#WrestleBelgrade

Japan secures 2 Olympic spots; Elor returns to World Championships final

Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - 23:48 By Vinay Siwach

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BELGRADE, Serbia (September 20) -- The World Championships in Belgrade has seen a number of champions fall to young stars but the biggest of all could have come on Wednesday as Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) scored five points on Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), who entered the tournament with a 122-match winning streak which goes back to her junior high school days.

In the 53kg quarterfinal, Yepez scored raced to a 5-0 lead against Fujinami, who admitted that she felt anxious after giving up the lead, but composed herself and pinned the Ecuadorian.

Fujinami recovered from that shock match and defeated Maria PREVALORAKI (GRE) to secure a spot for Japan for the Paris Olympics next year. According to Japan Wrestling Federation rules, a wrestler who qualifies the weight for Paris with a medal in Belgrade automatically secures a spot on the Japan team as well.

"In the match against Ecuador, it's something that's never happened up to now," Fujinami said. "It ended up being a good match. Right now, I don't know, it really hasn't sunk in."

Yepez opened the bout with a double leg for two then hit a single leg which Fujinami defended before Yepez grabbed her around the waist and threw the Japanese, earning two more points. A stepout made it 5-0. Fujinami then got back to doing what she does best and locked up a lace to lead 14-5.

She gave up two more points but Fujinami locked the arm and got the fall with 1:10 remaining on the clock. The 2021 world champion explained that she will try to win her second world gold medal on Thursday.

"I came for the Olympic berth and to become the world champion and I want it to carry over to tomorrow," she said. "In the third-round match, I got a little anxious at one point, but I just thought, it's OK, just do what I always do. It was a tough match, but I was able to pull out the win."

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) will join Fujinami on that trip to Paris as she entered the final at 62kg, securing her spot on the Japan team.

However, Ami ISHII (JPN), returning silver medalist, will have to slog it out in the bronze medal bouts to secure her spot after she was stunned by Buse TOSUN (TUR) 11-1 in the 68kg semifinals.

Fujinami will now face Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN) for the gold medal after the Individual Neutral Athlete snatched a victory from U20 world champion ANTIM (UWW) in the final second of the semifinal.

Antim scored a takedown with an ankle pick and led 4-3 with three seconds remaining and got her grip loose. The willy Kaladzinskaya locked Antim's elbow and scored an exposure with 0.3 seconds on the clock for a remarkable 5-3 win.

Motoki had to dig deep to beat world silver medalist at 59kg Grace BULLEN (NOR) as she etched out a 2-1 win. Motoki will now face Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ).

Motoki will look to join the list of Japanese wrestlers who have denied Tynybekova a world or Olympic gold medal in the last two years. The Kyrgyz wrestler lost to Yukako KAWAI (JPN) in the Tokyo Olympics final and then to teenage star Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) in the World Championships last year.

Tynybekova has bounced back, beating Ozaki in the Asian Championships and will have her hands full as she takes on Motoki for her third world gold medal.

Kyrgyzstan's first world champion, Tynybekova defeated Tokyo bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), 2-2, in the quarterfinal, a completely contrasting win than her 10-0 win in Tokyo over the Ukrainian. Tynybekova then defeated Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) 4-2 in the semifinal.

At 68kg, Tosun did not let Ishii settle down after giving up a stepout, using a headlock when Ishii was going for an underhook for four points. Tosun tried pinning Ishii but the Japanese survived and as she was trying to escape, Tosun put her on the back for two more points to lead 6-1 with four minutes left. And as Ishii tried calming herself, Tosun scored another takedown on the edge.

Ishii tried an underhook again and Tosun hit another headlock, this time getting only two points. But that made the score 10-1 and Tosun managed to push Ishii out to win 11-1 with 3:19 left on the clock.

Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) reached the final from the other side of the bracket as she pinned Emma BRUNTIL (USA) in the other semifinal. She defeated Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

In the non-Olympic weight class 72kg, defending world champion Amit ELOR (USA) entered the final with another dominant display, winning her semifinal against Kendra DACHER (FRA) 12-2. Elor took out 65kg world champion Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the quarterfinals.

Chasing her second straight title, Elor will take on Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) in the final after the Mongolian defeated two-time returning world silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 6-2.

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Day 6 Preview: FS 65kg and 97kg; WW 76kg

Saturday, July 27, 2024 - 10:26 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 27) --- Kyle SNYDER (USA) has thought about his revenge day on Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) ever since that September loss in Belgrade where the 'Wonder Kid' stormed past 'Captian America' in the quarterfinals of the World Championships.

Snyder has locked August 11 as his revenge date, when FS 65kg, FS 97kg, and WW 62kg will take center stage at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS

Meanwhile, four world champions -- Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Zain RETHERFORD (USA) will battle it out for 65kg Olympic supremacy.

On the women's side, Yuuka KAGAMI (JPN) will begin her quest to future Japan's dominance in the women's wrestling world and become their first-ever heavyweight Olympic champion.

97kg: Snyder, from champion to challenger

For Tazhudinov, the match against Snyder was a coming-out party, while it was a "back to the drawing board" moment for the American. In just over two minutes, Snyder gave up back-to-back four-pointers, ultimately losing the match 11-0.

Since that September loss, Snyder has been in the lab at Penn State University with fellow Olympic champion Cael SANDERSON (USA), cooking up a game plan for how he'll take out Tazhudinov in the Paris 2024 semifinals. 

Tazhudinov and Snyder are seeded No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, putting them together on the bottom side of the bracket, setting up a potential semifinal clash.

Kyle SNYDER (USA)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) defeated Kyle SNYDER (USA) in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan) 

Another youthful threat standing in Snyder's way is Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI), who is unseeded and will be randomly drawn into the bracket.

Azarpira, the 22-year-old, beat Snyder earlier this year. The two met in the finals of the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, where Azarpira took Snyder down twice to not only win the Ranking Series title but also lock up his spot on Iran's Olympic team over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI).

With Snyder and Tazhudinov on the bottom of the bracket, the three guys to keep an eye on the top side of the bracket are Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR) and Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO).

With all the discussion in this 97kg bracket always around Snyder and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN), these three guys often take a back seat in the debate. Still, one is about to catapult themselves to a level of stardom they never imagined.

Despite being the lowest-seeded of the three, Matcharashvili is the betting favorite in his rivalries with Magomedov and Ciftci. 

Matcharashvili has had four matches with Magomedov and five against Ciftci and has a 7-2 combined record against both guys. He's also coming off wins against the duo at this year's European Championships.

Top-seeded Magomedov and No. 5 Matcharashvili have met four times in their careers, with the Georgian owning a 3-1 match advantage.

Matcharashvili won the opening pair of meetings before taking his lone loss of the series in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships. In their last meeting, Matcharashvili returned to his winning ways, winning the European finals against his Azeri rival, 7-1.

Matcharashvili and Ciftci have met five times in their careers -- twice as underclassmen and three times on the senior level. 

Matcharashvili first defeated Ciftci at the 2017 U20 European Championships before losing to the Turkish wrestler at the 2019 U23 European Championships. Matcharashvili has since beaten Ciftci at the European Championships in back-to-back years and at the 2023 World Championships.

65kg: Tough road to gold

Regarding stacked weight classes at Paris 2024, 65kg ranks near the top. The weight features four world champions and a slew of other competitors who could end up making a run to the podium.

Since last year's World Championships, reigning world champ Muszukajev has taken out Amouzad and Aliyev at least once and will have to do it against them in order to end Hungary's 76-year freestyle Olympic gold-medal drought.

Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) has a perfect record against Haji ALIYEV. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Muszukajev and Aliyev, seeded No. 3 and 6, respectively, will meet in the quarterfinals, and then the Hungarian will face the Iranian in the semifinals.

The Paris 2024 quarterfinal meeting between Musukaev and Aliyev will be their fourth career meeting, with the former Russian-turned-Hungarian owning a 3-0 advantage. In their last meeting at the Hungarian Ranking Series, Muszukajev picked up arguably his most dominant win over Aliyev. He scored a 9-3 victory that included a beautiful four-point throw, a takedown, a trapped arm gut and a step out.

If Muszukajev can defeat Aliyev, it will set up a third meeting with 2022 world champion Amouzad. They've split their previous meetings, with Muszukajev getting revenge on Amouzd in last year's world semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) is favored to meet world runner-up Sebastian RIVERIA (PUR) in the semifinals.

The meeting between Rivera and Tevanyan will be a rubber match after the pair split their 2023 World Championship and 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series meetings. Riveria trailed 6-0 in Belgrade with two minutes left but picked up a shocking 9-8 win to push himself into the world finals. Then, in Croatia earlier this year, Tevanayan evened the score with a 9-1 victory.

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) defeated Toyko Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) to be on the Japan team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

On the non-seeded front, Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and Retherford are the most dangerous guys who can blow up a bracket. 

Kiyooka, who took out reigning Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) in Japan's wrestle-offs, is 7-1 this season. More importantly, the 23-year-old has 2024 wins over Olympians Muszukajev and Austin GOMEZ (MEX).

Retherford, down from his 2023 world title-winning weight of 70kg, will be tasked with trying to win America's first Olympic medal at 65-66kg since Jamill KELLY's (USA) Athens 2004 silver medal. This season, Retherford has had seven international bouts, winning every match except the one he had with Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) at the World Olympic Qualifier.

WW 76kg: Japanese sweep in Paris?

It's no secret that everyone is chasing Japan in the women's wrestling race. Japan has had 24 women wrestle at the Olympic Games; winning 15 of 24 Olympic titles. However, they've never reached a gold-medal bout at WW 76kg (formerly 72kg).

Kagami will be tasked with ending Japan's five Olympic Games drought of gold medals. "There has never been a Japanese gold medal in the 76kg heaviest weight class at the Olympics before," said Kagami. "I want to be the first." 

As unbelievable as it seems, it's not unrealistic that Japan's squad will sweep the Olympics, but Kagami, who says there's no pressure, knows it all comes down to her. When asked how many Olympic titles Japan will win in Paris, Kagami replied without hesitation, "Six. Now it's up to me. If I do my best, I think Japan can win six gold medals."

The reigning world champion must get through familiar foes Yasemin ADAR YIGIT (TUR) and Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) to complete her historic run. The Japanese star has a winning track record against Medet Kyzy but has yet to solve the puzzle of Adar. 

At the 2022 World Championships, Kagami lost to Adar and has not wrestled the Turkish star since. What makes this interesting is that Adar is unseeded, which means she'll be randomly drawn into the bracket, leaving the possibility of a second meeting with Kagami.

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) defeated Adeline GRAY (USA) en route her 76kg gold at the World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Kagami has two wins between a loss to Medet Kyzy, but her latest win is a washy one. In the world finals, Kagami won after Medet Kyzy injury defaulted due to a knee injury. The pair split their previous meetings, with the Japanese wrestler winning at the 2022 U23 World Championships and the Kyrgyz wrestler winning at the 2022 Asian Championships.

The sixth day of wrestling at Paris 2024 starts on August 10. Follow @unitedworldwrestling on all social channels to stay updated on what's happening in Paris.