#WrestleFaenza

Russian Cadets Match Junior Squad, Sweep European Team Races

Sunday, June 23, 2019 - 22:51 By Eric Olanowski

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FAENZA, Italy (June 23) – The Cadet European Championships came to a close on Sunday night with five different nations claiming individual freestyle golds, but it was the Russian Federation who grabbed the team title to pick up their second straight continental sweep. Their junior team also won the freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling team tiles two weeks ago in Pontevedra, Spain. 

Overall, through the three cadet, junior and senior European Championships, Russia has accumulated eight out of nine team titles. They swept the cadet and junior European Championships, while also finishing with two of three team titles at the Senior European Championships. So far, Ukraine’s women’s wrestlers are the only ones to dethrone the Russians in a team race. 

In Faenza, Russia’s freestyle team capped off their run to a third team title of the week with nine medals and were ten points shy of hitting 200 points. They welcomed their 190 points from four champions, a silver medalist, and four bronze medals. 

They had a trio of Day 6 champions and grabbed their fourth freestyle gold medal of the competition when Abdulkerim ABDULAEV (RUS) demolished Davit KUTCHUASHVILI (GEO), 10-0 in the 72kg gold-medal bout to close out the tournament. 

In the finals, Abdulaev dug his toes in the mat and pushed Kutchuashvili out of bounds shortly after being awarded an inactivity point and collected the two-point advantage over the Georgian heading into the final two minutes of the match. 

In the second period, Abdulaev halted Kutchuashvili’s knee pull single off the whistle and picked up a counter-offensive spin behind. This extended his lead to 4-0. Abdulaev quickly jumped to a left-sided gut wrench then hopped over, locking up a trap arm gut wrench. The Russian ended the match with a pair of turns and won his first European title since winning gold at the 2017 U15 European Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. 

Azerbaijan finished in second place with a solo champion, a pair of runner-ups, and four bronze-medal finishers. Their lone gold medalist came on Sunday night when Sabir JAFAROV (AZE) defeated Genik ASATRYAN (ARM), 6-1 in the 60kg finals. 

Georgia ended their tournament with 140 points, which was good enough for third in the team race. Nikolozi SANTELADZE (GEO) reached the top of the podium on Sunday with a 12-5 win against Murad HAGVERDIYEV (AZE) in the 45kg finals. They also had two wrestlers fall short in the finals and had to settle for a pair of silvers, while also finishing with three bronze medalists. 

RESULTS

Final Freestyle Team Scores 
GOLD – Russia (190 points)
SILVER – Azerbaijan (153 points)
BRONZE – Georgia (140 points)
Fourth – Armenia (102 points)
Fifth - Ukraine (87 points)

45kg
GOLD - Nikolozi SANTELADZE (GEO) df. Murad HAGVERDIYEV (AZE), 12-5 
BRONZE - Tolga OZBEK (TUR) df. Anzor MAZHIDOV (RUS), 8-4
BRONZE - Mikita BERAZUN (BLR) df. Stefan SHTERJOV (MKD), 4-2 

51kg
GOLD - Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR) df. Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO), 16-6 
BRONZE - Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) df. Ilya RAHOZAU (BLR), 10-0 
BRONZE - Umar UMAROV (RUS) df. Pavel GRAUR (MDA), 8-1 

60kg
GOLD - Sabir JAFAROV (AZE) df. Genik ASATRYAN (ARM), 6-1 
BRONZE - Ayub Muratovitch MUSAEV (BEL) df. Alexandru Ioan MATEA (ROU), 10-0 
BRONZE - Daniil KHARCHILAVA (RUS) df. Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO), 8-2 

71kg
GOLD - Abdulkerim ABDULAEV (RUS) df. Davit KUTCHUASHVILI (GEO), 10-0 
BRONZE - Muhammed Halit OZMUS (TUR) df. Gabriel IGLESIAS RAMOS (ESP), 10-0 
BRONZE - Menua YARIBEKYAN (ARM) df. Lilian BALAN (MDA), 6-4 

92kg 
GOLD - Lyova GEVORGYAN (ARM) df. Islam KARTOEV (RUS), 6-3 
BRONZE - Sagadulla AGAEV (AZE) df. Redjep HAJDARI (MKD), 15-2 
BRONZE - Omer AGTAS (TUR) df. Saba GAMTENADZE (GEO), 10-0 

#WrestleTirana

U23 Worlds: Japan clinches team title; Ringaci wins gold

Saturday, October 28, 2023 - 00:15 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 27) -- Japan only sent nine wrestlers, with none of the seven world champions from last year returning, to the U23 World Championships. Yet, it clinched the Women's Wrestling team title comfortably in Tirana on Friday.

With no entries received at 68kg in the domestic selection trials, Japan was forced to skip that weight in Tirana but the second-string team won five gold and one silver to finish at the top with 159 points. Ukraine finished second with 144 points while the United World Wrestling team was third with 132 points.

Out of the five gold medals on offer on Friday, Japan won three with Mako OONO (JPN) winning at 53kg, Sara NATAMI (JPN) winning at 57kg and Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) winning the 62kg gold medal.

Irina RINGACI (MDA) won the 65kg gold while senior world champion Amit ELOR (USA) repeated as the champion at 72kg, claiming her eighth world title.

Mako OONO (JPN)Mako OONO (JPN) celebrates after winning the 53kg final. (Photo: UWW / Ulug Bugra Han Degirmenci)

Oono got the ball rolling with a 10-0 win over senior world bronze medalist Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) in the 53kg final. Using her quick speed, Oono was able to counter most of Dragutan's attacks and finished the final with 2:17 left on the clock.

While the final was a one-sided affair, Oono was in serious trouble in her quarterfinals against Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) who scored in the first ten seconds of the bout and took a 2-0 lead. Malanchuk kept coming back with the low single on Oono's left leg but the Japanese defended well to not give up any more points. In the second period, Malanchuk shot a double-leg which Oono defended and scored a go-behind to lead 2-2 on criteria. That remained the winning margin for Oono.

This was Oono's fourth gold medal in international competitions as she has a U17 world title from 2018, an Asian U17 title from 2019 and an Asian U20 gold from 2022.

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI (JPN) defeated Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) 18-8 in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Senior Asian champion at 59kg in 2022, Natami was wrestling at 57kg and had to work hard for the gold against European silver medalist Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE). Natami won the gold by beating Aliyeva 18-8.

Natami opened the scoring with a takedown and rolled Aliyeva to lead 6-0. As she scored another takedown, Aliyeva got her hold over Natami and sprung her on the side to score two points. That cut Natami's lead to 8-2. Aliyeva then locked Natami's hands and flung her for a four. Though she survived the pin, Natami gave up a stepout and saw her lead cut to 8-7 at the break.

All that action had taken a toll on Aliyeva as she broke down in the second period and gave up easy takedowns as Natami's lead swelled to 12-8. With a minute still left on the clock, Natami, with six more points, completed an 18-8 victory. The win also denied Aliyeva and Azerbaijan their first gold medal at the U23 World Championships.

Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN)Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) won the world title at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 62kg, Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) did not take that much time as she pinned Iryna BONDAR (UKR) in the final. Inagaki first blocked an attempted lift from Bondar to score two points and once the wrestlers were in neutral, she got Bondar by the arm and pinned her with 4:17 left on the clock.

Inagaki is now a two-time U23 world champion, four years after she won her first in 2019. She also has the U17 and U20 world titles to her name.

Irina RINGACI (MDA)Irina RINGACI (MDA) pins Amina TANDELOVA (AIN) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

After two bronze medals at the U23 Worlds (2019 and 2022), Ringaci won the gold medal in some style, pinning Amina TANDELOVA (AIN) in a minute and 28 seconds.

Ringaci won a bronze medal at 68kg at the senior Worlds last month but returned to 65kg for the Tirana tournament.

"I feel better at 65kg because I weigh around 67kg," Ringaci said. "When I am wrestling at 65kg, I have to cut only around two kilograms but for 68kg, I am underweight."

In the semifinal, Ringaci had a fierce battle with world silver medalist Macey KILTY (USA), winning 5-4 with her defense helping her sail.

"The semifinal opponent is a strong wrestler," she said. "I knew it was going to be a tough match. I am always getting ready to wrestle for six minutes."

Defending champion at 72kg Elor came to Tirana chasing her eighth world title and returned with it. She defeated Jyoti BERWAL (UWW) 10-0 in just 21 seconds to become a two-time U23 world champion, her third world title this year.

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RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Mako OONO (JPN) df. Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA), 10-0

BRONZE: Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR) df. Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN), 10-8
BRONZE: Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ) df. Beatrice FERENT (ROU), 12-1

57kg
GOLD: Sara NATAMI (JPN) df. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE), 18-8

BRONZE: REENA (UWW) df. Mia FRIESEN (CAN), 8-2
BRONZE: Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) df. Xochitl MOTA PETTIS (USA), 4-3

62kg
GOLD: Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) df. Iryna BONDAR (UKR), via fall

BRONZE: Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) df. Viktoria VESSO (EST), 11-0
BRONZE: Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) df. Bhagyashree FAND (UWW), 10-6

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Amina TANDELOVA (AIN), via fall

BRONZE: Yuliia LESKOVETS (UKR) df. Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT), 3-1
BRONZE: MONIKA (UWW) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 5-4

72kg
GOLD: Amit ELOR (USA) df. Jyoti BERWAL (UWW), 10-0

BRONZE: Iryna ZABLOTSKA (UKR) df. Bukrenaz SERT (TUR), 12-2
BRONZE: Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN) df. Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL), 3-3

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Romeo BERIDZE (GEO) vs. Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) 

SF 1: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) df. SUMIT (UWW), 9-4
SF 2: Romeo BERIDZE (GEO) df. Mert ILBARS (TUR), 3-1

67kg
GOLD: Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR) vs. Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)

SF 1: Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) df. Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE), 11-0
SF 2: Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR) df. HARUTO YABE (JPN), 3-3

72kg
GOLD: Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN) vs. Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR)

SF 1: Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) df. Michael PORTMANN (SUI), 9-2
SF 2: Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN) df. Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 15-6

82kg
GOLD: Alperen BERBER (TUR) vs. Aues GONIBOV (AIN)

SF 1: Aues GONIBOV (AIN) df. Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR), 11-0
SF 2: Alperen BERBER (TUR) df. Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) vs. Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)

SF 1: Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) df. Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM), 9-0
SF 2: Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) df. Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN), 7-4