#Trnava2018

Steveson Eyeing Fourth World Title

Sunday, September 16, 2018 - 12:56 By Eric Olanowski

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TRNAVA, Solvakia (September 16) - Daton FIX (USA) and Gable STEVESON (USA), the duo of American returning champions lead a freestyle #Trnava2018 field that boasts 245 wrestlers from 40 different nations. 

The reigning 55kg champion, Fix, enters the Junior World Championships at 57kg, while Steveson, the 120kg gold-medal winner enters at 125kg. 

Steveson, the reigning three-time world champion will be looking for his fourth age-level world title. Since stepping on the international scene in 2015, Steveson has yet to drop a match on his way to claiming two Cadet World titles, and a Junior World gold medal. 

Daton FIX (USA), 2017 Tampere World champion. (Photo by Marion Stein). 

The other reigning champion, Fix, will be competing in his fifth age-level World Championship. Since taking tenth place at the 2014 Cadet World Championships, Fix has rallied to win three world medals. Fix won back-to-back bronzes, before claiming his first World gold at the Tampere World Championships. 

If Fix has hopes of winning back-to-back Junior World titles, he’ll have to go through returning bronze medalist, Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM). 

Harutyunyan, the two-time age-level European champion dropped his 2017 Junior World quarterfinal bout against Ismail GADZHIEV (RUS), 11-9. Gadzhiev went on to take second place, dropping his finals bout to Fix, 12-1. 

The United States’ roster was scheduled to feature two of the three 2017 cadet world champions that were entered, but due to an undisclosed injury to Daniel KERKVLIET JR (USA), Aaron BROOKS (USA) will be the only American cadet world champion that is entered. 

Mehdi ESHGHIVASOUKOLAEI (IRI), 2017 Cadet World champion. (Photo by Martin Gabor) 

Iran’s Mehdi ESHGHIVASOUKOLAEI is the third cadet world champion that will be in action in Trnava where he’s currently entered at 61kg. 

With the absence of Kerkvliet at 97kg, the gold medal favorites are Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)  and Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV (TKM). 

Akturk is down from 120kg where he grabbed the bronze medal at last years Junior World Champions, while Saparov is down from 100kg where he won a cadet world bronze medal. 


Piotr CARASENI (MDA), 2017 Cadet World bronze medalist. (Photo by Martin Gabor) 

Other previous age-level world medalists to pay attention to are Piotr CARASENI (MDA)(74kg), Abbas Ali FOROUTANRAMI (IRI) (92kg), Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)  (70kg), and Seyedabolfazl HASHEMIJOUYBARI (IRI) (86kg). 

SCHEDULE
Friday 
10:30 - Qualification rounds FS – 57-65-70-79-97kg
17:15 - Semifinal FS – 57-65-70-79-97kg

Saturday 
10:30 - Qualification rounds FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
10:30 - Repechage FS – 57-65-70-79-97kg
17:15 - Semifinal FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
18:00 - Finals FS – 57-65-70-79-97kgSunday 

Sunday 
16:00 - Repechage FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
18:00 - Finals FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg

#UWWAwards

Ono, Bondar, Hedayati named UWW's Rising Stars for 2024

Thursday, December 12, 2024 - 15:56 By Vinay Siwach

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United World Wrestling has named Masanosuke ONO (JPN), Iryna BONDAR (UKR) and Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) as the Emerging Stars of the Year in Freestyle, Women's Wrestling and Greco-Roman for 2024.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN)

A storm hit the wrestling world late in the season. 20-year-old Masanosuke ONO (JPN) went on a rampage at the U20 and senior World Championships, winning both titles.

He first competed internationally at the Yasar Dogu tournament in March this year, winning the gold medal in a 28-wrestler 61kg bracket. Then he moved up to 65kg for the Asian Championships in Bishkek. However, he suffered a fall against Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) in his first bout. He returned to win the bronze medal.

That loss against Tumur Ochir would be a distant memory as Ono went on to win gold at the U20 World Championships, winning three out of four bouts via technical superiority. Then came the World Championships Tirana with Ono being a dark horse.

He quickly changed that to the favorite to win the gold medal as he opened with a huge 10-2 win over Tokyo Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN). He went on to add four more wins for the gold medal with scores reading 12-0, 11-0, 12-0 and 10-0.

Ono, currently a student at Yamanashi Gakuin University, earned new fans in Tirana with his dynamic style of wrestling and his celebrations. Most fans are glued to their seats when Ono is on the mat as in Tirana as he showed his range of attacks, from leg attacks to par terre and from upper body throws to leg laces.

Iryna BONDAR (UKR)Iryna BONDAR (UKR) won six gold medals, including two at world championships, this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iryna BONDAR (UKR)

Among one of the most active wrestlers this year, Iryna BONDAR (UKR) clearly emerges as the future star in the making.

Bondar has competed at a staggering eight tournaments this year and won gold medals at six. Bondar began the year with an eighth-place finish at the Zagreb Open, her first senior competition, but then began a prolific run of winning gold medals at all age-group tournaments.

Bondar began with the U23 European Championships, added the second at the Budapest Ranking Series before adding the gold at the U20 European Championships. Then came the World Championships season. She won the U20 World Championships gold medal at 62kg, a month later she added the U23 World Championships gold medal at 62kg.

She could have capped off her season on a high but she participated in her first senior World Championships days after the U23 event. Wrestling at 65kg, she suffered a close loss to Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN).

In the four championships this year, Bodnar has outscored her opponents 155-25 in 18 bouts. Before that loss in Tirana, she was on a 24-0 winning run this year.

Bondar has been an active wrestler on the tour and won medals at the U20, U23 World Championships before, finishing with silvers and bronzes. However, the gold rush came this year.

Her form at 62kg makes her the heir apparent to two-time Olympic medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) who recently won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) won the 130kg gold at the U23 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)

While a lot can be said about Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) and his age-group world titles, his stunned the wrestling world in Budapest this year.

At the Budapest Ranking Series in July, a tune-up tournament for the Paris Olympics, Hedayati shocked world and Olympic champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) at Greco-Roman 130kg with a 4-0 win. Hedayati broke the Turkish legend in the six-minute bout and claimed the most famous win of his career so far.

Hedayati has been knocking on the 130kg door of the Iran team for long but Olympic bronze medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) is still holding the spot. But the 2024 year has further Hedayati's claim over it.

Beginning the year with the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, Hedayati won he gold medal at 130kg with victories over Laszlo DARABOS (HUN), Wenhao JIANG (CHN), Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB), Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) and Lingzhe MENG (CHN).

Then came the 2024 Vehbi Emre tournament in which he challenged Mirzazadeh for the spot on Iran team but suffered a loss, his only of the season. He bounced back quickly from that and won the Budapest Ranking Series gold medal. Hedayati's style an be gauged with the fact that he did no give up a single point in three bouts in Budapest, making him a highly active wrestler.

He capped off the year with his first U23 World Championships gold medal at 130kg in Tirana. Hedayati's golden run included victories over some of the biggest names in age-group wrestling like Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN), Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), Hamza BAKIR (TUR).

Only Vyshnyvetskyi, who defeated Hedayati for the gold at the U20 World Championships in 2022, was able to score points on Hedayati when he hit an arm-throw. However, even in that bout, the Iranian never looked in any trouble.

Hedayati's active wrestler makes it difficult for his opponents to get him in forced par terre, making it difficult for them to score.