Ranking Series

Rome, Warsaw Tapped to Host 2020 Ranking Series Events

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (October 10) – United World Wrestling has announced Rome and Warsaw as hosts of the 2020 Ranking Series. Both events will include all three wrestling styles: freestyle, women’s wrestling, and Greco-Roman and will influence seeding for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Rome will host its competition January 15-18, while Warsaw will welcome wrestlers June 4-7 – one month after the final Olympic qualification tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“We are pleased to announce our host cities for the 2020 Ranking Series,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “There was outstanding participation at the 2019 events, which helped create excitement around our wrestlers and the World Championships in Nur-Sultan. We thank the local organizing committees in Rome and Warsaw for hosting these events.”

The 2020 Ranking Series will influence the top four seeds at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which will mark the first-time wrestling has used the Ranking Series to seed at the Olympics. With weight classes limited to 16 entries per weight, 25-percent of each category will be seeded, ensuring fans will enjoy several premier matchups in the semifinals and finals.

Ranking Series points are collected from finishes from the World Championships, Continental Championships, and Ranking Series events. Current rankings are posted on the United World Wrestling homepage and are updated after each relevant tournament.

The remaining Olympic qualification tournaments will also utilize seeding for the top two positions, drawing from the 2019 World Championships, first Ranking Series event, and the Continental championships.

Currently all NOC’s who earned Olympic qualification at the 2019 World Championships have confirmed their nation’s participation at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Wrestling at Tokyo 2020 will run from August 2-8 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba.

#WrestleSofia

Live Blog: U20 World Championships, Day 6

By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 20) -- The U20 World Championships are at the business end of the tournament. The final qualification rounds will be held Saturday. The Greco-Roman weight classes in action are 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The semifinals for the evening session are set

60kg
Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) vs. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
SUMIT (IND) vs. Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM)

67kg
Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) vs. Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) vs. Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE)

72kg
Amir ABDI (IRI) vs. Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA)
Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) vs. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

82kg​​​​​​​
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) vs. Alperen BERBER (TUR)
Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR) vs. Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)

97kg​​​​​​​
Iussuf MATSIYEV (KAZ) vs. Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
​​​​​​​Richard KARELSON (EST) vs. Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI) 

14:20: Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) began his quarterfinal with a takedown against Robert PEREZ (USA) and that proved crucial as he won the bout 3-3 at 67kg

14:05: The quarterfinals at 67kg

Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) vs. Robert PEREZ (USA)
Nestori MANNILA (FIN) vs. Nika BROLADZE (GEO)
Yanis NIFRI (FRA) vs. Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) vs. Ilyosjon ABDINAZAROV (UZB) 

13:55: Alperen BERBER (TUR) over Mihai GUTU (MDA) at 82kg! Berber allows Gutu to take the passivity but then scores four points including a takedown to win 4-1. 

13:30: At 82kg, Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) moves into the quarterfinals after beating Shan LIN (TPE), 9-0. He will face  Fares GHALY (EGY) next.

13:05: Returning silver medalist at 67kg Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) beats Abdelrahman OMAR (EGY) 9-0 as he tries for the second straight final at U20 Worlds.

12:40: U20 European champion Richard KARELSON (EST) beats Harutyun KIRAKOSYAN (ARM) 2-0 at 97kg. He is trying to become Estonia's first-ever U20 World Championships medal

12:20: U17 world champion Alperen BERBER (TUR) makes a big comeback after being down against  Ruben GEVORGYAN (ARM). He wins 13-10 at 82kg.

12:05: Marek VRBA (CZE) cannot believe what just happened in the bout against James HOLDER (RSA). The scoreline read 8-0 in Holder's favor after two big throws. But the Czech Republic challenged the final call for a reversal. It was confirmed in the review. Vrba then scored an 18-10 win.

11:52: Din KOSHKAR (KAZ) comes back from a 4-0 deficit to secure an 8-4 win over returning bronze medalist Ankit GULIA (IND). He used a headlock to score a four and held Gulia in danger for 2 minutes 

11:45: At 67kg, Kanan ABDULLAZADE (AZE) with a huge 8-3 win over Alexei HAHLOVSCHI (MDA) in the opening round

11:32: Amir ABDI (IRI) was in some trouble Eito NISHIDA (JPN) scored a takedown but Abdi hangs on for a 4-2 win at 72kg. At the same weight, Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) beats Elsi MARTINEZ (MEX) 9-0

Deepak PUNIA (IND) led 3-0 but Georgios BARBANOS (SWE) hits a four to win 4-4 on criteria.

11:25: The 72kg qualifications will be the first to go on the mat. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO) begins his day with a 10-1 win over Omer DOGAN (TUR)

11:00: Welcome to day six of the U20 World Championships in Sofia. The Greco-Roman wrestlers are ready to get the day going with the qualification bouts.