Junior Asian Championships

Iran Adds 4 Golds at Junior Asian C'ships to Cap Off Dominant Greco Performance

By United World Wrestling Press

CHON BURI, Thailand (July 10) - Iran capped off a dominant performance in Greco-Roman at the Junior Asian Championships on Wednesday by claiming four more gold medals, bringing their total gold-medal haul in Greco-Roman to seven over two days. 

Iran finished the Greco-Roman competition with 218 points, which was enough to win the team title by 72 points over runner-up Kazakhstan. India finished third in the team standings, one point behind Kazakhstan. 

Bahram MAROUFKHANI IMCHEH (67kg), Mohammadreza ROSTAMI (72kg), Hosein FOROUZANDEH GHOJEHBEIGLOU (82kg) and Hamed ABDOVALI (97kg) won gold medals for Iran on the final day of the Greco-Roman competition in Chon Buri, Thailand.

Maroufkhani Imcheh, a Takhti Cup silver medalist, earned his second straight gold at the Junior Asian Championships by shutting out Nurzhigit KENESHBEK UULU (KGZ) 6-0 in the finals at 67kg. The Iranian went up 4-0 in the first 35 seconds of the match after a takedown and throw. He would add another takedown 10 seconds into the final period. 

Rostami, a multiple-time medalist at the Cadet Asian Championships, lit up the scoreboard in his finals match against Alijon KHUSEYNOV (UZB), scoring 12 first-period points on his way to a 13-5 technical superiority to earn gold at 72kg. After going up 6-0 on the strength of a takedown and two gut wrenches, Rostami nearly ended the match early with another gut wrench, but Khuseynov defended, reversed the action and then scored with a gut wrench of his own, which made the score 8-5 in favor of the Iranian. Rostami controlled the action the rest of the way, scoring five straight step-out points to earn the technical superiority in the second period. 

Forouzandeh Ghojehbeiglou, like Maroufkhani Imcheh, won his second consecutive gold medal at the Junior Asian Championships. He was dominant in the 82kg finals, picking up a 10-0 technical superiority over Tesshin HIGUCHI (JPN). Forouzandeh Ghojehbeiglou scored first with a step out before using a four-point throw to build his lead to 6-0. He closed out the victory with a four-point, feet-to-back takedown late in the first period. 

Abdovali topped Jeongyul KWON (KOR) 4-2 to win the gold medal at 97kg. The Iranian scored with a gut wrench in the first period and added a takedown early in the second period. Kwon scored two points late in the match, but Abdovali held on for the win. 

At 60kg, Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB) captured the gold medal with a 3-2 victory over Sachin RANA (IND). Yusupov scored all three of his points in the opening period. After going down 1-0, he picked up a reversal and then scored with a gut wrench. Rana scored a late step out, but it was too little, too late. 

The women's wrestling competition at the Junior Asian Championships begins on Thursday. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m. local time.

RESULTS

Final Greco-Roman Team Scores 
GOLD - Iran (218 points)
SILVER - Kazakhstan (146 points)
BRONZE - India (145 points)
Fourth - Uzbekistan (137 points)
Fifth - Japan (101 points)

60kg
GOLD - Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB) df. Sachin RANA (IND), 3-2
BRONZE - Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ) df. Alamusi ALAMUSI (CHN), 11-0
BRONZE - Milad Ali REZANEZHAD (IRI) df. Yun Bin SHIN (KOR), 11-2

67kg
GOLD - Bahram MAROUFKHANI IMCHEH (IRI) df. Nurzhigit KENESHBEK UULU (KGZ), 6-0
BRONZE - Saurabh SAURABH (IND) df. Guotao ZHANG (CHN), 2-1
BRONZE - Umidjon AKHROROV (UZB) df. Minseong PARK (KOR), 8-0

72kg
GOLD - Mohammadreza ROSTAMI (IRI) df. Alijon KHUSEYNOV (UZB), 13-5
BRONZE - Rahul RAHUL (IND) df. Xin HUANG (CHN), 7-7
BRONZE - Daler REZA ZADE (TJK) df. Almazbek BEGALIEV (KGZ), 5-0

82kg
GOLD - Hosein FOROUZANDEH GHOJEHBEIGLOU (IRI) df. Tesshin HIGUCHI (JPN), 10-0
BRONZE - Eli MAGOMADOV (KAZ) df. Sanjeet SANJEET (IND), 8-0
BRONZE - Toyly ORAZOV (TKM) df. Danuson ARRICHUAI (THA), 8-0

97kg
GOLD - Hamed ABDOVALI (IRI) df. Jeongyul KWON (KOR), 4-2
BRONZE - Deepanshu DEEPANSHU (IND) df. Houzhi HAO (CHN), 5-4
BRONZE - Aday KURMANSEITOV (KAZ) df. Daniiar SHERIMBEKOV (KGZ), 3-0
 

#wrestlebishkek

Saturday's Bishkek Ranking Series finals set

By Eric Olanowski

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (June 2) --- The third day of wrestling at the Bishkek Ranking Series event will welcome in 97kg and 125kg in freestyle and the final six women's wrestling weights--50kg, 53kg, 55kg, 59kg, 65kg and 72kg. 

Everything you need to know:
📍Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
🗓️: June 1-4
🕙: Qualification = 10:30
🥇🥈🥉= 18:00
#️⃣#WrestleBishkek
🖥️: http://uww.org 
📱: UWW App

Saturday's final matches:

Freestyle 
97kgAwusayiman HABILA (CHN) vs. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) 
125kg: Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB) vs. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) 

Women's Wrestling
50kg: Meng FAN (CHN) vs. Oksana LIVACH (UKR) 
53kg: Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) vs. Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL) 
55kg:  Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ) vs. Karla Lorena GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) 
59kg: Yuliia TKACH (UKR) vs.  Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
65kg: Nordic-style bracket
72kg: Nordic-style bracket

1:42: Oksana LIVACH (UKR) just punched her ticket to the finals with a four-point throw with 5 seconds left. She trailed Ziqi FENG (CHN), 4-1, winning the match 5-4 after the late throw.

1:27: Petriashvili puts in a gutsy performance in the semifinals and fishes off Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB), 10-0, before the mid-match break. He'll wrestle tonight for gold against the winner of Sardorbek KHOLMATOV (UZB) and Buheeerdun BUHEEERDUN (CHN)

1:07: The first semifinal is about to be called to Mat A. We have nine matches left--including repechage--on each mat before the end of the morning session. 

12:42: Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) is in a tight race over on Mat A against Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR). They put up 14 points in the first period with the Mongolian leading the Ukrainian, 8-6.

12:40: We're going to roll right into the women's wrestling quarterfinals across all mats now.

12:38: Geno won, but something went wrong with his right knee. It clearly bothered him throughout the entire second period as he continued to favor it. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the last match that we see today from the three-time world champ.

12:28: Three-time world champion Petriashvili making his way to Mat B where he'll wrestle Georgian teammate Manashvili. 

12:11: This is my first time seeing Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), the 20-year-old Asian champion from Bahrain, in person. His length and athleticism is impressive for a 97kg guy. With time, I could see him giving the top guys at 97kg trouble in a few years. 

12:05: Feng picked up a point for a Demirhan hair pull and moved into the 50kg quarterfinals, 8-4, where she'll meet Chinese teammate Chun LEI (CHN).

11:59: European bronze medalist Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) is in trouble over on Mat A. She's down 7-4  Ziqi FENG (CHN) has a 7-4 lead with :43 second in the second period.

11:49: Yepez breaks the Pan-Am champ losing streak in Bishkek, scoring the 11-0 win over Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) in the first round at 53kg. Her 53kg quarterfinals match will be against Min ZHANG (CHN).

11:34: Petriashvili and Deng lived up to the hype, with the Georgian big man edging his Nur-Sultan world finals opponent, 4-3. 'Petro' will face fellow Georgian Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) next.

11:30: After a slight wifi issue, we're back. While we were down, reigning Asian champion Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) picked up a 10-0 win over Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ). He'll  meet Nursultan AZOV (KAZ), who scored a late four-point to narrowly move past Mostafa Aly Elsayed Gabr ELDERS (EGY).

11:00: The headliner of the competition, Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) is coming up in two matches on Mat B. The three-time world champ opens up his day in Bishkek against his 2019 world finals opponent, DENG Zhiwei (CHN).

10:56: Let's see if  Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) can turn around the luck for the Pan-American champions. Yesterday, Ana Paula GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) and Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) fell in their opening round matches. 

Yepez will wrestle in four matches on Mat A against Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB).

10:49: In the opening round 55kg Nordic bracket, Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) just handled European bronze medalist Othelie HOEIE (NOR), 12-1. She'll have Round 2 off, then will meet fellow Ukrainian and former world champion Yuliia TKACH (UKR).

10:40: Godinez holds off Vynnyk and wins the opening round bout in the 55kg Nordic bracket. 

10:36: Karla Lorena GODINEZ GONZALEZ (CAN) and Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) are in a close battle over on Mat A. The Canadian leads 4-2.

Godinez has been the aggressor, taking the only shots of the bout, but there's only 30 seconds left so expect Vynnyk to get the motor running. 

10:16: We're 15 minutes away from the first whistle here at the Bishkek Arena. The hockey arena turned wrestling hot bed is freezing this morning, so the goal for the next 15 minutes is to stay as warm as possible.