#WrestleBudapest19

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

Thursday, October 31, 2019 - 22:19 By Taylor Miller

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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

 

#development

Focus on Learning: Armenia Hosts Courses for Freestyle Coaches and Referees

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 - 11:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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YEREVAN, Armenia (April 24) -- Other the past few years, Armenia has conducted multiple coaching and referee courses.

Last year, it held a course specifically designed for Greco-Roman coaches. This year, Armenia organized the same course but with an emphasis on Freestyle. The coaching course was conducted from April 10 to 14 in Yerevan.

In addition to the coaching course, a Referee Foundations course was conducted from April 14 to 17. Both courses were conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, Armenia NOC, and United World Wrestling.

The Level 2 coaching course was led by Yusup ABDUSALAMOV and was attended by 37 participants. The course focused on performance analysis, developing training plans, risk management, athlete well-being, and athlete safeguarding. The coaches participated in theoretical and practical sessions that helped provided a better understanding of the concepts.

"The participants demonstrated a positive attitude and engagement throughout the course. They showed a willingness to learn and apply new coaching methodologies, which is a good indicator of future development potential. Abdusalamov said. 

"We highly appreciate the organization and delivery of the UWW Level 2 coaching course in Armenia. The program introduced modern coaching approaches and provided valuable knowledge for our coaches." Arayik BAGHDADYAN, Secretary General of Armenia Wrestling Federation, said.

Armenia

Following the U20 National Championships, the Level 2 Referee Foundations course was led by Igor LIGAY. This course was attended by 25 participants which included national and international referees, coaches and the head Greco-Roman coach from Armenia.

This course covered various topics that included the updated UWW rules, evaluating actions, referee positioning, and coordination of the refereeing team. The participants learned through interactive sessions and practical on-the-mat experience.

"This seminar had a significant impact on my athletic development. As an athlete who participates in international competitions, I found the technical details and practical approaches presented to be especially valuable, as they can be directly applied on the mat," Srbuhi HOVAKIMYAN, who participated in the coaching course, said.