#HungarianGP2019

Olympic Silver Medalist Ota Headlines Saturday Night's Hungarian Grand Prix Finals

Saturday, February 23, 2019 - 12:34 By Eric Olanowski

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GYOR, Hungary (February 23) -  Rio Olympic runner-up Shinobu OTA (JPN) headlines Saturday night's Hungarian Grand Prix finals, where he'll wrestle China's fifth-ranked TUO Erbatu for the 63kg gold medal.

Ota reached the finals handling Olympic bronze medalist Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR), 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Ota and Berg's Hungarian Grand Prix quarterfinals bout was their second meeting since 2016. Their first match came in the quarterfinal round match at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Ota won 4-0. 

Japan's 2018 Asian Games champion defeated Iran's Meysam DALKHANI, 5-2 in the semifinals, reaching his first career Ranking Series gold-medal bout. 

Ota will wrestle China's fifth-ranked Tuo Erbatu in the 63kg gold-medal bout. Tuo upset the 2018 world bronze medalist WALIHAN Sailike (CHN), 7-3 in the quarterfinals. Walihan won his world bronze medal down at 60kg, where he's currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Tuo then rolled into the finals thumping America's Travis RICE (USA), 9-0 in the semifinals. 

Ota and Tuo's Saturday night matchup will be their first career meeting.

The Hungarian Grand Prix opening day finals begin at 18:00. 

SCHEDULE

Saturday (February 23) 
17:00 - Opening Ceremony 
18:00 - Finals for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg Award ceremonies 

Sunday (February 24) 
8.30 - Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
10.00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16.00 - Finals for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg and Award ceremonies

Day One Finals 
63kg - Erbatu TUO (CHN) vs. Shinobu OTA (JPN) 
72kg - Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO) vs. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) 
82kg -  Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) vs. Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN) 
97kg -  Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) vs. Fatih BASKOY (TUR) 

#WrestleBratislava

UWW to test new Greco rule at 2025 European Championships

Friday, March 28, 2025 - 11:17 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 28) -- United World Wrestling Technical Commission has approved the testing of a Greco-Roman rule change at the European Championships next month.

According to the new rule in Greco-Roman, in case a bout ends 1-1, victory will be awarded to the wrestler who scored the first point. This modification will be implemented exclusively in Greco-Roman and will apply only to matches that end in a 1-1 tie.

The change, which is only being tested, was approved after the new UWW Technical Commission reviewed the current regulations. It unanimously acknowledged that the existing rule, which awards victory to the athlete who scores the last point, may unintentionally encourage passivity at the start of the bout.

Following the discussions, the Commission agreed to test the proposed change of awarding victory to the wrestler who scores the first point during the 2025 Senior European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia to be held from April 7-13.

Additional senior Continental Championships or international tournaments may also be selected for further testing. United World Wrestling will provide updates should additional test events be required.