#WrestleWarsaw

LIVE BLOG: European C'ships (Day Three)

By Eric Olanowski

WARSAW, Poland (April 21) -- We've made it to the third day of wrestling at the European Championships. Women's wrestling action takes center stage today with the freestyle medal matches starting at 18:00 (local time).

Wednesday's Schedule:
11:30 - Qualification round
16: 45 - Semifinals
18:00 - Finals

Returning women's wrestling European champions in action today:
50kg - Miglena SELISHKA (BUL)
59kg - Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
59kg - Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
68kg - Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
76kg - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)

WATCH: European Championships 

14:40: That wraps up our coverage of the morning session. We'll see you back here at 16:45 for the women's wrestling semifinals. The freestyle finals will start at 18:00.

Semifinal Matches (As they come in): 
50kg

SEMIFINAL - Winner 174 vs. Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
SEMIFINAL - Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL) vs. Winner 207

55kg
SEMIFINAL - Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) vs. Jessica Cornelia Francisca BLASZKA (NED)
SEMIFINAL - Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU) vs. Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)

59kg
SEMIFINAL -  Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS) vs. Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
SEMIFINAL - Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR) vs. Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL) 

68kg
SEMIFINAL - Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) vs. Nesrin BAS (TUR)
SEMIFINAL - Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)

76kg

SEMIFINAL - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) vs. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
SEMIFINAL - Epp MAEE (EST) vs. Cynthia Vanessa VESCAN (FRA)

13:36: Defending European champions Grace BULLEN (NOR) and Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) are wrestling now on Mat A.

13:13: Returning European silver medalist Jessica BLASZKA (NED) is wrestling on Mat A.

13:02: Both wrestlers collect inactivity points in the second period, but it's Vorobeva who comes out on top, 3-1. She take on Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) in a rematch of the European Olympic Games Qualifier finals. 

12:54 Vorobeva leads Focken, 1-0, after the first three minutes.

12:53: There's an upset brewing on Mat A. World runner-up Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) trails Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR) by two points heading into the final two minutes of the match. 

12:40: World champion  Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) and Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) will clash on Mat C (Bout 203) shortly. 

12:26: That's the match of the morning thus far! Livach wins the battle of world bronze medalists and takes down Demirhan, 12-8. She'll face the winner of Emilia VUC (ROU) and Natallia VARAKINA (BLR).

12:21: Two-time world champion Mariya STADNIK (AZE) will make her long-awaited return against world bronze medalist Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS) in five matches on Mat A. She hasn't wrestled since the '19 World Championships. 

12:16: World bronze medalists Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) and Oksana LIVACH (UKR) are wrestling over on Mat B. We're less than two minutes into the match and there are already 14 points on the board!

12:08: You know the dump is coming, but it's nearly impossible to stop. Vorobeva gets to her signature move and pins  Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU) in less than 90 seconds in her opening-round match. 

11:53: We have an issue, but it's a good one to have. We have too many stars coming up that it's hard to keep track of! First up will be Olympic gold and silver medalist Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) on Mat A. In her last competition, she qualified Russia for the Olympic Games at 76kg after she won the European Olympic Qualifier.

11:38: We'll start the day with some freestyle repechage action before we transition into our full day of women's action.

#WrestleWarsaw

LIVE BLOG: European C'ships (Day Five)

By Eric Olanowski

WARSAW, Poland (April 23) -- The fifth day of wrestling at the European Championships welcomes in Greco-Roman action to the mix.

Friday's Schedule:
11:30 - Qualification round
16: 45 - Semifinals
18:00 - Finals

WATCH: European Championships 

17:48: That'll do it for Greco-Roman action. We'll take a 10-minute break and start the women's wrestling medal matches. 

17:40: Riza does it. He'll wrestle for a TENTH European title on Saturday night.

17:33: Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) keeps his four-month hot-streak alive and inserts himself into the 87kg finals with a 9-1 win over Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN).

17:21: Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) defeated Michael WIDMAYER (GER), 5-0, and will wrestle for his fourth European title tomorrow night. He'll take on Yunus BASAR (TUR) in the 77kg gold-medal match.

17: 11: If Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT) win his semifinals match, he'd become the first Latvian wrestler to medal at the European Championships since '38.

HE'D END AN 83 YEAR DROUGHT!

17:03: Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) trailed late but used an acrobatic flying squirrel to upset '18 world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 5-4. He'll wrestle Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) on Saturday night for 55kg gold. 

16:55: We're back to action in Poland. It'll be the Greco-Roman semifinals, followed by the women's wrestling finals, which will start at 18:00. 

Final Matches (As they come in): 

55kg
GOLD - Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) vs. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
SEMIFINAL - Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 5-4
SEMIFINAL - Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) df. Artsiom KATSAR (BLR), 8-0

63kg
GOLD - Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS) vs. Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
SEMIFINAL - Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS) df. Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 9-5
SEMIFINAL - Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT), 7-1

77kg
GOLD - Yunus BASAR (TUR) vs. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Yunus BASAR (TUR) df. Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR), 4-0
SEMIFINAL - Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) df. Michael WIDMAYER (GER), 5-0 

87kg
GOLD - Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) vs. Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
SEMIFINAL - Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) df. Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN), 9-1
SEMIFINAL - Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) df. Denis KUDLA (GER), 2-1

130kg
GOLD - Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
SEMIFINAL - Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Eduard POPP (GER), via fall 
SEMIFINAL - Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) df. Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU), 5-0

14:46: That'll do it for this morning's Greco-Roman coverage. We'll meet back here at 16:45 for the Greco-Roman semifinals. The Day Five women's wrestling finals will begin at 18:00. 

14:40:  Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) upsets two-time world champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), 1-1, and is headed to the 87kg semifinals.  

14:28: In the battle of world champions that just wrapped up on Mat B, Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) breezed to a 10-1 win over Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO). He'll square off with Individual World Cup champion and rising star Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) in tonight's 55kg semifinals.

14:15: Riza is not playing today! The nine-time European champion has wrestle twice today and has outscored his opponents 18-1 en route to the semifinals. Kayaalp will wrestle Tokyo Olympian Eduard POPP (GER) for a spot in the 130kg finals. 

14:08: World champions  Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) and Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) just took the mat on Mat B! The winner moves into the 55kg semifinals.

Semifinal Matches (As they come in): 

55kg
SEMIFINAL - Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) vs. Emin SEFERSHAEV (RUS) 
SEMIFINAL - Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) vs. Artsiom KATSAR (BLR)

63kg
SEMIFINAL - Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS) vs. Leri ABULADZE (GEO) 
SEMIFINAL - Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT) 

77kg
SEMIFINAL - Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR) vs. Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR) 
SEMIFINAL - Michael Felix WIDMAYER (GER)  vs. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)

87kg
SEMIFINAL - Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN) vs.
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) 
SEMIFINAL - Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) vs.  Denis Maksymilian KUDLA (GER) 

130kg
SEMIFINAL - Eduard POPP (GER) vs. Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
SEMIFINAL - Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU) vs. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)

13:37: I suggest posting up on Mat B and staying there for a while! 

13:25: ARE YOU KIDDING? Maskevich strikes again! He was down 6-0 against fellow Individual World Cup champion Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS) but used a lateral drop to pick up the fall. He'll wrestle the winner of Yoan Danielov DIMITROV (BUL) and Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO) next.

13:10: Coming up next on Mat B, it'll be a matchup of Individual World Cup champions between Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) and Kiryl Maskevich.

12:59: Two-time world champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) is wrestling next on Mat B. It'll be his second competition of the year. He competed and won gold at January's Grand Prix of Zagreb.

12:46: Denis KUDLA ?? may be one of my most underrated wrestlers in the world. His resume is stacked with medals, but you rarely hear about him. He's coming up soon on Mat A (Bout 306).

Olympic Games: ?
World Championships: ??
European Championships: ???

12;23: '19 world champion Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) starts his day off with a quick 9-0 thumping of Denis HORVATH (SVK). He'll wrestle two-time U23 world champion ('17 & '18) Daniel CATARAGA (MDA) in eight matches (Bout 330)  on Mat B. 

12:14:  Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) IS MUST-WATCH TV! ? He just ran through ???? Viktor LORINCZ (HUN), 9-0, in the opening period and barely broke a sweat.He'll wrestle again in nine matches (Bout 328) on Mat B. #WrestleWarsaw

11:55: Kayaalp led 1-1 after the opening three minutes of wrestling, but scored eight second-period point from five gut wrenches and defeated Cherneyskyy, 10-1.

11:40: Today, we'll be paying attention to Riza KAYAALP (TUR). The Turkish big man begins his quest for his TENTH European title. He'll wrestle Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR) in the fourth match on Mat C.

11:30: There will be one women's wrestling repechage match on each mat, then we'll roll right into the Greco-Roman matches.