#WrestleBucharest

Turkiye steals team title from Azerbaijan; Aleksanyan defends

Thursday, February 15, 2024 - 07:17 By Vinay Siwach

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BUCHAREST, Romania (February 14) -- Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) had a positive head-to-head record against Selcuk CAN (TUR) from their previous meetings. Whether it was last year's European Championships or the 2022 World Championships, Ganizade defeated Can by a one-point difference.

On Wednesday, as the two met in the European Championships final at 72kg in Bucharest, Romania, Can made sure he didn't let Ganizade dominate and blanked the Azerbaijan wrestler 2-0 to win his first-ever European gold medal.

Can's gold and teenager Alperen BERBER's (TUR) dream run to the 82kg gold medal helped Turkiye win the Greco-Roman title by five points over Azerbaijan who also had two champions on Wednesday.

The 97kg gold medal was defended by Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in a come-from-behind victory over Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) in the final. Armenia finished third in the team race.

Selcuk CAN (TUR)Selcuk CAN (TUR) won his first-ever European Championships gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Can and Ganizade were aggressive from the first whistle in the final but it was the former who was awarded the par terre advantage. Ganizade did well to defend from par terre and not let Can score any points.

In the second period, Ganizade would have hoped to get a par terre advantage but in a rare case, Can was awarded the second par terre advantage as well, making his lead 2-0 which remained the final score.

Alperen BERBER (TUR)Alperen BERBER (TUR) celebrates after winning the 82kg gold medal for Turkiye. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

U20 world champion Berber's gold was not a big shot in the arm for him, but it helped Turkiye win the team title. Facing Islam ALIEV (AIN) in the final, Berber scored exposure on the edge of the zone for two points which he was awarded after a challenge. He was then awarded the par terre advantage as he led 3-0.

Aliev tried hard to attack but Berber wasn't allowing him to penetrate. Aliev challenged for a singlet-foul which was confirmed on review. A big move from Aliev was deemed a stepout for Berber who was now running away with the gold.

Aliev was giving the par terre advantage late in the second period but he failed to score from par terre and Berber held on to his 4-3 lead.

Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) defeated Victor CIOBANU (MDA) to win the 60kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Azerbaijan's two gold medals came with Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), both students of coach Hassan ALIYEV.  Mammadli stunned Victor CIOBANU (MDA) in the 60kg final 8-3 while Jafarov showed why he is regarded as high, beating Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN), 8-5 in the 67kg final.

Ciobanu was awarded the par terre advantage in the first period but he failed to score any points. Mammadli managed to open his account with a stepout which put him in a 1-1 criteria lead. He gripped Ciobanu by his back and added two more points, leading 3-1 at the break.

Ciobanu used a similar move which Mammadli tried to throw off but Ciobanu ended up scoring a takedown in the zone. Mammadli was cross footed by Ciobanu but the foot had landed outsided the zone which gave Mammadli a point. Ciobanu challenged only to lose it. Mammadli got two points from a pass-by which looked Ciobanu's defense but as he did not have a challenge, Mammadli was awarded two points, swelling his lead to 7-3. A stepout confirmed an 8-3 win for Mammadli.

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) hits a four on Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN) in the 67kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Jafarov followed that with an even more impressive win in the 67kg final. Wrestling Bichurin, Jafarov led 1-0 at the break and gave up exposure in the second period, falling behind 3-1. A reversal made it 3-2.

A third passivity was confirmed in the final with a minute and six seconds left and that is Jafarov ran away with the match. He hit a magical four-pointer and as Bichurin tried a head-pinch in the same sequence, Jafarov held Bichurin on his back, getting two more points.

The world silver medalist now has two back-to-back European Championships titles.

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) won his seventh European title on Wednesday. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

For Aleksanyan, who won his seventh title, Murtazaliev did prove to be a big challenge as he scored a takedown and then led 3-0 as he got a par terre.

But once Aleksanyan got the par terre advantage in the second period, he pulled off a powerful gut wrench to lead 3-3 on criteria which he made 4-3 when Murtazaliev challenged for a leg foul and lost.

Aleksanyan scored a takedown towards the end, confirming yet another gold medal, five months after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the World Championships final.

jk

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 8-3 

BRONZE: Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) df. Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), 2-1
BRONZE: Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) df. Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU), 10-0

67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN), 8-5

BRONZE: Abu AMAEV (BUL) df. Morten THORESEN (NOR), 8-5
BRONZE: Murat FIRAT (TUR) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 5-4

72kg
GOLD: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE), 2-0

BRONZE: Narek OGANIAN (AIN) df. Krisztian VANCZA (HUN), 3-1
BRONZE: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA), 5-0

82kg
GOLD: Alperen BERBER (TUR) df. Islam ALIEV (AIN), 4-3

BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 9-0
BRONZE: Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) df. Erik SZILVASSY (HUN), 2-1

97kg
GOLD: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN), 6-3

BRONZE: Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), via fall (8-0)
BRONZE: Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) df. Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR), 8-0

#WrestleParis

10 seeded showdowns we need to see at Paris 2024 (No. 6-10)

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 14:29 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 17) – We’re still a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 draws taking place on August 4. However, with the release of the top eight seeds per style, we can start to project potential matches that could take place as early as the quarterfinals.

SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 EVENT PAGE 

The top eight Ranking Series point collectors from the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, and the Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series events earned a top eight seed. The remaining eight wrestlers will be randomly drawn into their respective brackets.

Here are the top ten matches that we could see between seeded wrestlers from the quarterfinals on:

10. WW 68kg QUARTERFINAL - No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Koumba Larroque has been a prominent figure in French wrestling since her bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships at just 19 years old. Now in the prime of her career, she’s France’s best shot at a medal.

Larroque’s path to an Olympic medal will be bumpy, to say the least. She’s the third-seeded athlete in a bracket with six world champions and includes a potential quarterfinal clash with  familiar foe No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

Larroque and Oborududu met twice in their career, splitting their pair of previous encounters.

Oborududu won their opening meeting at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, but Larroque returned the favor a year later at the Poland Open, evening the score at 1-1.

If Larroque and Oborududu win their first match, their third career meeting would take place August 5 in the 68kg quarterfinals.

9.  FS 65kg SEMIFINAL –  No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Amouzad and Musukaev are nightmare opponents for each other and are stylistically opposites.

Amouzad, the 65kg world champ from two years ago, is a guy who wants to close the gap with his right-side underhook and fill as much space as possible. Conversely, Musukaev, the reigning 65kg world champion, wants as much space as possible to flow freely.

In their first meeting—the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships-- Musukaev fell victim to Amouzad’s pace and was shut out 6-0. In their second matches—the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships—Musukaev weathered the first period storm, saved enough energy for a last-ditch effort and stole the world finals spot, 6-5, with less than 10 seconds remaining.

If Amouzad and Musukaev meet for a third time, it’ll be on August 10 in 65kg semifinals.

8. 57kg SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. No. 3  Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
The Nichita and Adekuoroye rivalry is one that dates back to the 2019 World Championships but has since changed hands from their pre-COVID meeting.

The seasoned vet Adekuoroye is an anomaly in the wrestling world. Her style can’t be mimicked or replicated. She’s the tallest and lengthiest 57kg wrestler in the world but has also learned to use her leverage to become one of the most powerful wrestlers in the weight.

Adekuoroye’s unique style gave Nichita fits in their first meeting, as the four-time world medalist opened their three-match series with a dominant 10-0 win.

But Nichita carried what she learned from their first meeting into their next matches and had her hand raised on subsequent occasions.

In Tokyo, Nichita fell behind early but capitalized on an uncharacteristic Adekuoroye’s mistake and picked up a dramatic come-from-behind fall while trailing 8-2. Their next meeting came at the 2023 World Championships, where Nichita doubled Adekuoroye before ending the match in the first period with a left-sided trap arm gut, 10-0.

The fourth meeting between Nichita and Adekuoroye will take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

7. GR 67kg QUARTERFINAL – No. 2 Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) vs. No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
If there were ever a lesson from losing a match, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) certainly learned it the hard way.

Earlier this year at the Hungarian Open Ranking Series event, Esmaelil led reigning Olympic champion Orta, 7-5, with 0.4 seconds left in the match.

But before we get to the ending of the match, it’s important to note that Esmaeili was in a domestic battle with reigning Olympic gold medalist Reza GERAEI (IRI) for Iran’s 67kg Paris Olympic spot. If Esmaeili beat Orta, he cemented his spot on Iran’s Olympic team. If he lost, Esmaeili and Geraei would go to a three-match wrestle off and the winner goes to Paris.

Now, circling back to the match: With less than a second to go in the match, Esmaeili began celebrating as he thought the clock expired.

During Esmaeili’s lapse of judgement, Orta, being the experienced guy, continued to wrestle through the whistle. Orta took a peek at the clock, saw there was still time left, locked up a throw and picked up four points, stealing the match, 9-7.

Esmaeili will try to get his revenge on Orta August 7 in the 67kg quarterfinals.

*Esmaeili ended up beating Geraei in two straight matches to earn the Olympic spot.

6. WW 57kg SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) vs. No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Through the first two meetings between Sakurai and Maroulis, it’s been a one-sided affair. Sakurai is 2-0 against Maroulis, outscoring the Rio Olympic champion, 9-0, while picking up four offensive takedowns and not surrendering a single point.

Sakurai and Maroulis’ meeting at the 2022 World Championships was a slow-paced match, where the Japanese wrestler did enough to win but didn’t really establish her dominance.

That came in the second match.

In their second meeting, the biggest difference was Sakurai’s tatical use of her right hand when tied up with Maroulis. She used it to score three takedowns—one from an underhook front headlock, one from a underhook throw-by and the final one coming from a two-on-one—besting the American, 6-0.

The third meeting between Sakurai and Maroulis would take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympic Games starts Agust 5-11 and can be followed on www.uww.org.