Kougioumtsidis repeats as U23 European champion

Saturday, March 18, 2023 - 19:26 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 18) -- Between his U23 European title last year and today, Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) has managed only one gold medal -- the senior European gold in Budapest. He failed to win a medal in the last five events he has wrestled.

However, he ended that drought by reaching the 79kg final for the second year on the trot at the U23 European Championships on Friday and defended his title in a thrilling gold medal bout against U23 world champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO).

Kougioumtsidis wasn't as aggressive as he was last year. Yet, he found ways to deal with tricky situations and score when it mattered most. Gamkrelidze clearly dominated the tournament with two technical superiority wins before the final which he at one point led 4-0.

But Gamkrelidze should have accepted that it won't be this simple with Kougioumtsidis. He gave up three points before both wrestlers separated for the break.

When the bout resumed, it was a little surprising that Kougioumtsidis did not show intent. He was warned for passivity, however, he did enough to avoid the second call.

With 15 seconds remaining on the clock, it was now or never for Kougioumtsidis, who never has the slightest worry on his face.

He went for three fakes before a half-hearted duck-under which forced Gamkrelidze to transfer his balance to the front and he did not see Kougioumtsidis changing his attack to a single leg. The Greek wrestler elevated his leg and moved behind Gamkrelidze to bring him down.

It looked like a half throw but was good enough for two points and a 5-4 lead with four seconds remaining. Georgia challenged the call but lost, winning Kougioumtsidis a 6-4 win.

Last year, Kougioumtsidis won the U23 Euros and a month later won the senior continental title as well. The senior Europeans are a month away from Saturday, a day on which Kougioumtsidis won his second U23 Euro title.

Islam ILYASOV (AZE) became two-time U23 European champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another defending champion won gold as Islam ILYASOV (AZE) went past Oktay CIFTCI (TUR), 6-1, in the 97kg final.

The gold medal bout began on a very slow note with Ilyasov picking up a point for Ciftci's passivity after two minutes. He added a takedown and gut wrench before the break to lead 5-0.

As he tried defending his lead in the second period, Ilyasov was called passive and he gave up a point after 30 seconds but that did not cause much harm.

Ciftci dragged Ilyasov out of bounds but the referee called it neutral and did not give any point. Turkiye challenged the call but lost to add another point to Ilyasov's score.

The last 30 seconds did not yield any more points and U23 world bronze medalist Ilyasov won his second gold and third medal overall at U23 European Championships.

Niklas STECHELE (GER) tries to score on Tolga OZBEK (TUR) in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

It was not defending champion Horst LEHR (GER) but Niklas STECHELE (GER) made sure the 57kg U23 European gold medal remains in Germany.

Stechele, like Horst, claimed the gold medal in a low-scoring final against Tolga OZBEK (TUR) and won by a score of 4-2.

Ozbek opened the final with a low single which Stechele managed to fend off before going on one of his own. After a little scramble, he managed to score a takedown and lead 2-0.

A little later, Ozbek once again tried to get hold of Stechele's leg but failed. His weak positioning cost him another two points as Stechele went for the counter and scored.

A crotch lift just before the break made it 4-2 but Ozbek was still trying to find a way to break Stechele's defense which became even stronger in the second period.

Stechele gave a little throwback to Lehr's tactics in the final last year as he completely shutdown in the second period, just like his senior. Despite Ozbek getting on a couple of shots, Stechele gave up no points and won the gold medal 4-2.

Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) won the 70kg gold medal in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 70kg, a new star was born as Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) announced his arrival at the international scene with the U23 European Championships gold medal.

Wrestling against Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) in the final, Khaniev was slow to start and only led 1-0 at the break. But he cut loose in the second.

Papikyan tried avoiding a leg grab but fell on his back which gave Khaniev four points and he dragged him out of bounds with exposure to lead 7-0.

Armenia challenged the four point call but it stood, adding one more point to Khaniev's account. Khaniev finished the bout with a duck under and captured the gold medal.

Interestingly, Khaniev is the younger brother of 2019 U17 world champion Mukhamed KHANIEV (RWF).

Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), who won all his three bouts 10-0 on Friday, was crowned as the U23 European champion at 65kg after his opponent Rashid BABAZADE (AZE) forfeited due to injury.

Although he did not get to wrestle, Arsamerzouev became the first French freestyle wrestler to win a gold medal at the U23 Europeans.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Niklas STECHELE (GER) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 4-2

BRONZE: Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) df. Thomas EPP (SUI), 5-0
BRONZE: Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE), 13-2

65kg
GOLD: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Rashid BABAZADE (AZE), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO) df. Hamza ZOPALI (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR) df. Bozhidar DZHOROV (BUL), 6-0

70kg
GOLD: Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) df. Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM), 10-0

BRONZE: Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO) df. Benedikt HUBER (AUT), 10-0
BRONZE: Shamil USTAEV (GER) df. Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA), 4-2

79kg
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 6-4

BRONZE: Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) df. Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM), 4-1
BRONZE: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) df. Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU), via fall

97kg
GOLD: Islam ILYASOV (AZE) df. Oktay CIFTCI (TUR), 6-1

BRONZE: Ertugrul AGCA (GER) df. Richard VEGH (HUN), 10-0
BRONZE: Radu LEFTER (MDA) df. David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR), 3-2

#WrestleBucharest

Kayaalp reaches European final; Nazaryan, Abuladze stunned

Monday, February 12, 2024 - 18:00 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (February 12) -- Riza KAYAALP (TUR) took a step closer to a record 13th European title after reaching the 130kg final on the first day of the European Championships which began in Bucharest Monday.

The defending champion has won the gold medal at the European Championships, tying him with Aleksandar KARELIN and a win Tuesday in the final will make him the most successful wrestler in the continent.

For the gold medal, Kayaalp will take on Sergei SEMENOV (AIN), a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics.

Four other Greco-Roman weight classes were also in action on Monday. Three defending champions failed to advance to the finals of their respective weight classes. Adem UZUN (TUR) dropped his quarterfinal at 55kg, Leri ABULADZE (GEO) lost to Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) at 63kg while Istvan TAKACS (HUN) lost to Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB) in the 1/8th final.

The only defending champion to make it to the final apart from Kayaalp was Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) at 77kg. He defeated Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) 2-1 in the semifinal and will take on Yunus BASAR (TUR) for the gold medal.

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Kayaalp was up against Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) in the semifinal and trailed 2-0 at the break. But he began the second period with a stepout before getting the point for par terre. He reached the final with a 2-2 win.

Semenov defeated Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) 2-1 in the semifinal as he also scored an extra stepout against Kajaia's par terre point.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) defeated Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) 2-1 in the semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In a low-scoring bout, Amoyan scored a crucial pushout in the first period and then put up a strong defense in the second period to win 2-1. He got the first par terre advantage and added a stepout point from that position. Gutu got it in the second period but he was not able to score any points.

The gold-medal bout will see Amoyan take on Yunus BASAR (TUR), a repeat of the semifinal from last year that Amoyan won 6-1. Basar's path to the final included a win over 72kg world champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) in the qualification round. Basar held off Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) 3-1 in the last-four bout.

Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB) won his quarterfinal against Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) 3-1. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 87kg, world champion Ali CENGIZ (TUR) will try to win his first European title as he takes on Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB) in the final. Cengiz defeated Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) in the semifinal 4-1 while Komarov reached the gold medal bout after beating Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 3-1 in the semifinal.

Komarov, who first wrestled at the senior level at the European Championships in 2019 in Bucharest, looks to make his return to the city golden.

"My first time wrestling at a senior-level competition was back in 2019 in Bucharest," Komarov said. "Now I am back after five years and I want to win the gold medal. It’s my dream."

But the Zagreb Open Ranking Series bronze medalist accepted that it was a tough day in the office for him. In the pre-quarterfinals, Komarov defeated defending champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN), and stopped Olympic champion Zhan BELENUIK (UKR) in the quarterfinals before beating Abbasov.

"It’s been a tough day today," he said.

Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) stunned Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) 9-5 in the 63kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The biggest upset of the day came in the 63kg semifinal as Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) stunned Nazaryan 9-5 in a comeback victory. Nazaryan managed to take a 5-0 lead after getting the par terre advantage but Hrushyn scored a big four and then got a par terre advantage to lead 5-5 on criteria. Nazaryan tried to get a body lock but failed. Hrushyn countered one of his attempts and scored a takedown and another in the dying moments to win 9-5.

"The semifinal went almost as I planned it," Hrushyn said. "Except for the first par terre, I was expecting a different move. I was planning to do something in a standing position. I am confident that functionally I am well-prepared, better than many other wrestlers here. I was counting on that."

Hrushyn has made it to his first European Championships final but he won a bronze medal in 2022. But he is not contended with silver and hopes to win his first gold on Tuesday.

"This is my first ever European final," he said. "Not a step back, just forward. That’s it. I will prepare the same way. It’s a European Championships, so no easy opponents."

Earlier in the day, Nazaryan faced world champion Abuladze in the quarterfinal and came out with a 3-0 win. He used an arm-throw to score but Abuladze stopped him from completing the throw. As Nazaryan landed first, Abuladze was awarded two points but Bulgaria challenged the decision. On review, the judges ruled that Abuladze blocked Nazaryan and restarted the bout in par terre. Abuladze was quick to stand up but he was later warned for passivity, giving one more point to Nazaryan who led 3-0 at the break. No points were scored in the second period and Nazaryan won 3-0. But his run was cut short by Hrushyn.

For the gold medal, Hryshyn will face Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), who reached his second straight European Championships after beating Anvar ALLAKHAROV (AIN) 3-3. Till the final 30 seconds of the bout, Allakharov was destined to reach the final as he was leading 3-1. But Mammadov received a late par terre advantage, with just 40 seconds left on the clock.

Allakharov, struggling with his conditioning, failed to stop a par terre turn and conceded a 3-3 criteria lead. Mammadov kept his distance from Allakharov for the remaining time in the bout.

At 55kg, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) failed to break his Azerbaijan curse as he suffered a 5-1 loss to Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) in the semifinals. In his previous outings, he has lost to world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE). Mammadov will now face Artium DELEANU (MDA) for the gold medal as he won 2-2 on criteria against Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM).

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Artium DELEANU (MDA)

SF 1: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), 5-1
SF 2: Artium DELEANU (MDA) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 2-2

63kg
GOLD: Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)

SF 1: Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN), 3-3
SF 2: Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) df. Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL), 9-5

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) vs. Yunus BASAR (TUR)

SF 1: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), 2-1
SF 2: Yunus BASAR (TUR) df. Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) vs. Ali CENGIZ (TUR)

SF 1: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Ali CENGIZ (TUR) df. Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN), 4-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs. Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)

SF 1: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 2-2
SF 2: Sergei SEMENOV (AIN) df. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO), 2-1

Kougioumtsidis repeats as U23 European champion

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Kayaalp reaches European final; Nazaryan, Abuladze stunned