Turkey, India share spoils on Zouhaier Sghaier Day 1

Thursday, July 14, 2022 - 19:53 By Vinay Siwach

TUNIS, Tunisia (July 14) -- Junior world champion Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) put on a clinical display to lead Turkey's charge on day one of the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series event, the fourth and final of the year.

On the first day, six Greco-Roman gold medals were on offer and Turkey and India snagged three each with close to perfect performances at the Sports Hall of Rades.

Bakir's performance highlighted Turkey's depth at the superheavyweight in Greco-Roman with Riza KAYAALP (TUR) and Osman YILDRIM (TUR) already there.

He wrestled two bouts in the day and won both without much trouble. In the morning, he was up against NAVEEN (IND) and after being given the advantage of Naveen's passivity, Bakir got a roll from par terre to make the score 3-0, a lead which he kept till the clock expired.

In the evening session, he was up against Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) in a virtual gold medal match. Guennichi had also defeated Naveen 5-3 in their bout.

Bakir was once again the aggressive wrestler of the two and was given a point for Guennichi's passivity. Despite his strong defense, Guennichi gave up two turns to Bakir who was up 5-0.

The positions were reversed in the second period but Bakir was stronger in defense and did not give up any turns. Ultimately, he won the bout and gold 5-1.

Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR), blue, dominated the 97kg weight in Tunis. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Men Mrad)

The second gold for Turkey came at 97kg as Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR managed to win all three of his bouts. While he defeated Mohamed JABRI (TUN), 12-0, in the Round 3 bout, it was the morning bout against DEEPANSHU (IND) that all but confirmed his gold.

Saricicek and Deepanshu were involved in a tense battle and the Turkey wrestler managed to pull off a 2-1 win in the end.

Deepanshu rallied back to beat Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG), 1-1, in Round 3 in the evening to confirm a silver medal for himself in the Nordic bracket.

Veteran Ayhan KARAKUS (TUR) gave Turkey its third gold when he began the evening session with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Arjun HALAKURKI (IND).

Using the arm-trap after par terre, Karakus finished the bout in just 1:58 to claim the gold at 60kg.

Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND) won the 67kg gold via classification points. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 67kg, Asian Championships bronze medalist NEERAJ (IND) was coming into Round 3 against Volkan CAKIL (TUR) unbeaten. A win against the Turkey wrestler would secure the gold medal for him.

But Cakil surprised Neeraj with a big four early in the bout. Neeraj cut the lead to 4-3 with a takedown which Cakil challenged but lost. The second period also began with a four-pointer from Cakil which made his lead 8-3.

As time progressed, Neeraj continued his attacks against a tiring Cakil and got a stepout, stepout and caution and a takedown to mount a comeback. But Cakil had got another two points when he used Neeraj's momentum for an arm throw in the second period.

A tiring Cakil managed to hang on for an 11-8 win but that did not get him the gold which went to Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND).

Neeraj had defeated Sahrawat in the morning session while Sahrawat had won against Cakil 8-0. With three wrestlers tied with two wins each, the classification points came into play.

Sahrawat collected a total of nine points after his 10-1 win over Koussay MELKI (TUN). Neeraj finished with eight classification points while Cakil had seven.

The two other gold medals for India came with much clearer results.

Former Asian champion Sunil KUMAR (IND) struggled against Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN) but managed to win 2-1 in the only bout at the 87kg weight class.

The two exchanged passivity points but Kumar had a stepout point which proved to be crucial in the end. Mussaoui got the third passivity as well but he failed to turn Kumar from par terre.

At 60kg, Gyanender DAHIYA (IND) dominated Oussama NASR (TUN) for a 9-0 in the lone bout at the weight class.

After getting the par terre advantage, Dahiya scored via gut wrench and finished the bout with 4:06 still remaining on the clock.

Friday, the second day, will witness the remaining three Greco-Roman weight classes and four women's weights will be in action in Tunis.

Day 1 Results

60kg
GOLD: Ayhan KARAKUS (TUR) df. Arjun HALAKURKI (IND), 9-0

BRONZE: Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) df. Salim HAMDI (TUN), 10-4

63kg
GOLD: Gyanender DAHIYA (IND) df. Oussama NASR (TUN), 9-0

67kg
Round 3: Volkan CAKIL (TUR) df. NEERAJ (IND), 11-8
Round 3: Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND) df. Koussay MELKI (TUN), 10-1

Final standings
GOLD: Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND)
SILVER: NEERAJ (IND)
BRONZE: Volkan CAKIL (TUR)

87kg
GOLD: Sunil KUMAR (IND) df. Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN), 2-1

97kg
Round 3: Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR) df. Mohamed JABRI (TUN), 12-0
Round 3: DEEPANSHU (IND) df. Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG), 1-1

Finals standings
GOLD: Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR)
SILVER: DEEPANSHU (IND)
BRONZE: Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)

130kg
Round 3: Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) df Amine GUENNICHI (TUN), 5-1

Final standings
GOLD: Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)
SILVER: Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
BRONZE: NAVEEN (IND)

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: For France wrestling trio, Olympics come home. Literally

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 07:40 By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 17) -- To compete at a home Olympics can be an unparalleled career high for the best of athletes. Even more so for the three French wrestlers, for whom the Games have come home — quite literally.

When Koumba LARROQUE, Ameline DOUARRE and Mamadassa SYLLA check in at the Athletes Village in Seine Saint Denis and step on the mat at the picturesque venue in Champs de Mars, it’ll mark a culmination of their stories that took shape just a stone's throw away, at the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) at Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

Indeed, there are many wrestling strongholds in France. Dijon, roughly 320 km from Paris, is one such hub that is home to many young stars. And quite a few of them train at France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance — commonly known as INSEP, a facility that’s also designated as the United World Wrestling Center.

However, the presence of wrestling stars who have honed their skills at Bagnolet, the famous Parisian club, in the French team is steeped in symbolism. Not least because it is located close to the two Olympic landmark sites.

But by competing at the home Games, the trio will also carry forward the commune’s century-long wrestling tradition, which also captures the growth of the sport between the two Olympics Paris has hosted.

Ameline DOUARRE (FRA) will compete at Paris Olympics in 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was exactly a hundred years ago, in 1924, that the Association Sportive et Gymnasnique de Bagnolet reinvented and transformed itself into a sports club, kick-starting a revolution of sorts in the area not too far from Paris’s city center.

Nothing nails down Bagnolet’s wrestling culture more than the fact that, according to a survey on the club’s website, two out of three youngsters wrestled. However, it was only after an agreement was reached with the department of Seine Saint Denis — the heart of the Games where the Athletes Village is located — that the sport really took off and the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93 came into being in its current form in 2005.

From Mélonin NOUMONVI, the 2014 Greco-Roman world champion, to Olympic gold medalist Steeve GUENOT and his bronze medal-winning brother Christophe as well as the latest sensation, the former U20 and U23 world champion Larroque – many French champions have spent key years of their development at the club.

But Larroque, Douarre and Sylla have a chance to do something none of their predecessors could: compete in their own backyard.

Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) after his qualification for the 2024 Paris Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Sylla, who discovered wrestling at age 15, finished fifth at the European Championships this year and will compete in the 67 kg Greco-Roman category. Douarre is a last-minute entrant to the draw after withdrawals in the 62 kg weight class.

Sylla, who was a second-choice wrestler for the qualification tournament in Baku, became the first wrestler from France to qualify in Grec-Roman since the 2012 London Games, the last time France won an Olympic medal in wrestling, a bronze by 2008 Beijing champion Steve GUENOT (FRA).

Larroque, though, remains the flag-bearer for French wrestling at the Paris Olympics. Introduced to wrestling at age 9, a youth Olympics medallist at 16, and U23 world champion when she was 19 and a senior worlds silver medallist in the same year, Larroque was destined for greatness.

But her career arc suffered a setback. An injury in the 2018 World Championship final meant she was away from the mat for almost a year. Once she recovered, Larroque looked like a shadow of her past self as she could not manage any podium finishes. And although she made it to Tokyo, she was eliminated after the first round itself.

Paris provides the 68kg wrestler a path to redemption. To finish among medals in front of her family and friends — and a short distance away from her club — would undoubtedly be an unparalleled high in Larroque’s career.

Turkey, India share spoils on Zouhaier Sghaier Day 1

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Paris 2024: For France wrestling trio, Olympics come home. Literally