#WrestleIstanbul

Seven Statement Wins from #WrestleIstanbul

Thursday, March 3, 2022 - 13:42 By Eric Olanowski

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (March 2) -- The first Ranking Series event of the season just wrapped up in Istanbul and there were loads of unexpected upsets. We laid out seven statement wins from Turkey that wrestling fans have to see.

No. 7: Chance MARSTELLER (USA) df. Hetik CABOLOV (SRB), 10-5

Coming into the Yasar Dogu, Marsteller's only senior-level appearance came at the '19 Alexander Medved, where he finished in ninth place.

In Istanbul, Marsteller showed significant improvement en route to the 79kg finals where he fell to Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) in the finals. Of the American's four wins, his most significant hand-raising performance came in 1/8 finals when he outclassed Serbia's former world champ Hetik Cabolov, 10-5.

No. 6: Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI) over Suleyman ATLI (TUR),7-5

Yakhkeshi sent two-time world medalist Atli packing early after he scored arguably the most memorable last-second win from Istanbul. 

Yakhkeshi trailed 5-1 with under a minute to go but continued to attack as his Turkish opponenet put the match in cruise control. The Iranian picked up a takedown near the 45-second mark and closed cut Atli's lead to 5-3. With less than 10 seconds left, Yakhkeshi jacked up an underhook on the Tokyo Olympian and tossed him to his back for four points with a perfectly timed hip toss, stealing a spot in the 61kg semifinals.

 

No. 5: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB), 8-4

Abbasov came into Instanbul needing a signature win that would get him back on the winning course. He was coming off abysmal performances at the Olympic Games and World Championships, where he finished in 13th and 25th place, respectively.

Abbasov earned that trajectory-changing win after he defeated defending world champ and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Zatunashvili to win the 87kg Ranking Series title.

No. 4: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), via fall

It seems that '14 world champion Sukhee has put the disappointment of missing the Tokyo Olympic Games behind her. That was evident in Istanbul, as she reached the top of the podium with a trio of wins over Olympic bronzes medalist Sakshi MALIK (IND), Marwa AMRI (TUN) and Taybe YUSEIN (BUL).

Without a doubt, Sukhee's biggest win came in the 1/8 final when she pinned world champion and Tokyo bronze medalist Yusein. The Mongolian led the match by one point but kept her foot on the gas. She dumped the Bulgarian to her back and scored the fall, punching her ticket to the quarterfinals before ultimately winning her second gold medal of the year (Ivan Yariguin in January).

No. 3: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 8-0

From a team standpoint, Uzbekistan's Greco-Roman squad had one of the hottest showings in Turkey. They were led by newly-retired Olympic bronze medalist Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB), who cornered Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB),  Mahmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) and Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) to gold-medal victories.

Without a doubt, the most impressive run of the three came at 63kg, where Bakhramov breezed past reigning world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 9-0, in the finals.

No. 2:  Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) df. Riza KAYAALP (TUR), via fall

In jaw-dropped fashion, Kandelaki not only picked up one of the biggest upsets of the competition, but his Istanbul win will go down as one of the biggest upsets of the season.

Kandelaki hand fought hard in the first against Turkey's modern-day legend Riza Kayaalp but was placed in the par terre position after being hit with passivity. After surrendering the inactivity point, the Azeri conceded a gut wrench and trailed 3-0, before doing the unthinkable. He halted a second gut-wrench from the four-time world champion and planted the Turkish great on his back for the fall. He ended Kayaalp's hopes of winning an eighth Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament gold medal and reached the finals of an international competition for the first time since 2016.

No. 1: Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), 8-0

Nunes De Oliveira took her wrestling to another level in the 1/8 finals against two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). Whatever her game plan was, it worked to a tee. The Brazilian wrestled a perfect bout against the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, scoring a pair of stepouts and three takedowns, blanking the Kyrgyz star, 8-0.

#WrestleAcapulco, #WrestleParis

Gomez, Cruz deny USA Paris 2024 spots at Pan-Am Qualifiers

Saturday, March 2, 2024 - 06:43 By Gaurav Bhatt

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (March 1) — The Pan American Olympic Games Qualifiers wrapped up in style in Acapulco, Mexico, with Puerto Rico and Cuba earning three quotas on offer each, while Mexico and Canada securing two berths apiece.

The day was marked by stunning performances and a few upsets, particularly in the 57kg and 65kg classes where the U.S. wrestlers were eyeing qualification. 
While the two American wrestlers failed in their quest on Friday, two NCAA champions successfully secured quotas for their nations. 

Two-time NCAA champion Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) showcased his NCAA-honed skills with a commanding 14-4 victory over Oscar TIGREROS (COL) in the 57kg semifinal. The 25-year-old — who chose to represent his grandparents' native country Mexico last summer — got the better of Tigreros, an Olympian and five-time Pan-Am medallist Tigreros.

In the second semifinal, 2017 NCAA champion Darian CRUZ (PUR) edged out Zane RICHARDS (USA) in a 2-2 criteria win. The first period between Richards and Cruz ended in a tense 1-1 tie. 

Richards edged ahead early in the second with a shot clock point, before Cruz retaliated. The Puerto Rican team challenged a scoring decision, and Cruz was awarded a point for pushing Richards out, deadlocking the score at 2-2 with just seconds left. Richards fiercely attacked, but couldn't land a takedown, ultimately losing to Cruz for the first time at senior level.

NCAA All-American Austin GOMEZ (MEX) defeated Nick LEE (USA) in the quarterfinal, as the weight class continues to be a thorn in the side of the U.S. at the senior level.

Lee, who won the Pan-Am gold last week, took control and rushed to a 10-4 lead before the first break. However, after a long injury timeout for Gomez in the second period, the tide dramatically turned as Gomez's scoring spree saw him rack up 18 points and ultimately winning by technical fall (22-12).

In the semifinal, Gomez beat fellow All-American Lachlan MCNIEL (CAN) 6-3. 

Alejandro VALDES (CUB), a two-time world medalist and two-time Olympian, lived up to expectations by dominating Shannon HANNA (BAH) with an 11-0 technical superiority win in the second 65kg semifinal.

Geandry GARZON (CUB), aiming for his second Olympic appearance at the age of 40, clinched a berth for Cuba by defeating Julio RODRIGUEZ (DOM) 6-2 in the 74kg division. Garzon — who won the last of his four Worlds medals in 2010 — set a deliberate pace against the 26-year-old finalist from last week's Pan-Am championships.

However, once put on the shot clock, Garzon attacked Rodriguez's right leg and scored a two-point move. Two more two-pointers followed deep in the second period, securing the win for the Cuban.

In the second semifinal, two-time Pan-Am champion Anthony MONTERO (VEN) made a statement with an 11-0 thrashing of Raul PALACIOS (MEX).

In the 97kg division, Arturo SILOT (CUB) showed he's second only to Kyle SNYDER (USA) at the Pan-Am level as the 22-year-old rag-dolled his opponents on his way to securing Cuba a berth at Paris Games. Silot — who has lost three straight Pan-Am championships finals to Snyder — didn't give up a point as he ran through Maxwell LACEY (CRC) and Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN).

In the second semifinal, Luis PEREZ (DOM) clinched a narrow 4-2 victory over Cristian SARCO (VEN) in a battle of last week's bronze medallists.

The 86kg category witnessed Ethan RAMOS (PUR) defeat two-time Olympian Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL) 11-6, while Alexander MOORE (CAN) pulled off an impressive 4-0 win against the top-seeded Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN), who finished runner-up at the Pan-Am championships last week.

Earlier, four-time Pan-Am champion Yurieski Torreblanca TORREBLANCA (CUB) lost a fall to Anthony VALENCIA (MEX) in the qualification rounds.

Former Pan-Am champion Amarveer DHESI (CAN) took little over two minutes to thwart Ibrain TORRES (CUB) 11-0 to earn Canada a spot. Jonovan SMITH (PUR), who grabbed a silver at the Pan-Ams last week, won the other semifinal against Gino AVILA (HON) 5-1.