World Club Cup

Kashan Wins World Clubs Cup

By Ali Feizasa

The fourth edition of World Clubs Cup finished today in Tehran City, Iran. In a close finals match, Easy Pipe Kashan (IRI) edged Titan Mercury (USA), 6-4. In the third place bout, Setaregan Sari (IRI) downed Khimori (MGL).

Final Match: Easy Pipe Kashan (IRI) df. Titan Mercury (USA), 6-4

57kg- Reza ATARI (IRI / Easy Pipe) df. Thomas GILMAN (USA / Titan), 6-4
Reza ATARI (IRI) started the match with a double leg, taking the 2-0 lead on 2017 world silver medal winner, Thomas GILMAN (USA). The first period ended with Atari in the lead, 2-0. In second period, Gilman picked up four points off of two takedowns, but Atari earned the decisive takedown, winning the match 6-4.

61kg- Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO / Easy Pipe) df. Alan WATERS (USA / Titan), 7-0
Olympic and world champion Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) nearly picked up a fall twice as he gave the Iranian side their second win, defeating Alan WATERS (USA), 7-0.

 

Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) looks to score on a gut wrench in the World Clubs Cup finals.

65kg- Farzad AMOUZAD KHALILI (Easy Pipe) df.  Bernard FUTRELL (Titan), 6-3
Farzad AMOUZAD KHALILI (IRI) collected three points in each period, giving him the victory over FUTRELL, 6-3. Heading into 70kg, Easy Pipe lead Titan Mercury, 3-0.

70kg- Mohammad NADERI (Easy Pipe) df. Franklin GOMEZ (PUR / Titan), 2-2
Mohammad NADERI (IRI), the two-time world champion in beach wrestling bested 2011 world silver medal winner, Franklin GOMEZ (PUR), 2-2. It was Gomez who scored the first two points, but NADERI earned two points in second period, giving him the 2-2 win. This was the fourth straight victory for the Iranian side, Easy Pipe Kashan.

74kg- Nazariy KULCHYTSKYY (USA / Titan) df. Hossein ELYASI (IRI / Easy Pipe), 5-4
KULCHYTSKYY (USA) gave the USA side hope as defeated Hossein ELYASI (IRI), 5-4. KULCHYTSKYY’s two points with seconds left gave Titan Mercury their first victory of the finals.

79kg- Kyle DAKE (USA / Titan) TF. Reza AFZALI (IRI / Easy Pipe), 12-0
Kyle DAKE (USA) showed his dominance, picking up four points at the beginning of the match. Dake’s 12-0 victory gave Titan Mercury their second win of the finals, as they trailed 4-2.

 

Kyle DAKE (USA) in a single leg during the finals of the 2017 World Clubs Cup finals. 

86kg- David TAYLOR (USA / Titan) df. Alireza KARIMI (IRI / Easy Pipe), 3-1
David TAYLOR proved he knows how to beat Iranian stars. After defeating Hassan YAZDANI in the 2017 World Cup, Taylor won the tough match against 2015 world bronze medal winner Alireza KARIMI 3-2. After seven matches, Easy Pipe (IRI) was ahead 4-3.

92kg- Hossein SHAHBAZI (IRI / Easy Pipe) df. Nickolas HEFLIN (USA / Titan), 4-2
2016 junior world champion Hossein SHAHBAZI (IRI) defeated Nickolas HEFLIN(USA), 4-2 to achieve the fifth victory for Easy Pipe.

97kg- Kyle SNYDER (USA / Titan) TF. Vladislav BAITSAEV (RUS / Easy Pipe), 11-0
Olympic and world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) had an important win for Titan Mercury as he defeated Russian Vladislav BAITSAEV by technical superiority, 11-0.  Heading into the heavy weight bout, Titan Mercury trailed by one match. The winning of the 125kg bout would determine the champion of World Clubs Cup.

125kg- Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO / Easy Pipe) df. Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA / Titan), 6-5
The key match of the event came in the heavy weight bout, where 2017 world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) defeated world bronze medal winner, Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA). Petriashvili struggled through a rib injury to pick up the 6-5 win. This victory ensured the championship for Easy Pipe Kashan, defeating Titan Mercury, 6-4.

 

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) seals with the victory for Easy Pipe with a win the World Clubs Cup finals. 

Third Place Match: Setaregan Sari (IRI) df. Khimori (MGL), 9-0
57kg- Nader HAJAGHANIA (Setaregan) df.TSEVEENSUREN Tsogbakrakh (Khimori), 4-3
61kg- Mohammadreza RAMEZANPOUR (Setaregan) df. BATCHULUUN Basaniam (Khimori) by forfeit
65kg- TUMUR OCHIR Tulga (Khimori) df. Hassan MORADGHOLI (Setaregan), 9-5
70kg- Magomed KURBANALIEV (Setaregan) TF. LUTBAYAR Batbayar (Khimori), 10-0
74kg- Magomed Rasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (Setaregan) TF. BOLDKHUU Batsukh (Khimori), 10-0
79kg- Omid HASSANTABAR (Setaregan)TF. Turbold GANBOLD (Khimori), 10-0
86kg- Esmaeil MAHMOUDI df. Gankhuyag GANBATAAR (Khimori) by forfeit
92kg- Abazar ESLAMI (Setaregan) TF. Shogai TUMURBAT MUNGUN (Khimori) , 12-2
97kg- Esmaeil NEJATIAN (Setaregan)df. Batsukh ZORIGTBAATAR (Khimori), 6-2
125kg- Jaber SADEGHZADEH (Setaregan) TF. MUNKHTUR Lkhagvegerel (Khimori), 11-0

Fifth place match: Raindi (GEO) df. India Club (IND), 6-4
Seventh place match: Budapest SC (HUN) df. Bimeh Razi (IRI)- Bimeh Razi didn’t compete.
Ninth place match: BS Brothers (KAZ) df. Montreal (CAN), 6-4
Eleventh place match: Tajik Air (TJK) df. Kelechik (KGZ), 6-4

Semifinal 1: Titan Mercury (USA) df. Khimori (MGL), 9-1
57kg- Thomas GILMAN (Titan) df.TSEVEENSUREN Tsogbakrakh (Khimori), 5-2
61kg- Alan WATERS (Titan) Pinned BATCHULUUN Basaniam (Khimori)
65kg- TUMUR OCHIR Tulga (Khimori) TF. Bernard FUTRELL (Titan), 12-2
70kg- Franklin GOMEZ (Titan) df. LUTBAYAR Batbayar (Khimori), 5-3
74kg- Nazariy KULCHYTSKYY (Titan) df. BOLDKHUU Batsukh (Khimori), 10-2
79kg- Kyle DAKE  (Titan)TF. Turbold GANBOLD (Khimori), 10-0
86kg- David TAYLOR (Titan)Pinned. Gankhuyag GANBATAAR (Khimori)
92kg- Nickolas HEFLIN (Titan)TF. Shogai TUMURBAT MUNGUN (Khimori) , 10-0
97kg- Kyle SNYDER (Titan) TF. Batsukh ZORIGTBAATAR (Khimori), 12-2 
125kg- Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (Titan) TF. MUNKHTUR Lkhagvegerel (Khimori), 10-0

Semifinal 2: Easy Pipe Kashan (IRI) df. Setaregan Sari (IRI), 6-4
57kg- Reza ATARI (Easy Pipe) df. Nader HAJAGHANIA (Setaregan), 11-4
61kg- Vladimir KHINCHEGASHVILI (Easy Pipe) df. Mohammad RAMEZANPOUR (Setaregan), 8-0 (Ramezanpour disqualified for receiving three passive cautions)  
65kg- Haji ALIEV (Setaregan) df. Farzad Amouzad KHALILI (Easy Pipe) , 4-3
70kg- Magomed KURBANALIEV (Setaregan) TF. Mohammad NADERI (Easy Pipe), 12-1
74kg- Hossein ELYASI (Easy Pipe) pinned Magomed Rasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (Setaregan), 2-9
79kg- Omid HASANTABAR (Setaregan) df.  Reza AFZALI (Easy Pipe), 4-3
86kg- Alireza KARIMI (Easy Pipe) df. Esmaeil MAHMOUDI (Setaregan), 5-0
92kg- Hossein SHAHBAZI (Easy Pipe)df. Abazar ESLAMI (Setaregan), 4-3
97kg- Vladislav BAITSAEV (Easy Pipe)df. Esmaeil NEJATIAN (Setaregan), 8-0
125kg- Jaber SADEGHZADEH  (Setaregan) df. Geno PETRIASHVILI (Easy Pipe)by forfeit

 

 

#WrestleTirana

Greco-Roman must-watch battles at U23 Worlds

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 19) -- The Greco-Roman at the U23 World Championships will reignite the rivalries among wrestlers from Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and Turkiye. These are some of the countries that dominate the classic style and when the wrestlers perform from October 27 to 29, it will be a spectacle. Here's what to watch in Greco-Roman at the U23 World Championships

Must-watch match-ups

At 130kg, the battle for gold can be a four-way battle with Mikhail LAPTEV (AIN), Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) and Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) all entered. Laptev is the bronze medalist from the 2021 U23 World Championships while Hedayati is the U20 world champ. Bakir won the gold at the U20 level in 2021.

Vyshnyvetskyi will try to upgrade his silver from last year after losing the final to Fatih BOZKURT (TUR). He won the gold medal at the U20 Worlds in 2022 as he defeated Hedayati in the final.

A similar battle will be seen at 87kg as the 82kg U23 world champion Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) is moving up to 87kg to challenge the defending champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN).

Joining the two are U20 world champion Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) and Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) who is coming off a silver-medal finish at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Alex SZOKE (HUN) is the defending champion at 97kg and will be the favorite to win the gold medal. But the return of Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) should put some pressure on Szoke.

Hlinchuk won the gold at the U20 World Championships in 2021 and then finished with a silver at the U23 Worlds. He will look to change the color of his medal this year.

Sohrabi-Snjoyan Rematch

A rematch of the 67kg final last year is on the cards as both Danial SOHRABI (IRI) and Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) are entered. Sohrabi stormed back from 7-0 down to beat Snjoyan 17-7 and claim the gold medal. Snjoyan, however, has been out of action since that final due to an injured shoulder.

Sohrabi has had a busy year as he wrestled in three of the four Ranking Series, the World Championships and recently the Asian Games.

60kg minefield

The 60kg bracket can see intense competition with 2021 U23 world champion Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) returning. He wrestled at the senior World Championships in Belgrade but failed to win a medal. Joining him is U20 world champion Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM) who will be looking to at the U23 world title.

SUMIT (UWW) will be keen to avenge his U20 Worlds loss against Aghajanyan as he aims to become the first finalist in Greco-Roman at the U23 World Championships. Returning bronze and U23 European silver Melkamu FETENE (ISR) is also coming to Tirana.

Last year's 55kg silver medalist Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) is moving up to 60kg as he continues to search for a world title. He finished with a silver medal at 55kg in Pontevedra.

Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ) will undoubtedly be the dark horse of this weight class.

New challengers

Tirana will see a number of wrestlers from the 2021 class of U20 World Championships. But the young crop is out to challenge them. The U20 wrestlers trying to make a mark at U23 are Denis MIHAI (ROU) at 55kg, Aghajanyan at 60kg, Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) at 77kg, Alperen BERBER (TUR) at 82kg, Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO) at 87kg and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) at 130kg.

Aghajanyan, Berber, Bolkvadze and Hedayati are coming off title-winning runs at the U20 Worlds in August.