#WrestleWarsaw

Larrouque, Vinesh Warm-Up for Tokyo with Poland Open titles

Friday, June 11, 2021 - 21:39 By Vinay Siwach

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WARSAW, Poland (June 11) --- Wrestling at Tokyo Olympics may be 50 days away but Warsaw witnessed a mini-Olympics at the Poland Open as eight out of the 16 qualified women's wrestlers were in action at the 68kg on Friday.

The final ranking series event saw wrestlers eyeing to earn the points to improve their seeds for the Tokyo Games. But with 50 percent wrestling, there was no change in the seeding at the end.

Poland Open

Koumba LARROUQUE (FRA) claimed the gold medal at 68kg with a defensive masterclass throughout the day but her 16 points were not enough to earn her a place in the top four.

Wrestling second seeded Tokyo Olympian Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), the French was skeptical of injuring her heavily padded knee.

“The opponents are very strong here and I did not want to take any chance,” Larrouque said.

All her bouts were against qualified wrestlers and after shutting off Anna SCHELL (GER) 3-1, she defeated Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) 4-0 in the quarterfinals. Against Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), she looked a lot uncomfortable but managed to keep her away with a 3-1 win.

In the final, while on the clock in the first period, she used Oborududu’s over hook to pick up a pair of exposure points, then scored a stepout in the second to secure her first Ranking Series title, 3-0.

That’s three consecutive gold medals heading into the Tokyo Olympic Games for the two-time world medalist. She’s reached the top of the podium at the European Championships, European Olympic Qualifier and the Poland Open.

If Larrouque's defensive display was epic, Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) at 57kg showed offense was her style as she won the gold medal in Warsaw. Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) forfeited her final against the Nigerian.

But it was the morning session where Adekuoroye was absolutely phenomenal, taking out Rio Olympic champ Helen MAROULIS (USA) and silver medalist Valeria KOBLOVA ZHOLOBOVA (RUS) with zero points scored on her.

“I had been waiting to wrestle Helen and I was planning a lot for this,” Adekuoroye said.

In a dash of explosive power, she scored two four-point throws and two takedowns combined with a point for Helen's passivity to win the bout 13-0.

She had lost to the American twice before, 6-6 in 2015 and 4-1 in 2018, but on Thursday, Helen had no answer to her attacks.

Vinesh Phogat Poland

At 53kg, Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) passed Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Yong Mi PAK (PRK) for the top seed in Tokyo after winning her fourth consecutive Ranking Series title. The world bronze medalist collected 14 points to move up to the first place.

Vinesh quickly dialed in and found her distance in the gold medal match against Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR). She struck twice on open double legs and commanded the comfortable 4-0 opening-period lead. In the closing frame, she used a counter-offensive quarter nelson to expose Bereza before adding one last takedown for good measures for the 8-0 win.

The win takes her to 69 points in the seeding while Pak will be at 60. Mukaida will be at third with 55 points. Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU) will claim the fourth spot with 50 points.

The home country also had a lot to cheer about as Anhelina LYSAK (POL) gave it a gold medal after whipping over Yuliia LISOVSKA (UKR) in the finals for the fall. Lysak’s Ukrainian opponent shot a head outside single when she was put on the activity clock.

Anhelina LYSAK Poland Open

Lysak got Lisovska's head to put her down on the mat. She held on to that until the pin was called in a minute and 51 seconds.

The Pole was in destructive mood on Thursday as she gave up only one point in the four matches she wrestled.

Ukraine did manage to take the gold medal from Warsaw as Alla BELINSKA (UKR) won all her four bouts in the nelson bracket to claim the gold at 72kg.

Throughout the day, the Ukrainian beat Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 6-5, Catalina AXENTE (ROU) via fall, Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS) via fall and Buse TOSUN (TUR) 5-4.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD - Vinesh VINESH (IND) df. Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR), 8-0
BRONZE - Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) df. Milana DADASHEVA (RUS), via cautions
BRONZE - Amy Ann FEARNSIDE (USA) df. Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS), 2-1

57kg
GOLD - Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR), via forfeit
BRONZE - Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) df Magdalena GLODEK (POL), 8-0
BRONZE - Tetyana KIT (UKR) df. Valeria KOBLOVA ZHOLOBOVA (RUS), 8-7

59kg
GOLD - Anhelina LYSAK (POL) df. Yuliia LISOVSKA (UKR), via fall
BRONZE - Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ) df. Elif YANIK (TUR), 14-4

68kg
GOLD - Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) df. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), 3-0
BRONZE - Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN), 3-1
BRONZE - Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Khanum VELIEVA (RUS), via fall

72kg
GOLD – Alla BELINSKA (UKR) (4-0)
SILVER - Buse TOSUN (TUR) (3-1)
BRONZE - Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) (2-2)

#development

Moldova steps up, hosts coaching and referee courses

Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 19:57 By United World Wrestling Press

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KISHINEV, Moldova (December 10) -- Moldova, a country rich with wrestling history and some good performances in recent years, continues to develop the sport.

Moldovan Wrestling Federation has taken steps to train and improve its coaches, referees and wrestlers and organized two courses [Level 3 Coaching and Level 2 National Referee] and a competition from November 23 to 29.

The two courses were organized in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, UWW and Moldova Olympic Committee. United World Wrestling also supported their national tournament that was held at the conclusion of the courses.

"We are pleased with the successful implementation of the Level 3 coaching program and Level 2 referee program," said Ivan GHEORGHIU, President of the Moldova Wrestling Federation. "The course introduced modern international coaching and refereeing methodologies that are essential for the continued development of wrestling in Moldova. We value the collaboration with UWW and Olympic Solidarity and look forward to further educational initiatives."

The Level 3 coaching course was led by Yusup ABDUSALAMOV (UWW Educator). The course focused on performance analysis periodization and preparation, coaching philosophy training load management, and safe sport. There were 17 individuals that participated in the course.

“The course progressed smoothly and the participants showed interest, discipline, and engagement during all sessions," Abdusalamov said. "They actively participated in theoretical discussions and performed well during practical and micro-training tasks. I am confident that the skills they developed will significantly improve the effectiveness of their training work."

Anatolie GUIDEA, one of the coaches who attended the course expressed his appreciation and said, "I greatly appreciated the depth of information on periodization and training load management. The micro-training sessions were especially useful, as they provided clear practical tools that I can apply immediately in my own training environment."

Moldova

The Level 2 referee course was also held and was called Referee Foundations. This course was led by Igor LIGAY (IS Referee and UWW Educator) and included 22 participants.

During the course, the referees went through more advanced scoring situations including risk, out of bounds, takedown and control, and attack vs counter attack. They also worked on strategies for controlling the bout and being a mat chairman. Their training included theoretical and practical sessions.

"All participants actively took part in discussions, successfully handled practical exercises during the competitions, and I am confident that the skills and knowledge they acquired will enhance their effectiveness and raise the overall standard of judging at competitions," Ligay said.

In addition to the courses, Moldova hosted a national competition that was also supported by UWW. This competition featured wrestlers from 26 clubs and included 134 Freestyle wrestlers, 121 Greco-Roman wrestlers, and 27 women wrestlers.