Rzazade leads Azerbaijan's dominant performance

Saturday, June 25, 2022 - 19:28 By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (June 25) -- Among all the stars that Azerbaijan brought to Rome, Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) was one of the least experienced wrestlers. Before wrestling at this year's European Championships in March, he had only two other championships in a span of five years.

But by the end of the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event on Saturday, Rzazade might be the one of the three wrestlers that have confirmed their spot on the Azerbaijan national team for the World Championships. He did so by winning the 57kg gold medal in Rome.

Overall, Azerbaijan won four gold medals out of the eight contested on Saturday. Turkey, Puerto Rico, Slovakia and Ukraine had one champion each on the final day of the tournament.

Rzazade, one of the most attacking wrestlers on the circuit, switched to solid defense in the final against world bronze medalist Horst LEHR (GER) to claim a 5-3 win.

He opened the scoring with a stepout before Lehr was warned for fleeing during the second stepout which gave Rzazade a 3-0 lead. Lehr put that behind and scored a takedown just before the break to reduce the lead to 3-2.

Lehr, who won the U23 European Championships in March, tried the duck-under quite a few times but Rzazade was solid with his underhook to keep him away. In desperation, Lehr attempted a big double-leg attack but Rzazade threw him off for another takedown. A late stepout did not matter much as the U23 world champion won 5-3.

During the day, he had a wild 17-8 quarterfinal win over Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO). 21 points were scored in the first period of the bout as both kept going at each other. Rzazade, however, had a four which made the difference. In the second period, he scored an exposure and takedown to win 17-8.

In the semifinal, Kamil KERYMOV (UKR) tried to stop him but his challenge was thwarted by Rzazade who finished the bout 10-0.

While he won the gold, Rzazade's tendency to give up points will be a point of worry for the Azerbaijan coaching staff.

Rzazade won the U23 world title and silver at the senior European Championships in a span of four months. But over the three tournaments (including the Matteo Pellicone), Rzazade gave up 48 points while scoring 105. While he won the title in Belgrade by a point, he lost the European final by the same margin.

The final against Lehr, however, had him sitting tight in defense, a change from his earlier finals.

The three other gold medalists for Azerbaijan were Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE) at 70kg, Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) at 86kg and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) at 92kg.

In an all-Azerbaijan final at 70kg, Azimov wrestled youngster Murad EVLOEV (AZE) and came home with the gold with a 6-1 win. While Evloev did try to get on a scoring opportunity, Azimov used his experience and strength to outscore his opponent.

Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Haji ALIYEV (AZE) was also wrestling at 70kg but gave a walkover to Azimov in the semifinals. But that walkover was well-deserved as Azimov had defeated European champion Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) in the quarterfinals.

Azimov scored two takedowns before giving up a point for passivity and a late takedown. But with only 15 seconds left in the bout, Azimov was happy to defend the lead.

Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) clinched the 86kg gold medal with ease in Rome. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

At 86kg, world bronze medalist Abakarov made another big statement by winning the gold. Up against Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO) in the final, Abakarov scraped through for a 3-2 win.

After getting a point for Maisuradze's passivity, he scored a takedown to lead 3-2 at the break. In the second period, Abakarov was warned for passivity and a late stepout but Maisuradze could not score a takedown.

In his semifinal, Abakarov faced former world silver medalist and his close friend Boris MAKOEV (SVK). The Slovakian had Abakarov on the ropes initially, leading the bout 3-3. But Abakarov made the score 5-3 at the break before moving into a defensive mode in the second period.

Another world bronze medalist, Nurmagomedov won the 92kg gold after Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) injury defaulted in the final.

Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) defeated Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the 74kg final. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Azerbaijan could have won a fifth gold had Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) defeated Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK). But he failed to break the defense of the European champion in the 74kg final.

Salkazanov won his second straight Ranking Series gold medal as he defeated Bayramov 4-0 in the final in Rome. A takedown, a point for Bayramov's passivity and stepout were the point-scoring actions in the bout.

Bayramov may have lost the gold but he managed to beat Dzabhail GADZHIEV (AZE) in the semifinal, 5-3, which may have sealed his spot for the World Championships.

Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) won his nation's first-ever Ranking Series gold in Rome. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Puerto Rico's first gold

In a historic moment, Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) won his country's first-ever Ranking Series gold medal in an epic 65kg final.

Rivera, who won a silver at the Pan-American Championships in May, produced a stellar performance throughout the day which included wins over former U17 world champion Hamza ALACA (TUR) and Shamil OMAROV (ITA) in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively.

Up against former U23 European champion Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) in the final, Rivera was on the backfoot after being thrown for four. Arushanian then scored a takedown to make it 6-0. But the bout turned on its head when Rivera managed to put eight points on the board, gut-wrenching his opponent.

With the lead secured, Rivera did slow down a little but never missed an opportunity to score. He managed to confirm another takedown and gut to lead 12-7. In the end, he secured the gold with a score of 14-7.

He had staged a similar comeback against Omarov in the semifinal. Trailing 4-0, he scored two takedowns in the second period to lead 4-4 on criteria. The wrestlers were brought to the center with only five seconds left. While Rivera did give up a takedown, the time had expired, a confirmation only after Rivera challenged the referee's call.

At 61kg, Recep TOPAL (TUR) had to resort to a body lock lift for four to win 6-4 against Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) in the final in which he trailed 4-2 for a significant time.

While Arushanian and Dzhelep failed to win the gold, Ukraine did have a champion in Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) who defeated Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) 7-2 in the 79kg with much ease to win the gold medal. He also stunned European champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) 10-0 in the quarterfinal at 79kg.

Results

57kg
GOLD: Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) df. Horst LEHR (GER), 5-3

BRONZE: Kamil KERYMOV (UKR) df. Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO), 11-1
BRONZE: Saban KIZILTAS (TUR) df Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO), via injury default

61kg
GOLD: Recep TOPAL (TUR) df. Andrii DZHELEP (UKR), 6-4

BRONZE: Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO) df. Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE), 7-3
BRONZE: Ahmet TAS (TUR) df. Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA), 9-3

65kg
GOLD: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) df. Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), 14-9

BRONZE: Shamil OMAROV (ITA) df. Hamza ALACA (TUR), via injury (4-0)
BRONZE: Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) df. Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE) df. Murad EVLOEV (AZE), 6-1

BRONZE: Haji ALIYEV (AZE) df. Servet COSKUN (TUR), 4-3
BRONZE: Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR) df. Pavel GRAUR (MDA), 4-0

74kg
GOLD: Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE), 4-0

BRONZE: Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) df. Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR), via injury default
BRONZE: Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) df. Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), 6-4

79kg
GOLD: Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) df. Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU), 7-2

BRONZE: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) df. Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO), 4-1
BRONZE: Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) df. Muhammed AKDENİZ (TUR), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df. Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO), 3-2

BRONZE: Zaur BERADZE (GEO) df. Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR), via injury default
BRONZE: Boris MAKOEV (SVK) df. Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT), via injury default

92kg
GOLD: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), via injury default

BRONZE: Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) df. Saba CHIKHRADZE (GEO), 8-4

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 23:21 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 8) -- Iran won two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal on the final day of the U20 World Championships, but it failed to stop the United States from winning the team title. The U.S. collected the top rank in the team race with 175 points, 15 better than Iran, which finished second. Japan finished third with 90 points.

This was the first time since 2017 that the U.S. won the team title and stopped Iran from completing a hat trick of top-place finishes. All 10 U.S. wrestlers competed for a medal and nine won a medal.

The U.S. fielded a very young team, with five wrestlers who were only 18 years old and eight wrestlers who could wrestle at the U20 level again next year.

"Everyone put themselves in the position to get on the podium and win the best medal they could," J'den COX, coach of Team USA, said. "Everyone is going to get better but overall it was great. They are the best in the world. I get it that individually in some cases we didn't get where we wanted to go but as a whole, we wrestled an amazing tournament."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) scores a takedown against Benjamin KUETER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

However, the final day of the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain did not go as planned for the U.S. It had five wrestlers on the mat and only one won his match. Marcus BLAZE (USA) won a bronze medal over Tolga OZBEK (TUR).

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), Joshua BARR (USA) and Benjamin KUETER (USA) all dropped their finals while Connor MIRASOLA (USA) lost his bronze medal match.

Kueter, a U20 world champion at 97kg in 2022, was wrestling at 125kg and reached the final. However, he ran into a mountain named Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) who already has a U23 world gold, two U20 world golds, and a U17 world gold.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) gestures towards the crowd after winning the 125kg final in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Championships / Jake Kirkman)

Masoumi added a third U20 world gold medal to his name after he won the 125kg final 4-2 over Kueter and is now a five-time age-group world champion. A naturally aggressive wrestler, Masoumi dropped that approach and was happy to win his matches by sitting on the lead.

He did the same against Kueter in the final as he scored a takedown, a point for Kueter's passivity and a stepout. As he defended his 4-0 lead, Kueter managed to trip him in the final 30 seconds to score a takedown for two points.

"My opponent in the final is a well-known wrestler as he won the World Championships Sofia, Bulgaria, two years ago," Masoumi said. "He had taken a year off from wrestling but had improved a lot since then. He’s a skilled and accomplished wrestler. Thank God I was able to use my knowledge of him to wrestle smartly and win 4-2"

Kueter did trouble Masoumi in the final but Masoumi, despite wrestling with a heavily tapped left hand, never dropped his guard. Masoumi said he had broken his wrist before coming to Spain so he was careful with his attacks.

While he won his four bouts outscoring his opponents 32-3, Masoumi had only one technical superiority win. In 2022, when he won both the U20 and U23 world titles, Masoumi won all but one of his matches via superiority.

"I had an injury in my hand and it was broken, so I tried to be careful with it," he said. "Otherwise, I’m always aggressive and a fighter."

He will be in Tirana, Albania in a month's time to wrestle at the U23 World Championships. He won the gold medal in 2022 but skipped the 2023 edition. But Masoumi said his main focus is to make the senior team.

"In the match against Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in Croatia, I lost," he said of his 5-0 loss to Olympic silver medalist Zare at the Ranking Series in Zagreb in January. "Some might say that Amir Reza Masoumi has settled, but no, I’m not satisfied at all. I’m preparing myself for the World Championships in Zagreb, aiming for the national team selection."

Ali REZAEI (IRI) scores the match-winning takedown against Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ali REZAEI (IRI) was the second gold medal for the day for Iran after he defeated 2023 U17 world champion Lockett 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling 74kg final. Rezaei is the first U20 world champion from Iran at 74kg in 15 years.

Lockett was leading the final 3-1 after scoring a takedown in the second period and Rezaei, who won a silver medal last year, needed at least a takedown to win.

It came in the fifth minute of the bout when Lockett missed a sweep single and Rezaei showed exceptional speed to get him a bodylock and finish with a takedown. Leading 3-3 on criteria, Rezaei did not allow Lockett to get into any attacking positions and won the gold medal.

Ali REZAEI (IRI) defends an attack from Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"I went through a tough final but with the great analysis from the coaches, I managed to defeat the strong American opponent," Rezaei said. "I hope to continue on this path and become a world and Olympic champion."

In Amman, Rezaei dropped the 70kg final against Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) 11-6 but planned to win the gold in Pontevedra.

"Last year, I won silver," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for about a year and a half, and thankfully, in the final, my opponent was an American, and I managed to beat him. This journey continues."

Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) won the 86kg gold medal in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The third American to suffer a loss in the final was Burr as Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) beat him 8-2 in the 86kg final. Kadiev won his second U20 world gold medal after winning the 79kg gold in Amman last year.

In the final against Burr, Kadiev jumped to a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the match. Burr did get on a few leg attacks but he was able to score only a stepout in the first period, cutting the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Kadiev, who took multiple medical timeouts for his injured knee, scored a counter against Burr and got two more points. The U.S. challenged the decision to award two points to Kadiev as Burr was never in danger but the replays showed Burr's back on the mat. The lost challenge made the score 6-1. Burr scored a stepout with 12 seconds left and then tried a front headlock throw but Kadiev stopped it to get two points and an 8-2 win.

"The American opponent was the toughest one for me," Kadiev said. "I also injured my knee. I didn’t attack much, because I couldn’t risk it. If only I hadn’t injured the knee, the match would have gone in a different way. My wrestling style is to attack from the very first second, and then in the second period the opponent gets tired and it’s easier to finish him."

Kadiev will get a chance to showcase his skills again at the U23 Worlds next month in Tirana. He also said that winning the gold medal last year made his more happy than this year.

"When I first won the U20 Worlds, I was much happier than now," he said. "This time there is no such feeling of excitement as it was last time. I wrestle more confidently, and we’ve worked on our mistakes with the coaches. I don’t know how fast I can recover from this knee injury. Hopefully, I can still make it to the U23 Worlds."

At 92kg, Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) got some motivation from Kadiev as he finished his final against Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0, well before time.

Malachdibirov got Saliev in a gut-wrench and managed to turn him to win the gold medal at 92kg.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN) asks for the 'champion belt' after his 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ono warning before Tirana

At the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana from October 28 to 31, one wrestler to watch will be Masanosuke ONO (JPN) who destroyed everyone in Pontevedra to win the 61kg gold medal.

After winning his four bouts on Saturday, Ono returned to wrestle Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) for the final. It was expected to be an action-packed final but Ono finished it in one action.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Ono got an attack on Khari and scored a takedown. 26 seconds later, Ono had finished the final using the gut-wrench to win the gold medal in 26 seconds.

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"I was surprised that it ended sooner than I expected, but it was a very enjoyable 25 seconds," Ono said. "I'm satisfied."

Ono will now look to win the gold medal at 61kg in Tirana. However, he is aware that his opponents in Tirana will be more powerful.

"I'm still not satisfied unless I win there (Tirana)," he said.

Ono began wrestling only after his teacher in the music class during kindergarten encouraged him to wrestle. Ono, now at the Yamanashi Gakuin University, trains under former world champion Yuka TAKAHASHI (JPN) and is from the Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is in the countryside.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: BHUVANESH (IND) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 5-0

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Shingo ANDO (JPN) df. Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT), 9-3

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Joshua BARR (USA), 8-2

BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 3-2
BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) vs. Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0

BRONZE: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Amirreza DALIRI (IRI), 8-5
BRONZE: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 6-2

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Benjamin KUETER (USA), 4-2

BRONZE: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) df. Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Jaspooran SINGH (IND), 3-2

Rzazade leads Azerbaijan's dominant performance

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U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title