#WrestleRome

U17 World Championships day two semis set

By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (July 26) -- After an eventful first day, the U17 World Championships will see another round of Greco-Roman action on day two. Wrestlers from 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg will be eyeing a spot in their respective finals.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RECAP

14:45: The semifinals pair for the evening sessions

45kg
Ionut MEREUTA (ROU) vs. Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)
Payam AHMADI (IRI) vs. Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR)

60kg
Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM) vs. Abolfazl MIRSHEKAR (IRI)
Omar MOURAD (EGY) vs. Lucas Kevin LO GRASSO (FRA)

71kg
Anri PUTKARADZE (GEO) vs. Ibrahim OZDEMIR (TUR)
Ararat VARDERESYAN (ARM) vs. Davud MAMMADOV (AZE)

51kg
Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) vs. AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB)
Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI) vs. Ali SUMBUL (TUR)

92kg
Gor AYVAZYAN (GEO) vs. Hamidreza Morteza KESHTKAR (IRI)
Darius KIEFER (GER) vs. Cody MERRILL (USA)

 14:30:  Payam AHMADI (IRI) and Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR) have set up a mouth-watering semifinal at 45kg. Ahmadi has been on a great run today while Pokovba is looking to add world gold to his continental title 

13:50: Returning silver medalist Anri KHOZREVANIDZE (GEO) could not have asked for a better start. He beats Hristo VALENTINOV (BUL) 9-0 inside the first period.

13:45: What a battle! Rauan BEKIMOV (KAZ), the Asian champion at 51kg, had the bout in control but Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI) came from behind to win 8-7 and secure a place in the quarterfinals. Gholami is a bronze medalist in the Asian Championships.

13:35: In a battle of European medalists, silver in Bucharest Davud MAMMADOV (AZE) gets the turn from par terre while bronze medalist Maksym RADYK (UKR) fails to do so. Mammadov moves on to the quarterfinals 

13:25: No trouble for Ibrahim OZDEMIR (TUR) against Antal VAMOS (SRB). The European champion did give up three points but controlled the bout to score 11 to reach 80kg quarterfinals.

13:15: Omar MOURAD (EGY) is moving on. After upsetting Mahammad GASIMZADE (AZE) earlier, he now defeats Isa BEKTEMIROV (AUT) 9-0 to enter 60kg quarterfinals 

13:00: The 45kg quarterfinals

Huseyn SAVADOV (AZE) vs. Shakhzod RUZIOKHUNOV (UZB)
Omur YNTYMAK UULU (KGZ) vs. Payam AHMADI (IRI)
Hiro SAKAMOTO (JPN) vs. Ionut MEREUTA (ROU)
Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR) vs. Beknur MUKAN (KAZ) 

12:40: In the other 71kg action, both European bronze medalists Dimitar RACHEV (BUL) and Maksym RADYK (UKR) are through to the next round. Rachev defeated Ding HUANG (TPE) 10-0 while Radyk beat Amirshoh VAHOBOV (UZB) 9-0. 

12:30: The upset! European champ at 60kg Mahammad GASIMZADE (AZE) began with a great four-pointer and led 7-0 when he tried to hip toss Omar MOURAD (EGY), who turns mid-air to have Gasimzade on his back. He secures the fall.

12:20: Ararat VARDERESYAN (ARM) gives no chance to Asian champion Mohammad MORADI (IRI) at 71kg. Moradi did score three points but cannot match the power of Vardersyan who wins 12-3

12:00: European champion at 45kg Yevhen POKOVBA (UKR) works hard for a 6-2 win over Giorgi KOCHALIDZE (GEO). That's a big hurdle he has crossed early in the tournament.

11:50: U17 Asian silver medalist Payam AHMADI  (IRI) kicks off the day with a top win. He was involved in a few scrambles with Neeraj PATEL (IND) but eventually won 10-2

11:30: The day will kick off with the repechage bouts before the qualification bouts of 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 80kg.

11:25: Welcome to yet another warm day here in Rome. The wrestlers are ready for their qualification bouts.

Development

Saudi Wrestling Federation growing wrestling through education

By United World Wrestling Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (12 October) – The Saudi Wrestling Federation has been organizing coaching and referee courses to grow and develop wrestling within their country over the past few years. Their hard work led to their first-ever silver medal at the U20 Asian Championships. Manthr Jndu achieved this at 63kg in Greco-Roman.

In late April, they organized two more courses (Level 1 Coaching Course and Introduction to Refereeing Course) for new coaches and referees. The Saudi Wrestling Federation held these courses in partnership with United World Wrestling.  

Mr. Hassan MADANY (EGY) and Mr. Juan Luis MAREN (CUB) conducted the Level 1 Coaching Course, and Mr. Sherif HALAWA (EGY) and Mr. Mohsen YAMANI (KSA—Chief of Saudi Referees) led the Introduction to Refereeing course. The courses were held from 28 April to 2 May and included 91 participants (22 women) from 8 nationalities, including participants from EGY, MAR, SYR, SUD, NGR, JOR, KGZ, and KSA residing in Saudi Arabia.

The coaching course had 71 participants, including 17 women coaches. The Level 1 Course is the Introduction to Coaching and Safety. During the course, the participants participated in theoretical and practical sessions. Some of the topics covered were discovery games, introducing a new technique, coaching skills, giving feedback, risk management, age, and developmental stage characteristics.  The coaches actively practiced and developed their skills during the course through practical evaluations. Overall, the coaches gained important knowledge and skills to help them improve in their role as coaches.  

The Introduction to Refereeing Course had 20 participants, including 5 women referees. The participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee.  The areas covered during the course included the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout.  The participants were active during the course and could practice their skills through practical evaluations. 

During the courses, there were sessions involving both referees and coaches, led by Mr. Halawa. This allowed both groups to work together and better learn wrestling rules.