#WrestleDortmund

Record-Breaking Ukraine Wins WW Team Title at #WrestleDortmund

By Vinay Siwach

DORTMUND, Germany (July 2) --- If three gold, a silver and a bronze were not enough on Thursday, Ukraine women went a notch better and captured four gold and a silver medal on the final day of women's wrestling in Dortmund.

In a dominant show on the mat, five Ukraine wrestlers were competing for the gold medal at the junior European Championships on Friday and all but one failed to win the top medal, giving the country the team title ahead of Russia.

This is the second time that each wrestler from the Ukraine women's team has won a medal at the junior Euros, a feat they had achieved in 2008 in Kosice, Slovakia.

The night in Dortmund could not have begun better as Natalya KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) won the gold medal with a fall against Venera NAFIKOVA (RUS) at 4:06 in the 53kg final. Two quick takedowns in the first period made it 4-0 for the Ukrainian before she used a double leg and pinned Nafikova to the mat.

Throughout the tournament, both Klivchutska and Nafikova were the best wrestlers at 53kg with the latter winning all her bouts via fall or techical superiority while the Russian showed some exceptional defence in crunch situations to pull off close wins.

The 57kg final was even quicker as Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) gave no chance to Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL) and claimed the gold medal in a minute and 45 seconds with a 10-0 score.

In the first 30 seconds, Vynnyk, a silver medalist at senior Euros, got a takedown and gut to lead 4-0. Then she performed a quick go behind to lead 8-0. Her unmatched speed gave her another take down and a lace made it 10-0. The Ukrainian outscored her opponents 30-2 in four bouts.

Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) df Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) defeated Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) 12-2 in the 62kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In another Ukraine-Russia final, this time it Russia which came out on top. At 62kg, Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) gave a counter-attacking masterclass to beat Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) 12-2.

Both exchanged takedowns early with Zelenykh, a U23 Euro silver medalist in May, leading 2-0 but Kasabieva hit back with a takedown and a leg-turk to make it 4-2, the score at the break. Zelenykh continued to hit blank attacks which gave the Russian many openings for takedowns and she completed them with ease.

In the end Kasabieva, a bronze medalist at cadet Worlds, easily secured a technical superiority win against her more accomplished wrestler. This denied Ukraine a chance to have a perfect day.

In one of the bronze medal bouts at 62kg, Iva GERIC (CRO) created history by defeating Nadzeya BULANAYA (BLR) 1-1. The win made her the first Croatian to win a medal in women's wrestling at junior Euros.

Iva GERIC (CRO)Iva GERIC (CRO) is the first Croatian to win a medal in women's wrestling at junior Euros. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Incidentally, she was the first-ever woman wrestler from Croatia to win a medal at European Championships at any age-group. She achieved the feat in 2019 when she won a bronze medal at the cadet level in Faenza, Italy.

Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) survived a scare at 65kg as Noemi SZABADOS (HUN) mounted a comeback from 0-8 down to make it 7-8 in the final but time ran out before she could script an stunning win.

It was a shock surrender from Skobelska as she led 8-0 at the break and gave up all seven points in the second period. She began with a takedown and caught the Hungarian in a leg lace to lead 6-0. She added two more points with another takedown.

But Szabados' efforts in the second period were not enough as she failed to get one more point for the win. But this was an improvement for her as she won her first silver medal at European Championships after winning two bronze before.

Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) df. Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) won the gold medal at 65kg in Dortmund. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The final gold medal bout was between Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) and Individual World Cup bronze medalist Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK) but it turned out to be anti-climatic.

The Ukrainian began with an ankle pick to lead 2-0 and added a double leg takedown to make it 4-0. At the break, she was leading 6-0 against the former cadet European champion.

The second half began with a powerful double leg and Alpyeyeva exposed the Slovak to a pin. With both shoulders firmly on the mat, the referee called it a fall, giving the Ukrainian the gold in just 3:55.

RESULTS WW

53kg
GOLD: Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) df Venera NAFIKOVA (RUS), via fall

BRONZE: Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) df Emine CAKMAK (TUR), 13-3
BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df Nikolett NAGY (HUN), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) df Patrycja STRZELCZYK (POL), 10-0

BRONZE: Anastasia KOZLOVA (RUS) df Alesia HETMANAVA (BLR), 4-2
BRONZE: Anna MICHALCOVA (CZE) df Jannicke STROEMNES (NOR), 4-2

62kg
GOLD: Alina KASABIEVA (RUS) df Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR), 12-2

BRONZE: Iva GERIC (CRO) df Nadzeya BULANAYA (BLR), 1-1
BRONZE: Viktoria OEVERBY (NOR) df Chiara HIRT (GER), 4-3

65kg
GOLD: Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) df Noemi SZABADOS (HUN), 8-7

BRONZE: Alina MAKSIMAVA (BLR) df Amina CAPEZAN (ROU), 4-2
BRONZE: Viktoria VESSO (EST) df Luisa SCHEEL (GER), via fall

72kg
GOLD: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK), via fall

BRONZE: Nazar BATIR (TUR) df Jennifer ROESLER (GER), 10-3
BRONZE: Mariam GUSEINOVA (RUS) df Urszula PIOTROWSKA (POL), via fall

#WrestleAmman

U17 Worlds: Iran, Ukraine, Kazakhstan earn two spots in finals

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 19) -- Three different countries managed to send two wrestlers to the finals on the first day of the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan. The four other finalists were from Uzbekistan, the United States, Hungary and an Individual Neutral Athlete.

Iran, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were the only countries with multiple finalists on day one of the tournament, the first World Championships of 2024.

Iran was led by Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg as he rolled into finals without conceding a single point in three bouts. With two technical superiorities before the semifinals, Shamsipour added another when he defeated Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ) 10-0.

U17 Asian champion Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) will look to stop the Iranian in the final as he also has three technical superiority wins. He beat Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0, in the semifinal to set up a final between two of the best wrestlers on day one.

The second Iran wrestler to reach the final was Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg. While his semifinal 1-1 win over Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) was actionless, Saeidi defeated Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB) 9-1 in the quarterfinals. He thus avenged his loss from the U17 Asian Championships final at the same venue.

Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) defeated Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

He will take on U17 European champion Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) for the gold medal. Pokotylo was at his best in the quarterfinals and semifinals, beating Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) 3-1 and Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1, respectively.

For Ukraine, Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) will also look to win the gold medal after he reached the 110kg final. The U17 European champion posted three technical superiority wins with the third coming against Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) in the semifinals.

Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), a surprise finalist, will try to stop Yankovskyi from winning the gold medal on Tuesday. In the semifinals, Czako was up against last year's silver medalist RONAK (IND) who tried an arm-spin but Czako blocked it and held Ronak on the mat to secure a fall in 17 seconds.

Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) reached the 55kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Kazakhstan managed two finalists in Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) at 55kg and Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) at 80kg. This is the first time since 2019 U17 World Championships that Kazakhstan has a finalist in Greco-Roman.

Bolatuly, who finished 12th last year, put on a show in the semifinal against Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), winning the bout 13-8. His earlier wins included a 10-1 win over Amirali HEYDARI (IRI) in the quarterfinals and an 8-0 win over Yuki HIROHASHI (JPN) in the 1/8 finals.

For the gold, Bolatuly will face Jayden RANEY (USA) who pulled a classic in the semifinal. Down 6-0 against Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), Raney stopped the attack from Zhytovoz and pinned him just before the break. That was Raney's fourth win of the day.

Raney will look to become the fourth Greco-Roman wrestler from the United States to win gold since the tournament restarted in 2011. Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA) won in 2017, Joel ADAMS (USA) won the title in 2022 and Jordyn RANEY (USA) won gold last year. 

U17 Asian silver medalist Anapiya was tested in the semifinal by Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE) but the Kazakh wrestler came out on top 8-6 to enter the final. He will now face returning silver medalist and U17 European champion Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN).

Shkarin handed Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) a 9-0 thrashing in the semifinal to set up the gold medal bout against Anapiya. Emad is one of the four Mohsen Nejad brothers. Mehdi is a multiple-time Asian medalist and finished fifth at the Paris Olympics while Ahmad won the U20 World Championships gold last year. Yasin is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

Greco-Roman Semifinal Results

48kg
GOLD: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) vs. Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 8-0
SF 2: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) vs. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), via fall (3-6)
SF 2: Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) df. Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM), 13-8

65kg
GOLD: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) vs. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR)

SF 1: Amir Mahdi SAEIDI (IRI) df. Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM), 1-1 
SF 2: Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 4-1

80kg
GOLD: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) vs. Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)

SF 1: Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 8-6
SF 2: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI), 9-0

110kg
GOLD: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) vs. Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) df. RONAK (IND), via fall
SF 2: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI), 8-0