#Zagreb2018

Shilson Knocks Off Nazarova, Japan Wins Four Women’s Titles on Thursday at #Zagreb2018

By Taylor Miller

ZAGREB, Croatia – The first five Cadet World champions in women’s freestyle were crowned on Thursday night in Zagreb, Croatia.

Highlighting the night was 2017 Cadet World silver medalist Emily Shilson, who knocked off last year’s 38 kg World champion Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE).

Trailing 4-0, Shilson maneuvered her way on top and picked up six gut wrenches for a tech fall and the 2018 Cadet World title at 43 kg.

The rest of the night was dominated by Japan. The nation picked up the next four gold medals with repeat World title performances coming from 2017 World champs Honoka NAKAI (JPN) at 65 kg and Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) at 73 kg.

The closest bout of the night came at 65 kg, where Nakai, the 2018 Cadet Asian champion, picke up a first-period takedown, which was all that would be scored in her 2-0 win over Cadet Asian runner-up Xinru ZHOU (CHN) for a second-consecutive Cadet World title.

Asian champion Kagami wrapped up the night for Japan at 73 kg, where she scored five takedowns on two-time Cadet Asian medalist Qian JIANG (CHN) to claim an 11-0 tech fall for another World gold.

At 49 kg, Cadet Asian champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) won Japan’s first gold medal of the night with a first-period fall over Polina LUKINA (RUS).

Already up 7-0, Fujinami capitalized off an attempted throw from Lukina and pinned the Russian in 1:45.

In the 57 kg final, Cadet Asian champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) scored a fast takedown and four leg laces for a 10-0 technical fall over Anna SZEL (HUN) in the first 40 seconds.

The tournament continues tomorrow with women’s freestyle repechage and Greco-Roman preliminaries at 4:30 a.m. ET on unitedworldwrestling.com.

Women’s freestyle team scores going into final day (top 10)
1. Japan - 110
2. Russia - 70
3. Ukraine - 54
4. China - 50
5. United States - 48
6. Belarus - 45
7. India - 31
8. Hungary - 30
9. Azerbaijan - 20
10.
Mongolia - 20

Finals results
43 kg
GOLD - Emily SHILSON (USA)
SILVER - Shahana NAZAROVA (AZE)
BRONZE - Viktoriia ALEKSANDROVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Amina PONOMAROVA (UKR)

1st - Emily Shilson (USA) TF Shahana Nazarova (AZE), 14-4
3rd - Viktoriia Aleksandrova (RUS) fall Simran Simran (IND), 1:05
3rd - Amina Ponomarova (UKR) dec. Anna Ueno (JPN), 6-4

49 kg
GOLD - Akari FUJINAMI (JPN)
SILVER - Polina LUKINA (RUS)
BRONZE - Tiare IKEI (USA)
BRONZE - Natallia VARAKINA (BLR)

1st - Akari Fujinami (JPN) fall Polina Lukina (RUS), 1:45
3rd - Tiare Ikei (USA) fall Munkhgerel Munkhbat (MGL), 1:17
3rd - Natallia Varakina (BLR) dec. Lucia Yepez Guzman (ECU), 9-2

57 kg
GOLD - Nonoka OZAKI  (JPN)
SILVER - Anna Hella SZEL (HUN)
BRONZE - Aryna MARTYNAVA (BLR)
BRONZE - Irina RINGACI (MDA)

1st - Nonoka Ozaki (JPN) TF Anna Hella Szel (HUN), 10-0
3rd - Aryna Martynava (BLR) dec.
Anastasiia Sidelnikova (RUS), 6-4
3rd - Irina Ringaci (MDA) dec. Yaping Zhu (CHN), 11-3

65 kg
GOLD - Honoka NAKAI  (JPN)
SILVER - Xinru ZHOU (CHN)
BRONZE - Ekaterina GLUKHAREVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Sonam SONAM (IND)

1st - Honoka Nakai (JPN) dec. Xinru Zhou (CHN), 2-0
3rd - Ekaterina Glukhareva (RUS) dec. Noémi Szabados (HUN), 7-0
3rd - Sonam Sonam (IND) dec. Oksana Chudyk (UKR), 1-1

73 kg
GOLD - Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
SILVER - Qian JIANG (CHN)
BRONZE - Elina PYSHKINA (UKR)
BRONZE - Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)

1st - Yuka Kagami (JPN) TF Qian Jiang (CHN), 11-0
3rd - Elina Pyshkina (UKR) dec. Marion Bye (NOR), 4-4
3rd - Kseniya Dzibuk (BLR) dec. Valeriia Trifonova (RUS), 5-0

#development

Libya hosts its first coach and referee course

By United World Wrestling Press

TRIPOLI, Libya (November 17) -- Libya hosted its first ever education courses for coaches and referees from October 27 to November 3 in Tripoli, Libya.

The courses were conducted in conjunction with United World Wrestling, Olympic Solidarity, Libya NOC and the Libya Wrestling Federation. The coaching course was led by Ahmed KHEDHRI. The referee course was led by Kamel BOUAZIZ.

"This course was considered a success, as we were fortunate to have tutors Khedhri and Bouaziz," Khaled EZANKULI, Secretary General of Libyan Olympic Committee, said. "These courses are a step in the Libyan Wrestling Federation's programs and is part of the joint work with Olympic Solidarity, United World Wrestling and the Libyan Olympic Committee. We consider it a step forward in developing the skills of local coaches, raising their level, and relying on their actual abilities to achieve fair competition."

Libya

During the first half of the program, the technical course for coaches was conducted from October 17 to 31. The course was attended by 21 coaches who participated in Level 1 Course [Introduction to Coaching and Safety]. The following topics were covered throughout the course: discovery games, introducing a new technique, coaching skills, giving feedback, risk management, age and developmental stage characteristics.

The coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations. There was special emphasis placed learning new techniques and applying them in a realistic training environment.

"The coaches in the course showed lot of enthusiasm, cooperation, and exchange of experiences which was reflected in the participants’ active engagement and positive interaction throughout both the theoretical and practical sessions," Khedhri said. "This contributed to enhancing the overall learning outcomes and helped participants acquire new knowledge and skills in a professional yet friendly environment."

The Introduction to Refereeing Course was conducted from November 1 to 3. This course was led by Bouaziz and had 18 participants. The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee.

The areas covered during the course included: safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout. 

"A good number of participants already had knowledge of wrestling," Bouaziz said. "They were very attentive to the explanations, which allowed me to pass on as much information as possible. The same was true for the theoretical part, where their participation and interest were remarkable."

The program was praised by the federation and the participants as well.

"I am very pleased with the success achieved by this course on both the technical and organizational levels. It represents an important step toward building a strong training foundation that will contribute to developing coaches and referees and raising the overall standard of wrestling in Libya," Nabil Abou CHAHMA, President of Libyan Wrestling Federation, said.