Greco-Roman, asia championships, Taiwan, Iran, Korea, Iran wrestling junior, Turkemenistan, Uzbekistan, Rezaei

Turkmenistan Grabs Historic Gold, Iran Wins Three

Thursday, June 15, 2017 - 14:06 By Tim Foley

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Tazayev Thrills En Route to Turkmenistan First-Ever Greco-Roman Gold

Turkmenistan’s Seydilla TAZAYEV made history Thursday night in Taipei, winning his country’s first continental gold medal since 1997, and its first-ever gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the continental or world level.

The youngster had a tough road to the 60kg Greco-Roman finals, wrestling back from an early deficit in his quarterfinal and finals match. In the quarterfinals Tazayev was trailing by four points early, but came back to score 17 points on his way to a 17-10 victory.

In the finals Tzayev was trailing Keremat ABDEVALI (IRI) by three points with less than ten seconds remaining in the match, but found his way to a high dive takedown for four points and the gold medal.

FACT: Nadeshda JELTAKOVA was Turkmenistan’s last gold medalist winning the 68kg weight category in 1997. That tournament was also held in Taiwan.

Iran’s Kaviyaninejad and Balihamzehdeh Toss Their Way to 66kg, 84kg Titles

Trailing Kaviyaninejad 4-0 early in the night’s 66kg finals, Merey BEKENOV (KAZ) challenged a what would have been a match-ending four-point throw by Kaviyaninejad. The challenge was accepted and Bekenov, feeling renewed, led a spritied attack on the restart. But Kaviyaninejad would not be denied his spectacular throw -- after finding a quick takedown Kaviyaninejad immediately lifted Bekenov, repeated his original throw and took the gold medal via technical fall, 12-0.

Not to be outshined, teammate Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH capped an impressive performance with a five-point throw and eventual fall over Kalidin ASYKEEV (KGZ) in the 84kg gold medal finals. The Iranian champion had early pinned Ermatbek SHERMATOV (UZB) in the semifinal.

Rezaei Also Snags Top Spot

Iran’s Mohammad REZAEI (IRI) bested Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), 4-4  in the 55kg finals to give his home country their first of three gold medals of the night.

Four Falls Gives Makhmudov First Junior Gold 

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) wasted no time in pinning Uzbekistan’s Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV in the 74kg finals Thursday night in Taiwan. The most impressive wrestler on day one of wrestling in Tawian, Makhmudov’s overpowering, brutish style earned him four pins in four matches as well as the adoration of fans.

The Asian Championships were Makhmudov’s first junior-level tournament, having won the Cadet Asian Championships in 2015 and 2016 as well as the 2016 Cadet World Championship at 68kg.

Uzbekistan’s Mamajanov Claws to 96kg Gold

In the night’s final bout Uzbekistan’s Temur MAMAJANOV fought his way past Iran’s Amirmohammad NOROOZIPASAND, 2-0 to capture his first international medal. The Uzbek big man defeated India’s Sagar SAGAR (IND) 6-2 in the semifinals.

#WrestleAcapulco, #WrestleParis

Gomez, Cruz deny USA Paris 2024 spots at Pan-Am Qualifiers

Saturday, March 2, 2024 - 06:43 By Gaurav Bhatt

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (March 1) — The Pan American Olympic Games Qualifiers wrapped up in style in Acapulco, Mexico, with Puerto Rico and Cuba earning three quotas on offer each, while Mexico and Canada securing two berths apiece.

The day was marked by stunning performances and a few upsets, particularly in the 57kg and 65kg classes where the U.S. wrestlers were eyeing qualification. 
While the two American wrestlers failed in their quest on Friday, two NCAA champions successfully secured quotas for their nations. 

Two-time NCAA champion Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) showcased his NCAA-honed skills with a commanding 14-4 victory over Oscar TIGREROS (COL) in the 57kg semifinal. The 25-year-old — who chose to represent his grandparents' native country Mexico last summer — got the better of Tigreros, an Olympian and five-time Pan-Am medallist Tigreros.

In the second semifinal, 2017 NCAA champion Darian CRUZ (PUR) edged out Zane RICHARDS (USA) in a 2-2 criteria win. The first period between Richards and Cruz ended in a tense 1-1 tie. 

Richards edged ahead early in the second with a shot clock point, before Cruz retaliated. The Puerto Rican team challenged a scoring decision, and Cruz was awarded a point for pushing Richards out, deadlocking the score at 2-2 with just seconds left. Richards fiercely attacked, but couldn't land a takedown, ultimately losing to Cruz for the first time at senior level.

NCAA All-American Austin GOMEZ (MEX) defeated Nick LEE (USA) in the quarterfinal, as the weight class continues to be a thorn in the side of the U.S. at the senior level.

Lee, who won the Pan-Am gold last week, took control and rushed to a 10-4 lead before the first break. However, after a long injury timeout for Gomez in the second period, the tide dramatically turned as Gomez's scoring spree saw him rack up 18 points and ultimately winning by technical fall (22-12).

In the semifinal, Gomez beat fellow All-American Lachlan MCNIEL (CAN) 6-3. 

Alejandro VALDES (CUB), a two-time world medalist and two-time Olympian, lived up to expectations by dominating Shannon HANNA (BAH) with an 11-0 technical superiority win in the second 65kg semifinal.

Geandry GARZON (CUB), aiming for his second Olympic appearance at the age of 40, clinched a berth for Cuba by defeating Julio RODRIGUEZ (DOM) 6-2 in the 74kg division. Garzon — who won the last of his four Worlds medals in 2010 — set a deliberate pace against the 26-year-old finalist from last week's Pan-Am championships.

However, once put on the shot clock, Garzon attacked Rodriguez's right leg and scored a two-point move. Two more two-pointers followed deep in the second period, securing the win for the Cuban.

In the second semifinal, two-time Pan-Am champion Anthony MONTERO (VEN) made a statement with an 11-0 thrashing of Raul PALACIOS (MEX).

In the 97kg division, Arturo SILOT (CUB) showed he's second only to Kyle SNYDER (USA) at the Pan-Am level as the 22-year-old rag-dolled his opponents on his way to securing Cuba a berth at Paris Games. Silot — who has lost three straight Pan-Am championships finals to Snyder — didn't give up a point as he ran through Maxwell LACEY (CRC) and Nishan Preet RANDHAWA (CAN).

In the second semifinal, Luis PEREZ (DOM) clinched a narrow 4-2 victory over Cristian SARCO (VEN) in a battle of last week's bronze medallists.

The 86kg category witnessed Ethan RAMOS (PUR) defeat two-time Olympian Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL) 11-6, while Alexander MOORE (CAN) pulled off an impressive 4-0 win against the top-seeded Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN), who finished runner-up at the Pan-Am championships last week.

Earlier, four-time Pan-Am champion Yurieski Torreblanca TORREBLANCA (CUB) lost a fall to Anthony VALENCIA (MEX) in the qualification rounds.

Former Pan-Am champion Amarveer DHESI (CAN) took little over two minutes to thwart Ibrain TORRES (CUB) 11-0 to earn Canada a spot. Jonovan SMITH (PUR), who grabbed a silver at the Pan-Ams last week, won the other semifinal against Gino AVILA (HON) 5-1.