#WrestleBudapest

Must-watch storylines from Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

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.

#WrestleBudapest

#WrestleBudapest Weight-to-Watch: Greco-Roman 82kg

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 18) -- When he won the World Championships title last year in Oslo over Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) took the victory lap with flags of both Azerbaijan and Turkey. Almost five months later, Akbudak avenged that loss to Huseynov in the semifinal of the Ranking Series event in Istanbul to tie their head-to-head record at 1-1.

But that record will most likely be settled in two weeks' time if the two meet at the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

World champion Huseynov and Akbudak will be highlighting a tough 82kg weight class at the tournament which has a number of upcoming stars who are ready to challenge the established ones.

In Oslo, the two met in the final which Huseynov won after an intense battle in which he won 2-1. Both gave nothing away in that bout but it was Huseynov's defense that managed to keep him ahead of his opponent.

Akbudak was awarded a point for inactivity from Huseynov and from par terre, he tried to score a throw which the judges did not score. But Turkey challenged that call and lost as there was no danger from Akbudak, tying the score 1-1 in favor of Huseynov.

The 2019 World Championships silver medalist Huseynov led 2-1 when Akbudak was called passive in the second period. That lead did not change and he won the gold for the first time in his career.

In a contrasting bout in Istanbul, Akbudak managed to get two big throws from par terre against Huseynov in the semifinal, leaving nothing to fate.

While Huseynov won the European Championships in 2020, Akbudak is yet to make it to the podium in his previous two attempts. But going by what he did in Istanbul, he is the favorite to win the competition.

Trying to stop him, apart from Huseynov, would be Tokyo Olympic fifth-place finisher Karapet CHALYAN (ARM). He had finished fifth in the last continental championships as well and would like to make amends to that record.

Two wrestlers who are on the verge of taking over the weight class are Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) and Tamas LEVAI (HUN). The two recently met in the Dan-Kolov tournament final with the latter winning the gold.

Bolkvadze won the U23 Worlds in 2018 but then moved down to 77kg in a bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. However, he failed to accomplish that and is back to the 82kg weight class.

Levai, who defeated two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASVO (RWF) last year, is looking to build on his '21 U23 World gold. He has been on the rise for a couple of years but his debut European Championships will be a big test for the fifth-placer at the Oslo Worlds.

A big name that cannot be ignored in this category is Marcel STERKENBURG (NED). Coming off an impressive title-winning performance at the U23 European Championships, Sterkenburg is now looking for success at the senior level.

He is not new to the challenges of senior-level after wrestling at the European Championships twice before but the junior world champion is now more confident and with some big wins under his belt, can be a big threat.

As a wrestler who has decent success now at the age-group level, it will be a matter of time before he gets going at the senior level.

The 82kg weight class will be in action on Saturday with the finals to be held Sunday.

GR 82kg Entries

Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Rosian DERMANSKI (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
David ZHYTOMYRSKY (ISR)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)