#WrestleAlmaty

LIVE BLOG: Asian Olympic Qualifiers, Day Three

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - 04:30 By United World Wrestling Press

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We have our 12 qualifiers in men's freestyle from Almaty. Uzbekistan was the top team with four qualifiers while Iran captured three spots for the Tokyo Olympics. China managed two for itself as Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Kazakhstan go home with one each. 

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

1945 hrs: Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) is the champion of 125kg as he beats Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) 4-2 in the final

1930 hrs: Gold medal for Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)! Uzbekistan veteran Magomed Idrisovitch IBRAGIMOV (UZB) will give an injury default victory to the Iran wrestler

1915 hrs: Zushen LIN (CHN) gave Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) a tough fight but he will go down 3-7 in the 86kg final.

1900 hrs: We have injury forfeit at the 74kg final and Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) will take home the gold medal. Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) finishes with a silver

1835 hrs: What a match! - Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) was leading 12-8 after a too and fro five minutes but Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) comes back to get two exposures and make it 12-12 and claim the gold medal at 65kg. Iran is challenging. But Akmataliev will win the gold medal after a revised score of 15-12

1815 hrs: Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) is your gold medalist in Almaty at 57kg after he wins 10-0 win over Minghu LIU (CHN)

1800 hrs: Welcome back! We are ready for our medal bouts. First up will be the 57kg bronze medal bouts

1415 hrs: We have our 12 quota winners!

57kg: Minghu LIU (CHN) and Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
65kg: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) and Amirmohammad  YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
74kg: Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI and Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV
86kg: Zushen LIN (CHN) and Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB)
97kg: Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) and Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
125kg: Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)

1310 hrs: Liu with a pair of takedowns and he is up 4-1 but Ikromov counters with his own. Liu gets an exposure and he will win 6-3. Abdullaev will qualify Uzbekistan for Tokyo as he beats Uulu 8-4

1300 hrs: 57kg semifinals are underway. Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) is leading Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) 6-0 at the break while Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK) is up 1-0 against M LIU (CHN)

1215 hrs: There will be a 45 minute break before we start the semifinals! 12 wrestlers will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics

1200 hrs: At 57kg, Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) will take on Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) while Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK) will wrestle M LIU (CHN) for a ticket to Tokyo

1150 hrs: Kazakhstan are having a field day! Azamat DAULETBEKOV and Yusup BATIRMURZAEV have reached the semifinals at 97kg and 125kg respectively

1130 hrs: We have some our semifinalists set already! Haji ALI (BRN) will wrestle Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) for a spot in the final of 65kg1120 hrs: Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI) does it in style. He advances to the semifinal with 10-0 win

1110 hrs: Haji ALI (BRN) is tied 1-1 against Junsik YUN (KOR) in their 65kg quarter-final. On Mat B after this bout we will have the Amirmohammad Babak YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)

1055 hrs: Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) begins with a 11-0 win against Naoya AKAGUMA (JPN). He looks poised to get that quota for Iran

1040 hrs: A first period technical superiority for Ilyas BEKABULATOV (UZB) at 65kg. In the next bout, Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) also wins by technical superiority against Alymuhammet OVEZMYRADOV (TKM)

1030 hrs: Off we go! Freestyle wrestling here in Almaty and we have some superstars to watch Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB), Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI), Haji ALI (BHN)

#WrestleTirana

U23 World Championships 2024: Best storylines in Tirana

Monday, October 14, 2024 - 11:45 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 14) -- The U23 World Championships will kick off in Tirana next Monday with 661 wrestlers participating. Not only some returning champions are entered, but a few Paris 2024 Olympic wrestlers are also participating in the October 21-27 tournament.

Iran, which missed the tournament last year, will hopefully be there for the U23 World Championships.

Here are a few top storylines to follow from Tirana

Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) is one of the favorites at 74kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Freestyle

- The 61kg defending champion Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) will be the favorite for the gold medal. After winning the gold medal last year, Magomedov won the U23 European Championships this year. In the seven bouts in the two tournaments, Magomedov has won five bouts via technical superiorities. 

- Another returning champion is Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN), defending his 65kg gold medal. Last year, Ibragimov gave up only one point in the tournament over five bouts. He is likely to dominate this year too. However, former U20 world champion Mohit KUMAR (IND) will look to avenge the semifinal loss to Ibragimov. Kumar failed to medal and finished fifth.

Another U20 world champion coming to Tirana is Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB). After winning the gold medal in Sofia in 2022, Jalolov is still trying to return to the top. He also suffered a back injury and recovery has been a tough road for him. He tried qualifying for the Paris Olympics but failed to do so. Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ) and Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) will be in the medal run as well.

- Perhaps the most competitive category, the 74kg weight class will see Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), Ali REZAEI (IRI), Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN), Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) and Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) among other stars. The last three U20 world champions are entered. Gadzhiev won the U20 gold in 2022, Mesenbrink in 2023 and Rezaei in 2024. Takahashi is the senior Asian champion and Toktomabetov is the U23 Asian champion.

- Unbeaten at the international level Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) will start as the favorite win the gold medal at 86kg. Kadiev has two U20 world titles, including the 2024 edition. Former U20 world champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) will be hoping for a successful run at the U23 level. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), who won bronze last year and participated in the Paris Olympics is competing as well.

- Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) will be in Albania for his third U23 World Championships. He won bronze in 2021 and gold in 2022. He will be the favorite for the gold with Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) offering competition. Malachdibirov won the gold medal at the U20 World Championships this year.

- 92kg world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) continues his successful run at 97kg and will be competing for the U23 world title. He won the U20 World Championships gold in September and this will be his second U23 World Championships, having finishing fifth in 2022.

Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR), a former world silver medalist, will be returning to international after more than a year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Women's Wrestling

- Defending champion at 50kg Umi ITO (JPN) will be in action after one year. Ito has been behind Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) domestically but has been a force at the international level. She is yet to lose a bout and has won U17, U20 and U23 world titles.

- The return of Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) will be a big news in Tirana. She last competed at the European Championships in 2023 and finished second. However, she has been nursing an injury for the last one year. She competed at the Valamar Cup and won the gold medal. But she will be test in Tirana as Paris Olympian and European champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) is also competing.

- Irina RINGACI (MDA) will look to defend the gold medal at 65kg. She will also look to put her disappointing campaign at the Paris Olympics where she finished 10th. This will be her fourth U23 World Championships, the first being in 2019. She has two bronze medals and one gold medal.

- Ami ISHII (JPN) will be hoping to win her second career world title. She won the U20 gold in 2022 but finished second at the senior level. She won the Paris Olympic quota for Japan but failed to win the playoff in Japan as Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) beat her. She will be competing at 68kg.

- Croatia's first-ever world champion in wrestling, Veronika VILK (CRO) will be competing at her first U23 World Championships. Volk created history in 2023 when she won the U17 World Championships gold medal, becoming first wrestling world champion in Croatian history.

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated Riza KAYAALP (TUR) in June. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Greco-Roman

- The only Paris Olympic medalist competing in Tirana is Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN). The bronze medalist at 87kg will be in Tirana hoping to win his first world title at any level. He will be in a strong field with U23 world champion at 82kg Aues GONIBOV (AIN) moving up to 87kg. Former U20 world champion Vigen NAZARYAN (ARM), Joju SAMADOV (AZE),  Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO), Yasin Ali YAZDI (IRI), Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) also competing.

- The 130kg weight class may throw some interesting competition. Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), who defeated Riza KAYAALP (TUR) in Budapest in June, will be the favorite to win the gold medal. However, Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), who defeated Hedayati in the 2022 U20 World Championships final, is also competing. Last year, Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) won the gold medal at 97kg but is moving up to 130kg, a weight class he won a Paris Olympic quota as well. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) will also be a big medal threat.