#WrestleBirmingham

India, Canada share 5 golds as Commonwealth Games comes to close

Saturday, August 6, 2022 - 23:19 By Vinay Siwach

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COVENTRY, England (August 6) -- As the Commonwealth Games came to a close, two of the most successful countries in the history of the Games -- Canada and India -- established their supremacy, sharing five of the six gold medals on offer on Saturday.

India won the freestyle golds at 57kg and 74kg along with the 53kg gold in women's wrestling. Canada had two champions on Saturday with Justina DI STASIO (CAN) winning the 76kg gold while Nishant RANDHAWA (CAN) winning the 97kg gold.

Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) was the other champion on Saturday as she claimed the third women's wrestling gold for Nigeria by winning the 50kg weight category.

But two wrestlers who stood out at the Coventry Arena were Olympic silver medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND) and world bronze medalist Vinesh PHOGAT (IND).

Kumar finished all three of his bouts well before the six minutes and showed the gulf in class in 57kg in Birmingham.

Wrestling Nigeria’s multiple-Commonwealth medalist Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR) in the final, Kumar used a leg lace to lead 8-0 before getting a takedown in the second period to finish the bout 10-0.

This was Kumar’s first medal at the Commonwealth Games.

“It’s always special to win the medal at Games and this was also special,” Kumar said. “Tokyo silver was special and so is this medal.”

Kumar, hoping to win a World Championships medal in Belgrade, has been on an incredible run, winning three golds and losing only one bout since Tokyo.

He did give up four points in the semifinal against Asad ALI (PAK) but said that it was more about getting stuck in a move.

"It's wrestling and sometimes we get stuck in a move," he said. "I can't say I was off guard or wasn't moving well. Just a move I got stuck in and he managed to score."

NAVEEN (IND)NAVEEN (IND), red, defeated Muhammad TAHIR (PAK) 9-0 in the 74kg final. (Photo: UWW / Helena Curtis)

NAVEEN (IND) added another gold to India’s account as he dominated the 74kg field and defeated Muhammad TAHIR (PAK) 9-0 in the gold bout.

Tahir was put on passivity as well when Naveen continued his attacks. Four takedowns gave him the eight other points.

A bronze medalist at the Asian Championships, Naveen will try to make the Indian team at 74kg for the World Championships.

Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) became the Commonwealth Games champion at 97kg. (Photo: UWW / Helena Curtis)

At 97kg, Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) defeated two U20 World bronze medalists en route to winning the gold medal with some tough wins.

In the quarterfinal, he wrestled Deepak NEHRA (IND) and almost suffered a loss as Nehra was leading 6-6 on criteria with nine seconds remaining. But Randhawa scored a stepout and got the all-important point to win 7-6 and reach the semifinals. He managed to beat Tayab RAZA (PAK) 7-0 to make it to the final.

"Nehra was defending very well and it was a back-and-forth match," Randhawa said. "But I knew I have enough time to score a takedown. He went to the zone and I capitalized with the stepout."

He wrestled another U20 world bronze medalist in the final in Nicolas DE LANGE (RSA) and made it look easy with a 9-3 win for the gold.

"I have wrestled him before at the U20 Worlds and I know his style," he said. "It's great to win the gold here."

Randhawa, a U20 bronze medalist himself, will now be hoping to medal at the senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

"I train in Iowa and I believe in my potential," he said. "As you train with the best in the world, you keep improving and hopefully I will be able to beat the wrestlers at 97kg. If not now, then when?"

Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) claimed her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Helena Curtis)

Vinesh wins third gold

Her cousin sister Geeta PHOGAT (IND) may be the first Indian woman to win the Commonwealth gold but Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) became the first woman from the country to win it three times.

In a confidence-boosting gold win in Birmingham, Phogat defeated world bronze medalist Samantha STEWART (CAN) and African champion Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) in Round 1 and Round 2 to all but confirm the gold in the morning session.

She pinned Stewart and almost pinned Adekuoroye but the Nigerian was in danger position for close to two minutes and lost 6-0.

"It's a good confidence-boosting win for me," Phogat said. "Canada and Nigeria do pose a challenge in this tournament but thankfully I managed to win here."

Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) celebrates after winning the 50kg gold medal in Birmingham. (Photo: UWW / Helena Curtis)

At 50kg, Madison PARKS (CAN) and Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) were involved in a close battle in the gold medal bout with Parks scoring a stepout when she was put on the activity clock. But Genesis took a 1-1 criteria lead and as the match entered the final minute, it looked like Genesis will hang on for a 1-1 win but hit a lateral drop and secured the fall to win Nigeria's third gold medal in women's wrestling.

As she was trailing, Parks went for a single leg shot but got countered for the pin. She had made a stunning comeback in the semifinals against Pooja GEHLOT (IND). After giving up a six-point lead, Parks slowly worked her way with takedowns and made it 6-4. She scored a takedown with nine seconds remaining on the clock. Gehlot, hoping to keep her one-point lead, moved away but Parks sprung to action and hit a huge underhook for four to win 9-6.

Genesis was the third gold medalist for Nigeria after Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) and Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) won the gold at 57kg and 68kg respectively.

Justina DI STASIO (CAN)Justina DI STASIO (CAN) hit a four against Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) in the 76kg final. (Photo: UWW / Helena Curtis)

The final gold of the night went to former world champion Justina DI STASIO (CAN) who defeated Hannah RUEBEN (NGR), 4-2, in the final to capture her first Commonwealth Games gold.

Her's was the only big move of the final as she hit a four-pointer against Rueben who managed to score only two points.

Earlier in May, Di Stasio made a comeback to the sport after two years and managed to win a bronze medal. But with ambitions of winning the World Championships gold as she did in 2018, Di Stasio got a big shot in the arm with the gold in Birmingham.

RESULTS

Freestyle

57kg
GOLD: Ravi KUMAR (IND) df. Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR), 10-0

BRONZE: Asad ALI (PAK) df. Suraj SINGH (NZL), 11-0 
BRONZE: Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN) df. Jakobo TAU (RSA), 12-2 

74kg
GOLD: NAVEEN (IND) df. Muhammad TAHIR (PAK), 9-0

BRONZE: Jasmit PHULKA (CAN) df. Cole HAWKINS (NZL), 10-0
BRONZE: Ogbonna JOHN (NGR) df. Charlie BOWLING (ENG), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) df. Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA), 9-3

BRONZE: Thomas BARNS (AUS) df. Maulalo ALOFIPO (SAM), 12-0
BRONZE: Deepak NEHRA (IND) df. Tayab RAZA (PAK), 10-2

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) df. Madison PARKS (CAN), via fall

BRONZE: Pooja GEHLOT (IND) df. Christelle LETCHIDJIO (SCO), 12-2

53kg
GOLD: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)
SILVER: Samantha STEWART (CAN)
BRONZE: Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) 

Key bout: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), via fall

76kg
GOLD: Justina DI STASIO (CAN) df. Hannah RUEBEN (NGR), 4-2

BRONZE: Pooja SIHAG (IND) df. Naomi DE BRUINE (AUS), 10-0
BRONZE: Georgina NELTHORPE (ENG) df. Madusu KOROMA (SLE), via fall 

#WrestleHangzhou

Asian Games Wrestling: Yazdani vs Punia, Tazhudinov vs Goleij in finals

Saturday, October 7, 2023 - 01:42 By Vinay Siwach

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LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 7) -- The Asian Games in Hangzhou will see the final day of wrestling at the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Center. Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) are wrestling today as wrestlers in Freestyle 74kg, 86kg, 97kg and 125kg

LIVE MATCH ORDER | BRACKETS | DAY 3 RESULTS

That's it for the session before repechage begins. Here are the finals for the evening session

74kg
Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) vs. Yones EMAMI (IRI)

86kg
Deepak PUNIA vs Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)

97kg
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) vs Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)

125kg
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) vs. Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)

12:55: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returns to the 86kg final at the Asian Games with yet another 10-0 victory in the semifinal. He will take on Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) who manages to score a late exposure against Deepak PUNIA to win 3-2. Wait we have challenge... Punia is asking for two points as well. The jury awards two points to Punia and he wins 4-3 against Shapiev.

12:48: Asian Championships silver medalist Kirin KINOSHITA (JPN) takes out defending champion Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) 6-0 to enter the final at 74kg. A top win for the Japanese. He will face Yones EMAMI (IRI) who defeats Magomet EVLOEV (TJK) 9-3.

12:45: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) and Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) final set at 97kg. The two wrestled at the Asian Championships with Tazhudinov scoring a 13-8 win over Goleij.

12:33: Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) with a fall over Khusanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) in the 125kg semifinals. Munkhtur will wait for the winner of Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) to know his final opponent. 

12:25: Azamat DALUETBEKOV (KAZ) is absolutely livid with his coach who challenged a stepout call with 30 seconds on board. Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) led 2-1 when he forced the stepout to make it 3-1. Kazakhstan corner decided to challenge the call and as Daluetbekov had put his hand out first, it was called a stepout and Kazakhstan lost the challenge, giving Shapiev an extra point. Daluetbekov scored the takedown but that made it only 4-3.

Just two weeks back, Daluetbekov had scored a final-second takedown against Shapiev to win the World Championships bronze medal.

12:15: Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) has still got it. The defending champion puts himself in the 74kg semifinal after beating Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) 3-1. On Mat C, Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) scores the winning takedown to beat Bali SOU (CAM) 5-1 at 125kg.

12:12: A stepout, takedown, stepout, takedown, turn, turn. That's the scoring pattern Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) used to beat in the first period and reach the 86kg semifinal.

12:05: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) scored a takedown in each of the two periods to beat Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) 4-2 at 97kg. He moves into the semifinals.

12:03: Deepak PUNIA gives up three stepouts against Shota SHIRAI (JPN) but his two takedowns, one stepout and two caution points against Shirai are enough to help him move into the semifinals with a 7-3 win.

11:48: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) takes a minute and 56 seconds to beat Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ) at 86kg. Yazdani is the defending champion at the Asian Games.

11:40: World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) on Mat A wrestling BUHEEERDUN (CHN) in the 125kg quarterfinals. Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) wrestling Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) at 97kg on Mat B. Zare works to a 10-0 win while Yergali holds off Ishiguro for a 4-2 victory.

11:35: Azamat DALUETBEKOV (KAZ), the 86kg world bronze medalist, is made to work hard by Gwanuk KIM (KOR) in the opening bout but he gets the job done 6-0.

11:30: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) with a go-behind to open the scoring against Kanybek  Abdulkhairov. He adds exposure and an activity period point to lead 5-0. An arm-bar to get the fall just at the break!

11:22: Defending champion Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) with two activity points in either period to win 2-0 against Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) at 74kg. 

11:15: Yones EMAMI (IRI) will feel the heat of this bout against Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) perhaps later in the day. Emami scores a 7-2 win but Toktomambetov brought the pace with him and Emami looks a little tired here.

10:55: World champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) with a composed 10-0 win over Zaman ANWAR (PAK) at 125kg. He will have a 10-minute break before the next round of matches. 

10:50: Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) and Feng LU (CHN) roll to technical superiority wins on Mat C. The Kazakhstan wrestler beats Farkhod ANAKULOV (TJK) at 125kg while Lu thrills the crowd by beating Inayat ULLAH (PAK) at 74kg.

10:35: Omar SAREM (SYR) got a big four against Taiki YAMAMOTO (JPN) to lead 4-4 on criteria but the Japanese wrestler scored a takedown to make it 6-4. A reversal for Sarem but that doesn't change the final result.

10:25: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) with a 10-0 win over VICKY to advance. Next up on Mat C is Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) and SUMIT at 125kg. Sumit qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in Sofia but was later found to have failed a dope test. His place was awarded to Lazarev.

10:20: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) built a 2-0 lead over Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) but the Uzbek with a counter four! Goleij with a stepout to lead cut the lead 4-3 at the break. Ibragimov with a takedown in the second period to lead 6-3 now. Both wrestlers are on the edge and it's a stepout for Ibragimov who now leads 7-4. Well, that was it for Ibragimov as Goleij scored a takedown and three turns to make it 13-7 and advance.

10:14: Deepak PUNIA lost to Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) in the Asian Championships in 92kg but he avenged that loss with a 3-2 win at 86kg. Bost wrestlers had a takedown each but Punia with an activity point in the second period to win the bout.

10:00: World champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) is on Mat A against Awusayiman HABILA (CHN), a rematch of the Asian Championships final in which Tazhudinov won. The Bahrain wrestler with a big attempted lift but gets only two points. A takedown for Tazhudinov but Habila scores a reversal just before the break. The second period begins with Habila go behind and he cuts Tazhudinov's lead to 5-3. Tazhudinov answers with a takedown to lead 7-3 and is happy to keep it as the clock expires.