Russia Caps off World Olympic Qualifiers with Three Gold

Saturday, May 8, 2021 - 17:07 By Vinay Siwach

With Olympic quotas safely secured, the three Russian wrestlers at the World Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria were ready to clinch the three gold medals as well.

While Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) pulled off a controlled 6-0 win over 20-year-old Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU) in the 53kg final, her teammates Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS) at 57kg and Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS) at 62kg claimed the top medal as their opponents injury defaulted.

There was little action in the other finals as well as Seema BISLA (IND) won gold at 50kg after Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) decided to not compete after an injury.

At 68kg, local girl Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) was crowned the champion after Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) to skip the final due to the same reason.

Alla BELINSKA (UKR) was also the beneficiary of a similar situation as Yasemin ADAR (TUR) pulled out of the 76kg due to injury.

“I need to forget my past wins and start over the next day and that is why I wrestle for the gold medal,” Khoroshavtseva said after beating Ana 6-0 in the finals.

“I can't keep thinking about the previous day because I want to wrestle every new opponent.”

Her teammate Ovcharova was also of a similar opinion despite not getting any wrestling in the final.

“I want to spar against different opponents,” she said. “Every day is a new start for me.”

On Friday, they failed to achieve their dream of winning the ticket to Olympic Games in Tokyo but the wrestlers for bronze medal bouts showed up on mat with intention in all six weight categories.

Canada wrestling head coach Tonya VERBEEK explained the desire to compete for a non-consequential bout.

“For my team, I always say that finish the tournament,” she said. “Of course you don't have to wrestle if you have a strain.”

Samantha STEWART (CAN) stepped up on the mat with a similar motivation as she rolled to a 10-0 win over Laura Gabriela PEREDO TORRES (MEX) to capture the bronze medal at 53kg. Iulia LEORDA (MDA) beat Betzabeth ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN) 10-5 in the other bout.

Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), who lost in the semifinal at 68kg, was trailing 0-6 when she had Buse TOSUN (TUR) to her back to get a pin and the bronze medal.

“It's difficult to motivate myself after Friday but I have this personality where I don't like to give up,” she said.

“I always have these crazy matches because I don't want to give up and that is why I wrestled for a bronze medal as well.”

At 62kg, Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER) won the first bronze by beating Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU) 2-0 while Nathali josefina GRIMAN HERRERA (VEN) defeated Veranika IVANOVA (BLR) to win the other medal.

Explaining her motivation to wrestle for the bronze medal despite failing to qualify for the Olympics, Niemesch said, “the tournament is not over until the last day. To motivate and to win is part of the sport and we have to do it. To go home with a medal is better than going empty handed.”

Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) recovered from her stunning loss to Chumikova on Friday to win the bronze medal a day later with a 12-7 win over Emese BARKA (HUN). The other medal at 57kg went to Giullia OLIVEIRA (BRA) as she won 4-0 against Laura MERTENS (GER).

The big surprise of the round came in the bronze medal bout at 76kg as junior and U23 World champion Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) hung on for a 2-2 win over Martina KUENZ (AUT). In the second bronze medal bout, Catalina AXENTE (ROU) pulled off a 4-1 win over Maria Jose ACOSTA ACOSTA (VEN).

“This is everything for every wrestler. This is it,” Axente said pointing to her bronze medal.

WW Medal Results

50kg
GOLD- Seema SEEMA (IND) df. Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU), inj. def.
BRONZE- Patricia Alejandra BERMUDEZ (ARG) df. Mia Lahnee Ramos AQUINO (GUM), 10-0
BRONZE- Anna LUKASIAK (POL) df. Anastasiya YANOTAVA (BLR), 5-2

53kg
GOLD- Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) df. Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU), 6-0
BRONZE- Iulia LEORDA (MDA) df. Betzabeth angelica ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN), 10-5
BRONZE- Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Laura Gabriela PEREDO TORRES (MEX), 10-0

57kg
GOLD- Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS) df. Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA), inj. def.
BRONZE- Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) df. Emese BARKA (HUN), 12-7
BRONZE- Giullia OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Laura MERTENS (GER), 4-0

62kg
GOLD- Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS) df. Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL), inj. def.
BRONZE- Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER) df. Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU), 2-0
BRONZE- Nathali josefina GRIMAN HERRERA (VEN) df. Veranika IVANOVA (BLR), 6-4

68kg
GOLD- Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) df. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), inj. def.
BRONZE- Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) df. Buse TOSUN (TUR), 4-6 via fall
BRONZE- Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) df. Agoro PAPAVASILEIOU (GRE), 10-0

76kg
GOLD- Alla BELINSKA (UKR) df. Yasemin ADAR (TUR), inj. def.
BRONZE- Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Maria Jose ACOSTA ACOSTA (VEN), 4-1
BRONZE- Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-2

#WomensWrestling

After tears, Yanan Sun wants to come back with a smile

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 - 06:09 By

-- by Xinhua sportswriters Wang Chujie, Huang Haoran

NANCHANG, South China (April 26) -- Tears streamed down Yanan SUN's (CHN) face as she knelt in the center of the mat. It was August 7, 2021, and the women's freestyle wrestling 50kg final at the Tokyo Olympics had just ended. In less than two minutes, Sun had lost the match due to a small mistake that cost her dearly.

When asked by reporters if she would continue to train for the next Olympics after the match, she couldn't give a definitive answer. At the time, she faced many challenges, including injuries, age, and younger competitors vying for her spot.

In early spring 2023, Sun returned to China's national women's wrestling team after nearly a year of recovery from knee surgery.

"When I make up my mind, all the difficulties or challenges seem to be no problem."

The Rio Olympic bronze medalist and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist has embarked on her journey to prepare for the Olympics once again.

To better prepare for the upcoming Asian Championships, the Chinese team relocated in mid-March to train in Nanchang, where the national youth team also trained at the same time.

Perhaps seeing the youthful faces, Sun thought of her own inexperienced self. She, who hasn't updated her personal social media for a long time, posted a photo of herself participating in the Asian Youth Wrestling Championships in 2010 with the caption, "Enjoying time with passion makes time more meaningful."

"This is the first international competition I participated in," Sun said. "Seeing this photo and recalling the scene from back then, although it has been 13 years, the passion in my heart for wrestling has never changed."

She shared this photo to encourage herself to leave behind everything from before and start anew.

Yanan SUN (CHN) is a bronze medalist from the Rio Olympics as well. (Photo: (Xinhua)

Last May, Sun underwent surgery for a bilateral anterior cruciate ligament and has been absent from various international competitions for nearly a year before her return to the national team.

She, however, is only able to undergo physical rehabilitation training. It will take some time before she can resume normal mat-specific technique training and return to matches.

"Rehabilitation training is quite painful," Sun said. "It's about repeatedly stimulating it [the knee], and the mat-specific technique training is not systematic, which can cause some anxiety."

She admitted that she is facing significant challenges but said optimistically that, once she makes up her mind, she will stick to it.

"Yanan is now fully committed to rehabilitation, and it's an exciting challenge to help her recover as soon as possible," said Frenchman Guillaume Defois, fitness coach of the Chinese national wrestling team. "I am in full confidence in her own capacity."

The support of her family also fuels Sun's perseverance.

During the days of being away from the wrestling arena, Sun had her wedding, and her husband Ridong ZHANG is also an accomplished Chinese wrestler.

Most of the wife and husband's conversations revolve around wrestling, and they both understand the meaning of persistence for a dream.

"He is a Greco-Roman wrestler, and I am a freestyle wrestler," she said. "Our events have similarities and differences. We often have intense discussions analyzing opponents or during training breaks.

"My husband is very supportive of me. I also want to seize the opportunity to continue pursuing my dreams. Although it is my own goal, it cannot be achieved without the support of my family and the team."

Yanan SUN (CHN) Yanan SUND (CHN) and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) compete during the 50kg final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Photo: Xinhua / Xu Zijian)

When asked about her international rivals, Sun said that wrestling is a traditional strength of Japan and Japanese wrestlers often start at a younger age which helps them better understand the sport.

"We also have our own advantages in overall physical fitness and absolute strength, and we must have confidence in ourselves," Sun added.

In 2024, the 31-year-old Sun will strive to step onto the Olympic stage for the third time.

"When I debuted at Olympic Games at Rio 2016, I was a bit naive and forgot to celebrate after I won the bronze medal," she said. "And in Tokyo, though I improved to win a silver, I couldn't help shedding tears of disappointment.

"If I have the chance to continue chasing my dreams in Paris, I hope to leave the Olympic stage with a smile on my face," Sun said.

(Note: This article was orginally published by Xinhua News Agency. It can be read here)

Russia Caps off World Olympic Qualifiers with Three Gold

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After tears, Yanan Sun wants to come back with a smile