Matteo Pellicone Preview

Sunday, January 12, 2020 - 23:49 By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (January 10) --- The first stop on the road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games travels through Rome, Italy, for the first of two Ranking Series events, the Matteo Pellicone. The four-day tournament kicks off January 15-18 in Ostia, a port city of ancient Rome, located 30km away from the city center.

The stacked entry list includes seven reigning world champions, all three 2019 Wrestlers of the Year and over 30 world medal holders from the 2019 World Championships.

Freestyle boasts nine world medalists, one of which is a two-time world champion. Greco-Roman features four podium finishers from Nur-Sultan, and women's wrestling rounds out the tournament with an astonishing six reigning world champs and 18 medalists from Kazakhstan.

World Champions That Are Registered:
FS 74kg - Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA) – two-time world champion at 79kg
WW 57kg - Linda MORAIS (CAN) – world champion at 59kg
WW 62kg - Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS) – world champion at 65kg
WW 62kg - Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
WW 69kg - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA)
WW 76kg - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) – world champion at 72kg
WW 76kg - Adeline Maria GRAY (USA)

Trio of Wrestlers of the Year Entered
The trio of United World Wrestling's 2019 Wrestlers of the Year Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) will all be in action at the Matteo Pellicone.

Frank Chamizo, the Freestyle Wrestler of the Year and two-time world champion, is searching for his third Ranking Series title since 2018. He competed in three Ranking Series events last season and captured gold at the City of Sassari Tournament in front of a friendly Italian crowd. He also finished with a silver medal at the Yasar Dogu and a bronze at the Dan Kolov before dropping his world finals match to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS).

Viktor Lorincz, Greco-Roman's Wrestler of the Year, is making his sixth Ranking Series appearance of his storied career. Through his five previous showings, the 2019 world runner-up has tallied a perfect 19-0 record while reaching the top of the podium in each outing.

Tamyra Mensah-Stock, the 2019 Women's Wrestler of the Year and reigning 68kg world champion, will scrap in her seventh career Ranking Series event. Last year, she wrestled at three of the four Ranking Series events and claimed gold medals at the City of Sassari Tournament, Dan Kolov and Ivan Yariguin.

Potential Dake and Chamizo Matchup
Some of the biggest personalities in the sport already reside at 74kg. Well, Kyle DAKE (USA) just added his name to the likes of Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), Frank Chamizo and Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS), among many others.

The weight gained massive depth after Dake announced he's moving down from 79kg, a weight where he's the reigning two-time world champion.

The timing of Dake's move couldn’t have come at a better time for wrestling fans, especially heading into the Matteo Pellicone where there’s a long list of renowned wrestlers entered, including Italy's own Frank Chamizo.

Dake and Chamizo is a must-see potential matchup that wrestling fans can't miss. Although Dake is fairly defensive at times, he is one of the best offensive wrestlers on earth when it comes to unconventional positions. Coupling that with Chamizo being one of the toughest wrestlers to score on because of his unorthodox defensive style of wrestling; it’s a match that could light up the scoreboard.

In addition to the above-mentioned pair of two-time world champions, 74kg will also feature Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), James GREEN (USA) and Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI). Demirtas is a Rio bronze medalist, Green is a two-time world medalist, and Emamichoghaei is a reigning world bronze medalist, though that was down at 70kg.

Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) begins his quest to the Tokyo Olympic Games at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone where he's entered at 65kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Indian Stars Making the Trip to Rome
Reigning world medalists Kumar RAVI, Bajrang BAJRANG, and Deepak PUNIA will lead a loaded freestyle squad into the Matteo Pellicone.

Ravi qualified India for the 2020 Olympic Games at 57kg with a bronze-medal finish in Nur-Sultan and quite possibly has the toughest road to gold in Rome. Ravi's road could weave through a trio of seasoned American wrestlers with past senior or age-group world medals and a 2020 Olympian.

The United States is sending Joseph COLON (USA), Daton FIX (USA) and Thomas GILMAN (USA).

Colon medaled (bronze) at 61kg in 2018, while Gilman was a 2017 world runner-up in Paris and finished in fifth place in 2018. But it's the youngster Fix who is the leading man at the weight for the Stars and Stripes after downing Gilman for the world championship starting sport. Fix was a junior world champion back in 2017

Serbia's Stevan MICIC will also be competing at 57kg. Micic became his nation's first freestyle Olympian after finishing in fifth place at the 2019 World Championships.

Bajrang, a 2018 word silver medalist and 2019 world bronze-medal finisher, could see Iran's reigning world bronze medalist Behnam EHSANPOOR on his road to a potential fourth career Ranking Series gold.

India’s inserted junior world champion Deepak Punia at 86kg. The 2019 Junior Wrestler of the Year qualified India for the Olympic Games after finishing the 2019 World Championships with a silver medal.

Punia's toughest competition at the weight will be 2018 world silver medalist Fatih ERDIN (TUR) and 2020 Olympian Myles AMINE (SMR).

U23 world champion Bo NICKAL (USA) will be bumping up from 92kg to 97kg with hopes of making USA's Olympic team. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

U23 World Champion Nickal Moving up to Challenge Snyder at 97kg
Three months after bulldozing his way to a U23 world title at 92kg, Bo NICKAL (USA) is bumping up to the Olympic weight of 97kg with hopes of dethroning two-time world and Rio Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) for the starting spot. Snyder, known by American fans as "Captain America," qualified the weight for the 2020 Olympic Games with a bronze-medal finish in Nur-Sultan. He's been America's starter since 2015 when he became the youngest American to win a world title.

Six of Ten Women's Wrestling World Champs Set to Scrap in Rome
Over a handful of women's world champions from Nur-Sultan will be in action in Rome – six to be exact – but of those six reigning champs, there's a trio of women moving from non-Olympic weights to Olympic weight in preparation for a run at Olympic gold.

The six Nur-Sultan winners are: Linda MORAIS (CAN), Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS), Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA), Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) and Adeline Maria GRAY (USA). But Morais, Trazhukova and Vorobeva will all be moving from their non-Olympic winning weights to Olympic weight classes.

Morais, who won world gold in 2019 at 59kg, is on her way down to already stacked 57kg. In early December, Morais defeated Hannah TAYLOR (CAN) in two straight matches at the Canada Wrestling Trials and will be Canada’s starter for the 2020 season.

The addition of Morais bolsters a weight class that now features three-time world and Olympic champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) and RONG Ningning (CHN), who fell short of defending her 2018 world title in this year's gold-medal bout. Although Kawai won't be in action in Rome, Rong will be.

Another star who competed at 59kg in Kazakhstan, Pooja DHANDA (IND), will also be making her descent down to 57kg. Dhanda was a bronze medalist at 57kg back in 2018 but moved up to 59kg in 2019, where she finished in fifth place at the World Championships.

Also in the field at 57kg are past world medalists Emese BARKA (HUN), Iryna CHYKHRADZE KHARIV (UKR) and Allison RAGAN (USA).

Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS) is the second world champion that's switching weights. She was the 65kg world champion but has decided that moving down to 62kg gives her the best shot at making Russia’s Olympic team. But Trazhukova won't have to wait long to see how she stacks up against the world's best at the weight as Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) is set to make an appearance at the first Ranking Series event of the year. Tynybekova, the reigning 62kg world champion, was named a United World Wrestling History Maker after becoming the first wrestler from Kyrgyzstan to win a senior-level world title.

Marianna SASTIN (HUN) and Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR), who both have world gold on their resumes, will also compete at 62kg. Sastin, a four-time world medalist, won her world gold in 2013, while Tkach Ostapchuk, who is also a four-time world medalist, won her world title in 2014.

Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) is the third and final reigning world champion leaping from a non-Olympic weight class to an Olympic weight. The 2019 Comeback Wrestler of the Year is moving from 72kg up to 76kg.

Vorobeva joins fellow Olympic champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) on the entry list at 76kg.

But it isn't either of the Olympic champions who are the favorite coming into Rome. The clear favorite to win the weight is Adeline GRAY (USA), who made United States history by winning her unprecedented fifth world title at the Nur-Sultan World Championships late last year.

Past, Present and Future Greco-Roman Stars Set to Compete at Matteo Pellicone
Although Greco-Roman lacks the presence of a reigning world champion in the entries, there isn't a shortage of current and future stars that'll be looking to make some noise in Rome.

World runner-ups Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) and Viktor Lorincz will wrestle at 72kg and 87kg, respectively.

Meanwhile, rising stars Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) are looking to make some noise on the senior-level after climbing to the summit of world ranks at the age-group World Championships in 2019.

El Sayed, who is wrestling at 67kg, has been extremely active since qualifying Egypt for the 2020 Olympic Games at arguably the toughest weight class in Nur-Sultan, 67kg. Shortly after the 21-year-old finished in fifth place at the 2019 World Championships, he won gold at the World Military Games then tacked on a second U23 world title to his resume.

Kerem Kamal, who was named United World Wrestling's Junior Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year after winning his third consecutive junior world title, is entered at 60kg. The young Turkish spark plug is no stranger to the senior level. Last year, he won the Grand Prix of Zagreb, which was a Ranking Series event. He finished with a bronze medal at the European Championships before representing Turkey at the World Championships in Kazakhstan.

Kamal's most significant competition at 60kg will be China's Sailike WALIHAN, who was a world bronze medalist in 2018.

U23 world champion Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) highlights the entries at 97kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Semen Novikov, a 2019 U23 world champion, rounds out the Greco-Roman rising stars that are on the entry list. He'll be accompanied at 97kg by three-time 2019 Ranking Series medalist Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA). Last season, Hancock won the Grand Prix of Hungary, took second place at the City of Sassari Tournament and third place at the Grand Prix of Zagreb. At the World Championships, Hanock fell to France's 2014 world champion Mélonin NOUMONVI, who is also plugged in at 97kg.

The Matteo Pellicone begins on January 15-18 and can be followed at www.unitedworldwrestling.org or flowrestling.org.

SCHEDULE
Wednesday (January 15)
08:00 - Medical Examination, Weigh-in & Draw GR55-60-63-67-87-97-130kg
10:30 - Qualification rounds & repechage GR – 55-60-63-67-87-97-130kg
17:00 - Opening Ceremony
18:00 - Finals GR – 55-60-63-67-87-97-130kg / Award ceremonies

Thursday (January 16)
08.00 - Medical Examination, Weigh-in and Draw GR – 72-77-82kg & WW – 57-62-68-76kg
10.30 - Qualification rounds & repechage GR – 72-77-82kg & WW – 57-62-68-76kg
18:00 - Finals GR – 72-77-82kg & WW – 57-62-68-76kg / Award ceremonies

Friday (January 17)
08:00 - Medical Examination, Weigh-in and Draw WW – 50-53-55-59-65-72kg & FS – 97-125kg
10:30 - Qualification rounds & repechage WW – 50-53-55-59-65-72kg & FS – 97-125kg
18:00 - Finals WW – 50-53-55-59-65-72kg & FS – 97-125kg / Award ceremonies

Saturday (January 18)
08:00 - Medical Examination, Weigh-in and Draw FS – 57-61-65-70-74-79-86-92kg
10:30 - Qualification rounds & repechage FS – 57-61-65-70-74-79-86-92kg
18:00 - Finals FS – 57-61-65-70-74-79-86-92kg / Award ceremonies

#JapanWrestling

Paris champ Kiyooka sets up clash with Tanabe, Motoki faces Ozaki

Saturday, June 21, 2025 - 12:44 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (June 21) -- Before his astonishing run to an unlikely Olympic title, Kotaro KIYOOKA was the one doing the chasing. Now at the forefront and looking over his shoulder, he sees a familiar face bearing down on him whom he now has to confront.

Paris Olympic champion Kiyooka advanced to the freestyle 65kg final at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Championships on Saturday, where he will face former Nippon Sport Science University teammate Kaisei TANABE with a ticket to this year's World Championships on the line.

Kiyooka is one of three Paris gold medalists, along with Sakura MOTOKI at women's 62kg and Nao KUSAKA at Greco 77kg, who are making their full-fledged returns to the mat at the Meiji Cup, the second of Japan's two domestic qualifiers for the World Championships in Zagreb in September.

Both Motoki and Kusaka advanced with little trouble to Sunday's finals at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym, with Motoki setting up a highly anticipated clash with Paris 68kg bronze medalist Nonoka OZAKI -- whom she beat out for the spot in Paris at 62kg but is intent on reclaiming that weight class.

Kotaro KIYOOK (JPN) Kotaro KIYOOKA, left, ended up scoring 4 points off this scramble in his semifinal match at freestyle 65kg with Yuto NISHIUCHI. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Unlike the other two, Kiyooka has never been to a senior World Championships. Standing in his way is a formidable opponent in Tanabe, two years his junior who is coming off an impressive victory at the Asian Championships in March in Amman, Jordan. Tanabe only moved up to 65kg last year, and the two had not crossed paths before.

Following the Olympics, Kiyooka spent some time (with Kusaka) competing in the German Bundesliga. But the Meiji Cup marks his first high-level competition since Paris.

"It's been awhile since I've been in an official tournament," the 24-year-old Kiyooka said. "Looking ahead to the Los Angeles Olympics, I'm still a long way away. What's important at this tournament is to come out with a victory.

"I have to make adjustments and prepare mentally for tomorrow. It's not just a one-and-done final, there is also a playoff so I can make it to the World Championships."

Tanabe, the son of NSSU coach and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Chikara TANABE, captured the title at the first domestic qualifier for the world team, the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships in December, in Kiyooka's absence.

As such, Kiyooka will not only have to beat him on Sunday in the final, but again in a playoff to be held at the end of the session.

As an indication of the depth of Japan in the weight class, even with the retirement of Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO, both Kiyooka and Tanabe had to get over tough hurdles to make the championship match.

In the semifinals, Kiyooka struggled to break through the defenses of two-time world U20 champion and current NSSU star Yuto NISHIUCHI. In the end, he used counters to great effect in an 8-1 win, scoring 4 by stepping over during a scramble and 2 more defending against a single leg.

"I'm not usually the type who scores big points," Kiyooka said. "But I have built myself up physically after the Olympics and I think the result was that I could get the big point."

In his opening match, Tanabe needed a stepout with 20 seconds left to get past Shinnosuke SUWAMA 5-4, before topping Ryuto SAKAKI 5-0 to make the final.

While Kiyooka is a bit unsettled about having a target on his back, he seems ready to face whatever comes his way.

"Up to now, it's always been the reverse situation," he said. "I never had the feeling that I was being chased. But I don't want to lose. As being among those who is aiming for the Los Angeles Olympics, I want to be a big barrier for the others. If you give them an opening, they will use it. I don't want to show them any gaps."

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) Sakura MOTOKI pries over Shirin TAKEMOTO en route to a 10-0 win in their women's 62kg semifinal. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

As surprising as Kiyooka's run to gold in Paris was, the bigger shock likely came during the qualifying process when an underrated Motoki, who was "only" a world bronze medalist at 59kg, had the audacity to move up and challenge the highly touted Ozaki at 62kg.

But the 2022 world U20 champion believed in herself, and keeps making believers of others. She returned to competition earlier this year in order to qualify for the World U23 Championships.

Victories at the U23 and senior worlds will make her just the third person in history to achieve the "Golden Grand Slam" of Olympic gold combined with all four world age-group titles.

On Saturday, Motoki's toughest test in advancing to the final came in the opener, when she used a low single to score a takedown in each period of a 5-0 win over two-time world U23 champion Yuzuku INAGAKI.

"She has a good defense," Motoki said. "Being able to get through a tough match really boosts my confidence. When you're an Olympic champion, it's only natural that [opponents] try to come up with a strategy against you.

"In that light, I have to figure out a way to become stronger from the start of Olympic qualifying. That's still under development."

Like Kiyooka, Motoki will have to beat the Emperor's Cup champion twice to secure a place on the world team, and Ozaki won't make it easy.

"She's a really strong wrestler," Motoki said. "I will have to summon up all of my power and try my best."

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) Nao KUSAKA sets up a 4-point overhead lift of Naoki KADODE during their semifinal at Greco 77kg. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At Greco 77kg, Kusaka chalked up a pair of technical falls to advance to the final, where he will face the Emperor's Cup champion in Kodai SAKURABA, a 2022 Asian bronze medalist whom he aced out in the qualifying for Paris.

In the semifinals, Kusaka romped to a 12-1 victory over Naoki KADODE. After giving up a stepout, he came back with three of his own. Then he got behind and dropped backwards for 4, then ended the match with a 4-point lift at 2:04.

In other weight classes that will finish with medal matches on Sunday, longtime rivals and former NSSU teammates Katsukai ENDO and Kyotaro SOGABE set up their latest clash in the final at Greco 67kg.

Asian bronze medalist Endo, the Emperor's Cup champion, defeated 2021 world bronze 63kg medalist Kensuke SHIMIZU 7-3 in the semifinals, while Paris Olympian Sogabe rallied for a 13-6 win over 2023 world U23 bronze medalist and fellow NSSU alum Haruto YABE.

With Paris bronze medalist Yui SUSAKI still on post-Olympic hiatus, Remina YOSHIMOTO remained on track for a shot at a second world title at women's 50kg when she stormed to 10-0 victories over a pair of teenagers. She will face Umi ITO in a repeat of the Emperor's Cup final, which she won 3-2.

Emperor's Cup champion Rin SAKAMOTO, who has taken the rare collegiate path of going to the United States to compete at Oklahoma State University, advanced to the final at Freestyle 57kg and a showdown with Kento YUMIYA.

Matteo Pellicone Preview

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Paris champ Kiyooka sets up clash with Tanabe, Motoki faces Ozaki