#WrestleWarsaw

Live Blog: Poland Open Ranking Series, Day Two

Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - 08:52 By Eric Olanowski

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Day two here in Warsaw as freestyle action continues in 61kg, 65kg, 74kg, 92kg and 125kg at the Poland Open Ranking Series event. Day 1 Recap

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Final Matchups (As they come in):
61kg - Kumar RAVI (IND) vs. Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) 
65kg - John Michael DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) vs. Eduard GRIGOREV (POL) 
74kg - Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) vs. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) 
92kg - Illia ARCHAIA (UKR) vs. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) 
125kg - Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI) vs. Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)

13:28: That'll do it for our morning session. We'll see you back here at 18:00 (local time) for the start of Wednesday night's medal matches. Until then, so long, wrestling fans. 

13:16: What a great match between Kumar RAVI (IND) and Reza ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI) on Mat A! Ravi won the match 7-4, but it was a six-minute battle between the two Asian stars! 

13:00: There's your upset of the day! Illia ARCHAIA (UKR) just took out two-time world champion Jden COX (USA), 2-1, and moved into tonight's 92kg finals. He'll take on Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) in the gold-medal match. 

12:41: After these matches wrap up, we'll roll right into the semifinals.

12:24: Iranian big man Amir ZARE (IRI) is coming up next on Mat A. This is his first international competition since he won last year's Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series gold medal.

12:18: That was one heck of a match! Together, the pair put up 13 points, but Muszukajev held off Diakomihalis, 7-6, and moved into Round 3 where he'll take on Eduard GRIGOREV (POL).

11:53: DROP WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING! Muszukajev and Diakomihalis are wrestling on Mat A. It'll be a rematch of the '19 Yasar Dogu.

11:39: Let's keep this two-time world champion thing on Mat B rolling! We'll replace Chamizo with two-time world champion J'den COX (USA).

11:38: Chamizo handles Kahny, 7-2, and will wrestle the winner of Jason Michael NOLF (USA) and Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ).

11:30: The best-dressed man in wrestling, two-time world champion Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) is wrestling on Mat B. He leads Lucas Marco KAHNT (GER), 2-0 midway through the first period. 

11:13: Good morning, wrestling fans! Today's action is going to be filled with stars mixing it up on nearly every mat. The first big match of the morning is coming up on Mat A in four matches. Hungary's world bronze medalist Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV will wrestle John Michael DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) in a rematch the '19 Yasar Dogu.

If you remember that match, Muszukajjev led that early but Diakomihalis stormed back to steal the win. 

#WrestleBudapest

Must-watch storylines from Budapest Ranking Series

Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - 23:52 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 4) -- As the Budapest Ranking Series gets underway Thursday in the Hungary capital, a few intriguing storylines will be seen on the mats. Countries will be finalizing their Olympic line-ups, a few star wrestlers are returning to competition while others are competing for the ranking points.

Here are the top storylines that no wrestling fan should miss at the Budapest Ranking Series which will be live on uww.org using UWW+.

Iran's dilemma

A wrestle-off is set to be held by Iran in Budapest to decide on the Paris Olympic team. Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won the spot by winning bronze at the World Championships. But Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) won the Asian Championships to lay his claim for the 67kg gold medal.

60kg will also see a wrestle-off as Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) is set to face Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) to decide who goes to the Paris Games.

Also, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) is wrestling!

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will wrestle for the first time since winning gold medal at the Asian Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yazdani returns

Undoubtedly Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returning to competition is the big show in Budapest. Since winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Belgrade, Yazdani has wrestled only once, winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. A shoulder injury kept him out for eight months but Yazdani will be wrestling at 86kg on Thursday.

Before the Ranking Series, there were talks in Iran about a potential clash of Yazdani against 92kg world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) who is looking to make the Paris Olympic team for Iran. But Iran decided to send Yazdani alone and will assess his performance before deciding on a trial between the two.

Ziqi FENG (CHN)Ziqi FENG (CHN) gave a scare to Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Asian Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

China's problem of plenty

China rarely sends a portion of its team to the Ranking Series. But it has sent only five wrestlers for Budapest, all in Women's Wrestling. Three wrestlers are entered at 50kg and two at 57kg, expected for a wrestle-off.

Yu ZHANG (CHN), Jiang ZHU (CHN) and Ziqi FENG (CHN) are fighting for the Paris Olympic spot at 50kg. Feng won the quota for China by winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Qi ZHANG (CHN) and Kexin HONG (CHN) will wrestle off for the spot at 57kg. Hong won the quota at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek. But Zhang, a world champion at 59kg, won the Asian Championships, a run that also had a win over Risako KINJO (JPN) in the first round.

Jamalov's switch

Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) has been waiting for his Uzbekistan debut which will finally happen in Budapest. Jamalov will take the mat at 74kg and can also face Bekzhod ABURKHAMANOV (UZB), meaning that their match can also be a wrestle-off.  Jamalov has not wrestled at an international event since finishing fifth at the 2021 European Championships but has previously shown that he can win against any top wrestler on his day.