Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup Line-ups Announced

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 - 12:51 By Ali Feizasa

The 2017 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup is set to take place in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday and Friday.

Of the 13 competing teams, the four who are potential favorites to wrestle for the World Clubs Cup title will be Bimeh Razi (IRI), Buyuksehir (TUR), Moscow (RUS), and Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI).

In the line-up for Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), the defending champions, is world champion, Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) and Olympic silver medal winner, Zhan BELENYUK (UKR).

Leading a loaded Moscow squad will be six-time Olympic and world medal winner, Aleksei MISHIN (RUS). Others stars in action for Moscow include world finalist, Musa EVLOEV (RUS), 2017 U-23 world silver medalist, Sergey EMELIN (RUS), and Russian Championships runner-up, Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS).

Directing Bimeh Razi, the host team, will be Olympic gold medalist, Roman VLASOV (RUS) and Olympic bronze medalist, Saeid ABDEVALI (IRI). Other big names wrestling for Bimeh Razi are three-time junior world champion Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), 2017 world bronze medalist, Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI), and Artem SURKOV (RUS).

Led by world champion, Metehan BASAR (TUR) and U-23 world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), World Clubs Cup runner-up in 2017, Buyuksehir (TUR) will be another event favorite.

The competition will be held with new rules in 10 weight categories.

Program of 2017 GR World Clubs Cup:

Thursday
7:30 to 8:00 – Weigh in
10:00 to 14:00- First & second round
15:00 to 16:30- Second and Third round
16:30 to 17:00- Opening ceremony
17:00 to 18:30- Third round
18:30 to 21:30- Competition between second to fourth teams of the groups

Friday
7:00 to 7:30- Weigh-in
9:00 to 10:30- Semifinals between group winners
10:30 to 12:00- Competitions for fifth place to tenth place winners
13:30 to 15:00- Third place match
15:00 to 16:30- Final match

Predictable line-ups of 2017 GR Wrestling World Clubs Cup:

Moscow Team (RUS)
55kg- Aleksei KINZHIGALIEV (RUS)
60kg- Sergey EMELIN (RUS)
63kg- Sanal SEMENOV (RUS)
67kg- Pavel SALEEV (RUS)
72kg- Denis MURTAZIN (RUS)
77kg- Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS)
82kg- Roman YUSIPOV (RUS)
87kg- Aleksei MISHIN (RUS)
97kg- Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
130kg- Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)

Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI)
55kg-– Saman ABDEVALI (IRI)
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI)
63kg- Moslem NADERI- Hossein ASADI (IRI)
67kg- Artem SURKOV (RUS)
72kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI) - Farshad BELFEKE
77kg- Saeid ABDEVALI
82kg-Roman VLASOV (RUS) - Mehdi FALLAH (IRI)
87kg- Ali Akbar HEYDARI
97kg- Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI)
130kg- Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) - Shahab GHOURE JILI (IRI)

Buyuksehir (TUR)
55kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR)
60kg- Muslum ALINLI
63kg- Fatih UCUNCU (TUR)
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
72kg- Yunus OZEL (TUR)
77kg- Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR)
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
87kg- Metehan BASAR (TUR)
97kg- Fatih BASKOY (TUR)
130kg- Irfan METE (TUR)

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI)
55kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (IRI) – Shahin BODAGHI
60kg- Meysam DELKHANI (IRI) – Reza KHEDRI (IRI)
63kg- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
67kg- Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) – Behnam MORADI (IRI)
72kg- Ali ARSALAN (IRI)
77kg- Payam BOYERI (IRI)
82kg- Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) – Keyvan REZAEI (IRI)
87kg- Zhan BELENYUK (UKR)
97kg- Hassan ARYANEJAD
130kg- Mehdi NOURI (IRI)

Dinamo Armenia (ARM)
55kg- Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
60kg- Murad HARUTYUNYAN
63kg- Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
67kg- Aleksan MIKAYELYAN
72kg- Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM)
77kg- Ruben GHARIBYAN (ARM)
82kg- Argishti ABGARYAN (ARM)
87kg- Gegam TORGOMYAN (ARM)
97kg- Vagharsak MINASYAN (ARM)
130kg- Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM)

Georgian Club (GEO)
55kg- Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg- Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO)
63kg- Dato CHKHARTISHBILI
67kg- Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO) – Muradi MIKELADZE (GEO)
72kg- Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO) - Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
77kg- Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
82kg- Varlami KVARATSKHELIA
87kg- Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO)

Paok Greece (GRE)
55kg- TBD
60kg- Odysseas MOURTIDIS (GRE)
63kg- Christos THEODORAKIS (GRE)
67kg- Konstantinos MAKRIDIS (GRE)
72kg- Petros MANOUILIDIS (GRE)
77kg- Panagiotis SISMANIDIS (GRE)
82kg- Ioannis TSEKERIDIS (GRE)
87kg- Dimitrios TSEKERIDIS (GRE)
97kg- Leon Laokratis BJURBERG KESSIDIS (GRE)
130kg- Georgios BETAS (GRE)

Budapest SC (HUN)
55kg- József ANDRASI (HUN)
60kg- István VANCZA (HUN)
63kg- Bence KOVACS (HUN)
67kg- István KOZAK (HUN)
72kg- Martin TOTH (HUN)
77kg- Dominik GEGENY
82kg- Dáriusz VITEK
87kg- Bence MARTIN
97kg- Róbert ÉRSEK
130kg- Arnold PAP

Samsun (UKR)
55kg- Sergii STOROZHENKO (UKR)
60kg- Andriy MARTYNYUK
63kg- Anton KUTSENKO (UKR)
67kg- Fevzi MAMUTOV (UKR)
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV
77kg- Pavlo MOLNAR (UKR)
82kg- Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
87kg- Iurii SHKRIUBA
97kg- Myloka KRYSOV
130kg-Mykola KUCHMII

SHOHADAYE Modafe Haram QOM (IRI)
55kg- Mehdi GHORBANI- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (IRI)
60kg- Alireza NEJATI (IRI) - Reza MARDI (IRI)
63kg- Ali ASghar PASALARI
67kg- Mehdi MORAD SALEHI (IRI) - Behnam AFSHAR NIK
72kg- Ali SOLEYMANI (IRI) - Afshin ESLAMI (IRI)
77kg- Hadi ALIZADH - Mohammad Reza REZAEI (IRI)
82kg-Mehdi EBRAHIMI (IRI)
87kg- Mohammad Ali HEYDARI (IRI)
97kg- Omid EFTEKHARI ASL
130kg- Parsa NAZARI (IRI)

Sport Club Physical Academy (KGZ)
55kg-Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
60kg- Iliiaz SEITOV (KGZ)
63kg- Adil DZHUMABEKOV
67kg- Konokbai SAGYNBEKOV (KGZ)
72kg: TBD
77kg: TBD
87kg-Ilim BILIMOV (KGZ)
97kg-Ilgiz BILIMOV (KGZ)
130kg: TBD

Other members of Kirgizstan team:
uulu Arstanbek
Ulan Derkembaev
Kubat Mambetov
Roman Muratov
Maksat Omorov
Pakhmatbek Zainitdinov
Erbol Zhaparaliev
Kubatbek Zheenaliev

Tajik Air (TJK)
55kg- Khasan SUFIEV (TJK)
60kg-TBD
63kg- Zainudin QAMAROV (TJK)
67kg- Oiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
72kg- Azizbeki SHARIFZODA (TJK)
77kg-Sulton Shokhi KHASANOV
82kg- Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
87kg- Amirjon JURAEV
97kg- Mirzoamin SAFAROV
130kg- Azmuddin VAKHOBOV (TJK)

Romania Olympic Hopes (ROU)
55kg- Florin TITA (ROU)
60kg- Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
63kg- Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
67kg- Irinel BOTEZ MIHAI (ROU)
72kg- Boanta NICOLAE
77kg- Adrian AGACHE
82kg- TBD
87kg- Samuel OJOG NICU (ROU)
97kg- Constantin PIRVAN DORIN (ROU)
130kg- Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU- Istvan BEREI LENARD (ROU)

#WrestleBaku, #WrestleParis

With Paris 2024 quotas on offer, Women's Wrestling stalwarts head to Baku

Monday, April 1, 2024 - 13:42 By Vinay Siwach

BAKU, Azerbaijan (April 2) -- A four-time Olympic medalist, an Olympic history-maker for Turkiye and two Olympic medalists in the same weight class. The European OG Qualifier in Baku from April 5 is going to be a huge test for some of the wrestling stars such as Mariya STADNIK (AZE), Yasemin ADAR (TUR), Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN) and Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) who take the mat in a bid to qualify for Paris Olympics.

Kurachkina and Nikolova were 57kg medalists at the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver and bronze respectively. The two wrestlers met in the European Championships final in February with Kurachkina beating Nikolova to win the gold medal.

However, the qualifiers will not be the same. Apart from the two in-form wrestlers, former European champion and world bronze medalist Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) returns to the mat after nursing an injury that kept her away for 10 months.

Hrushyna missed the World Championships and will be unseeded for the tournament. While it is unknown if she will return to her top level in Baku, if she does, Hrushyna's opponents will find it difficult to stop her.

Kurachkina and Nikolova will not meet in Baku as they will be drawn on opposite sides of the bracket. The former will be seeded second while the latter at number four.

World fifth-place finisher Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), who came in striking distance to win the Olympic spot at the World Championships, is seeded number one and Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), a bronze medalist at the European Championships, takes the number three spot.

Tokyo Olympian Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN), U20 world champion Aurora RUSSO (ITA), world bronze medalist at 59kg Othelie HOEIE (NOR) and Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU) are also entered in the draw.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has a perfect record over Oksana LIVACH (UKR). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

This may be a little easier for four-time Olympic medalist Stadnik who won her 10th European title in February. She will be the top seed at 50kg in Baku and has past wins over most of her opponents. Stadnik should sail if her performance in Bucharest is anything to go by.

Oksana LIVACH (UKR) will have the best chance to halt Stadnik as she will be seeded fourth and likely to meet her in the semifinals. The winner will earn a Paris 2024 spot. Their latest clash was at the European Championships semifinal which Stadnik won 6-0.

Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN) and former European champion Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) will be on the other side of the bracket as seeded two and three respectively.

Yasemin ADAR (TUR) is the reigning European champion at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Turkiye's first-ever Olympic medalist in Women's Wrestling Adar returned to the mat in February after a year's absence and won the European title at 76kg. That makes her the favorite to win a Paris Olympic quota in Baku.

Adar will be unseeded and drawn randomly in the bracket which has Catalina AXENTE (ROU) as the top seed, Rita TALISMANOVA (AIN) as the second seed, Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR) as third and Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN) as the fourth seed.

Others in the bracket include Martina KUENZ (AUT), former European champion Epp MAE (EST), Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA), Francy RAEDELT (GER), 2024 European bronze medalists Bernadett NAGY (HUN) and Enrica RINALDI (ITA).

Andreea ANA (ROU) will be dropping to 53kg in a bid to win an Paris 2024 quota. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

At 53kg, European champion at 55kg and Tokyo Olympian Andreea ANA (ROU), world medalist and Tokyo Olympian Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE), former Euro silver medalist Sztalvira ORSUS (HUN), 2024 Euro bronze medalist Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) are the few stars among others.

Orsus will be seeded number one for the qualifier with Prevolaraki getting the second seed. Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN), who Prevolaraki pinned to win the 2024 Euro bronze, is at number three while Ana is fourth.

Yetgil will be without a seed and so are Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) and Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE), all of whom can upset any of their opponents on the day.

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) will be the top seed at 62kg in Baku. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Former world champion Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) perhaps has the best chance to earn a Paris spot at 62kg from Baku after missing out at the World Championships. As the top seed, Dudova will be a favorite. She was stunned by Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) at the European Championships and will have to forget that loss as Lindborg can be drawn in her bracket.

Veranika IVANOVA (AIN) is the second seed with Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA) taking the third spot and Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE) fourth.

But a few others can also go all the way. That line-up includes Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), Lydia PEREZ (ESP), Viktoria VESSO (EST) and Kriszta INCZE (ROU).

Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), left, and Khanum VELIEVA (AIN) are two of the five past Olympians at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Five past Olympians will try to be at the Paris Olympics at 68kg but only two will be able to confirm that in Baku. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL), Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), Ilana KRATYSH (ISR) and Khanum VELIEVA (AIN) have been to the Olympics either in Rio or Tokyo. But can they return?

Former European champion at 72kg Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), age-group European and world medalist Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) and young star from Ukraine Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) are a few of the challengers. Skobelska was a late replacement for European silver medalist Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR).

Hanzlickova, winner of bronze at the 2024 Europeans, is seeded number one with other bronze medalist Hristova getting the second seed. Noemi SZABADOS (HUN) is number three and Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) is fourth.

With Manolova and Velieva unseeded, the path to Paris may not be the easiest for others in the bracket.

Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup Line-ups Announced

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With Paris 2024 quotas on offer, Women's Wrestling stalwarts head to Baku