#Trnava2018

Three Reigning World Champs Make Tuesday Night’s Semifinals

By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 18) - Reigning junior world champions Kerem KAMAL (TUR), Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI), and Aleksandr KOMAROV (RUS) all moved into Tuesday night’s Trnava Greco-Roman semifinals. 

A noticeably larger Kamal, up from his 2017 World Championship weight of 55kg made the 60kg semifinals with three wins on Tuesday morning.

He only surrendered one point in his first two matches before edging junior European bronze medalist, Ararat MANUCHARYAN (ARM), 5-3 to make the semifinals. 

In the semifinals, Karem will see three-time world representative, Razvan ARNAUT (ROU).  

 Reigning world champion, Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI). Photo Max Rose-Fyne. 

Meanwhile, the second reigning world champion Amin Kaviyaninejad barely broke a sweat, cruising to the 72kg semifinals while outscoring his opponents 25-0. 

He’ll wrestle Russia’s three-time world team representative Magomed YARBILOV for a spot in tomorrow night’s finals. 

The third Tampere world champion to make Tuesday night's semifinals was three-time reigning world champion, Aleksandr Komarov. 

Komarov shutout his first two opponents 18-0, including a 10-0 win over reigning cadet world finalist Istvan TAKACS (HUN) before moving into the quarterfinals. 

In the quarterfinals, Komarov narrowly squeaked past Iran’s Hosein FOROUZANDEH (IRI), 3-2. Komarov trailed 2-0 with less than 10 seconds left when Forouzandeh was penalized two points for a clear leg-foul. The Iranian coaches challenged the call and lost, giving Komarov his third point, and the 3-2 victory. 

Komarov will meet Georgia's Aivengo RIKADZE on Tuesday night for a spot in his fourth straight age-level World Championship.

SEMIFINALS
60kg

Ali Reza Ayat Ollah NEJATI (IRI) vs. Vijay VIJAY (IND) 
Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) 

67kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) vs. Ismail GUN (TUR) 
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) vs. Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) 

72kg
Magomed YARBILOV (RUS) vs. Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) 
Minto MAEDA (JPN) vs. Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO) 

82kg
Aleksandr Andreevitch KOMAROV (RUS) vs. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO) 
Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR) vs. Andrew Douglas BERREYESA (USA) 

92kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) vs. Balint VATZI (HUN) 
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN) vs. Illia LAURYNOVICH (BLR) 

#development

UWW and Inspire Institute of Sport sign MoU to advance wrestling development in India

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (August 27) -- United World Wrestling (UWW) and the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The MoU was signed at the Wrestling House, UWW's hospitality venue, located on a boat next to the iconic Eiffel Tower.

This strategic partnership is designed to foster collaboration and enhance the development of wrestling in India by establishing a framework for mutually beneficial programs, projects, and activities. The MoU reflects the commitment of both UWW and IIS to support elite and pre-elite wrestling athletes, as well as suitably qualified coaches in India.

IIS, a charitable trust dedicated to social development through sports, education, and health, operates a state-of-the-art high-performance training center in Vijayanagar, Karnataka. The facility meets international standards and is focused on promoting Olympic sports in India, providing young talents with the resources and training necessary to succeed.

The institute is prominent in developing wrestling, among other sports, in India. Olympic bronze medalists Bajrang PUNIA (IND) and Sakshi MALIK (IND) have been associated with it in past. Recently, IIS trainees World Championships bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) and Nisha DAHIYA (IND) wrestled at the Paris Olympics.

Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND)Nikhil PILANAGOILA (IND), left, will compete at the U20 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At the age-group level, IIS has supported U20 Asian Championships gold medalists Dhanshri FAND (IND) and NITIKA (IND). Former U20 World Championships medalist HARSHITA (IND), U17 world medalist Jaskaran SINGH (IND), U23 Asian champion RADHIKA (IND) and Nikhil YADAV (IND), who will participate in the upcoming U20 World Championships in Spain are all out of the IIS stable.

UWW's involvement in this partnership is part of its broader strategic global development plan, which aims to elevate the sport of wrestling worldwide, with a particular focus on supporting the growth of wrestling in India.

Both UWW and IIS are eager to begin this collaborative journey, confident that their joint efforts will contribute significantly to the success and international recognition of Indian wrestling. Their joint efforts will contribute significantly to the success and international recognition of Indian wrestling.