Shermakhanbet beats Olympic champ Geraei; India wins 3 WW golds

Friday, June 3, 2022 - 15:30 By Vinay Siwach

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (June 3) -- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) may be unbeatable for many. But not for Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ), who has made a habit of beating the Olympic champion.

Shermakhanbet maintained his 100 percent record over Geraei by handing him his fourth loss in four meetings with the latest coming Friday in front of his home crowd at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup in Almaty.

"It was the fourth time I wrestled against Geraei," Shermakhanbet said. "We know each other very well. Even though he is an Olympic champion, it was the 4th time I've defeated him."

Geraei, however, walked away with the 72kg gold after Shermakhanbet pulled out of the final to not aggravate a shoulder injury he suffered in the first round of the morning session.

Seven Greco-Roman gold medals were decided Thursday with Iran and Turkey winning three each while the remaining one going to Uzbekistan. Iran, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan won one each on the second day of the competition.

Iran won the team title with 185 points while Kazakhstan came second with 165 points. Uzbekistan managed to finish third with 108 points while Turkey was fourth with 100 points.

But the biggest talking point of the tournament will be Geraei's epic surrender against the '22 Asian champion.

Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) claimed his fourth win over Mohammadreza GERAEI. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Incidentally, the first three meetings between Sherkhanbet and Geraei were all in 2018. He first defeated Geraei via fall at the prestigious Takhti Cup and six months later he won 6-3 in the final at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The third clash was at the World Championships in Budapest where Shermakhanbet won a bronze medal. On his way, he defeated Geraei 9-0 in the quarterfinal.

In Almaty, the two met in the second round of the 72kg weight class and after Geraei was called passive in the first period, Shermakhanbet exposed him thrice from par terre to lead 7-0. But Geraei was unfazed.

He had been in such a situation at the Olympics and World Championships but managed to recover and win, earning him the nickname 'The Iceman'.

But Friday was different as Shermakhanbet kept the pressure on Geraei and held on to his defense as well. He was called passive in the second period which gave Geraei a glimmer of hope but he could only get two points from par terre.

The two had moved up to 72kg from their preferred 67kg but are expected to return to the weight class and hopefully clash again.

"I am the team leader at 67kg, although this time I decided to compete at 72kg in order not to cut weight," Shermakhanbet said. "I was full of energy, so the tournament went well for me. In September I am planning to compete at the World championships at 67kg, I am going there for a gold medal only. I want to raise the Kazakhstan flag."

Reflecting on his loss, Geraei said that being away from competition for eight months may have made him rusty but is looking forward to a meeting in Belgrade, Serbia.

"I competed with little training and preparations," Geraei said. "I had not wrestled for 8 months after Norway. I was able to learn more about my weaknesses and errors and am going to work on them to improve them.

"I hope he can come to World Championships in Serbia and be able to win against all his competitors so we can wrestle against each other in the finale or the group selections."

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) acknowledges the crowd after winning the 82kg gold. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Olympic silver medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) followed his 82kg title at Asian Championships with a gold medal at the Ranking Series in Almaty which included wins over World silver medalist Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) and bronze medalist Pejman POSHTAM (IRI).

Makhmudov clashed with Akbudak in the quarterfinals and led 4-3 at the break despite giving up a passivity. He added another point in the second period to extend his lead to 5-3. Akbudak scored a stepout with two seconds remaining and got another point as Makhmudov was warned for fleeing. But Makhmudov held on for a 5-5 criteria win.

In the final, he made it look easy against Poshtam. He used two head-pinches for four points each to win 9-0.

"Today I've wrestled well, but not perfect," Makhmudov said. "I wasn't in my best shape, because I caught a cold. That's why I was trying to be active right from the beginning of the match. If I had given up some points, I wouldn't have been able to score them back."

Makhmudov's experience of wrestling at the Olympics and other high-level events is reflected in his game plan. He said that he is planning in advance for everyone.

"I am getting ready for every match, analyzing the wrestling of each opponent," he said. "I was getting ready for the final match the same way, so everything was planned in advance, you can now call me a 'professor.'"

The third Greco-Roman gold went to Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) as he defeated Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 5-4 in an all-Kazakhstan final. The former rode on his four-point throw in the first round to win the gold. Zhadrayev got a gut wrench from par terre but it was not enough to overtake Kissymetov's five points.

Zhadrayev had defeated European silver medalist Yunus BASAR (TUR) 2-1 in the quarterfinals while Kissymetov defeated Asian champion Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) 5-3 in the semifinal.

Sakshi MALIK (IND) won the 62kg gold medal in Almaty. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

3 golds for India

India came out all guns blazing as it collected three out of the four gold medals on offer in women's wrestling Friday. Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi MALIK (IND), Mansi AHLAWAT (IND) and two-time Asian champion Divya KAKRAN (IND) won the 62kg, 57kg and 68kg gold medals.

Malik, who reclaimed the starting spot at 62kg on the Indian team after beating Tokyo Olympian Sonam MALIK (IND) for the first time, defeated Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) twice in dominating fashion to win the gold medal.

The two met in the first round and Malik used the classic turks to finish the bout 10-0. She was supposed to meet Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) in the semifinal but the Mongolian had failed to register at the weigh-ins. Sukhee had defeated Malik at the first Ranking Series event in Istanbul.

After both qualified for the finals, it seemed that Kuznetsova will be able to give a stronger fight as she pulled off a four-pointer to lead 4-3. But Malik kept her calm and secured the fall in the second period.

Kakran pinned Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) and Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ) in the first two rounds using her signature cradle move to secure 10 classification points.

In the third round, she met Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL) who had one fall and a loss in which she got only one classification point to be at six. To win the gold, she had to pin Kakran but could manage only a 14-10 win which gave Kakran the gold.

The bronze medal went to Enkhsaikhan who defeated Kairgeldinova 11-0 in the third round.

For Ahlawat, it was a confidence-boosting win as she continues to remain in the shadow of world silver medalist Anshu MALIK (IND) and two-time Asian champion Sarita MOR (IND) at 57kg.

In a strong performance in Almaty, Ahlawat defeated Emma TISSINA (KAZ) twice to claim the gold medal. The two met in the morning session in Round 3 which the Indian won 6-0. She then defeated another Kazakhstan wrestler Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ) via fall in the semifinal.

Tissina put up a better challenge in the final as she stopped Ahlawat from her attacks. But she gave up a point for passivity and two more stepouts to lose 3-0.

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) won the 76kg gold after beating Samar HAMZA (EGY) 17-6. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

In a marquee match at 76kg, World bronze medalists Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) and Samar HAMZA (EGY) put on a show in a 23-point gold medal bout. Medet Kyzy won the gold 17-6.

The Istanbul Ranking Series winner Medet Kyzy had built a 4-0 lead with two takedowns but Hamza surprised her with a four-pointer to lead 4-4 at the break. Hamza tried defending the criteria lead but Medet Kyzy put her in danger with a two-on-one move. Hamza challenged the four-point call and lost as she had clearly landed on her shoulder.

From 9-4, the Asian champion quickly made it 13-6 with a whizzer but gave up two points in the same sequence. She then controlled the bout against a tiring Hamza scoring a takedown and a gut wrench to finish the bout.

GR Results

72kg
GOLD: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Mahmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) df. Jamol JUMABAEV (UZB), 1-1

77kg
GOLD: Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 5-4

BRONZE: Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) df. Yunus BASAR (TUR), 3-1
BRONZE: Renat ILIAZ UULU (KGZ) df. Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO), 9-0

82kg
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Pejman POSHTAM (IRI), 9-0

BRONZE: Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ) df. Shamil BATYROV (KAZ), 3-1
BRONZE: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df. Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO), 8-0

WW Results

57kg
GOLD: MANSI (IND) df. Emma TISSINA (KAZ), 3-0

BRONZE: Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) df. Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ), 13-5

62kg
GOLD: Sakshi MALIK (IND) df. Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ), via fall

BRONZE: Gantuya ENKHBAT (MGL) df. Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL), via forfeit

68kg
GOLD: Divya KAKRAN (IND)
SILVER: Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL)
BRONZE: Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL)

76kg
GOLD: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Samar HAMZA (EGY), 17-6

BRONZE: Pooja SIHAG (IND) df. Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL), via forfeit

#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

Shermakhanbet beats Olympic champ Geraei; India wins 3 WW golds

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