#BeachWrestlingWorldSeries

Mat Medalists Come to Rio for Beach Wrestling's Second Stop

By Tim Foley

RIO DE JANEIRO (May 10) -- With the shadow of Caricoa 2 looming over the beach wrestling circle at Olympic Park in Barra de Tijuca, world silver medalist Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO) are preparing to compete in the second stop of United World Wrestling's Beach Wrestling World Series (BWWS).

Silva, a local hero since parlaying her 2014 silver medal in freestyle wrestling into a number of charitable acts in her home country, comes into the tournament hopeful she can earn enough points to qualify for the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego this October.


'I want to represent my country. well," said Silva. 'This is going to be a lot of fun!"

For Marsagishvili the aim seems to be even simpler: to have fun wrestling. One of the world's best 86kg wrestlers, Marsagishvili travels to Rio on the heels of winning the BWWS first top in Chaves, Portugal. The quick-smiling Georgian not only took home the 1000 CHF prize for winning his weight category, but another 1000 CHF for winning the event's Move of the Tournament.

"The environment is so enjoyable at beach wrestling," Marsagishvili said at the time. "I look forward to these competitions and wrestling my best."

Marsagishvili will have a tougher tournament in Rio than he did in Chaves, facing off against two-time defending beach wrestling world champion Muhammed INAM of Pakistan. Inam won last year's world championships in deciding fashion and is looking to make it a three-peat later this year in Zagreb, Croatia at the world championships. 

Also joining the field is Reece Humphrey, a celebrated former member of the USA National Team in freestyle. His upperbody techniques and high-energy are sure to play well with tomorrow's crowds.

Wrestling action start at 2pm local time with coverage on United World Wrestling and FloWrestling.org.

Entry Lists

Men's Beach Wrestling 

70kg
Panah ILYASLI (AZE)
Jerome Kamel HOYTE (BAR)
Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA)
Joao Victor DOS SANTOS SILVA (BRA)
Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO)
Niko AROUZMANIDIS (GRE)
Inayat ULLAH (PAK)
Hugo Miguel DA SILVA PASSOS (POR)
Mehmet Emin OGUT (TUR)
Semen RADULOV (UKR)
Reece HUMPHREY (USA)

80kg
Ibrahim YUSUBOV (AZE)
Angelo Rafael MARQUES MOREIRA (BRA)
Marcelo Antonio CASTRO CUMSILLE (CHI)
Davit KHUTSISHVILI (GEO)
Georgios KOULOUCHIDIS (GRE)
Edmilson BRITO GOMES (POR)
Efe Sami UNAL (TUR)

90kg
Kanan ALIYEV (AZE)
Wanderson Messias DA SILVA LIMA (BRA)
Pedro Henrique DE OLIVEIRA E SILVA ROCHA (BRA)
Andre Luiz RAMOS PINTO (BRA)
Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO
Grigorios KRIARIDIS (GRE)
Christos SAMARTSIDIS (GRE)
Muhammad INAM (PAK)
Adao Rafael ANDRADE DA SILVA (POR)
Murat OZKAN (TUR)

+90kg
Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE)
Davi Jose ALBINO (BRA)
Guilherme EVANGELISTA DIAS (BRA)
Christopher HIPOLITO DE ALMEIDA (BRA)
Mamuka KORDZAIA (GEO)
Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE)

Women's Beach Wrestling

50kg
Claudia Soledad CABRERA (ARG)
Fernanda ASCENCIO PERES (BRA)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Susana Paula DE ALMEIDA DOS SANTOS (BRA)
Carmen Nireida GOMES TEIXEIRA VIEIRA (POR)

60kg
Crystal Shanika HOLDER (BAR)
Camila FAMA TRISTAO (BRA)
Ana Luiza PEREIRA FRANCA (BRA)
Isabel Cristina RODRIGUES (POR)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)

70kg
Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS (BRA)
Nikeli FERREIRA DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Sonia Marina PEREIRA BRAZIO (POR)

+70kg
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Dailane GOMES DOS REIS (BRA)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)

#wrestlebishkek

Asian Olympic 2024 Greco-Roman Qualification Bouts set

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (April 21) -- The final day of the Asian Olympic qualifier with six Greco-Roman Olympic weight classes. 12 Olympic quotas will be on offer in 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

The Paris Qualification Bouts are set

60kg
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) vs. Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Se ung RI (PRK) vs. Dahyun KIM (KOR)

67kg
Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) vs. HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) vs. Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)

77kg
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) vs. Dowon LEE (KOR)
Rui LIU (CHN) vs. Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)

87kg
Haitao QIAN (CHN) vs. Sultan EID (JOR)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) vs. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

97kg
Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) vs. U. DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA) vs. Seungjun KIM (KOR)

130kg
Seungchan LEE (KOR) vs. Sota OKUMURA (JPN)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) Roman KIM (KGZ)

12:25: Asian Games silver medalist Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) keeps Iran's hopes of filling all six Greco weights in Paris alive with a 7-1 win over Ali ALABODA (IRQ) at 77kg to end the morning session. Kaviyaninejad is put on the bottom of par terre first, but escapes, scores a takedown and adds a gut wrench for a 4-1 lead. He scores a gut wrench from par terre in the second period, clinching the win and setting up a clash with Rui LIU (CHN) for the ticket to Paris.

12:16: Saudi Arabia, like Jordan looking for a first-time Olympian, will get a chance tonight from Ibrahim FALLATAH (KSA), who defeated  Mirzoamin SAFAROV (TJK) 3-1 at 97kg. After gaining a passivity point, Fallatah scores a takedown when he fights off a whizzer for a 3-0 lead in the first period. In the second, he keeps from getting turned while on the bottom of par terre.

12:11: Dowon LEE (KOR) makes short work of Gadiel MISSO (SGP) at 77kg, chalking up an 8-0 win in 33 seconds. He will face Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) for the Olympic spot.

12:09: Seungjun KIM (KOR) scores all of his points in the first period, then hangs on for a 5-4 win over Amanberdi AGAMAMMEDOV (TKM) at 97kg.

12:06: Haitao QIAN (CHN), a world bronze medalist back in 2019 at 82kg, rallies with a takedown and two rolls in the second period to defeat Sanghyeok PARK (KOR) 8-3 at 87kg and gain a place in tonight's qualifying match.

12:00: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) with his trademark handlock throw over Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN) before finishing the bout 10-0 at 97kg. He moves into the semifinals.

11:56: Tokyo Olympian Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) survives a scare, scoring a takedown with 1:08 left to defeat Sunil KUMAR (IND) 4-2 at 87kg. Kumar earlier had a stepout wiped out on the challenge, then a takedown with 11 seconds left.

11:55: Big win for Jordan as Sultan EID (JOR) gains a 4-point takedown and converts it into a fall in the second period over Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK) at 87kg. A win tonight against the winner of Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)-Haitao QIAN (CHN) will give him Jordan's first-ever berth in wrestling at an Olympics.

11:45: Dahyun KIM (KOR) sticks Baljinnyam TSEVEENRAVDAN (MGL) with a 4-point arm throw, then comes back with a takedown and gut wrench to end their match at 60kg. An unsuccessful challenge makes it officially 9-0.

11:43: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) gave some hope to the local crowd but Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) proved too good for him. Mohmadipiani gets par terre in the second period to make the score 3-2 with Zhanyshov leading. Mohamadipiani lifts and pushes Zhanyshov to the mat to score two points. A takedown later to win 8-3 at 87kg.

11:42: Rising star Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) proves too much for Muhammad ALIANSYAH (INA), as the 2022 world U23 bronze medalist gets a takedown and a gut wrench, then unleashes a 4-point throw to win 8-0 in 1:20 and move one win away from an Olympic place at 67kg.

11:38: Sota OKUMURA (JPN), looking to become the first Japanese to make it to the Olympics in an upper Greco weight class since 2012 and the first heavyweight since 1996, rallies from a 6-1 deficit to defeat a fatigued Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) 12-6 at 130kg. Okumura ties the match at 6-6 with a 4-point throw off a whizzer, then adds a pair of stepouts that met little resistance.

11:37: HUSIYUETU (CHN) looks like a merry-go-round rolling Faisal ALDOSSARY (KSA) four straight times from par terre in the second period for a 9-0 win to make tonight's qualifying match at 67kg.

11:28: Abror ATABAEV (UZB) and Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) on Mat B. Shermakhanbet gets the par terre position first and he exposes Atabaev twice for a 5-0 lead. Atabaev challenges for a leg foul but loses it to hand one more point to Shermakhanbet. Atabaev gets one turn in par terre in the second period but Shermakhanbet wiggles out of the hold. A 6-3 win for Shermakhanbet and Atabaev leaves disappointed

11:19: Two-time Asian silver medalist Seungjun KIM (KOR)squanders a seven-point lead, but still hangs on to beat Asian Games silver medalist Yiming LI (CHN) 7-7 on criteria at 97kg. Kim gets three gut wrenches from par terre to lead 7-0, before Li comes back with a takedown and stepout. In the second period, Li adds a takedown and a stepout with a fleeing point tacked on to tie it at 7-all, but his late efforts to force Kim out once more fall short and both wrestlers drop to the mat in exhaustion.

11:19: Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) with a reverse lift and destroys Yong Jin RO (PRK) with two slams. Incredible show of strength from Ismailov.

11:17: Roman KIM (KGZ), the host country's three-time Asian medalist, fights off a gutsy Ali AL SHARUEE (IRQ) in a 4-1 win at 130kg.

11:13: Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) scored a takedown to start the 130kg bout against Aybegshazada KURRAYEV (TKM). He got a par terre point and then rolled Kurrayev for a 9-0 win.

11:10: Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN) led 2-0 against Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ) at the break and then defended from par terre in the second period to pull off a 2-1 victory at 97kg.

11:08: Sunil KUMAR (IND), the 2019 Asian silver medalist, gets a pair of gut wrenches in his turn in par terre in the second period and defeats Soh SAKABE (JPN) 5-1 at 87kg. He will next face two-time world medalist and Asian Games champion Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB).

11:00: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) gets four gut wrenches from par terre to win 9-0 Yhlas ABDURAZAKOV (TKM). Turkmenistan challenged but lost to give another point to Zhanyshov

10:58: Asian Games bronze medalist Se Ung RI (PRK), leading  4-0 lead in the second period at 60kg against  SUMIT (IND), has a takedown and gut wrench nullified on challenge due to a leg violation. Sumit gets a takedown to pull within two, but Ri stuffs his roll attempt for a 2-point exposure and a 6-2 win.

10:43: Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) with a dreamy suplex to beat 10-1 over Rovshen ATDAYEV (TKM) as he moves on at 67kg. Beautiful move!

10:42: In a sign of a generational change, up-and-coming Japanese Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) gets four rolls from par terre and ousts 36-year-old two-time Olympian and three-time world medalist Hansu RYU (KOR) 9-0 in just under two minutes at 67kg. The 22-year-old Sogabe, the 2023 Asian silver medalist, made a name for himself by nearly knocking off Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) at last year's World Championships, losing 11-10 in a memorable match that had the crowd on his side.

10:38: Yong Jin RO (PRK), a 2015 Asian junior bronze medalist who returned to the international stage to finish 10th at last October's Asian Games, defeats Karrar ALBIDHAN (IRQ) 12-4 at 67kg to start the action on Mat C. Ro falls behind 2-2 after an early scramble, but reverses and adds a 2-point throw at the edge. A 2-point penalty is tacked on for fleeing, and another point for an unsuccessful challenge. And 2-and-2 makes the score 10-4 before Ro finishes it with a gut wrench.

10:33: 2023 Asian champion Abror ATABAEV (UZB) with a quick 8-0 win over ASHU (IND) at 67kg to advance. The former U17 world champion is looking to win the Paris quota at 67kg.

10:30: Greco-Roman powerhouses out to earn their Paris Olympic quotas. On the final day of the Asian Olympic qualifiers with 12 quotas