#PolandOpen

Poland Prise Pair of Women's Golds at #PolandOpen

Saturday, September 8, 2018 - 20:09 By Eric Olanowski

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WARSAW, Poland (September 8) –  Roksana ZASINA (POL) and Agnieszka WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) helped the host nation, Poland, capture two of the possible five women’s wrestling gold medals that were up for grabs on the second day of the final Ranking Series event of the year. 

Roksana Zasina, the No. 8 ranked wrestler in the world, gave Poland their first gold medal of the day after scoring a 6-2 win over U23 world bronze medalist Tetyana KIT (UKR) in the 55kg gold-medal match. 

Zasina won her second straight Poland Open title, but more importantly, she stopped Kit from capturing her first Ranking Series gold medal. Kit has competed in three of the four Ranking Series events and has finished with two silvers and a bronze medal. 

At 72kg, Wieszczek-Kordus handed Poland their second women’s wrestling gold medal after sticking WANG Kunming (CHN) in the gold-medal match. It took Wieszczek-Kordus four tries, but she finally grabbed the gold medal that she’s been chasing since 2012. 


Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) knocked off the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world to win the Poland Open title at 65kg. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN), Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS), and Mariya STADNIK (AZE) won the final women’s wrestling gold medals. 

In the 65kg finals, Danielle Lappage stunned the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world, Petra OLLI (FIN), 3-2. Lappage handed Olli her first loss since January’s Ivan Yarygin. Since January, Ollie has won gold medals at the Klippan Lady Open, the International Ukrainian Tournament, and the European Championships. 

Stadnik gabbed her second gold medal of the season, defeating Ilona SEMKIV (UKR) in the 50kg gold-medal bout. Stadnik, the Klippan Lady Open runner-up, and European Championship gold medalist scored her fifth technical superiority victory of the tournament, improving her 2018 record to 12-1. Her only loss in 2018 was against reigning world champion, Yui SUSAKI (JPN).

Svetlana Lipatova claimed the final gold medal with an injury default win over 2017 world runner-up, Marwa AMRI (TUN). 

RESULTS
Women's Wrestling
50kg
GOLD -  Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Ilona SEMKIV (UKR), 13-2 

BRONZE - Whitney CONDER (USA) df. Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS), 6-4 
BRONZE - Jessica Anne Marie MACDONALD (CAN) df. Emilia Alina VUC (ROU), via injury default

55kg
GOLD -  Roksana ZASINA (POL) df. Tetyana KIT (UKR), 6-2 

BRONZE - Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR) df. Olga SHNAIDER (UKR), 4-0  
BRONZE - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) df. Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), 10-0 

59kg
GOLD - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) df. Marwa AMRI (TUN), 0-0 

BRONZE - Olena KREMZER (UKR) df. Hanna VAHER (BLR), 4-0 
BRONZE - Lingling BAO (CHN) df. Laura Sofia AAK (NOR), via fall

65kg 
GOLD -  Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) df. Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN), 3-2 

BRONZE - Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), via fall 
BRONZE - Moa NYGREN (SWE)df. Chuying TANG (CHN), 6-2

72kg
GOLD -  Agnieszka Jadwiga WIESZCZEK-KORDUS (POL) df. Kunming WANG (CHN), via fall 

BRONZE - Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Patrycja SPERKA (POL), 3-1
BRONZE - Alexandra Nicoleta ANGHEL (ROU) df. Nikoletta Renata SZMOLKA (HUN), 10-0

Freestyle
57kg 
GOLD -  Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB) df. Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA), 10-0 

BRONZE - Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) df. Frank Vincent PERRELLI IV (USA), 12-6 
BRONZE - Nurislam (Artas) SANAYEV (SANAA) (KAZ) df. Adrian Jakub WAGNER (POL), via fall. 

65kg 
GOLD - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO), via injury default

BRONZE - Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL) df. Jordan OLIVER (USA), , via forfeit
BRONZE - Dimitar Lyubomirov IVANOV (BUL) df. Hasibagena HASIBAGENA (CHN), 6-2 

74kg
GOLD -  Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Wei WU (CHN), 12-2 

BRONZE - Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) df. Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ), 7-1
BRONZE - Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL) df. Jonatan ALVAREZ DIAZ (ESP), via forfeit. 

86kg 
GOLD -  Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Samuel BROOKS (USA), 2-2 

BRONZE - Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) df. Lars SCHAEFLE (GER), 10-0 
BRONZE - Piotr IANULOV (MDA) df. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), 8-3 

97kg
GOLD - Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) df.  Mamed IBRAGIMOV (KAZ), 10-0 

BRONZE - Chaoqiang YANG (CHN) df. Pavlo OLIINYK (HUN), via injury default 

Greco-Roman
63kg 
GOLD - Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) df. Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL), 4-0 

BRONZE - Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY) df. Virgil Alexander BICA (SWE), 8-0 

72kg 
GOLD -  Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) df. Denis HORVATH (SVK), 9-0  

BRONZE - Daniel Mattias SOINI (SWE) df. Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), 7-1 
BRONZE - Mikko Petteri PELTOKANGAS (FIN) df. Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA), 5-1 

82kg
GOLD - Emrah KUS (TUR) df. Oleksii OSNIACH (UKR), 6-4 

BRONZE - Daniel Tihomirov ALEKSANDROV (BUL) df. Edgar BABAYAN (POL), 6-2
BRONZE - Jarno Krister AALANDER (FIN) df. Petr NOVAK (CZE), 4-3

97kg 
GOLD - Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA) df. Nikolay Nikolaev BAYRYAKOV (BUL), 7-0 

BRONZE - Suleyman ERBAY (TUR) df. Mathias BAK (DEN), 13-6 
BRONZE - Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) df. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), via injury default 

#WrestleBratislava

Gatsalov: Satisfied with Euros, will prepare for tougher World Championships

Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 13:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 22) -- Khadzhimurat GATSALOV was in Bratislava, Slovakia for the European Championships as the coach if the UWW wrestlers and returned with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals in 10 weight classes.

United World Wrestling caught up with Gatsalov after the tournament and he reflected on the performance of the wrestlers and his plans for the World Championships which will be held in September in Zagreb, Croatia.

Excerpts:

- On the performance of his wrestlers

Gatsalov: Overall, we are satisfied with the results. We haven’t had a performance like this in a long time -- five gold medals out of ten, plus two silver and one bronze. That means eight out of ten athletes came home with medals. Both the coaching staff and the athletes did a great job and prepared well for this European Championships.

We were counting on four or five gold medals. The guys wrestled really well and followed the instructions. For us coaches, that’s the most important thing that the wrestler steps on the mat and follows the game plan.

- On competition with Iran and the United States

Gatsalov: I believe there’s still room for improvement. This will help strengthen both our technical and physical foundations. When I look at Iranian and American wrestling, they put a lot of emphasis on physical conditioning. We’ve never really focused on that. We’ve always prioritized technique. But moving forward, we’ll also be physically prepared to endure tough matches and handle heavy loads without wearing out.

- On Sidakov's return and performance at 74kg

Gatsalov: Sidakov just couldn’t make it happen this time, maybe it’s because they know each other so well. [Chermen] VALIEV had a very strong motivation to win. You could feel it, it was clear on the mat. But as a coach, I believe this loss will serve as a driving force for Sidakov's future wins. It’s a significant psychological moment. Honestly, it’s better to experience this now than at the World Championships or the Olympics. I think once he recovers from his injury, we’ll get back to training and keep moving forward.

- On former world champion Baev winning gold

Gatsalov: Since 2019, he hadn’t shown any results on an international level. But today, he was better than anyone. He’s been working towards this moment for a long time, training hard, and he showed solid, confident wrestling. He wrestled like a true master — precise, and without mistakes. We were genuinely very happy for him.

- On the 65kg champion Ibragim IBRAGIMOV

Gatsalov: Ibragimov demonstrated a strong performance, despite losing at the Ranking Series in Albania less than a month ago. Today, he came in well-prepared. He was in good form physically, technically, and mentally. That previous loss likely became a stepping stone toward this victory.

Khadzhimurat GATSAKOVKhadzhimurat GATSALOV at the European Championships in Bratislava. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

- On preparations for World Championships

Gatsalov: We have a clear understanding of how we’re going to prepare. I can’t reveal all the secrets of our training plan, but we know exactly who we’re preparing for. That’s why we’ll be focusing on targeted, individual work against specific opponents. Our coaching staff is strong. We have real professionals on board, including experienced coaches from the old Soviet school and younger ones who are stepping up and bringing fresh energy.

I think our wrestlers are also friendly with each other, which is very important. The atmosphere in the team is productive. We are waiting for the World Championships. We want competition on the mat with big countries like Iran, America. The Japanese have also improved a lot. Therefore, we want to compete with the strong ones, and we want to settle things on the mat.

(The interview was conducted by Karina MIRZOIAN)