#WrestleTallinn

Punia Wins India’s First Junior Gold in 18 Years; Russia Reels in Freestyle Team Title

Wednesday, August 14, 2019 - 19:06 By Eric Olanowski

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TALLINN, Estonia (August 14) – India’s Deepak PUNIA won his nation’s first junior world title in 18 years, while Russia reeled in the freestyle team title 48 points ahead of second-place United States. 

In the 86kg finals, Punia traded takedowns with his Russian opponent Alik SHEBZUKHOV, but it was the Indian wrestlers low-level attack to a takedown in the second period that assisted India in winning their first junior world title since Ramesh KUMAR and Palwinder CHEEMA’s title-winning efforts at 69kg and 130kg, respectively at the 2001 Tashkent Junior World Championships. “It feels very good to win India’s first junior world title in 18 years,” said Punia. His win on Wednesday night is an improvement on his silver-medal finish from last year’s Junior World Championships. 

Punia, who is ranked fifth in the world at 86kg on the senior circuit, is expected to represent India at September’s Nur-Sultan World Championships. “Next up is the big (senior) World Championships where I hope to become world champion again,” said Punia. 

Alan BAGAEV’s (RUS) defeated Lucas DAVISON (USA) 5-4 -- handing Russia their second freestyle gold medalist of the 2019 Junior World Championships. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, the Russian Federation closed out the freestyle team race on the back of Alan BAGAEV’s (RUS) run to a junior world title at 92kg. Though Russia ended with eight freestyle medals, Bagaev joined Amkhad TASHUKHADZHIEV as Russia’s only gold-medal winners. Tashukhadzhiev won the 79kg title yesterday with a 7-1 win over Bagrati GAGNIDZE (GEO). 

In his finals match, Bagaev edged Lucas DAVISON (USA), 5-4 after he scored the go-ahead takedown with 12 seconds left in the second period. Prior to picking up the match-deciding takedown, Bagaev gave up three step-outs and an inactivity point and fell behind 4-3. His clutch takedown with under 15 seconds left put an exclamation point on the team title for the Russian Federation, who finished 48 points ahead of the second-place United States and 49 points ahead of third-place Iran. 

David CARR (USA) survived a 4-4 battle against Jintaro MOTOYAMA (JPN) to win the 74kg gold medal. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

United States Storms to Second-Place Finish 
The United States stormed to a second-place finish after medaling in all five weights – extenuated by David CARR (USA) and Mason PARRIS’ (USA) gold-medal runs at 74kg and 125kg, respectively. 

David Carr snuck past Jintaro MOTOYAMA (JPN), 4-4 and became the 74kg junior world champion. After the match, when Carr was asked about becoming a world champion, he said, “I’ve been telling myself all summer. I’ve dreamed about; I write it down in my goals every day.” 

Carr scored a low-level attack in the first period, then bulldozed his Japanese opponent over in the second period -- gaining the criteria advantage after he surrendered a takedown and two one-point step-outs.

Mason PARRIS’ (USA) stuck reigning cadet world champion Amir ZARE (IRI) in 80 seconds in the 125kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan) 

Mason Parris was the second American to win a world title on Wednesday. Parris only needed 80 seconds to get to his fireman’s carry and pick up the fall against the reigning cadet world champion Amir ZARE (IRI). “I hit my fireman’s carry that I’ve been hitting since I was five years old and I got him with it. It was awesome,” said Parris while draping the American flag over his shoulders. 

The United States also had an additional trio of medalists on Day 3. Lucas John Davison (92kg) fell in the finals, while Gabriel TAGG (61kg) and Trent HIDLAY (86kg) each won bronze medals – which helped the United State get past third place Iran by one point. 

Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) scored 12 unanswered points in the second period of the 61kg to defeat Andrii DZHELEP (UKR), 13-2. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Japan’s Yamaguchi Joins Abe as Junior World Champion 
Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) trailed by one point after the opening period of the 61kg finals, but scored 12 unanswered second-period points against Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) and joined teammate Toshiya ABE (JPN) in the junior world winners circle.

Yamaguchi scored an inactivity point with one minute left in the first period, but quickly surrendered a takedown and trailed 2-1. Before the first period ended, Yamaguchi ducked behind Dzhelep but couldn’t get his Ukrainian opponents' knee down and headed into the final period down by one point. 

Whatever the message was from the Japanese corner during the break clearly hit home with Yamaguchi as he flipped on his offensive switch and scored 12 straight points to close out the match.

His first lead of the second period came when he strung together a high crotch and a leg to regain the lead, 5-2. Soon after, Yamaguchi ended the match when he transitioned from a single leg to a trio of leg laces to win his first international medal -- which just happened to be a world gold. 

Wrestling resumes on Thursday at 10:30 (local time) and will be broadcasted live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

RESULTS 

Final Freestyle Team Scores 
GOLD - Russia  (168 points)
SILVER - United States (120 points)
BRONZE - Iran (119 points)
Fourth - Japan (84 points)
Fifth - India (80 points)

61kg
GOLD - Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. Andrii DZHELEP (UKR), 13-2 
BRONZE - Gabriel Robert TAGG (USA) df. Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO), 15-4 
BRONZE - Alik KHADARTSEV (RUS) df. Asgar MAMMADALIYEV (AZE), 6-0 

74kg
GOLD - David CARR (USA) df. Jintaro MOTOYAMA (JPN), 4-4 
BRONZE - Abdulvasi BALTA (TUR) df. Bat-Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL), via fall 
BRONZE - Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Devid BETANOV (RUS), 7-0

86kg 
GOLD - Deepak PUNIA (IND) df. Alik SHEBZUKHOV (RUS), 2-2 
BRONZE - Trent Niemond HIDLAY (USA) df.  Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT), 9-0
BRONZE - Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN) vs. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 4-2 

92kg
GOLD - Alan BAGAEV (RUS) df. Lucas DAVISON (USA), 5-4 
BRONZE - Ertugrul AGCA (GER) df. Ali ABDOLLAHI (IRI), 8-6
BRONZE - Viky VIKY (IND) df. Batmagnai ENKHTUVSHIN (MGL), 4-3 

125kg
GOLD - Mason PARRIS (USA) df. Amir ZARE (IRI)
BRONZE - Alen KHUBULOV (RUS) df. Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN (ARM), 14-3
BRONZE - Pasa Ekrem KARABULUT (TUR) df. Vasil KHVISTANI (GEO), 4-1 

#WrestlePontevedra

Begenjov wins Turkmenistan's historic world title in Freestyle

Saturday, September 7, 2024 - 23:12 By Vinay Siwach

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PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 7) -- After falling agonizingly short of a World Championship medal two years in a row, Alp BEGENJOV (TKM) made amends in the most impressive way possible -- winning Turkmenistan's first-ever world title in Freestyle.

Begenjov won the gold medal in 79kg weight class at the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain on Saturday, becoming the first Freestyle world champion of his country. It is only the second time Turkmenistan has won a gold medal at any World Championships. Shorat KHODAYEV (TKM) won a U17 world gold in 1994.

"It was my dream," Begenjov said. "I made my dream come true. I’ve become a world champion. It’s the first time in the history of my country [in Freestyle]."

Begenjov had competed at the U17 World Championships in 2022 and 2023, finishing 12th and fifth respectively. This year, he finished fifth at Asian Championships, 12th at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers and won bronze at the U23 Asian Championships. The loss at the Asian Championships hurt Begenjov.

"I was so disappointed after losing at the Asian Championships," he said. "I started training harder and last month I won the U20 Asian Championships and now the World Championships."

Not only did he win gold, Begenjov did so without conceding a point in the tournament. He outscored his opponents 46-0, including the 5-0 win over Jackary RYDER (USA) in the final.

He led 1-0 at the break after Ryder failed to score after being put on the activity clock. Begenjov used his fake attacks to keep Ryder on check and scored a stepout to extend his lead to 2-0.

Ryder did get on Begenjov's leg a couple of times but failed to finish those attacks. On one occasion, Ryder was trying to lift after a single-leg attack but Begejnov grabbed Ryder's leg and he fell on his back, giving up two points as Begenjov extended his lead to 4-0. A lost challenge made it 5-0.

The 18-year-old plans to compete at the U23 World Championships but doesn't plan to compete at the senior level yet.

"I have to train harder to repeat this and win the senior world title," he said. "I am physically not strong enough yet for senior level."

Trained by his uncle in Ashgabat, Begenov graduated from school earlier this year and joined the university.

"I will start my first year," he said. "I will study stock exchange. We have this faculty in Turkmenistan."

Apart from Ryder's silver medal, the United States won gold and three bronze medals. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) upgraded his silver from last year to gold, winning the 57kg weight class by beating Lev PAVLOV (AIN) in the final.

This was Lilledahl's fourth straight age-group world final after he made two at U17 level and one at U20. He won silver in 2021 and upgraded to gold in 2022 at the U17 Worlds.

In the final against Pavlov, who he had beaten on his way to the final last year in Amman, Lilledahl got two activity points while Pavlov got one. Pavlov failed to find a perfect opening to score a point in the final seconds and dropped the final 2-1.

"When I wrestled him before, it was a lot more wide open," Lilledahl said. "With it being the finals [this year], he would kind of just wrestle to win. That's what you have to do. You're here to win. 

"That's pretty much what I figured would happen. He doesn't really like to create a lot of action, which kind of plays against me because I like the action. It was a stylistic matchup. Having wrestled him before, we kind of knew each other and knew how each other felt and stuff like that."

Aitmukhan adds U20 title

World champion at 92kg Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) gave the U20 World Championships a try and went home with a gold medal. Aitmukhan became Kazakhstan's first Freestyle world champion at the senior level last year at 92kg in Belgrade.

By winning the 97kg gold medal in Pontevedra, Aitmukhan as became only the fourth wrestler from Kazakhstan, and first in 24 years, to win a gold in Freestyle at U20 World Championships.

Aitmukhan was so dominant in the final that Khetag KARSANOV (AZE) could not stop him from winning the final 10-0.

Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) completes a takedown in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Iran won the gold medal at 65kg as Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) shut out Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN), and won the final 10-2. Khorramdel lost his semifinal to Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN) last year but won a bronze medal in the 61kg weight class.

The U20 Asian champion had a difficult path to the final as he had to make a comeback in his opening bout against Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), winning 12-11. Aykhan ABDULLAZADA (AZE) also fought hard but lost 9-6 before Khorramdel hung on for a 6-4 win over Adam ARKHIEV (AIN) in the semifinals.

Hosokawa was displeased with his performance as Khorramdel blocked him from the right side and Hosokawa failed to score from his strong position. 

While Hosokawa lost, his Nippon Sports Science University teammate Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN) won the gold medal at 70kg. Two days before his bouts, Yamashita had announced in the dining hall that he could "only see the gold medal". Yamashita made sure he took it home.

In a high-paced final, Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) failed to challenge Yamashita's speed and style and lost 6-0 in the 70kg final.

"This was my first international world tournament," Yamashita said. "I played with the intention of having fun and had a lot of fun. This is my goal for this year, but after competing, I realized that the senior world championships or the Olympics would be even more amazing. "

It was not all fun for Baitukaev on the mat as Yamashita showed his A game. Yamashita got the first point via stepout and earned a second when the 30-second activity clock against Baitukaev ended. Yamashita blasted a double in the second period to get two points and turned using head-in-middle lace to lead 6-0. Baitukaev had no energy left to attack and Yamashita won the gold medal.

Yamashita celebrated by gesturing like he was taking out the imaginary Samurai swords. 

"I came up with it when I was thinking of doing a performance based on Japanese culture," he said. "It's a Japanese tradition since ancient times. I did it because I admired it."

Yamashita trains with Olympic champions Rei HIGUCHI (JPN and Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) at NSSU and wants to replicate the success his teammates had.

"I realized that what I was doing was correct," he said. "It was a great environment to have someone close to me that I was aiming for. I was really moved by watching the matches. I was inspired by that."

For him to be at the Olympics, Yamashita will have to wait at least four years and jump to 74kg to make the team for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"I'm still thinking about it, but I guess I can only be 74kg to qualify for the Olympics," he said "I would like to be at 74kg for Los Angeles."

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Lev PAVLOV (AIN), 2-1

BRONZE: Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) df. Myktybek UKIMETULY (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: ANKUSH (IND) df. Hayko GASPARYAN (ARM), 6-2

65kg
GOLD: Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI)  df. Makoto HOSOKAWA (JPN), 10-2

BRONZE: Bowen BASSETT (USA) df. Nikoloz BESHIDZE (GEO), 10-0
BRONZE: Adam ARKHIEV (AIN) df. Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Ryoya YAMASHITA (JPN) df. Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN), 6-0

BRONZE: Ali KARAMPOUR (IRI) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), via fall (9-0) 
BRONZE: Peter DUKE (USA) df. Aikyn BOLATULY (KAZ), 18-7

79kg
GOLD: Alp BEGENJOV (TKM) df. Zackary RYDER (USA), 5-0

BRONZE: Leandro ARAUJO (BRA) df. Said SAIDULOV (AIN), 5-4
BRONZE: Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) df. AMIT (IND), 13-2

97kg
GOLD: Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) df. Khetag KARSANOV (AZE), 10-0 

BRONZE: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE), 10-0
BRONZE: Adam JAKSIK (SVK) df. Rifat GIDAK (TUR), 2-1

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) vs. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)

SF 1: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Marcus BLAZE (USA), 7-2
SF 2: Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) vs. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA)

SF 1: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Shingo ANDO (JPN), 10-0
SF 2: Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 3-1

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Joshua BARR (USA)

SF 1: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI), 12-2
SF 2: Joshua BARR (USA) df. Ahmet YAGAN (TUR), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Sali SALIEV (BUL) vs. Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN)

SF 1: Sali SALIEV (BUL) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 5-4
SF 2: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), 5-0

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Benjamin KUETER (USA)

SF 1: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Benjamin KUETER (USA) df. Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL), 13-3