#WrestleIstanbul

Live Blog: Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Day 1

By United World Wrestling Press

ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 24) -- The first day of the Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series event is here. Seven weight classes will be in action. There are 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg. Riza KAYAALP (TUR), Zarubi DATUNASHVILI (SRB), Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) will be in action Thursday.

LIVE STREAM | MATCH ORDER

14:30: Mahmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) and Furkan YILDIZ (TUR) were in a cut-throat battle in the 67kg semifinals. Bakhshilloev leads 3-0 but then Yildiz leads 3-3 on criteria. The Uzbek doesn't give up and wins 4-3

1415: Felix BALDAUF (NOR) and Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) are on Mat A for their 97kg semifinal. Assakalov is up 6-0 in quick time and then is awarded 4 for a body throw. Challenge from Baldauf and he wins since it was a trip from Assakalov. It ultimately ends 7-1 for Assakalov

1410: Victor CIOBANU (MDA) is making his way to the 63kg final. He gets it done with two big points throws and wins 10-0.

14:05: Is that the upset of the tournament? Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) stuns local favourite and world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) with a pin in the quarterfinals.

13:55: Norway has two in the semifinals. Morten THORESEN (NOR) makes his way to the 67kg last four with a 5-3 win over Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ).

13:50: Felix BALDAUF (NOR) and Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE) on Mat C. Baldauf with a 3-0 lead in the first period. He scores a stepout to start the second period. He keeps his calm to claim a 5-0 win

13:42: Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) had built a 5-0 lead over Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) in their 60kg quarterfinal but Azizli calls for a medical timeout. The medical staff rules out future competition for Azizli. Ozturk moves into the semifinals

13:33: We're going to roll right into the semifinals. They'll start first on Mat A. Mats B and C will follow once their quarterfinals conclude.

13::29: In champion-like fashion, Basar picked up the match-deciding takedown in the second period. He'll square off against fellow world champion Datunashvili for a spot in the finals.

13:22: Kulynycz has two-time world champion Basar in trouble. He spun behind the Turkish wrestler and picked up the first takedown of the bout. His opponent felt that he stepped out, but after further review, Kulynycz was awarded a point for the lost challenge. He leads, 3-1, after the opening frame.

12:49: Reigning world champ Datunashvili picked up his second victory of the day -- a 5-1 win over  Mehmetali KUCUKOSMAN (TUR) -- and pushed himself into the 87kg semifinals. He'll take on the winner of Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) and Metehan BASAR (TUR) (Mat C / Bout 78) for a finals berth.

 

Can you name a more important electric ⚡️ duo? #WrestleIstanbul

• Olympic? Elmurat TASMURADOV ??
• ?? Victor CIOBANU ?? pic.twitter.com/XHgVmVI39E

— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) February 24, 2022

 

12:44: Kayaalp, the four-time world champion, picked up a 4-1 win over Savenko in his opening round match. He'll wrestle Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) for a spot in the 130kg finals. 

On the other side of the 130kg bracket, Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) and Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) will square off the second finals spot.

12:30: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) comes on the mat with loud cheers from the crowd. He is taking on Anton SAVENKO (KAZ) at 130kg

12:20: Tokyo bronze medalist Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) and Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) on Mat A. Kajaia is warned for passivity. 1-0 for Michalik. Kajaia will lead 1-1 on criteria after Michalik is warned for passivity in the second period. Kajaia wins 1-1

12:00: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) is going strong at 97kg. He beats Abdul CEBICEBI (TUR) 9-1 in the pre-quarterfinals. He gets in a front headlock position before getting two guts to finish the bout

11:30: World champion at 87kg is making his way to Mat B for his first bout of the dayEarly passivity call against Datunashvili and he is down 0-1 at the break. He levels it as he gets the activity point. 8 straight points and he wins 9-1

11:00: World champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) gets going with a win as well. He has little trouble going past Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR). 

10:45: Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) was down 0-3 but scores 7 unanswered points to win 7-3 against Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR) at 130kg

10:30: We are beginning with the matches here in Istanbul. The Greco-Roman wrestlers are ready and warmed-up

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0