN), 2-2
BRONZE - Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Khrystyna DEMKO (UKR), 8-6
BRONZE - Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ) df. Karla GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN), 5-0

59 kg
GOLD - Yumeka TANABE (JPN) df. Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), 4-0
BRONZE - Tianna KENNETT (CAN) df. Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR), 6-5
BRONZE - Anhelina LYSAK (UKR) df. Alena SANGADIEVA (RUS), 3-1

68 kg
GOLD - Masako FURUICHI (JPN) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 7-2
BRONZE - Natalia STRZALKA (POL) df. Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ), fall
BRONZE - Yingying WANG (CHN) df. Alina RUDNYTSKA LEVYTSKA (UKR), 10-3

76 kg
GOLD - Paliha PALIHA (CHN) df. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), 1-1
BRONZE - Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE) df. Bernadett NAGY (HUN), fall
BRONZE - Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL), 12-8

 

#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