Junior Asian Championships

Iran Captures Freestyle Team Title on Final Day of Junior Asian C'ships

By United World Wrestling Press

CHON BURI, Thailand (July 14) - After winning the Greco-Roman team title on Wednesday, Iran captured the freestyle team title on the final day of the Junior Asian Championships in Chon Buri, Thailand.

For the second straight day, Iran won three gold medals in freestyle, bringing the gold-medal haul to six over the two-day freestyle competition. Iran finished with 201 points, 55 points ahead of runner-up Japan. India finished third in the team standings with 129 points. 

Iran's gold medalists on Sunday were Mahdi SHIRAZI (61kg), Ali Reza ABDOLLAHI (92kg) and Amir ZARE (125kg). 

Mahdi SHIRAZI (IRI) claimed a gold medal at 61kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Shirazi used a big first period to pace him to a 6-0 victory over Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB) in the gold-medal match at 61kg. After scoring his first point from the activity clock, Shirazi picked up a four-point, feet-to-back takedown to build his lead to 5-0. He would add an additional point off a caution in the second period to win by six. 

Ali Reza ABDOLLAHI (IRI) scored with a big throw in the finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Abdollahi, a cadet world champion, was dominant in the 92kg finals, beating Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB) by 10-0 technical superiority in the first period. After scoring with a step out, Abdollahi executed a throw midway through the first period to score four points and go up 5-0. A short time later, he picked up a four-point, feet-to-back takedown. The call was challenged and upheld, giving the Iranian the gold medal. Last year Abdollahi won gold at the Cadet Asian Championships. 

Zare, also a cadet world champion, cruised to the gold medal at 125kg by beating Buheeerdun BUHEEERDUN (CHN) 11-1 in the finals. Zare got on the scoreboard first with a step out before Buheeerdun responded a short time later with a step out of his own to take the lead on criteria. But the Iranian dominated the rest of the way. He scored a couple takedowns to go up 5-1 and then used a gut wrench to turn Buheeerdun twice and build his lead to 9-1. Zare fired off a single leg late in the first period for another takedown, which closed out the technical superiority. 

Parveen MALIK (IND) won the gold at 74kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Parveen MALIK (IND) hung on to defeat Tu AHEIYOU (CHN) 4-2 in the gold-medal match at 74kg. He adds a junior Asian gold to his collection after winning a cadet Asian gold in 2017. Malik scored all four of his points in the first 30 seconds of the match off a four-point, feet-to-back takedown. Aheiyou battled his way back into the match, but ultimately fell short.

Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) defeated Baisal KUBATOV (KGZ) in the 86kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) edged Baisal KUBATOV (KGZ) 2-1 in the finals at 86kg. Shirai scored first off the activity clock and then with a step out to take a 2-0 lead at the break. Kubatov found his first point in the final 15 seconds, but Shirai would hang on to win. 

RESULTS

Final Freestyle Team Scores 
GOLD - Iran (201 points)
SILVER - Japan (146 points)
BRONZE - India (129 points)
Fourth - Kazakhstan (111 points)
Fifth - Korea (111 points)

61kg
GOLD - Mahdi SHIRAZI (IRI) df. Nodir RAKHIMOV (UZB), 6-0
BRONZE - Ikromzhon KHADZHIMURODOV (KGZ) df. Kodai OGAWA (JPN), 8-4
BRONZE - Adil OSPANOV (KAZ) df. Putawan SENAWAT (THA), 10-0

74kg
GOLD - Parveen MALIK (IND) df. Tu AHEIYOU (CHN), 4-2
BRONZE - Yu FUJITA (JPN) df. Jinwoo MOON (KOR), 11-0
BRONZE - Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) df. Bayarsaikhan TSEDENBALJIR (MGL), 11-0

86kg
GOLD - Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) df. Baisal KUBATOV (KGZ), 2-1
BRONZE - Govind KUMAR (IND) df. Seyedabolfazl HASHEMIJOUYBARI (IRI), 8-4
BRONZE - Jeongwoo PARK (KOR) df. Teng ZHAO (CHN), 3-0

92kg
GOLD - Ali Reza ABDOLLAHI (IRI) df. Ajiniyaz SAPARNIYAZOV (UZB), 10-0
BRONZE - Haksu BAN (KOR) df. Enkh Orgil BEEJIN (MGL), 4-2
BRONZE - Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ) df. Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ), FALL

125kg
GOLD - Amir ZARE (IRI) df. Buheeerdun BUHEEERDUN (CHN), 11-1
BRONZE - Vishal VISHAL (IND) df. Gan Erdene SODBILEG (MGL), 7-0
BRONZE - Bakdaulet OSSERBAY (KAZ) df. Shogo MUTO (JPN), 10-0
 

#WrestleBelgrade

2023 World Championships 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 125kg semis set

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 16) -- The biggest wrestling event is here! The 2023 World Championships begins today in Belgrade. 90 Olympic quotas are on offer in 18 Olympic weight classes with 5 wrestlers, 4 medalists and one playoff winner, earning the quota.

The first day will see wrestlers from 61kg, 70kg, 86kg and 125kg with the last two being Olympic weight classes.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER | HOW TO WATCH

15:27: Living legend Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) seems content to score his points in dribs and drabs. Against Olympic bronze medalist Myles AMINE (SMR), Yazdani had four stepouts, along with a slick double-leg takedown, in a 7-2 victory to make the 86kg semifinals. He also gave up a takedown for the second time on the day, which may or may not be of concern. The way his right shoulder is heavily taped could be more of a factor. We will see how he holds up against Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB), who used some nasty counter-wrestling in a 15-5 win over Hayato ISHIGURO (JPN).

15:23: David TAYLOR (USA) gives up his first points of the tournament against Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) but still manages a technical superiority 12-2 win over Sharipov to move into the semifinals at 86kg. He will face returning bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) who rolls Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) 10-0

15:13: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) has set up a semifinal against Mason PARRIS (USA). Petriashvili works a 3-1 win over Robert BARAN (POL) while Parris survives a big move against Zhiwei DENG (CHN) to win 8-4

15:15: We have the first dream match-up of the tournament as Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Amir ZARE (IRI) will go at again in the semifinals at 125kg. Defending champion Akgul scored an activity point and two stepouts in a 3-0 win over Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR). Zare gave up a 4-point takedown to fall behind Daniel LIGETI (HUN) in their quarterfinal, but stormed back against the exhausted Hungarian for an 11-4 win. Last year, Akgul beat Zare 4-2 in the semifinals.

14:57: Asian champion Tairybek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) gives up a takedown early in the second period to fall behind against European bronze medalist Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR), but comes back with a takedown and a stepout for a 4-2 win and a spot in the 61kg semifinals.

14:56: Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB) challenges for fleeing by Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO) in the last 10 seconds but no fleeing and he loses the challenge the match 5-3.

14:50: 2021 world champion Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN) with a big four over V. BLIASETSKYI (UKR) and then gets the pin at 61kg. He moves into the semifinals. Top performance from Magomedov

14:42: World U23 champion Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) more than met the challenge of two-time world senior medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), he pummeled him. Yazdani twice scored four points off a driving double-leg tackle before finishing off an 11-0 technical fall with a stepout to advance to the 70kg semifinals. Next up is Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL).

14:41: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) will think about the last 10 seconds of his quarterfinal against Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM). Leading 3-2, he went into defensive and Andreasyan tried a big throw. Aoyagi tries to use that momentum to throw over but Andreasyan falls on top of the Japanese and gets two points. Japan challenges the call but the challenge is lost. A 5-3 win for Andreasyan

14:39: Returning silver medalist Zain RETHERFORD (USA) is into the semifinals with a 9-2 win over ABHIMANYOU (UWW). Retherford looks so much in control of his wrestling.

14:30: The quarterfinals' actions begin with 70kg on all four mats. Watch out Mat B with Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) wrestling Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI).

14:25: Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) is looking like a force to be reckoned with at 86kg. After knocking off top-seed Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL), he rolled into the quarterfinals with an 11-0 rout of Osman GOCEN (TUR). 

14:13: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) puts the pressure on Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL) but has to settle for four stepouts in their 86kg clash. But when the three-time champion finally gets the Mongolian onto the mat, it's lights out with a quick 11-0 technical fall and a place in the quarterfinals.

14:13: David TAYLOR (USA) with a 40-second win in the 1/8th finals. A cradle to gut-wrench for the technical superiority. Who will stop the Magicman?

14:10: Myles AMINE (SMR) with a hard-fought win over Zushen LIN (CHN) at 86kg. Just the workhorse he won, Amine looks solid here

14:02: Reigning champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) has his hands full with Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE), but forges a 2-0 victory to advance to the 125kg quarterfinals. Akgul received an activity point in the first period and had a stepout in the second, but was never in danger in a staid bout.

14:00: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) will be thanking his stars as he survives a final second takedown attempt from Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN). Petriashvili wins 6-5 to make the quarterfinals at 125kg. He came back from 4-0 down to win this.    

13:50: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) gets the gut-wrench and moves into the quarterfinals with a 10-0 win over Jonovan SMITH (PUR). Just before this match, the 2021 world champion Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN) dominated Weiyu LI (CHN) to win at 61kg

13:28: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) up against Intigam VALIZADA (AZE) on Mat A at 61kg. He runs to a 5-0 with a four-pointer and secures the pin over Valizada.

13:21: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) fights out of a 0-4 hole and scores 10 points in the second period to advance at 70kg with a 12-6 win over Marc DIETSCHE (SUI). The bronze medalist from last year set up a mouth-watering clash with Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI), who defeated Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) 6-0 in a match that had a lot more action than the score indicates.

13:15: Amr HUSSEN (EGY) got the better of the U23 world champion Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) using two four-pointers and win 14-4 at 70kg

13:03: How awesome is David TAYOR (USA)? The defending 86kg champion needs just 15 seconds to end his opening match against Sofiane PADIOU BELMIR (MAR). Taylor counters a tackle attempt by applying a cradle, rolling backwards and putting another overmatched opponent on their back for the fall.

13:01: Asian champion Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), a bronze medalist here a year ago, has little trouble putting away Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU) 9-0 at 86kg. In the round -of-16, he will face Arslan BAGAEV (AIN), a 12-2 winner over Ethan RAMOS (PUR) moments later on an adjacent mat.

12:47: Oceania champion and sometime beach wrestler Jayden LAWRENCE (AUS) will someday be able to tell his grandkids how he scored a takedown on the great Hassan YAZDANI (IRI). And how he lasted until the second period. But the inevitable result was a victory by fall after building an 8-2 lead for Yazdani as he aims for a fourth career world gold.

12:18: Former champion Amir ZARE (IRI), with the loud Irani contingent in the stands spurring him on, gets a takedown and a stepout in each period and easily handles Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN) 7-2 at 125kg. 

12:22: In a battle of Asian giants, Zhiwei DENG (CHN) gets the decisive activity point with 40 seconds to knock out Lkhagvagerel MUKHTUR (MGL) 2-1 at 125kg. Deng was a world silver medalist in 2018, and Munkhtur finished second last year.

12:00: We apologize for the technical difficulties. The Arena and Streams are back up

Flo

11:20: Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (AIN), the 2021 world and European champion, gets his campaign at 61kg off to a flying start with a 10-0 trouncing of Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU). 

10:40: Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI), one of the favorites in the non-Olympic 70kg, gets over his first hurdle with an 11-1 technical fall over Patryk OLEGCZYN (POL) in the qualification round.

10:30: We are kicking off with 70kg. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) vs Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ) on Mat A, Patryk OLENCZYN (POL) vs Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) on Mat B, Marc DIETSCHE (SUI) vs Brian OLOO (KEN) on Mat C and Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL) vs. Perman HOMMADOV (TKM).

10:00: Welcome to the day one of the World Championships. Little cloudy outside we are ready for some wrestling action.