#WrestleNewDelhi

Tasmuradov Puts Aside Pain, Korean Opponent to Chalk up 5th Asian Gold

Tuesday, February 18, 2020 - 18:36 By Ken Marantz

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NEW DELHI (Feb. 18)---How tough is Olympic bronze medalist Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB)? He just won a fifth gold medal at the Asian Championships two weeks after breaking a rib.

“It’s still healing,” Tasmuradov said after demolishing SONG Jinseub (KOR) in the Greco-Roman 63kg final on the opening day of this year’s continental tournament Tuesday in New Delhi. “I wanted to go for a fall so that I wouldn’t have to do the par terre.”

In other finals, Kumar SUNIL (IND) gave the host nation its first Asian Greco-Roman gold in 27 years, while a pair of recent world junior champions gave Iran victories in two of the three other gold-medal matches.

In regaining the Asian crown he last won in 2018, Tasmuradov wasn’t able to secure a fall, but got the next best thing, scoring a 9-0 technical fall in 1:33 that included a big 4-point lift and gave him an eighth career Asian medal overall.

Tasmuradov was back at his regular weight at 63kg , where he said he felt more “comfortable,” after qualifying for this year’s Tokyo Olympics at 60kg by placing fifth at last year’s World Championships in Nur-Sultan. 

The 2018 world silver medalist said missing out on a medal in Nur-Sultan was irrelevant, given that he achieved what he had set out to do.

“I planned to go and just qualify for Tokyo,” he said. “I didn’t aim to take a medal, because I’m not a young wrestler. So I went to just qualify and I did it.”

Asked to comment on earning his fifth Asian gold in the Indian capital, site of his first title in 2013 with a last-second win over Abdol PAPI (IRI), he replied, “I don’t feel anything,” he said. “My mind is just on the Tokyo Olympics.”

Tasmuradov lost a shot at winning his fifth title last May in Xi’an, China, when he suffered a severe back injury and had to default in the final to TUO Erbatu (CHN). The fact that he continued to wrestle until the pain became so intense he had to be helped off the mat showed the tenacity that has made him so successful – and allows him to shrug off a mere broken rib. 

Kumar SUNIL (IND) tosses Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ) in the 87kg gold-medal match. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Sunil, a silver medalist at Xi’an 2019, showed an effective combination of stamina and power in handily defeating Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ) 5-0 in the 87kg final. 

That gave India its first Greco gold since Yadav POPPU (IND) won at 48kg in 1993 in Hiroshima, a drought of which Sunil was unaware until told about it just before the final. 

“I didn’t know about the record,” he said. “India had not the gold medal in 27 years. I got to know about it only before the final and it motivated me a lot.”

In the final, Sunil gained a passivity point and converted the par terre advantage into a 3-0 lead with a roll in the first period. In the second, he kept the pressure on and forced two stepouts to secure the victory.

“I have wrestled him in the junior category before,” Sunil said of Salidinov.. “So I was confident of beating him again. He is not strong in the upper body. So it was great to win the final.”

For Sunil, who finished second at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event in January, the bigger accomplishment came in the semifinals in the afternoon session, when he came back from an 8-1 deficit to defeat Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ) 12-8 – just as he did in the 2019 semifinals. 

“The semifinal was the toughest bout for me,” Sunil said. “I was trailing against him at the last Asian Championships as well, but I beat him. Now I beat him here, but this win is sweeter because I was trailing 1-8 here.”

Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI) cruised past Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) in the 55kg finals with an 8-0 victory. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

In the 55kg final, 2018 world junior champion Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI) rolled to an 8-0 technical fall over Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB), just hours after he nearly fainted from exhaustion at the conclusion of a wild semifinal victory. 

The team doctor said Naserpour suffered from low blood sugar after rallying from 7-1 down to beat Arjun HALAKURKI (IND) 7-7 in the semifinals. But after ingesting electrolytes from sports drinks, eating lunch and resting, Naserpour was able to recover in time for the final.

Naserpour used counter wrestling to score takedowns in both periods. After the second, he put together two gut-wrench rolls to end the match at 4:16.

“In the final, my body felt very good,” Naserpour said. “I trained very hard for six months and I’m happy to win the gold.”

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) defeated 2018 world bronze medalist KIM Minseok (KOR) 9-0 in the 130kg gold medal match. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), also a world junior champion in 2018, kept the 130kg title in Iranian hands for the fifth consecutive year after overwhelming 2018 world bronze medalist KIM Minseok (KOR) by 9-0 technical fall.

Mirzazedeh put together three rolls from the par terre position, then ended the match at 2:02 with a snap-down takedown.

Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) prevented a trifecta of Iranian golds when he captured the 77kg tile with a 10-1 technical fall of world military champion Pejman POSHTAM (IRI).

Shadukayev, a bronze medalist at Xi’an 2019, moved to the top step of the podium when a takedown gave him the decisive points to end the match with 10 seconds left in the first period.

“Last year, I won the bronze medal, so I was sad,” Shadukayev said. “Now, I won the gold medal, so I’m very happy. It’s a big thing for me.”

In the bronze-medal matches, Shadukayev’s brother Mansur gave the family more hardware when he defeated Arata SONODA (JPN) by 9-1 technical fall at 130kg, one of three bronzes won by Kazakhstan.

Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) finished third for the second year in a row at 55kg, while Kustubayev shook off his loss to Sunil to take home a bronze at 87kg. Halakurki won the other bronze at 55kg.

Iraq earned the 14th Asian medal in its history and first since 2018 when Hussein ALBIDHAN (IRQ) defeated Sultan Ali EID (JOR) by 12-4 technical fall at 77kg. Eid was aiming to become just the fourth Jordanian to win an Asian medal. 

Kyrgyzstan captured a pair of bronzes from Renat ILIAZ UULU (KGZ) at 77kg and Roman KIM (KGZ) at 130 kg, while the 63kg bronzes went to Mubinjon AKHMEDOV (TJK) and world U-23 champion Meysam DALKHANI (IRI).

In an unusual twist, there was only one bronze at 87kg. Losing semifinalist Behrooz HEDAYAT (IRI) suffered a bad ankle sprain and could not appear in the consolation match, but there was no opponent to face anyway as both of the other wrestlers in the repechage bracket defaulted due to injury.

Day 1 Finals

Greco-Roman

55kg (9 entries)
GOLD - Pouya NASERPOUR (IRI) df. Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB) by TF, 8-0, 4:16
BRONZE – Arjun HALAKURKI (IND) df. WON Donghyeok (KOR), 7-4
BRONZE – Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) df. Sahatsawat PHUANGKAEO (THA) by TF, 10-1, 1:46 

63kg (10 entries)
GOLD - Elmurat TASMURADOV (UZB) df. SONG Jinseub (KOR) by TF, 9-0, 1:33 
BRONZE – Mubinjon AKHMEDOV (TJK) df. Mohammad ALAJMI (KUW) by Fall, 1:50 (7-2)
BRONZE – Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) df. Yernur FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ), 2-0

77kg (13 entries)
GOLD - Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) df. Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) by TF, 10-1, 2:50
BRONZE – Hussein ALBIDHAN (IRQ) df. Sultan Ali EID (JOR) by TF, 12-4, 5:10
BRONZE – Renat ILIAZ UULU (KGZ) df. Bekhzod UMAROV (UZB), 5-0

87kg (9 entries)
GOLD - Kumar SUNIL (IND) df. Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ), 5-0
BRONZE – Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ) df. Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN), 3-1 
(Only one bronze due to injury defaults)

130kg (8 entries)
GOLD - Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. KIM Minseok (KOR) by TF, 9-0, 2:02 
BRONZE – Roman KIM (KGZ) df. Singh MEHAR (IND), 3-2
BRONZE – Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) df. Arata SONODA (JPN) by TF, 9-1, 4:10 

#WrestleCoralville

Welker Pins World Champ Reasco to Win Pan-Am Gold

Sunday, May 10, 2026 - 09:57 By Vinay Siwach

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CORALVILLE, IOWA, United States (May 9) -- Olympic bronze medalist, world bronze medalist and world champion. That was the hit-list of Kylie WELKER (USA) as she defended her Pan-American 76kg title in Coralville on Saturday.

Welker, a world bronze medalist herself last year, was among the three United States wrestlers who won gold medals as Women's Wrestling came to a close at the Pan-American Championships. The U.S. was the best team of the tournament with 235 points as all 10 wrestlers won medals including eight golds. Canada finished second with 136 points while Mexico was third with 128 points.

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Welker's path to gold medal was nothing short of a minefield as she faced Paris 2024 bronze medalist Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) in the quarterfinals. But Welker got to work straightaway scoring a stepout to lead 1-0. She then countered Renteria's attack and scored a takedown to extend the lead to 3-0 before adding another to go into the break leading 5-0. She took 30 seconds in the second period to score her third takedown and then rolled Renteria twice to finish the match 11-0.

Up against world bronze medalist Milaimy MARIN (CUB) in the semifinals, Welker finished the bout with 1:18 remaining. Marin was put on the activity clock in the first period before Welker rushed her into a takedown to lead 3-0. Welker then overpowered Marin when the Cuban tried reaching for Welker's legs. It was scored four points as Marin fell straight from standing. A go-behind and then an arm-bar exposure was enough for an 11-0 win but Welker held Marin on the mat for the fall.

 

World champion Genesis REASCO (ECU) reached the final from the other side of the bracket with hopes of avenging her 10-0 loss to Welker from last year's Pan-Am semifinals. But the final did not start in Reasco's favor as she was put on the activity clock in the first period which gave Welker a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Welker was put on the activity clock but with seconds left in the 30-second clock, she tried reaching Reasco's leg.

The Ecuadorian world champion thought it was ideal moment to drag Welker towards the zone, but as she did that, Welker whizzed her for a two-point exposure and then held her on the mat for a fall which was confirmed just before Reasco went out of wrestling area.

With the gold medal, U23 world champion Welker is now a two-time Pan-Am champion.

The two other champions for the U.S. were former world medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA) and Abigail NETTE (USA) at 65kg and 59kg respectively.

Miracle, returning to wrestling since Paris 2024, won both her bouts via technical superiority. She defeated Alexis GOMEZ (MEX), 10-0, in Round 1 and then Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN), 10-0, in Round 3. Rowbottom defeated Gomez 6-4 in Round 2 to win the silver medal.

Nette had to win three bouts for the gold medal. She began with a 12-2 win over defending champion Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) and then secured two falls, first over Daniela MARTINEZ (MEX) and then against Mayara RAMOS (BRA) to confirm her title.

Beauregard, a four-time Pan-Am champion and world bronze medalist, defeated both Martinez and Ramos to secure the silver medal. And since Ramos defeated Martinez earlier in the day, she won the bronze medal.

 

Yepez Wins Fourth Straight Gold

Olympic and world silver medalist Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) captured her fourth straight Pan-American title at 53kg as she won the gold medal after beating Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 12-2, in the final.

Yepez scored first in the final when Di Benedetto tried a snap down and Yepez quickly turned it into a leg attack. She scored a takedown and then a turn to lead 4-0 before adding a stepout to lead 5-0. But she missed one of her attack and Di Benedetto scored a go-behind to make it 5-2.

If that takedown gave any hopes to Di Benedetto, Yepez quickly quashed then hitting a double-leg for four points and then a turn to lead 11-2. The two wrestlers split for the break but on return, Yepez took just 20 seconds to score the match-winning takedown, taking her score to 13-2.

Earlier in the quarterfinals, Yepez defeated former U20 world champion Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA), 11-0.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA)Zahid VALENCIA (USA) outscored his opponents 31-0 en route his third Pan-Am title. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Valencia Defends 86kg Gold

Freestyle commenced on Saturday at the Pan-Ams and the U.S., like in Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling, dominated it.

In the three weight classes in action on Saturday, the U.S. won two golds medals through world champion Zahid VALENCIA (USA) at 86kg and Austin DE SANTO (USA) at 61kg. The third Freestyle gold of the night went to Geannis GARZON (CUB) who denied Phillip WEBSTER (USA) in the 74kg final.

Valencia, the defending champion at 86kg, went 31-0 in his three bouts. He began with a 10-0 win over Nestor TAFUR (COL) before beating Pedro GONCALVES (BRA), 11-0, in the semifinals.

In the final, Valencia opened the scoring against Christopher FOCA (DOM) using a snap down takedown and then scored another at the edge to lead 4-0. He then used a single-leg attack to lift Foca and slam him on the mat for four points and double the lead to 8-0. Foca attempted a head pinch but Valencia defended it and scored two points as Foca landed on the mat, giving Valencia the win with 2:31 remaining.

De Santo won his first two bouts in the Nelson bracket and then the semifinal, all with the score of 10-0, before blanking Caleb SMITH (PUR), 9-0, in the final. While Smith was pace-setter in the first period, it was De Santo who counter efficiently to lead 4-0 at the break.

But De Santo changed it in the second period, scoring a takedown and turn in the first 34 seconds and lead 8-0. He defended his lead without engaging much with Smith and also scored a stepout late in the final to clinch the gold medal.

Geannis GARZON (CUB)Geannis GARZON (CUB) won the 74kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

At 74kg, Garzon made amends after being disqualified for brutality last year, by winning the gold medal this year. Facing Webster in the final, Garzon led 4-0 at the break. In a back-and-forth second period, Garzon tried using a chest wrap to defend an attack from Webster. It was initially scored two for Garzon and one for Webster's reversal, giving Garzon a 6-1 lead.

The U.S. challenged the decision and after the review, the scoring was changed to four points for Garzon and two points for Webster with the former lead 8-2. Webster got a clean takedown soon after to trim the lead to 8-4 but as he was working on the next takedown, Garzon scored exposure lift for two points and Webster got a reversal for one point.

Garzon led 10-5 when Webster scored stepout to make it 10-6 but the U.S. challenged, saying the score should be 10-7. The scoring was deemed correct and Garzon body locked Webster in the final eight seconds to score a takedown and confirm his victory.   

Photo

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 13-2

BRONZE: Sabrina GAMA (BRA) df. Antonia VALDES (CHI), 8-2
BRONZE: Cristelle RODRIGUEZ (USA) df. Alexa ALVAREZ (VEN), 7-2

59kg
GOLD: Abigail NETTE (USA)
SILVER: Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
BRONZE: Mayara RAMOS PEREIRA (BRA)

65kg
GOLD: Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
SILVER: Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN)
BRONZE: Alexis GOMEZ (MEX)

76kg
GOLD: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Genesis REASCO (ECU), via fall

BRONZE: Milaimy MARIN (CUB) df. Tatiana RENTERIA (COL), 7-0
BRONZE: Edna JIMENEZ (MEX) df. Neirili BANGUERO (VEN), 9-5

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Austin DE SANTO (USA) df. Caleb SMITH (PUR), 9-0

BRONZE: Garette SAUNDERS (CAN) df. Alex VEGA TUN (GUA), 12-5

74kg
GOLD: Geannis GARZON TAMAYO (CUB) df. Phillip WEBSTER (USA), 12-6

BRONZE: Ibsen AGUILAR (VEN) df. Luis BARRIOS (HON), 8-6
BRONZE: Adam THOMSON (CAN) df. Raul PALACIOS (MEX), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Christopher FOCA (DOM), 10-0

BRONZE: Ethan RAMOS (PUR) df. Jose PINERO (VEN), 10-0
BRONZE: Nestor TAFUR (COL) df. Pedro GONCALVES (BRA), 11-0