#WrestleBaku

Stage set for thrilling Greco-Roman World Cup in Baku

Wednesday, November 2, 2022 - 14:12 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (November 2) -- For the first time, the top teams from the World Championships will get a chance to challenge a team comprising of stars from around the world.

As the teams arrive from Baku for the Greco-Roman World Cup after a gap of three years, a new dimension will see the tournament include the All-World team comprising four silver and three bronze medalists from the Belgrade World Championships.

Not only this team will be the favorite to win the top spot at the World Cup, but it also offers match-ups that fans miss out on during other tournaments. The All-World team is clubbed with Azerbaijan and Serbia in Group B.

Serbia, however, will miss the tournament after a number of COVID-19 infections in the team. Azerbaijan and the All-World team will receive automatic wins and the winner of the Azerbaijan-All-Star clash will wrestle in the final.

Group B has Turkey, Iran and Kyrgyzstan and will see a tough battle for the top spot in the group. The second-placed teams from each group will wrestle for the third place on the podium.

Led by two-time silver medalists Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) and Leri ABULADZE (GEO), the All-World team has three Georgian wrestlers with Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) also making the cut.

Bronze medalists Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), Andrii KULYK (UKR) and Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) will also give tough competition to the host wrestler.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), who had a breakout tournament with a silver medal at 77kg, would like to continue his form at the World Cup. Another silver medalist is Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) who almost collected the gold at 82kg in Belgrade.

Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) at 87kg and Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) at 97kg were late additions to the team but would like to make the most of the opportunity.

For the hosts, two young stars -- Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) and Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) -- will share the responsibility of the team. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) will provide the experience for Azerbaijan.

Mammadli, who lost in the U23 World Championships final at 60kg, will try to announce his name in the big league by beating Sultangali while Abuladze can face a stiff challenge from Ziya BABASHOV (AZE).

With the dual running close, the 67kg bout between Namaz RUSTAMOV (AZE) and Khetsuriani will hold extra significance before Kulyk takes on Eljan MAMMADOV (AZE) at 72kg.

A top battle between Gurbanov and Levai will be crucial to decide the winner of the match-up as Levai will look to beat Gurbanov to remove some pressure off Berdimuratov who takes on Nasir HASANOV (AZE).

At 87kg, Kessidis has Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) and Kakhelashvili faces Zamir MAGOMEDOV (AZE) at 97kg. The epic clash between Kandelaki and Knystautas will be the last of the dual.

Even if Azerbaijan lose the early bouts, it won't be surprising to see it cover the lead in the latter half of the dual and secure a spot in the final.

Group B

A blockbuster clash will open the World Cup when Turkey and Iran collide for the opening match in Baku.

Iran team is a mix of youth and experience and will be a tough test for Turkey. With wrestlers who were at the U23 World Championships two weeks ago, Iran will be hoping to outplace Turkey.

At 55kg, U23 world champ Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) will look to win his bouts against Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) and give an early lead to his team.

The 60kg battle will be a high-stake bout as Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) looks to avenge his heartbreaking loss against Kerem KAMAL (TUR) from Belgrade. Mohsen Nejad was leading the bout when Kamal pinned him. Kamal went on to win the U23 world title in Pontevedra. Spain after mission out on the senior world medal.

A former U23 world silver medalist Ahmet UYAR (TUR) has U20 world champion Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) and a win here will be crucial for both teams before moving to 67kg where Murat FIRAT (TUR) takes on U20 and U23 world champion Seyed SOHRABI (IRI).

Experienced wrestler and world bronze medalist Selcuk CAN (TUR) will be the favorite against Amir ABDI (IRI) at 72kg.

At 77kg, Asian champion Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (TUR) and world bronze medalist Yunus BASAR (TUR) clash and could well change the momentum of the dual for their team.

World champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) can carry the momentum for Turkey as he clashes against Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) at 82kg and will be the favorite. His win becomes more important since the next weight class will see Abolfazl CHOUBANI (IRI) take on Ali CENGIZ (TUR), a bout that can tilt in any direction.

At 97kg, two-time world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) continues his journey in a new weight class and will be tested by either Ali ABEDIDARZI (IRI) or Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI) before the dual moves to 130kg in which former world champion Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) will prepare for upcoming star Osman YILDIRIM (TUR).

Kyrgyzstan is the third team of the group and will take on Iran in the evening session on Saturday. While its world champions Zholoman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) and Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) are missing, Kyrgyzstan can well be the party spoiler for the other teams.

Most of the team is compromised of young blood but U23 Asian champions Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ) at 77kg and Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ) at 82kg will fancy their chances to get wins for Kyrgyzstan. The team also has Olympian Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ) wrestling at 97kg.

#JapanWrestling

Fujinami to move up to 57kg in quest for consecutive Olympic golds

Wednesday, November 27, 2024 - 12:12 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (November 26) -- Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) won't be defending her Olympic gold at women's 53kg at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. That's bad news for anyone aiming to strike gold at 57kg.

Fujinami has announced that she will move up to the next Olympic weight class starting next year, the Japan federation website and Japan media widely recently reported.

Fujinami, who turned 21 on November 11, cited the difficulty of cutting weight for the decision, as well as the historic aspect that no woman wrestler has ever won a second straight Olympic gold after moving to a higher weight class.

"I have decided to move up to the 57kg weight class," Fujinami said after Sunday's East Japan Collegiate Women's League, a team tournament that marked her first competition since winning the gold at the Paris Olympics in August. "Considering my height and my normal weight, I think I can give my best performance at 57."

Fujinami competed at 59kg in the five-team league tournament (one school was a no-show), which was run in a round-robin, duel-meet format with only three weight classes -- 53kg, 59kg and 76kg.

She won both of her matches by fall, extending her current winning streak to 139 matches dating back to her junior high school days in September 2017.

The 1.64-meter Fujinami was actually wrestling near her natural weight, which she says is "about 61kg." But even against two opponents from higher weight classes -- Ikuei University's Ichika ARAI (JPN) was the 2023 world U20 silver medalist at 57kg -- her skills and speed were still overwhelming.

"It has been really hard to cut down to 53kg," Fujinami said. "I felt I lost muscle during the process. I feel I can give my best performance by going down three kilos from my natural weight."

Asked when she expects to make her full-fledged "debut" at the new weight, she replied in a text message, "It will be sometime next year. I haven't decided exactly when yet."

With a full schedule of post-Olympic TV appearances and local events curtailing her training, she has already ruled out appearing at next month's Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships.

It is likely she will compete at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in the spring, as that tournament, along with the Emperor's Cup, will serve as qualifiers for the 2025 World Championships.

The move up to 57kg will likely put her on a collision course with the reigning Olympic champion, Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN). The two met last year at the East Japan Collegiate tournament, with Fujinami coming away with a 5-0 victory.

The challenge of possibly accomplishing a historic first appeals to Fujinami, who last year won her second career world title at 53kg in Belgrade.

"I heard that no [woman] has moved up a weight class and won another Olympic gold," Fujinami said. "It will difficult, but that's what makes it challenging. I hope I can become stronger at the next [Olympics] in Los Angeles."

Two Japanese women -- Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) and Kaori ICHO (JPN) -- have won an additional Olympic gold after going down a weight, but that was mainly because the number of weight classes was expanded from four to six, allowing them to compete more closely to their normal weight.

Among men, the legendary Aleksandr MEDVED (URS) won the freestyle 97kg gold in 1964, then triumphed again at 97+kg in 1968, while Levan TEDASHVILI (URS) won at freestyle 82kg in 1972 and 90kg in 1976. More recently, Abdulrashid SADULAEV claimed the freestyle 86kg gold in 2016, then won again at 97kg in 2021.

Fujinami said she doesn't expect to make any major alterations to her wrestling style at the heavier weight.

"I have no intention of making any big changes in my wrestling style," she said. "I will still try to keep the opponent from getting at my legs, and take the initiative to score points. Still, I can feel the extra weight of four kilos, so how I increase my weight could affect how I perform."

At this year's East Japan league tournament, Fujinami's Nippon Sport Science University was relegated to second by Ikuei University, which won 2-1 in their duel meet. Ikuei got victories from Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ami ISHII (JPN), who both won gold medals at last month's Non-Olympic Weight Category World Championships.