#WrestleTallinn

Japan Goes 15-0 on Day 4, Inserts All Five into Friday Night Finals

Thursday, August 15, 2019 - 19:55 By Eric Olanowski

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TALLINN, Estonia (August 15) –The Japanese women’s wrestling team went a perfect 15-0 on Thursday and inserted all five wrestlers into Friday night’s final – bringing their grand total to eight wrestlers who punched their ticket to the junior world finals. In the night session on Day 4, Japan picked up three falls and a pair of shutout victories.

Reigning two-time senior-level world champion Haruna OKUNO (JPN) made her junior world debut on Thursday and outscored her three opponents 28-0. In the semifinals, Okuno ousted five-time age-group world medalist Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (RUS), 6-0, and moved into the 53kg finals where she’ll wrestle Anudari NANDINTSETSEG (MGL) to try to add a junior world title to her resume that’s filled with world golds at the cadet, U23 and senior levels. Her Mongolian finals opponent, who was a 2019 junior Asian runner-up, scored a 12-9 come-from-behind win over China’s MEIDUOLAJI Meiduolaji (CHN) in her semifinal bout. 

Akie HANAI (JPN) was the second Japanese wrestler who locked up her finals spot. Hanai, who was leading 8-0, stuck Bharti BAGHEL (IND) and will wrestle Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) in the 57kg finals. The Ukrainian wrestler easily downed Magdalena GLODEK (POL), 12-0, and will make her first appearance in a world finals match.

Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) was one of five Japanese wrestlers who locked up their spot in Friday's gold-medal match. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

The third Japanese wrestler who was successful in reaching the Friday night finals was Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN). The 2017 cadet world champion stuck Irina RINGACI (MDA) in the semifinals and set up a 62kg finals match against WU Yaru (CHN). The Chinese wrestler, who arguably had the most spectacular double leg of the tournament, crushed Mariia LACHUGINA (RUS), 10-0. 

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) was the fourth wrestler from the island nation to punch her ticket to the finals. She reached the world finals for the third time in her career with a 10-0 win over ZHANG Yue (CHN). To improve on her pair of runner-up finishes, she’ll have to stop 2018 cadet world champion Macey KILTY (USA), who pinned Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR) in the second period after commanding the 5-0 lead. They’ll wrestle in the 65kg finals. 

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) closed out the perfect day for Japan as she moved into the junior world finals in style – sticking Alyvia Nicole FISKE (USA) in a cradle. Kagami, the two-time cadet world champion, will square off with Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS) in the 72kg finals. The Russian wrestler, who was last year’s junior world runner-up, handled CHENG Shuiyan (CHN), 10-0, to reach her second consecutive junior gold-medal bout. 

The Friday night finals begin at 18:00 (local time) and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD - Haruna OKUNO (JPN) vs. Anudari NANDINTSETSEG (MGL)
SEMIFINAL - Haruna OKUNO (JPN) df.  Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (RUS), 6-0 
SEMIFINAL - Anudari NANDINTSETSEG (MGL) df. Meiduolaji MEIDUOLAJI (CHN), 12-9 

57kg
GOLD - Akie HANAI (JPN) vs. - Alina AKOBIIA (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Akie HANAI (JPN)  df. Bharti BAGHEL (IND), via fall 
SEMIFINAL - Alina AKOBIIA (UKR) df. Magdalena GLODEK (POL), 12-0 

62kg
GOLD - Yaru WU (CHN) vs. Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)
SEMIFINAL - Yaru WU (CHN) df. Mariia LACHUGINA (RUS), 10-0 
SEMIFINAL - Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) df. Irina RINGACI (MDA), via fall 

65kg
GOLD – Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) vs. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
SEMIFINAL - Macey Ellen KILTY (USA) df. Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR), via fall 
SEMIFINAL - Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Yue ZHANG (CHN), 10-0 

72kg
GOLD - Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS) vs. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
SEMIFINAL - Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)  df. Shuiyan CHENG (CHN), 10-0 
SEMIFINAL - Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) df. Alyvia Nicole FISKE (USA), via fall 

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 14:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.