#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Live Blog: Asian Championships day four

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (April 22) -- The Asian Championships enters day four and women's wrestling continues with more exciting matchups. The biggest of them is the potential 62kg final between two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and Nonoka OZAKI (JPN).

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), Anshu MALIK (IND) and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) will also be in action.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

13:54: Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) scores all of her points in the first period of her 53kg semifinal against Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ) and holds on for a 3-0 victory in the last match of the morning session. That puts the Mongolian into the final against Fujinami -- who beat her by technical fall in the group stage, although she took the match into the second period.

13:42: Anshu MALIK (IND) is stepping on the mat for the first time since the silver medal at Worlds in Oslo and she looks dominant. She begins her semifinal against Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) with four points and then she builds on it to win 11-0. She will face 55kg world champion Sakurai who goes past Akhmedov 12-2 and also had a four-point tackle in her win.

13:36: Can anyone or anything stop Fujinami. The freshman at Nippon Sports Science University, with her father and coach in her corner, rolled into the final with a 10-0 technical fall over Keunimjaeva. Fujinami scored the final six points with three exposures using a cross-face with legs. Her opponent in the final will be decided in the final match of the session

13:35: Ozaki and Tynybekova have set up a rematch of the 2021 world opening round. Ozaki will be well-rested for the final; she needed just 40 seconds to get a takedown and rip off four straight lace locks in a 10-0 technical fall over Manisha. Tynybekova took 2:24 to record a fall over Esinbaeva. 

13:15: Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) thrilled the home crowd when, while trailing, she slammed Swati SHINDE (IND) to the mat and clamped down for a fall to finish second in 53kg Group B. That puts her into the semifinals against Group B winner Eshimova. In the other semifinal, Fujinami will face Keunimjaeva.

13:15: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) and Sumire NIIKURA (JPN) are on Mat B wrestling for a gold medal at 72kg. Bakbergenova will win the gold if she wins the match here. But she is trailing 1-0 at the break. In the second period, she is once again put on the clock but she gets a four-point throw. Niikura with a takedown to make it 4-4 but the Kazak wins on criteria.

13:03: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) is wrestling Dargis ABEN (KAZ) for the gold medal at 65kg. He gets exposure and then in the same action gets a leg lace going. She beats Aben 10-0 to win the gold medal at 65kg

12:55: Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) is wrestling Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) to confirm the top spot in Group B at 57kg. She begins with a stepout and then adds a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break

12:43: Fujinami was at her dominant best in swiftly putting away Swati SHINDE (IND) 10-0 in 43 seconds to clinch the top spot in 53kg Group A. The Japanese star got a takedown, then twisted Shinde like a pretzel twice for a 6-0 lead, then a pair of lace locks ended the proceedings.

12:42: RADHIKA (IND) was in some trouble early but then secures the fall over Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB) at 65kg. This gives her a chance to return and still be in silver medal contention

12:36: In one of the surprises of the session, unheralded Hyungyoung OH (KOR) jumped out to an 8-0 lead against veteran Eshimova in their 53kg Group B match, only to see the 34-year-old Kazakh storm back with nine points in the final minute. The winning points came on a gut wrench with 8 seconds on the clock. 

12:28: Sumire NIIKURA (JPN) may not have been ready for that. Davaanasan ENKHAMAR (MGL) came back every time Niikura scored a takedown with stepout added with cautions to make it 6-6. But she was not able to break the criteria.

12:22: Anshu MALIK (IND) notches up another 10-0 win. She gut wrenches Danielle LIM (SGP) at 57kg. She confirms her spot in the semifinals as the topper of the group

12:21: Dariga ABEN (KAZ) keeps her gold medal hopes alive as she wins 10-0 against Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB). All she needs to do is beat world silver medalist Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)

12:20: Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) gets the cradle against Nilafur RAIMOVA (KAZ) and secures the fall as well at 57kg.

12:11: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) wins her Round 2 bout against Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB) 13-2 which included a big four-pointer from the Kazak wrestler

12:10: Mira MORIKAWA (JPN) was looking for a pin leading 6-0 but RADHIKA (IND) manages to survive. Morikawa begins the second period with a takedown which was an attempted throw from Radhika. She finishes off with another takedown to win 10-0

12:04: In a match that will likely decide who avoids Fujinami in the semifinals, veteran Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ) got the second of the two passivity points awarded, giving her a 1-1 victory on criteria over Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB ). Keunimjaeva might be bound for a third straight Asian bronze medal. 

12:01: Super-teen and world champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) needed a little time to break down the defenses of Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) in her opening group match at 53kg, but capped a 10-0 technical fall in 3:24 with a 4-point tackle to the back. The weight class has six entries, and Fujinami is in Group A of the two groups. 

11:55: At 57kg, Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) begins with a 10-0 win over Hyungjoo KIM (KOR) and on Mat A, world silver medalist Anshu MALIK (IND) beats Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB) 10-0

11:50: The 62kg division has eight entries, so it is in the usual knockout format. In the semifinals, Tynybekova will face Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB ), whom she beat by TF at the 2019 Asian Championships in Xi'an. Ozaki will next face Manisha MANISHA (IND)

11:45: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), aiming to avenge her loss in the 2021 world final to Tynybekova, followed her on Mat A with a quick-fire 10-0 technical fall over Hanbit LEE (KOR). Time of victory: 28 seconds. 

11:40: World silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) is wrestling Davaanasan ENKH-AMAR (MGL). She gives up a point for passivity and gets one as well. But Ekhamar scores a takedown to lead 3-1. Bakbergenova counters with a takedown as well. It's 3-3 Kazakhstan lead and she hangs on to it.

11:35: World champion and Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) launched her campaign for a fifth Asian title with a steady 7-3 over a tough Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL), a fifth-place finisher at the Tokyo Olympics.

11:30: We're all set for the start of Day 4 of the Asian Championships by finishing up the women's competition at 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, 72kg. Mat C will be in the early spotlight, with Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), Sumire NIIKURA (JPN), Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) and Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) up in succession from the second match. 

#WrestleTirana

Tuesday's U23 World Championship semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

TIRANA, Albania (October 24) --- Welcome back to Tirana for the second day of freestyle action at the 2023 U23 World Championships. Tuesday's qualification-semifinal action will include 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg. 

Stars in Action (Tuesday):
79kg - Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) - '22 U23 world champion, '23 senior world silver
57kg - Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) - '22 U23 world bronze 
92kg - Islam ILYASOV (AZE) - '22 U23 world bronze

Semifinal matches as they come in:
57kg
Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) vs. Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) vs. Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN)

65kg
Kumar MOHIT (UWW) vs. Ibragim Charaputinovitch IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO)

70kg
Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) vs. Douglas Weber ZAPF (USA)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) vs. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)

79kg
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) vs. Shamsat TAIR (KAZ)
Dzmitry DZENISENIA (AIN) vs. Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN)

97kg
Isaac Whitman TRUMBLE (USA) vs. Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM)
Sahil SAHIL (UWW) vs. Radu LEFTER (MDA)

15:14: Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Brock David HARDY (USA) are in a tight race over on Mat B. Bayramov was up 4-2, shot a head outside single, and exposed Hardy twice, extending his lead to 8-2. The American corner challenged one of the exposures, sending it to referee review. 

After review, the call on the mat was reversed, but it didn't matter. Bayramov went on to score eight additional points in the final minute, grabbing the semifinal berth with a 14-11 win.

14:36: Sorry for the delay as I was working out some technical issues. I'll be posting the semifinals as they come in. 

14:24: This'll be the last 1/8 final match before we roll into the quarterfinals.

14:14: Below, you'll find the 35-point match between Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ) and Frederik NORTJE (RSA) that I was talking about earlier. Watch and enjoy!

13:56: Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN) continues to roll through the 57kg field, scoring a 7-1 win over Yerassyl MUKHTARULY (KAZ) in the 1/8 finals.

13:41: In the battle of U23 world champs, four takedowns--one in the first and three in the second--propelled Magomaev past Gamkrelidze.

13:14: Defending champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) will make his '23 U23 world debut on Mat C next. He'll wrestle '21 U23 world champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN).

13:02: Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN), the ’22 Russian National champion and ’23 Russian National silver medalist, picked up a 10-0 first-round win over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA). He’ll wrestle Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) in the 65kg 1/8 finals on Mat B in about an hour.

12:26: I've been around the sport for a long time, and I don't think I've ever seen one individual score 24 points in a six-minute bout, but Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ) just did so against Frederik NORTJE (RSA). The pair combined for 35 points, trading blows back and forth in their qualification-round meeting, but it was Sakybaev who ultimately came out on top, 24-11.

12:03: Although he's not a world medalist just yet, Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN) is a guy we'll be keeping an eye on today. He's a guy who has been working his way into the second tier of 57kg guys on Russia's depth chart. In 2021, he fell to Olympic champion Zaur UGUEV in the Russian National finals, which helped book his ticket to the post-COVID European Championships in Warsaw. In Poland, he reached the gold-medal bout but fell to Turkiye's Suleyman ATLI and settled for silver.

Today, Mongush opened up his day with a 10-0 win against Luka GVINJILIA (GEO).

11:47: That's what wrestling fans pay to see. I'll have the match up shortly, but Sagar JAGLAN (UWW) and Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) just combined for 28 points, with the United World Wrestling athlete coming out on top, 16-12.

11:19: The biggest star that we'll be watching today is Georgia's budding star Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), who returns to the U23 World Championships looking to defend his title from a year ago.

Since winning that U23 world title, Gamkrelidze has really emerged as one of wrestling's brightest young stars will loads of potential. Fellow Georgian great Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) told me in our hotel lobby at the World Championships, "This guy is going to be great. He's good right now, but ge needs to have confidence in his wrestling--then he will be great."

Here's Gamkrelidze's resume over the last year:
- '23 Zagreb Open Ranking Series bronze 
- '23 Kyrgyz Ranking Series gold 
- '23 Hungarian Ranking Series silver 
- '23 Senior world silver 

11:13: This will be our final repechage bout of the morning, and we'll get back to championships action.

10:30: Good morning again, wrestling fans. We're going to run through some repechage bout before welcoming in today's competitors. It should take another half hour or so.