Pedigreed Pakistani aims to revive illustrious family legacy via Japan

Sunday, March 20, 2022 - 13:04 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO, Japan (March 21) -- The quest started from a bond formed over a half-century ago in a pro wrestling match and meant leaving the comfort of home and traveling 6,000 kilometers to a country where he did not speak the language, to train in a sport he had never done.

But when Haroon ABID (PAK) accepted the challenge to move to Japan as a teenager to become a wrestler, he was not acting in self-interest. It became a mission to revive a family legacy in the sport that dates back centuries.

"The reason that I came to Japan was to regain the name of my family members because we had a long history," Abid said in a recent interview in the wrestling room at collegiate powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University, where he is finishing up his senior year and has found remarkable success despite his late start in wrestling.

"But it is old, people have forgotten it. So I want to be the key that people still remember us."

In his four years at NSSU (referred to locally as "Nittaidai") from 2018-2021, Abid finished second or third every year at either of the two national collegiate championships at freestyle 97kg or 125kg. He even dabbled in Greco-Roman, finishing as runner-up at 97kg in 2019.

"In terms of natural ability, he has what it takes," said NSSU head coach Shingo MATSUMOTO, who won nine straight national Greco titles from 1999 to 2007. "If he didn't, he wouldn't have achieved what he did. He was in a Japanese training environment and that led to his progress in high school and college."

As laudable as his achievements are, for the 22-year-old Lahore native, the ultimate way to restore the family to prominence is to get to the Olympics, and ideally, win a medal. Pakistan has not had a wrestling entry at the Olympics since 1996, and its lone medal was won in 1960.

ABID Haroon ABID (PAK) gets in on a tackle against Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) in the repechage round of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers at 125kg. (Photo: UWW)

Abid had a shot at making last year's Tokyo Olympics, but circumstances linked to the pandemic left him less than prepared, plus he agreed to yield the Pakistan spot at 97kg for the Asian qualifier to veteran teammate Muhammad IMAM (PAK) and competed at 125kg instead. He dropped back down to 97kg for the tougher World Olympic Qualifier but lost his first match.

"I was not properly trained for those," Abid said. "Because of corona [COVID-19] and all, the training was closed at Nittaidai. We were not allowed to go out of our dorms, so were stuck in the rooms. So I didn't have much time.

"The Olympics is not a little dream, a lot of people have that dream in their mind. It's not that easy, you don't train for a few months and go and participate. I was not well prepared, but I tried my best in the time I had."

Time spent going to Pakistan ahead of the qualifiers also put him behind in his classes at NSSU, and he will not be graduating with his class later this month. But his path to qualifying for Paris 2024 is clear, as he recently signed a deal with the Japan pro-wrestling circuit Noah that will allow him to continue to train full-time at NSSU, which has a spacious campus with top-notch facilities in suburban Yokohama, 40 minutes by train and bus southwest of Tokyo.

"I think it's good at the start because right now, they gave me permission to do wrestling," Abid said. "I don't have to go there and train. I just have to come here [to NSSU]. It's more of a sponsorship. And they gave me the chance, if you want to do pro wrestling in the future, you can do it. It's my choice. That's really nice of them."

ABID Haroon ABID (PAK) poses with Narihiro TAKEDA, director of CyberFight, the parent company of Pro Wrestling Noah, to announce his signing a post-graduation contract with Noah. (Photo: ©Noah)

Chance of a lifetime

Nothing could have prepared Abid for the chance of a lifetime that came his way when he was 14.

A diligent student at the prestigious Bloomfield Hall School in Lahore, he was looking toward a career in business and perhaps following his father into money exchange and real estate.

Instead, his career path veered toward that of his revered ancestors.

Abid had grown up hearing the tales of his great-grandfather Imam BAKSH, a great champion and brother of Gulam BAKSH, who earned the title "The Great Gama." Both were unbeaten superstars in the early 20th century who defeated all-comers both at home and abroad in matches fought on the sand. They moved from India to Pakistan after the partition in 1947.

"It's called pro wrestling, but it was actual wrestling," Abid said. "It was not decided who was going to win and lose. The strong one is going to win. So they were training so hard for that."

Imam Baksh had five sons who kept up the family tradition in wrestling in the next generation. One would have a match that would change the course of a future grandson of one of his brothers.

In the 1970s, pro wrestling was flourishing in Japan and the biggest star was Antonio INOKI, a giant with a jutting jaw who would later become world famous for a special match in the ring against boxing legend Mohammad ALI.

In 1976, Inoki fought and won a special-rules match with Abid's great-uncle Akram PAHALWAN, whose glory days were already well behind him. Watching that match was a teenaged Zubair JHARA -- Abid's uncle -- who vowed to avenge the loss. Three years later, he did just that in a match in Pakistan.

Inoki Haroon ABID (PAK), right, with Japan's pro-wrestling great Antonio INOKI, sitting, and Abid's father.

Fast forward four decades and Inoki, who had served several terms in the Japanese Diet while continuing his pro wrestling career, was visiting Pakistan to promote a sports friendship festival.

While there, he decided to look up his old friend and rival Jhara. When he learned that this iconic wrestling family had not had anybody in the sport for nearly three decades, Inoki made a generous offer -- he would cover the expenses for a family member to come to Japan for school and to become a wrestler.

But who would it be?

Abid was athletic, but had only limited exposure to sports, mainly in team sports like cricket, basketball and soccer. He had never taken part in any kind of combat sport.

"I knew that my family belonged to a wrestling background, but it was all finished, so I was not doing that much sports at that time," Abid said. "I was just studying and all that stuff.

"I was interested in wrestling because I had a wrestling background, but around me, none of our family members were doing it. I used to watch WWE and used to watch Olympic wrestling, too. But I was not doing anything."

And yet he became the Chosen One.

"He asked somebody to meet some member of the family, and I don't know for what reason he picked me," Abid said. "I can't tell, why me? Because I was not doing sports at that time. No gym, no sports, nothing. I was just a normal teenager. I'm so thankful that he chose me, but I don't know the reason behind that."

Abid was not rushed into the decision and was flown over to Japan to see what it was like. He had been planning to study abroad anyway, so being away from home was not an issue. His father, who had wrestled but never at a high level, favored his going, but with a caveat.

"He said, 'If you go into it, you have to go all in it. It's not like you can go halfway then you leave. It's not like that,'" Abid said. "So I was thinking about it and I saw that my family was happy, so I thought I should give it a try because of that. I have a passion, too, that I wanted to do that."

ABID Haroon ABID (PAK) has the upper hand in the 120kg match of the team final of the national high school invitational championships in March 2017, helping Nittadai Kashiwa win the title. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

New life in Japan

Although he came over to Japan to start a wrestling career. Abid actually spent his first year learning judo instead.

Inoki had a connection with Nippon Sports Science University, so it was arranged that he would go to one of its affiliated high schools, Nittaidai Ebara in Tokyo. The only problem was that it did not have a wrestling team. So he learned judo as he endured culture shocks that included his first experience of living in a dormitory.

"The place where I was staying in my school when I came, it had like eight people to a room," he said. "And we used the same bathroom... I had to wait for the last member to take a shower. I was like, what did I get myself into? But it was nice, it was a good experience. It's good to have new friends."

He also took to the new sport, enough so that when another Nittaidai-affiliated high school in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, started a wrestling team, the Ebara coach tried to get him to stay.

"Judo was also a really good experience. My coach at that time, Kokubo-sensei, told me that you can stay with us. We will give you all of the expenses. At the time, Inoki-san was supporting me. He said I can leave him and we will support you if you want to do judo. And he used to tell me that judo was more famous in Japan.

"But I came here for wrestling, so I had to shift."

Abid recalled that his first impression of Japan was that it was nothing like he had imagined. Coming from an upper-middle-class family in Pakistan, he did not expect just how compact a sprawling city like Tokyo can be.

"Japan is such a well-known place, so I thought there would be big homes. But when I came, they sleep on the floor, they were so humble. I was like, damn, it was the opposite of what I thought Japan would be.

"Now I am used to it, but it was completely different than I had thought. There were big buildings, but I thought there would be robots and all. [And] everyone uses the train in Japan, so you can't judge who is rich or poor. That's the nice part of Japan."

For his second year of high school, Abid made the move to Kashiwa, which had newer facilities and the dorm only had four to a room. The sport-oriented school also had more foreign students, which made it easier for him to adjust.

"It was a good school," he said. "It was clean; Ebara was clean, too, but Kashiwa was like new beds and all that stuff, so it was a good place to study. The competition was very good, too. "

Abid said it took him six or seven months to achieve a passable level of Japanese, which became a necessity in one aspect.

"For me, I'm a Muslim, so I can't eat pork and I have to tell people, I can't eat this, I can't eat that, so I had to learn really fast. That was the reason I learned Japanese really fast."

He also made rapid progress in wrestling. In just his second year in the sport, he finished third at 120kg at both the national invitational high school championships and the Inter-High tournament, both of which had over 45 entries in his weight class. For good measure, he took the silver medal at Greco 120kg in the high school division at the National Games.

Abid chalks his success up to more than good genes. "I had a really good partner," he said. "He was from Mongolia, and he was also 125. So I got used to training with heavy guys. That was a really plus point for me. And that guy was strong, too, he was also an Inter-high champion. So I had the confidence that I was training with this guy and taking points, too. That's why I could [do well]."

In all three tournaments, he was defeated by Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN), who would become his teammate at NSSU and last December placed second at the senior All-Japan Championships at Greco 97kg. Abid is not eligible to take part in the All-Japan.

ABID Haroon ABID (PAK) is aiming to get to Paris 2024 and become the first wrestler from Pakistan to make the Olympics since 1996. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

Overcoming nerves

With eyes on Paris 2024, Abid is still looking for his first victory over a non-Japanese opponent outside of Japan.

Aside from facing foreign opponents from other schools in Japan, Abid was poised to face global competition for the first time at the Asian Junior Championships in 2018 in New Delhi.

But he was unable to get a visa to enter his ancestral homeland, and his international debut was pushed back to the same tournament the next year in Chonburi, Thailand.

In Chonburi, he lost his opening match in the quarterfinals at freestyle 97kg to Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM), then the bronze-medal match to Arslanbek TURDUBEKOV (KGZ).

In 2021, he was dealt a succession of first-round losses: to Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) in the qualification round at 125kg in the Asian Olympic qualifier (followed by a repechage loss to Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ)); to Minwon SEO (KOR) at 97kg at the Asian Championships; and to Timofei XENIDIS (GRE) at 97kg the World Olympic qualifier.

"He has continually been improving," NSSU coach Matsumoto said. "During the pandemic, he could not leave Pakistan for an extended period during Tokyo Olympic qualifying. If he has an environment in which he can continually train and prepare, he will become stronger and look ahead to the next competition."

No doubt the pandemic had an effect by curtailing his preparation. But there is another reason for his lack of success, as well as his failure to win a major collegiate title at NSSU. Granted, he made plenty of podiums, but, save for a victory at the spring newcomers tournament in his freshman year, he never ascended to the highest step.

For Abid, who said his next tournament will likely be the Asian Games in China in September, every match is as much a battle against nerves as an opponent.

"In matches, I'm not as good as in practice," he said. "I don't know why, I can't say I'm still at the start, it's been seven years I've been wrestling. But I need more competitions so I can gain more confidence."

Looking back at his first international outing in Thailand, he said, "I was prepared well, but the pressure was immense. It was not me on the mat. I couldn't move properly like I could in the training because it was my first international match.

"My family was looking at me, and there were all different people around me. I wasn't scared, but I was a bit under pressure. I would have gotten a medal in that [tournament], but after that match, I thought I really need to work hard."

ABID Haroon ABID (PAK) has had success at Greco-Roman in Japan. Here he battles Yamanashi Gakuin University's Bakhdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ) in the 97kg final of national collegiate championships in October 2019. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

Abid points to two matches that he said helped boost his confidence. Ironically, both were in Greco, which he decided to do because it gives him a chance to enter more tournaments. It was how he held his own against expectations that makes the encounters --- one was even a defeat -- so significant.

Back in 2019, Abid made the final of the national collegiate Greco championships with a semifinal victory over Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN), who last year won the senior national and was an Asian bronze medalist title at freestyle 97kg.

"Everyone was telling me he's strong and I beat him," Abid said. "And it was a good point-difference [6-0], so that match really gave me a boost.

In the final, he would fall to Bakhdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ), who went undefeated in his career at rival Yamanashi Gakuin University. Almentay would also defeat Abid in one freestyle final.

"I didn't beat him, but it was a good match between us, you couldn't tell who would win," he said. "Even though it was in Greco, when I came back from the match, I had gained that confidence of being among the best in Japan, and I could be that good."

It's an attitude that would make his ancestors proud. Now he has to back it up with deeds on the mat, and he's determined to fulfill his quest. Getting to Paris 2024 would make him the first Pakistani wrestler at an Olympics since Mohammad BHALA competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games at freestyle 90kg.

The Southeast Asian nation's lone Olympic wrestling medal came in Rome in 1960 with Mohamed BASHIR's bronze at freestyle 73kg, and it has not had a world medalist since winning two bronzes in 1959.

"I'm definitely going to be the Olympics at Paris 2024," Abid declared. "I have that confidence right now. For sure, I'm going to be in that match. For sure."

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Petriashvili survives late Zare surge for 1st gold

Saturday, August 10, 2024 - 23:31 By Ken Marantz

PARIS (August 10) -- Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) had the elusive gold medal in the bag until he didn't. A successful challenge reopened the door for his opponent, and the Georgian great barely managed to keep him from charging through it.

Petriashvili survived an incredible late surge by Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI), capturing the freestyle 125kg gold with a dramatic 10-9 victory on Saturday at the Paris Olympics to complete the full set of Olympic medals and avenge losses at two recent World Championships.

"It was really hard, emotionally and physically," Petriashvili said. "Every moment was really hard for me because this is the Olympic Games. In the last two Olympics, I lost. I wanted to win this match today."

In other finals at the Champs de Mars Arena, Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) stormed to the women's 62kg title to give Japan its third women's gold and sixth overall in wrestling, while Russian-born Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) became Uzbekistan's third-ever Olympic wrestling champion and first since 2004 with a victory at freestyle 74kg.

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) celebrates after winning the 125kg final in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Petriashvili, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, met the rising star Zare for the first time at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he defeated him 6-3 in the semifinal en route to the silver medal.

But the 23-year-old Zare would not only win their next two encounters, in the finals at the 2021 and 2023 World Championships, he would win big -- 9-2 at the former and 11-0 at the latter.

That made the veteran Petriashvilli the decided underdog in the final, which started with him giving up an early stepout. And he looked to be heading for another one when he suddenly spun around and threw Zare for a 4-point takedown.

That seemed to energize the 30-year-old, who got a single-leg takedown, then reeled off three gut wrenches to make it 12-1.

But wait. As Petriashvili and the Georgian contingent celebrated, Iran challenged the final gut wrench, claiming it was done out of bounds. The judge agreed, the score was reset at 10-1 and the match continued.

Surely he couldn't squander a nine-point lead. Or could he? Zare, who has made conditioning an integral part of his preparation, fought on with a passion and scores a stepout to start the second period that gets a fleeing point tacked on. Of some concern is that Petriashvili takes a timeout for an apparent right elbow injury.

With 1:20 left, Zare adds a takedown to make it 10-5. With the crowd in a frenzy, Zare gets behind for a takedown, then adds a gut wrench to pull within one.

"When it was 10-9 in the last seconds, I was like, 'Don't give up,'" Petriashvili said. "It was a crazy match."

With the seconds ticking down and flashes of Petriashvili's last-second loss to Gable STEVESON (USA) in the Tokyo final coming to mind, he grabs for a leg and hangs on for dear life. Time expires before Zare can get close to breaking the hold.

"Maybe I wanted it more than him," Petriashvili said. "I lost in Tokyo in the last seconds. The next two years were difficult. Every night, I was thinking about it. Today, I won. I will not forget this moment. This is a beautiful moment."

Petriashvili had long been one-half of an elite duo in the 125kg class with rival Taha AKGUL (TUR), who lost 2-1 to Zare in the semifinals. The two had a stranglehold on the global title from 2014 to 2019, until Steveson broke the streak in Tokyo and Zare worked his way to the top.

There will be no more battles between the two. Akgul indicated that he was retiring after winning a bronze medal a short time earlier.

"Taha is a world-class wrestler," Petriashvili said. "I want to congratulate him on his career. He won a lot of medals, a lot of championships. What can I say about Taha? He is world-class. For me, it was a big honor to compete with him."

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) celebrates after winning the 62kg gold medal at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Motoki kept the Japanese juggernaut in Paris going with her fourth technical fall or fall in four matches, using a low single to maximum effect in a 12-1 victory over Tokyo bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR).

"Over this year, I went through a lot with losses and injuries, but many people helped me to overcome it all," Motoki said. "To be able to have my wrestling [at a level] to win the gold medal makes me so happy."

After giving up an activity point, Motoki went to work, getting a low-single takedown and adding a lace-lock roll for a 4-1 lead at the break. She repeated the process two more times in the second
period to end the match at 4:57.

Motoki, who had to dispel self-doubts that had seeped in during the run-up to Paris, had her most challenging moment the previous day in the semifinals, when she was losing 7-2 to European champion Grace BULLEN (NOR) and was being tripped backward, only to pull off one of the most memorable moves of the Olympic tournament.

As she went back, she locked onto Bullen's arms and arched into a bridge that allowed her flip Bullen onto her back for a stunning victory by fall.

"Yesterday, I was on the verge of losing, but I think some god came to my rescue," Motoki said. "I thought that If I didn't take advantage of this chance now, it might never come again. I put in all this effort to get here today, so I was going to give everything I had on the mat up to the very end."

Motoki had faced the highest level of adversity just surviving a grueling qualifying process for Paris. A world bronze medalist at 59kg, she moved up to the Olympic weight and had to win out among a domestic field that included Tokyo Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI (JPN) and world champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), who would end up with a 68kg bronze in Paris.

After securing her ticket to Paris with a silver medal behind Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) at last year's World Championships in Belgrade, Motoki fell into a slump due to her inability to defeat Tynybekova.

She lost to her at the Zagreb Open in January -- where she defeated Koliadenko 5-2 in their only previous meeting -- and again in the final of the Asian Championships in April. In the end, there would be no rematch between them in Paris.

"I wanted to get revenge on Aisuluu, and I continually trained for it," Motoki said. "I didn't get to face her. But I was able to get revenge on my weaker self."

Motoki follows Kaori ICHO (JPN) and Risako KAWAI (JPN) in maintaining Japan's stranglehold on the Olympic 62kg/63kg weight class, which the country has won every time since women's wrestling was added to the Olympic program. Icho won it in 2004, 2008 and 2012 (she dropped to 58kg in 2016 for her fourth gold) and Kawai followed in 2016 and 2021.

"It's true, Japan has a history of winning in this category," Motoki said.

"But for me, I was very anxious because I kept losing before coming to Paris and I was kind of not sure that I would actually win the gold medal. I couldn't be more grateful for having had this opportunity." Motoki said it was the support of all those around her that enabled her to make her first ascension to the top of the podium at a senior global tournament at the Olympics.

"There were many times I fell into despair, but many people supported and encouraged me," Motoki said. "I would like to divide this medal with all these people who took some of the weight that I had to endure during this year. It's a medal for them as well."

In addition to adding to the Japanese medal tally, Motoki, whose father Yasutoshi competed in Greco at the 2000 Sydney Olympics but did not medal, became the second wrestler from Ikuei University to win a gold, joining teammate and 57kg champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN).

Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) pinned Daichi TAKATANI (JPN) in the 74kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In the freestyle 74kg final, Russian-born Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) give Uzbekistan just its third-ever Olympic wrestling gold and its first since 2004 with a victory by fall over Daichi TAKATANI (JPN).

"The path to the gold was not easy," Jamalov said. "I had five difficult fights. I have fought against some of my opponents before. It was not easy, but I managed to win."

Jamalov countered a single-leg attempt from the takedown machine Takatani by slipping in a grapevine, then transitioned to a cradle that he used to turn the Japanese over and secure a fall
in 2:12.

"I was trying to make him follow my technique," Jamalov said. "Because he works very well with his legs, I was trying to control it and impose my fighting technique on him. That was my main strategy."

Unlike the typical losing finalist, Takatani may have earned the unofficial title of Happiest Silver Medalist at the Games with his post-match antics.

"To lose in the final by fall is just my style," said Takatani, who advanced to the final with a wild 20-12 victory over world silver medalist Dake. "I am really happy. It's been a tough 24 years of wrestling life."

On the mat, he hugged Jamalov, then lifted him up into the air. He followed that by sprinting into the stands to unite with his wife, exchanging hand slaps and taking selfies with fans of all nations along the way. He even signed someone's Olympic flag.

"Before my match, I saw Kyle (DAKE (USA)) going into the stands, and he looked so cool up there," Takatani said. "I wanted to do the same thing, whether I won or lost. I copied him. My wife was here in Paris to cheer me on. I was happy that I could share my success with her."

By medaling in his Olympic debut, Takatani did what popular older brother Sohsuke couldn't in three Olympic appearances. Sohsuke was a world 74kg bronze medalist in 2014 -- an achievement that Daichi matched last year in Belgrade.

Their dream of competing in the Olympics together was shattered when Sohsuke's streak of 12 consecutive national titles ended last December.

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) clicks a picture with fans after winning the bronze medal at 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Tynybekova, Dake, Akgul take bronzes, with a bit of drama

Tynybekova wasn't able to achieve her goal of becoming Kyrgyzstan's first-ever Olympic gold medalist in any sport, but will go home with a women's 62kg bronze after snatching a 6-6 victory from the jaws of defeat against Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL).

Tynybekova, the silver medalist in Tokyo who was ousted in the semifinals by Koliadenko, was completely outwrestled in the first period by 2017 world champion Purevdorj, who stormed to a 6-0 lead. Tynybekova, the epitome of the never-say-die athlete, finally got on the scoreboard with a hard-earned takedown, but the prospects remained bleak going into the final minute.

But Tynybekova, a three-time world and six-time Asian champion, made up the deficit in one-fell swoop with a driving 4-point double-leg takedown with 20 seconds left that also put her ahead on criteria.

Bullen, a world bronze medalist and the reigning European champion, gave Norway its first-ever Olympic women's medal when she captured the other 62kg bronze with a quick 11-0 victory over Ana GODINEZ (CAN).

Bullen, who was placed in Norway as a child as an Eritrean refugee, scored a single-leg takedown, trapped Godinez's ankle underneath and pressed ahead for a 2-point exposure, then transitioned to a lace lock for three rolls to end the match after just 57 seconds. An unsuccessful challenge added the final point.

"I'm very happy that I can show the power that I have inside me, even though I don't believe it myself sometimes," Bullen said. "But in this tournament, in a big place like the Olympics, I can show that to the world and show what Norwegian wrestling can give to the world."

Chermen VALIEV (ALB) became the first Albanian to win an Olympic medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirrza Aliasgari)

It was also a historic day for the tiny Albania, for which Russian-born Chermen VALIEV (ALB) gave his adopted country its first-ever Olympic medal in any sport when he forged a 6-2 victory over Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) to take home a freestyle 74kg bronze.

"It is indeed the first medal ever for Albania," Valiev said. "I'm very happy to have won this medal and I'm sure they are very pleased as well."

Valiev went up 2-0 in the first period with an activity clock point and stepout, then added a takedown to start the second period. Rassadin, another native Russian who was looking to become just the second Olympic medalist in Tajikistan history, struck back with a takedown, but Valiev added a stepout with a challenge point tacked on.

Valiev, who began competing for Albania in 2022, saw his chance for gold end in the quarterfinals when he leading Jamalov, only to lose 6-5 after twice being assessed a penalty point for fleeing in the final seconds.

In the other 74kg bronze-medal match, Dake, miffed over how a second-period challenge was adjudicated, responded by hitting a 5-point back suplex that propelled him a 10-4 victory over world bronze medalist Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) for his second straight Olympic bronze medal.

Dake fell behind 4-1 after the unsuccessful challenge in the final minute, which sparked him to a quick takedown with :30 left. But the three-time former world champion was hardly done. as he slipped behind and launched Cabolov with the highest-scoring move in the sport, then added a gut wrench for good measure.

After the match, Dake set the new precedent of going deep into the stands to celebrate with friends and family.

"Going up in the stands was pretty special," he said. "Without them, I wouldn't be able to do what I do. My wife is unbelievable – we have three kids with another one on the way. She truly is the rock for all these things to happen. I can't thank her enough."

Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) both retired in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At freestyle 125kg, Akgul captured his third Olympic medal by securing all of his points in the first period and cruising the rest of the way in a 7-0 victory over Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ).

Akgul started with a stepout, then scored a takedown and two lace-lock rolls before going on the defensive and winning what proved to be the final bout of his career.

"In every competition, we come for gold," Akgul said. "In the Paris Olympics, too. Now, I'm happy I have finished with this third Olympic medal. I will relax a little bit because, with my wife, we are waiting for a baby."

After the match, both the 33-year-old Akgul and the 38-year-old Lazarev, a six-time Asian medalist who failed to medal in three Olympic appearances, "announced" their retirements by taking off their wrestling shoes and leaving them on the mat.

"Actually, I didn't see him while I was taking off my shoes," Akgul said. "When I saw him, it was so emotional. Two wrestlers retire together. I was so emotional because I gave all my life to wrestling."

Two-time European bronze medalist Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE), a native Georgian making his Olympic debut at age 32, won the other freestyle 125kg bronze with a solid 9-3 victory over Robert BARAN (POL).

Meshvildishvili fell behind momentarily when Baran scored a first-period takedown to go up 2-2 on criteria, but responded with a takedown for a 4-2 lead into the break. He then added a stepout and two takedowns to seal the deal.

Day 6 Results

Freestyle

65kg
SF1: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL), 5-1
SF1: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) df. Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN) by TF, 10-0, 2:27

74kg
GOLD: Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) df. Daichi TAKATANI (JPN) by Fall, 2:12 (5-0)

BRONZE: Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Hetik CABOLOV (SRB), 10-4
BRONZE: Chermen VALIEV (ALB) df. Viktor RASSADIN (TJK), 6-2

97kg
SF1: Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) df. Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), 5-0
SF1: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) df. Kyle SNYDER (USA), 6-4

125kg
GOLD: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Amir ZARE (IRI), 10-9

BRONZE: Taha AKGUL (TUR) df. Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ), 7-0
BRONZE: Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) df. Robert BARAN (POL), 9-3

Women's Wrestling

62kg
GOLD: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) df. Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) by TF, 12-1, 4:57

BRONZE: Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL), 6-6
BRONZE: Grace BULLEN (NOR) df. Ana GODINEZ (CAN) by TF, 11-0, :57

76kg
SF1: Kennedy BLADES (USA) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 8-6
SF1: Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) df. Tatiana RENTERIA (COL), 4-2

Pedigreed Pakistani aims to revive illustrious family legacy via Japan

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Paris 2024: Petriashvili survives late Zare surge for 1st gold