Kumar hopes for Gilman showdown at Worlds

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - 07:15 By Vinay Siwach

NEW DELHI, India (May 17) -- Ravi KUMAR (IND) stepped on the mat after a week's gap having twisted his foot during one of the practice sessions. Yet, he had little trouble winning his two bouts to make the Indian team for the August's Commonwealth Games.

Wrestling for the first time since his third consecutive gold at Asian Championships in April, Kumar got a wake-up call against junior world medalist Vijay PATIL (IND) after trailing 3-1 at the start. But as the match progressed, Kumar got into his groove and broke the Maharashtra wrestler and secured the fall.

In the final against two-time cadet world bronze medalist and national champion Aman SEHRAWAT (IND), Kumar won via technical superiority despite the bout being disrupted by a commotion after the 125kg final.

The Tokyo silver medalist has never won a medal at the Commonwealth Games, a tournament India dominates in freestyle. But Kumar is more focused on a tournament a month after the Birmingham Games -- World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

"I know I can win a medal at the Commonwealth Games," Kumar said. "But World Championships is a bigger tournament and I want to win there."

Ravi KUMAR (IND) won his first bout via fall against Vijay PATIL (IND). (Photo: UWW / Vinay Siwach)

Kumar is not new to World Championships. He has wrestled at the mega event only once and finished with a bronze medal. His only loss came against eventual champion Zavur UGUEV (RWF) who also won the Olympic gold after beating Kumar in the final.

With ambitions of winning a gold medal in Belgrade, Kumar will probably have to go through defending world champion Thomas GILMAN (USA).

Gilman, who won a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, is already looking forward to wrestling Kumar. After winning his first Pan-Am title last week, Gilman said that Kumar is one wrestler he would like to wrestle with as both have a similar style which will entertain the fans.

Kumar echoes a similar thought and hopes that the fight can happen in Belgrade in September.

"It will be a good bout," Kumar said. "I also want to wrestle him and hope that it happens in Belgrade because I really want to be a world champion."

Initially, Kumar had decided to go for 61kg at the competition apart from the Games this year. But with September's Asian Games postponed, Kumar is happy to go down to 57kg and become India's only second world champion.

"I will go down to 57kg for World Championships," he said. "There are just two years left for the Olympics so it's good to remain at that weight and keep wrestling there."

In the run-up to the Worlds, Kumar is expected to compete at two Ranking Series events and the Commonwealth Games. He has also planned two training camps after the Games.

"I can't go into the no practice zone after the CWG," he said. "It breaks the rhythm and you take time to return to the mat."

Bajrang PUNIA (IND), red, will be eyeing his third Commonwealth Games medal in Birmingham. (Photo: UWW / Vinay Siwach)

Punias make team

Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and Deepak PUNIA (IND), who won silver medals at the Asian Championships in Mongolia, also made it to the Commonwealth Games team after winning the selection trials at 65kg and 86kg respectively.

The 65kg Olympic bronze medalist barely scraped past Vishal KALLIRAMAN (IND) in the 65kg final. He was sitting in the semifinal as others battled to wrestle him in the last four.

Sujeet emerged as his opponent from the upper side of the bracket and got the crowd excited with a few attacks. But Punia defended most of them including one in the dying moments of the bout.

"The wrestlers are sweating so much it's difficult to grip," Punia said referring to the sweltering heat in the capital and the air-conditioning malfunction in the stadium. "The moment I attacked, I would lose the hold. But it's the same for everyone."

Punia has been struggling to get training partners in the country with other wrestlers either training at their own centers or not being part of the camp. This has forced Punia to return to Chhatarsaal stadium, a center which he had left in 2014 after a fallout with fellow wrestlers. He now trains there three times a week.

Incidentally, four out of the six wrestlers selected for the Games train at the Chhatarsaal stadium in Delhi.

Deepak PUNIA (IND) will wrestle at 86kg at the Commonwealth Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 86kg, Sanjeet reached the final against Punia but could not break through the defense of the world silver medalist who now has a chance to win his first Commonwealth Games medal.

But it won't be easy for him as defending champion Muhammad INAM (PAK) has already announced his intentions of winning back-to-back gold medals.

Naveen NAVEEN (IND), right, is a 70kg bronze medalist at the Asian Championships. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 74kg, NAVEEN (IND) emerged as a surprise winner after he posted three back-to-back big wins at the trails. The Asian Championships bronze medalist at 70kg first got the better of Asian silver medalist JITENDER (IND), defeated cadet world champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND) in the semifinal before stunning 79kg Asian silver medalist Gourav BALIYAN (IND) 12-2 in the final.

"I was very confident today," Naveen said. "Once you get your first attack going, you realize how the other wrestler is defending and as the match goes on, you know they are getting tired.

"In the final, after I got four points, I realized Baliyan cannot keep up with me. They are cutting weight while for me it is easier to gain weight and wrestle."

Grewal Mohit GREWAL (IND) won the trials at 125kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Mohit GREWAL (IND) clinched the spot at 125kg after beating veteran wrestler SATENDER MALIK (IND) in a tense final which saw a long challenge review before a brawl at the end of the bout.

Malik was leading 3-0 with 30 seconds on the clock when Grewal got a single leg attack but was unable to finish it. However, Malik lost balance and fell which gave Grewal two points before he scored another with a stepout. The mat chairman did not score the two points.

Grewal challenged the call and lost before the review for the previous was checked again which made it clear that a takedown was completed. Malik was unhappy with the decision claiming that Grewal had no control during the takedown.

Deepak DEEPAK (IND) defeated Satywart KADIAN (IND) in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Vinay Siwach)

India saw the rise of new stars at 97kg after the domination of Satywart KADIAN (IND) and Mousam KHATRI (IND) for more than a decade. '21 junior world bronze medalist DEEPAK (IND) defeated Kadian in the semifinal while Sahil SEHRAWAT (IND) defeated Khatri in the other semifinal. Deepak humbled Kadian with a 5-2 win thanks to two takedowns while Sehrawat beat Khatri 10-0 using four gut wrenches.

But the final was a little anti-climatic as Deepak went past Sehrawat 10-0 with ease to make the Commonwealth Games team.

The team is scheduled to take part in the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Ranking Series event next month but the wrestlers can skip it as well. The wrestlers for non-Olympic weight classes for the ranking series will be selected by the Wrestling Federation of India.

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 23:21 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 8) -- Iran won two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal on the final day of the U20 World Championships, but it failed to stop the United States from winning the team title. The U.S. collected the top rank in the team race with 175 points, 15 better than Iran, which finished second. Japan finished third with 90 points.

This was the first time since 2017 that the U.S. won the team title and stopped Iran from completing a hat trick of top-place finishes. All 10 U.S. wrestlers competed for a medal and nine won a medal.

The U.S. fielded a very young team, with five wrestlers who were only 18 years old and eight wrestlers who could wrestle at the U20 level again next year.

"Everyone put themselves in the position to get on the podium and win the best medal they could," J'den COX, coach of Team USA, said. "Everyone is going to get better but overall it was great. They are the best in the world. I get it that individually in some cases we didn't get where we wanted to go but as a whole, we wrestled an amazing tournament."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) scores a takedown against Benjamin KUETER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

However, the final day of the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain did not go as planned for the U.S. It had five wrestlers on the mat and only one won his match. Marcus BLAZE (USA) won a bronze medal over Tolga OZBEK (TUR).

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), Joshua BARR (USA) and Benjamin KUETER (USA) all dropped their finals while Connor MIRASOLA (USA) lost his bronze medal match.

Kueter, a U20 world champion at 97kg in 2022, was wrestling at 125kg and reached the final. However, he ran into a mountain named Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) who already has a U23 world gold, two U20 world golds, and a U17 world gold.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) gestures towards the crowd after winning the 125kg final in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Championships / Jake Kirkman)

Masoumi added a third U20 world gold medal to his name after he won the 125kg final 4-2 over Kueter and is now a five-time age-group world champion. A naturally aggressive wrestler, Masoumi dropped that approach and was happy to win his matches by sitting on the lead.

He did the same against Kueter in the final as he scored a takedown, a point for Kueter's passivity and a stepout. As he defended his 4-0 lead, Kueter managed to trip him in the final 30 seconds to score a takedown for two points.

"My opponent in the final is a well-known wrestler as he won the World Championships Sofia, Bulgaria, two years ago," Masoumi said. "He had taken a year off from wrestling but had improved a lot since then. He’s a skilled and accomplished wrestler. Thank God I was able to use my knowledge of him to wrestle smartly and win 4-2"

Kueter did trouble Masoumi in the final but Masoumi, despite wrestling with a heavily tapped left hand, never dropped his guard. Masoumi said he had broken his wrist before coming to Spain so he was careful with his attacks.

While he won his four bouts outscoring his opponents 32-3, Masoumi had only one technical superiority win. In 2022, when he won both the U20 and U23 world titles, Masoumi won all but one of his matches via superiority.

"I had an injury in my hand and it was broken, so I tried to be careful with it," he said. "Otherwise, I’m always aggressive and a fighter."

He will be in Tirana, Albania in a month's time to wrestle at the U23 World Championships. He won the gold medal in 2022 but skipped the 2023 edition. But Masoumi said his main focus is to make the senior team.

"In the match against Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in Croatia, I lost," he said of his 5-0 loss to Olympic silver medalist Zare at the Ranking Series in Zagreb in January. "Some might say that Amir Reza Masoumi has settled, but no, I’m not satisfied at all. I’m preparing myself for the World Championships in Zagreb, aiming for the national team selection."

Ali REZAEI (IRI) scores the match-winning takedown against Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ali REZAEI (IRI) was the second gold medal for the day for Iran after he defeated 2023 U17 world champion Lockett 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling 74kg final. Rezaei is the first U20 world champion from Iran at 74kg in 15 years.

Lockett was leading the final 3-1 after scoring a takedown in the second period and Rezaei, who won a silver medal last year, needed at least a takedown to win.

It came in the fifth minute of the bout when Lockett missed a sweep single and Rezaei showed exceptional speed to get him a bodylock and finish with a takedown. Leading 3-3 on criteria, Rezaei did not allow Lockett to get into any attacking positions and won the gold medal.

Ali REZAEI (IRI) defends an attack from Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"I went through a tough final but with the great analysis from the coaches, I managed to defeat the strong American opponent," Rezaei said. "I hope to continue on this path and become a world and Olympic champion."

In Amman, Rezaei dropped the 70kg final against Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) 11-6 but planned to win the gold in Pontevedra.

"Last year, I won silver," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for about a year and a half, and thankfully, in the final, my opponent was an American, and I managed to beat him. This journey continues."

Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) won the 86kg gold medal in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The third American to suffer a loss in the final was Burr as Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) beat him 8-2 in the 86kg final. Kadiev won his second U20 world gold medal after winning the 79kg gold in Amman last year.

In the final against Burr, Kadiev jumped to a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the match. Burr did get on a few leg attacks but he was able to score only a stepout in the first period, cutting the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Kadiev, who took multiple medical timeouts for his injured knee, scored a counter against Burr and got two more points. The U.S. challenged the decision to award two points to Kadiev as Burr was never in danger but the replays showed Burr's back on the mat. The lost challenge made the score 6-1. Burr scored a stepout with 12 seconds left and then tried a front headlock throw but Kadiev stopped it to get two points and an 8-2 win.

"The American opponent was the toughest one for me," Kadiev said. "I also injured my knee. I didn’t attack much, because I couldn’t risk it. If only I hadn’t injured the knee, the match would have gone in a different way. My wrestling style is to attack from the very first second, and then in the second period the opponent gets tired and it’s easier to finish him."

Kadiev will get a chance to showcase his skills again at the U23 Worlds next month in Tirana. He also said that winning the gold medal last year made his more happy than this year.

"When I first won the U20 Worlds, I was much happier than now," he said. "This time there is no such feeling of excitement as it was last time. I wrestle more confidently, and we’ve worked on our mistakes with the coaches. I don’t know how fast I can recover from this knee injury. Hopefully, I can still make it to the U23 Worlds."

At 92kg, Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) got some motivation from Kadiev as he finished his final against Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0, well before time.

Malachdibirov got Saliev in a gut-wrench and managed to turn him to win the gold medal at 92kg.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN) asks for the 'champion belt' after his 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ono warning before Tirana

At the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana from October 28 to 31, one wrestler to watch will be Masanosuke ONO (JPN) who destroyed everyone in Pontevedra to win the 61kg gold medal.

After winning his four bouts on Saturday, Ono returned to wrestle Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) for the final. It was expected to be an action-packed final but Ono finished it in one action.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Ono got an attack on Khari and scored a takedown. 26 seconds later, Ono had finished the final using the gut-wrench to win the gold medal in 26 seconds.

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"I was surprised that it ended sooner than I expected, but it was a very enjoyable 25 seconds," Ono said. "I'm satisfied."

Ono will now look to win the gold medal at 61kg in Tirana. However, he is aware that his opponents in Tirana will be more powerful.

"I'm still not satisfied unless I win there (Tirana)," he said.

Ono began wrestling only after his teacher in the music class during kindergarten encouraged him to wrestle. Ono, now at the Yamanashi Gakuin University, trains under former world champion Yuka TAKAHASHI (JPN) and is from the Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is in the countryside.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: BHUVANESH (IND) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 5-0

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Shingo ANDO (JPN) df. Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT), 9-3

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Joshua BARR (USA), 8-2

BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 3-2
BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) vs. Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0

BRONZE: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Amirreza DALIRI (IRI), 8-5
BRONZE: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 6-2

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Benjamin KUETER (USA), 4-2

BRONZE: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) df. Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Jaspooran SINGH (IND), 3-2

Kumar hopes for Gilman showdown at Worlds

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U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title