#WrestleBudapest

LIVE BLOG: European Olympic Qualifier, Day Three (Session Two)

By Eric Olanowski

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 19) --- The third day of wrestling at the #WrestleBudapest European Olympic Qualifier is underway in Hungary.

Day Two Finals Recap: Belarus Crowns Three Champs, Armenia’s Tevanyan Keeps Hot Streak Alive
Day Two Semifinals Recap: Four Nations Earn Pair of Olympic Berths on Friday

19:50: Kiril MILOV (BUL) earns an Olympic berth for Bulgaria at 97kg after walking to a 9-0 semifinals shutout win over Artur OMAROV (CZE).

19:19: Thanks to wins from Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and  Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), Georgia has punched two tickets to the Olympic Games through tonight's Tokyo qualification round. 

19:00: Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) and Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) are leaving everything they have on the mat. What a match with an Olympic spot on the line. 

18:38: Balint KORPASI (HUN) has world medals trickled throughout his resume, but the one thing the former world champion's resume was missing was an Olympic appearance. At 33-year-old, that's all going to change. The Hungarian dominated Donior ISLAMOV (MDA), 6-0, and booked Hungary's ticket to the Olympics at 67kg. 

18:25: That was insane! That's not something you see every day. Etienne KINSINGER (GER) trailed Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) with nine seconds left when he left his feet and locked up a side headlock. He threw everything he had into it and scored four points. He won the match 5-4 and punched Germany's ticket to the Olympic Games.

18:14: Next up at 60kg is Etienne KINSINGER (GER) and Murad MAMMADOV (AZE).

18:12: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) had to dig deep in the 60kg semifinals, but the 21-year-old sparkplug earned the narrow 5-4 win over Erik TORBA (HUN) and handed Turkey a berth to the Olympic Games.

Start of the Greco-Roman Tokyo Qualification Matches

17:14: That'll do it for the women's wrestling medal matches. We'll take a short break and see you back here at 18:00 for the Greco-Roman Tokyo Olympic Qualification round. 

17:05: No much to talk about in the final two gold-medal matches. Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) claimed gold after Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) injury defaulted out of the finals and Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) beat Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 2-0.

16:45: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) was the Perfromer of the Tournament. She destroyed everyone she competed against -- including Rio silver medalist Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR) and European champion Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT).

16:28: Bulgaria got a second gold of the night via injury default victory. At 57kg, Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) claimed gold after her Ukrainian finals opponent Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal match.

16:21: That was quick! What a dominating performance by Mattsson as there was still 90 seconds left on the clock when she ended the match with the Belarusian two-time world champion, 10-0.

16:13: It's a battle of world champions for 53kg gold as Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) and Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE) are going toe-to-toe.

16:08: Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) is your 50kg European Olympic Games Qualifier champion. Her finals opponent Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) injury defaulted out of the gold-medal match. 

Greco-Roman Semifinal Matchups (as they come in): 

60kg
SEMIFINAL - Etienne KINSINGER (GER) vs. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Erik TORBA (HUN) vs. Kerem KAMAL (TUR) 

67kg
SEMIFINAL - Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) vs. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) 
SEMIFINAL - Balint KORPASI (HUN) vs. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) 

77kg
SEMIFINAL - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) vs. Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) vs. Oldrich VARGA (CZE)

87kg
SEMIFINAL - Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL -  Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) vs. Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS)

97kg
SEMIFINAL - Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL) vs. Artur OMAROV (CZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) vs. Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) 

130kg
SEMIFINAL - Sergey SEMENOV (RUS) vs. Adam VARGA (HUN)
SEMIFINAL - Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) vs. Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL) 

 

15:38: Smart challenge from Kamal. He asks for an additional two for exposure and wins the challenge. He'll wrestle in tonight's semifinals after collecting the 9-1 victory over the Moldovian.

15:32: Turkey's Kamal was just down 1-0. In the blink of an eye, he's up 7-1 on European champion Ciobanu.

15:16: Switzerland's Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) downed Mihail BRADU (MDA), 10-2, and moved into the semifinals. He's one match away from punching Switzerland's ticket to Tokyo. If he wins his next match, he'd be the 12th wrestler from his country to qualify for the Olympic Games.

15:06: '19 world champ Lasha Gobadze is coming up next on Mat B. Last round, the Georgian defeated Turkey's two-time world champion Metehan Basar

15:00: Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) is an interesting guy to watch wrestle. He's at least a head taller than everyone else at 67kg but he's learned to use to height and leverage to his advantage. The Armenian is up now against Islambek DADOV (AZE) on Mat A.

14:50: Chekhirkin just earned a reversal point after he stopped a gut attempt from Nemes. He's leading 3-1 with short time left. It looks like he's going to move into tonight's semifinals. 

14:46: That loud scream you just heard was from Oldrich VARGA (CZE). He edged Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA), 3-2, and is one match away from sending the Czech Republic to the Olympic Games at 77kg. He'll meet Bozo Starcevic in tonight's semifinals.

14:39: Rio Olympian Bozo STARCEVIC (CRO) and Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) are tied over on Mat C. The Croatian was just awarded an inactivity point but he's down in par terre with less than a minute to go.

14:32: Coming up next on Mat C, it'll be a battle of world champions Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) and Viktor NEMES (SRB).

14:28: Here we go! The quarterfinals are underway in Budapest. These wrestlers are only two matches away from earning Olympic berths.

14:06: We'll hold the quarterfinal matches until the final pair of 1/8 matches wrap up. It'll probably be 15 minutes until the quarterfinals kick-off. 

14:05: Hungarian wrestlers are ruining Norway's day. First, it was Korpasi knocking out Thoresen, now it's Torba taking down Berge.

13: 52: World champ sighting on Mat C. Sergey Semenov is up 4-0 in the first period against  Luca GODINO (ITA).

13:52: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) trailed 1-0 but just put up five straight and leads Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO), 5-1. 

13:38: Norway has been having a rough few days. Their Rio Olympic bronze Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) has an opportunity to change that. He's wrestling Hungary's Eric TORBA on Mat A in two matches. 

13:37: Ciobanu moves through to the quarterfinals with a 7-1 win over Daurov.

13:30: European champion and world runner-up Victor CIOBANU (MDA) is leading Soslan DAUROV (BLR), 4-0, at the break. That match is taking place on Mat B. 

13:15: Gobadze hangs on to defeat two-time world champion Basar, 1-1. 

13:04: World champions Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and Metehan BASAR (TUR) are wrestling on Mat B. Gobadze is up from his '19 world-title winning weight of 82kg.

12:58: Not much to say about that match. Nemes and Galkinas traded inactivity points, but the Serbian scored last so he moves into the quarterfinals. He'll meet fellow world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) for a spot in the semifinals. 

12:47: Serbian world champion Viktor NEMES will wrestle Paulius GALKINAS (LTU) next on Mat A.

12:40: Thoresen falls to Korpasi, 4-1, ending the European champ's quest at earning an Olympic berth for Norway through this week's qualifier.

12:39: Thoresen gets the inactivity point but is unable to score from par terre. Korpasi's lead is cut to three points with one minute left.

12:35: Korpasi and Thoresen is heading to the second period. The Hungarian picked up four points in the first period and heads into the closing period leading 4-0.

12:31: Chekhirkin pulls out the late 2-1 comeback! Bolkvadze held the criteria advantage but surrendered a stepout with 11 seconds left.

12:28: There's a tight race going on over on Mat C. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) just received an inactivity point with less than two minutes to go, as he leads '18 world champion Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS), 1-1. 

12:17: Keep an eye out for '18 world champion Sergey SEMENOV (RUS). He'll be wrestling on Mat C (Bout 274).

The last time the Russian big man was in Budapest, he had the top performance of his career. He won four matches, one of which was a fall, then outscored his other three opponents 21-0. He closed out the competition with a first-period 9-0 shutout win over  Adam Jacob COON (USA). 

Semenov will wrestle Italy's Luca GODINO.

11:45: Balint KORPASI (HUN) will make his debut down at 67kg in four matches (Bout 225) on Mat B. It'll be the first time Korpasi has competed below 71/72kg since '12.

If you're not familiar with Korpasi, he's built one of the world's best Greco-Roman resumes since '16. He's medaled at four consecutive World Championships -- including winning a non-Olympic weight world gold at the '16 World Championships.

Korpasi will wrestle reigning European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR).

11:27: Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) is coming up next on Mat A. He's a '17 world champion that's "stepping in" for two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RUS), who was scratched earlier this week. Chekhirkin will square off with European champion Pascal EISELE (GER) in the opening round.

Side note: Eisele fell to Vlasov in the second round at the Individual World Cup in a tight 8-6 battle.

11:10: Top of the morning to you, wrestling fans! Greco-Roman action takes over today. We'll run through a few women's wrestling repechage matches before kicking off the Greco-Roman portion of the competition.

#WrestleNoviSad

Fujinami wins U23 world gold with perfect debut at 57kg

By Vinay Siwach

NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 24) -- Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) said she was 'a little nervous' before coming to Novi Sad for her first international tournament at 57kg.

On the mat, however, the Paris Olympic champion showed no signs of nerves.

Fujinami won her first U23 world title, extended her win streak to 145 matches dating back to 2017 and made a golden debut at the new weight class. Even more remarkable was the manner in which she won her all bouts, via technical superiority.

"It was my first match in a long time," Fujinami said. "I think it was a tournament where I was able to show my skills I had practiced, feeling relieved and have fun playing in the competition."

In the 57kg final, it took Fujinami only five second to hit that outside single against Aryna DZEMCHANKA MARTYNAVA (UWW) and score the first takedown. Another similar attack and she was up 4-0. A go-behind made it 6-0 and a transitioned double-leg attack gave her four points as she won 10-0.

"I could feel the power of my opponents in the new weight class," Fujinami said. "I still had to reduce weight but I feel that I moved very well on the mat.

"As for the final, when it comes to handling when (my) head is outside, foreign players are strong [in dealing with that], so I have honed my skills a lot. It's a move that doesn't let the opponent get together, or to tackle."

Fujinami, who won the Japan's Queens Cup in April to qualify for the U23 World Championships, decided to skip the Meiji Cup and in turn the World Championships in Zagreb, as she would not be ready physically for the challenge.

The U23 Worlds, however, laid a perfect platform for her to test herself as she gears up for the all-important Emperor's Cup in December. In Novi Sad, she spent a total of 8:22 on the mat in four bouts with little trouble.

"I wasn't aware of it at all," she said about winning every bout via technical superiority. "I thought I was just doing what I had been doing. This time, I was practicing not only tackles but also snaps. It's a move like Masanosuke ONO, who dropped his opponent down. I want to practice more and more and make it a technique that can score."

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) won the gold medal at 57kg at the U23 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The competition at Emperor's Cup, which Fujinami wants to win in order to compete at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in 2026, will be much tougher. Apart from the regulars at 57kg including Sara NATAMI (JPN), Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN) and Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), a possible return of fellow Paris Olympic champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), may spice up the competition.

Fujinami also has eyes on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and in particular wrestling one wrestler -- Helen MAROULIS (USA).

"I respect Helen Maroulis a lot," she said. "But now I am at 57kg and I must beat her."

In other women's wrestling finals on Friday, Kazakhstan got its first-ever U23 world champion in women's wrestling after Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ) held on to a thrilling win against Tuba DEMIR (TUR) at 55kg.

Omirbek got a takedown to start the final as Demir was put on the activity clock. She then turned Demir three times using an underhook from behind and stretching the other arm of Demir for exposure. As the sequence finished, Omirbek was up 9-0.

Demir made a match out of it when she hit a slick ankle pick and landed Omirbek in danger for four points which she got after a challenge. A double-leg attack gave her two more points to make it 9-6.

The dramatic part of the final began now as Demir added another takedown to cut the lead to one point, 9-8, before exposing Omirbek for danger but the referees scored it as neutral as the Kazakhstan wrestler may not been have in danger position.

Not disheartened by the decision, Demir launched another attacked and almost got the stepout with 15 seconds left. However, the referees called it par terre position for both wrestlers and no points were given. Turkiye decided to challenge this time only to lose it and give a 10-8 lead to Omirbek.

After Demir missed her desperate shot, Omirbek circled and got behind to get two more points before bursting into a celebration with her coaches.

Turkiye's gloomy mood changed a little when Nesrin BAS (TUR) won her third U23 world title at 68kg in a dominant fashion. Bas now has three golds and one silver U23 Worlds.

The European and world silver medalist was facing Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW) in the final and at no point she seemed in any danger of losing her title. She began with a single leg for takedown before a fireman's carry added two more point to her score.

It was way to simple from there on as Bas used a low single, go-behind and elevated leg takedown to finish the match 10-0. She joins Haruna OKUNO (JPN) and Alenxadrin GUTU (MDA) as three-time U23 world champions.

At 65kg, Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (UWW) pinned Yuqi RAO (CHN) in the final using a fireman's carry and finishing the bout in just a minute and four seconds to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Shugyla OMIRBEK (KAZ) df. Tuba DEMIR (TUR), 12-8

BRONZE: NISHU (IND) df. Albina RILLIA (UKR), 3-1
BRONZE: Amory ANDRICH (GER) df. Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA), 10-5

57kg
GOLD: Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) df. Aryna DZEMCHANKA MARTYNAVA (UWW), 10-0

BRONZE: Neha SHARMA (IND) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 5-0
BRONZE: Yaynelis SANZ VERDECIA (CUB) df. Emine CAKMAK (TUR), 6-4

65kg
GOLD: Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (UWW) df. Yuqi RAO (CHN), via fall (4-0)

BRONZE: PULKIT (IND) df. Eniko ELEKES (HUN), 8-4 
BRONZE: Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR) df. Mukhayyo NARZILLOEVA (UZB), 10-0

68kg
GOLD: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Alina SHEVCHENKO (UWW), 10-0

BRONZE: Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Gerda BARTH (GER), 4-2
BRONZE: SRISHTI (IND) df. Karolina POK (HUN), 6-1

Women's Wrestling Semifinal

53kg
GOLD: Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) vs. Hansika LAMBA (IND)

SF 1: Haruna MORIKAWA (JPN) df. Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR), 5-2
SF 2: Hansika LAMBA (IND) df. Carla JAUME SOLER (ESP), 11-0

59kg
GOLD: Ruka NATAMI (JPN) vs. SARIKA (IND)

SF 1: Ruka NATAMI (JPN) df. Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: SARIKA (IND) df. Olha PADOSHYK (POL), 12-6

62kg
GOLD: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) vs. Iryna BONDAR (UKR)

SF 1: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) df. Immacolata DANISE (ITA), via fall
SF 2: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Astrid MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN), 8-5

Freestyle Semifinal

74kg
GOLD: Halit OZMUS (TUR) vs. Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA)

SF 1: Halit OZMUS (TUR) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 7-3
SF 2: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 7-4

92kg
GOLD: Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) vs. Mobin AZIMI (IRI)

SF 1: Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) df. Ion DEMIAN (MDA), 12-1
SF 2: Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR), 12-1