#BudaWrestle2018

Russia Goes 3-for-3 in Quarterfinals, Aleksanyan Rallies to Reach Semifinals

Saturday, October 27, 2018 - 13:35 By Andrew Hipps

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (October 27) -- Russia went 3-for-3 in the Greco-Roman quarterfinals on Saturday, advancing Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (77kg), Musa EVLOEV (97kg) and Sergey SEMENOV (130kg) to the semifinals at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 

After winning his first match, the 32-year-old Chekhirkin faced a tough round to the semifinals at 77kg. In his second match he battled returning world champion Viktor NEMES (SRB) and prevailed 2-1. He then blanked two-time world bronze medalist Elvin MURSALIYEV (AZE) 3-0 in the quarterfinals at 77kg. 

Evloev, a returning world silver medalist, picked up victories over Kyrgyzstan and Iran to reach the 97kg quarterfinals against Luillys PEREZ MORA (VEN). The Russian captilized on a first-period passivity and locked up a throw for two points to give him a 3-0 lead. The score would remain that way the rest of the match, giving Evloev a spot in the semifinals.

The Olympic bronze medalist Semenov threw Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) in his quarterfinal match to earn a second-period fall. 

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) remains on track in his quest for his fourth world title to go along with an Olympic gold in 2016, but it didn't come without a scare. After opening with a 5-1 win over Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), Aleksanyan faced Felix BALDAUF (NOR) in his next match. 

Baldauf dominated Aleksanyan in the early part of the match and took a 6-0 lead into the break. But the Armenian star came back late, using a pinch headlock to score four points and cut the deficit to 6-4. He then scored with three consecutive gut wrenches to build a four-point lead and grab a 10-6 win. In the quarterfinals, Aleksanyan trailed Revazi NADAREISHVILI (GEO) 1-0 at the break but came back to win 4-3. 

Aleksanyan will face Evloev in the semifinals at 97kg. The other semifinal at 97kg will pit Kiril MILOV (BUL) against Mihail KAJALA (SRB).

Milov was impressive in the quarterfinals, using two throws in the first minute to roll to a 9-0 technical fall over Laokratis KESIDIS (GRE). Milov first threw Kesidis for five points before using a headlock to close out the technical fall. Kajala controlled Ondrej DADAK (CZE) 5-1 in the quarterfinals.

At 130kg, two-time world champion Heiki NABI (EST) made a strong run to the semifinals, beating three-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) 2-1 in his first match before punching his ticket to the semifinals with a 2-1 win over Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal match against Semenov. 

Adam COON (USA), a past junior world bronze medalist, advanced to the semifinals at 130kg with three falls. In the quarterfinals, Coon came back to earn a fall over Eduard POPP (GER). Popp led 3-1 late in the opening period before Coon used a body lock to throw Popp to his back for a fall. The American now meet Minseok KIM (KOR) in the semifinals. Kim scored a takedown with a little over a minute left in the match help him edge Alin CIURARIU (ROU) 3-2.

At 77kg, 2012 Olympic champion Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) used a four-point body lock on his way to an 8-0 technical fall over returning world bronze medalist Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) in the quarterfinals. His opponent in the semifinals will be Tamas LORINCZ (HUN), a 2012 Olympic silver medalist and two-time world bronze medalist. The Hungarian blanked Bilan NALGIEV (UZB) 3-0 in the quarterfinals, scoring all three of his points off passivity.

Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) edged Igor BESLEAGA (MDA) 4-4 on criteria in a quarterfinal match at 77kg. Kessidis trailed 1-0 at the break but came out with a four-point throw early in the second period to take a 4-1 lead. The Moldovan mounted a late comeback but Kessidis held on for the win.

Semifinal Matchups

Greco-Roman

77kg
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) vs. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) 
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) vs. Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN (RUS) 

97kg
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL) vs. Mihail KAJALA (SRB)
Musa EVLOEV (RUS) vs. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)

130kg
Heiki NABI (EST) vs. Sergey SEMENOV (RUS)
Adam COON (USA) vs. Minseok KIM (KOR)
 

#WrestleTirana

Elor wins eighth world title, sets sights on Paris Olympics

Friday, October 27, 2023 - 21:38 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 27) -- If you were logging in to watch Amit ELOR (USA) compete in the 72kg final of the U23 World Championships, most likely you missed the final. That's because she was lightning fast in winning the bout in mere 21 seconds.

And if you think that was quick, Elor finished her first bout in 16 seconds and the second in 18 seconds. Only her semifinal against Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) was for six minutes. Out of the 24 minutes for four bouts, Elor spent only six minutes and 55 seconds on the mat to win the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania on Friday.

ALSO READ: Despite nine wrestlers, Japan wins team title

At the age of 19, Amit Elor now holds an impressive record of eight world titles across different age groups, including two senior, two U23, three U20, and one U17 world gold.

While her remarkable stats speak about her dominance on the mat, Elor herself has kept no record of her international wins or scores.

"Maybe I should go over," she says. "We used to do it in high school. And ever since I got into international wrestling, I haven't thought about it as much. But it would be really cool to look back and see how many matches they've had and how many wins and losses. I remember the competitions, but not always every single match unless it was really meaningful."

Amit ELOR (USA)Amit ELOR (USA) used the lace to win her 72kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

For most, the final would mean a lot but for Elor, the semifinal at the U23 World Championships against Choluj was the stand-out match. Choluj managed to stop Elor from scoring a fall or win via technical superiority and lost only 5-0.

"Probably my semi-final had a strong opponent and our styles matched up against each other," she says. "It was kind of similar styles which made it difficult. A lot of hand-fighting. I had some injuries from senior Worlds that made it difficult to hand fight. But I stayed composed and in good position and I was able to win."

The final against Jyoti BERWAL (UWW) was unbelievably one-sided as by the time Berwal could try any move on Elor, the American had laced her for a 10-0 victory.

With that, Elor extended her international career record to 38-1, the one loss coming at the U17 World Championships in 2019. "I'll get it next year," a 16-year-old Elor would say back then. She won the gold at the next U17 Worlds without conceding a point.

"It's not easy," Elor says. "There's so much work involved that leads up to the competition. There's a lot of pressure and I want to do my best and I have high expectations for myself. When you go out there and you wrestle it seems so short and easy but that's just the result of all the work leading up to the competition."

In the lead-up to the U23 Worlds, Elor trained with six-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA), trained at her home in California and also used her experience at the U20 and senior worlds which she called the 'perfect preparation.'

"Training with Adeline has been amazing for me," she says. "I am constantly learning so much from her. Not just about wrestling but about being an athlete and taking care of yourself. She is a very confident, strong person and so I've kind of learned how to think more for myself and what I need as an athlete.

"The two World Championships were perfect preparation for this."

It was the same script last year in which Elor won three world titles, becoming the first from the U.S. to win all the world titles. She just repeated the three-peat.

 

But the season is not over for her. Elor will soon be challenging herself to make the Olympic weight of 68kg (72kg is not an Olympic weight) in her bid to be at Paris 2024. 

"The most important thing for me is that I feel my best when I'm wrestling," she says. "Right now my plan is to drop my weight to 68kg and see how I feel there. That's going to be a big challenge, a different weight."

Elor says she has not reduced weight for a competition. Though she spent her early days in international wrestling at 68kg, that was at the U17 level.

"I was 68kg in 2021, so it's nothing new but it's still been two years," she says. "It's going to be challenging but I'm really excited and I'm ready to do everything I possibly can because it's the Olympic year."

Being at the Olympics will make Elor the second wrestler in the world to win all world titles and also compete at the Games. A gold in Paris will put her next to Yui SUSAKI (JPN), the only wrestler to have won all world titles and the Olympic gold. 

But just to be in Paris, Elor will have a marathon stretch. In the U.S., she will have to first wrestle at the team trials to be at the Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers in March. If the country qualifies the weight for Paris, Elor will have to go through the Olympic Team Trials in April.

"Unfortunately, 68kg wasn't qualified yet for the Olympics," she says. "There's going to be a wrestle-off in February and whoever wins will go to Pan Ams and try to qualify the weight there. I would really need to work more on my speed and coordination and definitely add more to my arsenal. I'll wrestle in the wrestle-off at 68 and see how I do."