#WrestleNice

LIVE BLOG: Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France (Day Three)

Sunday, January 17, 2021 - 09:02 By Eric Olanowski

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The third day of wrestling at the #WrestleNice Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France is headlined by Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), the reigning world champion at 55g. 

WATCH: Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France 

Match Order + Brackets

4:22: What a way to kick off the '21 season! That'll do it for our coverage of the  Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France. Until next time, wrestling fans!

Greco-Roman Gold-Medal Match Results:
55kg: Serif KILIC (TUR) df. Elcin ALI (TUR), 4-3
60kg: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 4-0
63kg: Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR) df. Mehmet CEKER (TUR), 5-3
67kg: Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) df. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA), via default
72kg: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 3-3
77kg: Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) df. Yunus BASAR (TUR), 8-0
82kg: Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE), 1-1
87kg: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR), 8-4
97kg: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Murad LOKIAEV (AZE), via inj. default
130kg: Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 3-1


Kerem KAMAL (TUR) was one of six Turkish wrestlers to claimed #WrestleNice gold. He claimed his gold at 60kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

4:15: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) scored an open-period four-point throw and defeated Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), 4-0, in the 60kg gold-medal match. Kamal's win gave Turkey their sixth gold medal of the night.

4:00: That's how it'll end. After a scoreless second period, Abbasov upsets two-time world champion Basar, 8-4, for the 87kg crown.

3:56: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) leads two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR), 8-4, at the break!

3:50: Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) cruised to the 77kg title with an 8-0 shutout win over Yunus BASAR (TUR). 

3:43: In the battle of world silver medalists, Emrah KUS (TUR) edged Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE), 1-1, in the 82kg finals. 

3:40: Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) was awarded the 67kg after Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) defaulted out of the gold-medal match. 

3:35: These guys came to scrap! In the action-packed 63kg finals, Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR) edged Mehmet CEKER (TUR), 5-3, and claimed Turkey's second gold of the night.

3:21: Next up will be Mehmet CEKER (TUR) and Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR), who are wrestling for the 63kg gold.

3:16: What a way to kick off the finals! Serif KILIC (TUR) dug deep and fought off a late flurry of attacks and defeated  Elcin ALI (TUR), 4-3, in the 55kg finals. He led 4-0, but gave up three unanswered points before ultimately winning gold with the one-point victory.

3:13: How about the day that the Turkish Greco-Roman team is having. Of the six non-Nordic-style bracket finals, Turkish wrestlers occupy 7/12 gold-medal spots. 

3:10: Tune in to Mat A for the Greco-Roman finals!

2:53: We're keeping things rolling! The first medal matches are underway on Mat A, while the remaining semifinals are wrapping up on Mat B.

2:36: Basar has his dancing partner for tonight's 87kg finals. The two-time world champion will battle two-time U23 world bronze medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE) in the gold-medal match. The Azeri shutout USA's John STEFANOWICZ, 6-0, in their semifinal meeting. 


Two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) will wrestle for 87kg gold on Sunday night. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

2:29: It wasn't anything special but Basar got the job done and moved into the 87kg final with a 3-1 win over Zaleski.

2:21: Two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) is making his way to Mat B for his semifinals meeting with Terrence ZALESKI (USA). 

The semifinals are ongoing, so as they wrap up and the finals berths are locked in, I'll continue to update the list below! 

Sunday Night’s Final Matches
55kg: Serif KILIC (TUR) vs. Elcin ALI (TUR)
60kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 
63kg: Mehmet CEKER (TUR) vs. Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR)
67kg: Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) vs. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
72kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 
77kg: Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) vs. Yunus EMRE BASAR (TUR)
82kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 
87kg: Metehan BASAR (TUR) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
97kg: Murad LOKIAEV (AZE) vs. Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
130kg: -- Nordic Style Bracket -- 

1:38: Semifinal matches are starting to get called to the mats. Yunus BASAR  (TUR) and Johnny BUR (FRA), who are wrestling for a 77kg finals berth, are the first semifinal match that we'll see,

1:05; Bout 33 on Mat B should be a good one. Acosta will face Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sabah SHARIATI (AZE). 

12:41: World runner-up Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE0 and Individual World Cup runner-up Salih AYDIN (RU) are up next on Mat A. That match is at 82kg.

12:08: The quarterfinals matches are started to come on the match order chart.

 

11:28: Chile's first-ever world medalist Yasmani ACOSTA is set to take on Sulkhani BUIDZE (GEO) at 130kg. That match will be Bout 19 on Mat B. 

11:23: Kamal leads Albert BAGUMYAN (ESP), 7-0, after the opening period. An inactivity, followed by a two-point gut and a four-point throw gives Kamal the 7-0 advantage. Kamal scored a takedown from a high-hip shot and won the match, 9-0.

11:19: We had a short wait for Kamal to get to the mat, then the mats needed to be cleaned. We should be good now! Either way, Kamal is wrestling now on Mat B.

11:09: Turkey has a few heavy hitters coming up. We'll see world silver medalist Emrah KUS wrestle in Bout 16, and on Mat B, one of my personal favorites, Kerem KAMAL, will wrestle in Bout 14.

10:58: Tsurtsumia is rolling in his first match. He's up 7-0 heading into the second period and hasn't been tested yet in his opening-round match. He closed out the match with an early second-period takedown and earned a spot in tonight's 55kg semifinals.

10:33: Reigning world champion Nugzari Tsurtsumia is coming up shortly on Mat A. He'll be up in five matches (Bout 10)  on Mat A. 

10:17: Selcuk CAN (TUR), the reigning European bronze medalist, is looking for his third consecutive medal finish. Last year, he finished the Matteo Pellicone, European Championships and Zagrebb Open with a silver and two bronze medals, respectively. He's coming up on Mat A. 

10:10: Let's get things rolling. The third and final day of wrestling is underway and we'll start our day by watching two-time U23 world bronze medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE). He'll wrestle Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) in Bout 8 on Mat B,

#WrestleBudapest

Orta, Kusaka win Ranking Series gold; Esmaeili books Paris 2024 spot

Monday, June 10, 2024 - 00:29 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 9) -- The 67kg weight class in Budapest was supposed to offer some interesting match-ups. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) could have avenged his World Championships loss to Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI). Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) could have qualified for the Paris Olympics if he had defeated Geraei in Budapest. Leri ABULADZE (GEO) could have become a contender in Georgia for the weight class.

But none of that happened as Orta dominated, outsmarted and controlled his way to the gold medal at 67kg in the Ranking Series, making him one of the favorites for the gold medal in Paris. The Paris Games will also present Orta a rare opportunity to win two Olympic gold medals in two different weight classes as he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 60kg.

Orta began his day with an 8-0 win over David MANYIK (HUN) before using a four-pointer to beat Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) 7-1 to set up a semifinal against Esmaeili. No one would have expected the Asian champion Esmaeili to challenge the world champion but the Iranian had different ideas.

Esmaeili raced to a 7-0 lead in the first period and was one point away from winning the bout. However, Orta managed to keep himself in the bout and began the second period with a front headlock for four and got one more for a lost challenge from Iran. Still, Esmaeili did well to defend the lead until the last three seconds.

As the bout entered the final 10 seconds left, Orta almost gave up and Esmaeili, thinking that Orta had accepted defeat, turned his back and began walking towards the Iranian corner to celebrate. Just the whole stadium gasped as Orta, realizing there was still time left, ran towards Esmaeili and threw him for four.

Midway through the throw, an air-borne Esmaeili knew he messed up. He pleaded that the time was over. Referees initially did not award points to Orta but Cuba challenged and it was clear that the move was completed with 0.1 seconds left. Orta was awarded four points, helping him win 9-7.

An inconsolable Esmaeili had to be helped to the warm-up area. For he thought his Paris 2024 dream was over. 

Orta, fueled by that unthinkable win and his Cuban teammates including Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) in the stands, went on to beat Abuladze in the final to claim the gold medal. He, however, will remain second in the seeding for the Olympics as Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) has already locked up the top seed.

Jafarov was wrestling in Budapest but was up at 72kg. He may have changed his weight class but had no trouble winning the gold medal at the higher weight as well.

Back to Esmaeili who had his task cut out in the evening session. He needed to beat Geraei in two bouts to earn the Paris 2024 spot on the Iran team. He gathered himself from that loss to Orta and scored a final second takedown against Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) to clinch a 6-5 win while Geraei defeated Andres MONTANO (ECU) 3-3 to claim the other bronze.

The two stepped on the mat for the wrestle-off for the Olympic spot with Geraei holding an advantage that if he won the first match, he would book his spot for Paris but Esmaeili had to do it in a best-of-three format. But Esmaeili did not let it go to that third as he defeated Geraei in two straight bouts in a tennis-like scoreline, 6-0 and 6-4, to earn a spot on the Iran team for the Paris Olympics and maybe a rematch with Orta in the French capital which on Sunday witness Carlos ALCARAZ win his first French Open.

David LOSONCZI (HUN)David LOSONCZI (HUN) celebrates after securing a fall over Ali CENGIZ (TUR). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

There was more drama in Budapest as David LOSONCZI (HUN) made sure he pinned Ali CENGIZ (TUR) when the two met in the 87kg semifinal. The two were awarded a shared World Championships title in September after Cengiz defeated Losonczi but the Hungarian wrestler won an appeal for judges' errors and was also awarded the gold medal.

Losonczi admitted that he was waiting for the rematch and though relieved to get the gold medal in Belgrade, he did not really celebrate it. So when he faced Cengiz this time, Losonczi stepped over when the Turkish wrestler was trying to finish a headlock throw. The local fans in Budapest were ecstatic and so was Losonczi who missed his final against Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) due to an injury, a deep cut on his chin.

Nao KUSAKA (JPN)Nao KUSAKA (JPN) defeated Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) in the 77kg semifinal in Budapest. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) has now beaten World Championships gold and silver medalists at 77kg in the past two months. After his win over world champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) at the Asian Championships in April, Kusaka handed World Championships silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) a 2-1 defeat in the semifinal. Suleymanov was leading 1-1 on criteria but Kusaka managed to score a stepout just in time to claim the win.

In the final, Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) defaulted due to injury and Kusaka won the gold medal that will take him past Suleymanov as the top-ranked wrestler in the world. Suleymanov would have remained the top-ranked wrestler if he had won a bronze medal but pulled out due to injury. Kusaka will now have 67200 points while Suleymanov will have 67100 points.

At 97kg, World Championships bronze medalist Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) had no issues beating whoever tried to challenge him. In the final Alex SZOKE (HUN) led 1-1 on criteria but Saravi scored a takedown.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
SILVER: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
BRONZE: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)

67kg
GOLD: Luis ORTA (CUB) df. Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 4-0

BRONZE: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN), 6-5
BRONZE: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Andres MONTANO (ECU), 3-3

72kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY), 5-2

BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), 7-3
BRONZE: Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) df. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA), 2-1

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Yosvanys PENA FLORESS (CUB) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), via inj. def.

82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 3-1

BRONZE: Karlo KODRIC (CRO) df. Spencer WOODS (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Mihail BRADU (MDA) df. Peter DOEMOEK (HUN), 3-0

87kg
GOLD: Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Mohammadhossein MAHMOODI (IRI) df. Ali CENGIZ (TUR), 10-4
BRONZE: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) df. Istvan TAKACS (HUN), via forfeit

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Josef RAU (USA), 11-4
BRONZE: Shayan HABIBZARE (IRI) df. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON), via inj. def.