U17 Worlds: USA crowns two champions in Istanbul

Saturday, August 5, 2023 - 18:33 By Gaurav Bhatt

ISTANBUL (August 5) -- Saturday's action at the U17 World Championships was highlighted by two young Americans who chose glory over comfort.

Paul KENNY (USA) beat Yamato FURUSAWA (JPN), and Marcus BLAZE (USA) defeated Ankush (IND) to win the 48kg and 55kg titles, respectively.

Kenny, 15, could have opted to compete in the U15 Division and settle for a title in the Pan American Games. Blaze could have chosen to defend the national title instead.

Both went the World Championships route and struck gold in Istanbul.

“Name a state and chances are I have wrestled there,” Kenny told Jersey Shore Online, “but I have never been overseas before.”

At the U17 World Team Trials, Kenny punched the ticket to Turkiye in style, defeating the top seed and reigning world champion Domenic MUNARETTI (USA).

Paul KENNY (USA) celebrates after winning the 48kg final in Istanbul (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Kenny — who "didn’t like (wrestling) right away, didn’t like to be sweaty" — was made to work for his title in Istanbul.

Kenny trailed 4-0 against Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI) in Friday's semifinal but kept fighting back. The wild bout against the reigning Asian champion saw two challenges favorable for Kenny, who managed to eke out criteria win at 8-8.

If that match was "really crazy", Saturday's final, in Kenny's words, "was kind of boring."

Both wrestlers were put on the shot clock, with Kenny giving up the point first before 2022 Asian U15 champion Furusawa was penalized for passivity. The American took the win on criteria.

"It feels great to be part of the winning team," Kenny said. "I hope the USA comes out on top of the team score. I look up to some of the guys on the team."

In the bronze medal bout at 48kg, Joseph BACHMANN (PUR), who lost 4-2 to Furusuwa in the semifinals, defeated Marian RUSU (ROU) 15-5 thus marking the first time in 48 years when Puerto Rico won a Freestyle medal at the U17 World Championships.

Blaze considered competing at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and National Championships, before heading to Las Vegas for the U17 trials.

“Both of these tournaments are spectacular; both would be awesome to make and win,” Blaze had told Toledo Blade. “The process of going overseas and wrestling the other foreign wrestlers is an opportunity like no other. It’s a hard thing to pass up. I definitely have to wrestle at the world championships.”

On Friday, Blaze won the semifinal against 2023 European U17 silver medalist Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM) with an 11-0 technical superiority.

Against Ankush in the final, Blaze — described by his coach Scott BURNETT as a "super sneaky counterattack wrestler who holds really good position" — lived up to the billing. After countering the initial pressure from the Indian, Blaze went for the single leg to open the scoring, before adding another step out.

The nifty U17 Asian champion scored a takedown before Blaze ran out the 31 seconds remaining to earn a 4-3 win.

"He really only had one thing, it was that duck under," Blaze said. "He had very good forward pressure. I really had to be careful about changing directions and getting pushed on my butt. But I think the difference was I was just a better wrestler."

Just like Kenny, the ongoing worlds was the first taste of international wrestling for Blaze, who hadn't been abroad even for a vacation.

“It’s actually going to be a very big learning curve,” Blaze had said. “It’s going to be awesome to feel how the foreign guys wrestle.”

Blaze felt, and learned. After a tough 2-1 win over Amirreza TEYMORIZAD (IRI), Blaze cruised into the finals with three tech fall wins, adapting his game along the way.

"I've always been known as a defensive wrestler," he said. "But I had to get to my offense against the Iranian. Indian wrestling is also similar, so they both just try to slow you down with more pressure and control ties."

And of course, watching his compatriot clinch gold before he walked onto the mat boosted Blaze's confidence.

"Paul stayed solid throughout that entire match. It just kind of motivated me that yeah, we can do this."

Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI) Sina KHALILI (IRI) won the 65kg final against Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN) 10-0. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Khalili wins 65kg title

Sina KHALILI (IRI) defeated Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN) to win the 65kg gold. The reigning Asian champion was at his defensive best, using his speed and strength to repeatedly score takedowns en route to a 10-0 win.

Alibakharchiev, who looked solid in his 12-2 win over Brock MANTANONA (USA), had to answers to Khalili's strength and speed in the final.

Khalili's win gave Iran a gold medal which continues the country's streak of having at least one champion in Freestyle after it missed out to crown any at the 2016 edition in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Magomed IDRISOV (AIN) won the 80kg gold after beating Alexandru BORS (MDA). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Individual Neutral Athletes also won a gold medal as Magomed IDRISOV (AIN) defeated the 2023 U17 European champion Alexandru BORS (MDA) in the 80kg category.

Idrisov wasn't the same self as he had been on Friday, winning his four bout by outscoring his opponents 28-1. In the final, Idrisov had to deal with strong of Bors but he switched his strategy and scored two points via Bors inactivity.

In the semifinal, Idrivsov defeated Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) who is the younger brother of three-time world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO). Konstantine, on Saturday, returned to win the bronze medal against Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM) 6-4.

U17 European champion Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) added the U17 world gold to his name in Istanbul. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The 110kg final saw the U20 European silver medallist Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) beat Asian champion Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) to clinch gold.

Over the two days, Dursunov has been a force, running away with the gold medal with little resistance from his opponents. He won his first bout against Eldorbek KHASANOV (UZB) 11-0, won 5-1 against Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO) in the second bout and in the semifinals, he defeated Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM) 6-2, a better margin than the 4-4 win in the U17 European Championships final.

Kassimbek was no pushover for Dursunov as he got the first point on the board after Dursunov was called for inactivity. But it all changed in the second period as Dursunov defended a double-leg and scored a stepout.

Put on the activity clock, Kassimbek went for the far leg and Dursunov was quick to counter that with a takedown. Another point was added as the activity time finished for Kassimbek who, however, did not let Dursunov score any turns. Instead, a reversal got him one point.

Dursunov ran out the 20 seconds left on the clock to add a world gold to his continental title. He will have a chance to add another in just over a week's time as he makes the trip to Amman, Jordan for the U20 World Championships beginning August 14.

U17 Asian champion Ahora KHATERI (IRI) is a win away from becoming U17 world champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Team battle heats up

Khalili's gold topped off an outstanding Saturday for Iran as their battle for the team title against the U.S. heats up. Three Iranians advanced to the finals in the first session on Saturday, including two head-to-head wins against the U.S.

In the 45 kg category semifinal, Ahora KHATERI (IRI) defeated Ignacio VILLASENOR (USA) 5-2. The U17 Asian champion will face Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM) in the final as the Armenian managed to go past Ebubekir GUR (TUR), 4-3.

At 92kg, Tahood NOORY (IRI) beat Aeoden SINCLAIR (USA) in the round of 16 at 92kg but lost in the quarterfinals, dashing Sinclair's repechage hopes. The final in this weight class will be a repeat of the U17 European final between Eyyup CETIN (TUR) and Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO) which the Georgian won.

Ladrion LOCKETT (USA) outscored his opponents 38-0 on his way to the 71kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Only Ladrion LOCKETT (USA) advanced to the finals for the U.S. on Saturday. And he did so with pure dominance as the 71kg competitor hasn't given up a point in the tournament so far. Incidentally, he will take on U17 Asian Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI) in the gold medal bout.

Iran also has a finalist at 60kg as Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI) won 3-2 against U17 European champion Jamal ABBASOV (AZE). He will take on Akito MAEHARA (JPN) in the final after the Japanese defeated Zandanbat BATSAIKHAN (MGL) 11-0 in the other semifinal.

Japan's second finalist on Saturday was Yamato OGAWA (JPN) who ended U17 Asian champion Amirmohammad NAVAZI's (IRI) dream of becoming a world champion with a 4-1 win. He will now take on ROHIT (IND) who won 5-2 over Usman INDIRBAEV (AIN) in the other semifinal. A gold for Rohit would mean India winning a U17 world title for the third consecutive year.

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Paul KENNY (USA) df. Yamato FURUSAWA (JPN), 1-1

BRONZE: Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI) df. Azymberdi ASHYRGULYYEV (TKM), 10-0
BRONZE: Joseph BACHMANN (PUR) df. Marian RUSU (ROU), 15-5

55kg
GOLD: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. ANKUSH (IND), 4-3

BRONZE: Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM) df. Amirreza TEYMORIZAD (IRI), 4-4
BRONZE: Akhmad MUSAKHADZHIEV (AIN) df. Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO), 12-2

65kg
GOLD: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN), 10-0

BRONZE: Manuel WAGIN (GER) df. Vladimir AZARYAN (ARM), 13-13
BRONZE: Brock MANTANONA (USA) df. Khizir DASIYEV (FRA), 6-5

80kg
GOLD: Magomed IDRISOV (AIN) df. Alexandru BORS (MDA), 2-0

BRONZE: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Dovletgeldi MYRADOV (TKM), 6-4
BRONZE: Zackary RYDER (USA) df. Ismayil ASADLI (AZE), via fall (12-2)

110kg
GOLD: Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) df. Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ), 4-2

BRONZE: Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM) df. Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO), 11-0
BRONZE: Rakhman MALAKHMEDOV (AIN) df. Balazs CSIPKES (ROU), 10-0

Semifinals

45kg
GOLD: Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM) vs. Ahora KHATERI (IRI)

SF 1: Gor BUNIATYAN (ARM) df. Ebubekir GUR (TUR), 4-3
SF 2: Ahora KHATERI (IRI) df. Ignacio VILLASENOR (USA), 5-2

51kg
GOLD: Yamato OGAWA (JPN) vs. ROHIT (IND)

SF 1: Yamato OGAWA (JPN) df. Amirmohammad NAVAZI (IRI), 4-1
SF 2: ROHIT (IND) df. Usman INDIRBAEV (AIN), 5-2

60kg
GOLD: Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI) vs. Akito MAEHARA (JPN)

SF 1: Sajad PIRDAYEH (IRI) df. Jamal ABBASOV (AZE), 3-2
SF 2: Akito MAEHARA (JPN) df. Zandanbat BATSAIKHAN (MGL), 11-0

71kg
GOLD: Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) vs. Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI)

SF 1: Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) df. NARENDER (IND), 10-0
SF 2: Seyedabolfazl HOSSEINI (IRI) df. Islam KAZHAROV (AIN), 11-1

92kg
GOLD: Eyyup CETIN (TUR) vs. Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO)

SF 1: Eyyup CETIN (TUR) df. VINAY (IND), 10-0
SF 2: Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO) df. Genki HOKI (JPN), 10-0

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 23:21 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 8) -- Iran won two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal on the final day of the U20 World Championships, but it failed to stop the United States from winning the team title. The U.S. collected the top rank in the team race with 175 points, 15 better than Iran, which finished second. Japan finished third with 90 points.

This was the first time since 2017 that the U.S. won the team title and stopped Iran from completing a hat trick of top-place finishes. All 10 U.S. wrestlers competed for a medal and nine won a medal.

The U.S. fielded a very young team, with five wrestlers who were only 18 years old and eight wrestlers who could wrestle at the U20 level again next year.

"Everyone put themselves in the position to get on the podium and win the best medal they could," J'den COX, coach of Team USA, said. "Everyone is going to get better but overall it was great. They are the best in the world. I get it that individually in some cases we didn't get where we wanted to go but as a whole, we wrestled an amazing tournament."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) scores a takedown against Benjamin KUETER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

However, the final day of the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain did not go as planned for the U.S. It had five wrestlers on the mat and only one won his match. Marcus BLAZE (USA) won a bronze medal over Tolga OZBEK (TUR).

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), Joshua BARR (USA) and Benjamin KUETER (USA) all dropped their finals while Connor MIRASOLA (USA) lost his bronze medal match.

Kueter, a U20 world champion at 97kg in 2022, was wrestling at 125kg and reached the final. However, he ran into a mountain named Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) who already has a U23 world gold, two U20 world golds, and a U17 world gold.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) gestures towards the crowd after winning the 125kg final in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Championships / Jake Kirkman)

Masoumi added a third U20 world gold medal to his name after he won the 125kg final 4-2 over Kueter and is now a five-time age-group world champion. A naturally aggressive wrestler, Masoumi dropped that approach and was happy to win his matches by sitting on the lead.

He did the same against Kueter in the final as he scored a takedown, a point for Kueter's passivity and a stepout. As he defended his 4-0 lead, Kueter managed to trip him in the final 30 seconds to score a takedown for two points.

"My opponent in the final is a well-known wrestler as he won the World Championships Sofia, Bulgaria, two years ago," Masoumi said. "He had taken a year off from wrestling but had improved a lot since then. He’s a skilled and accomplished wrestler. Thank God I was able to use my knowledge of him to wrestle smartly and win 4-2"

Kueter did trouble Masoumi in the final but Masoumi, despite wrestling with a heavily tapped left hand, never dropped his guard. Masoumi said he had broken his wrist before coming to Spain so he was careful with his attacks.

While he won his four bouts outscoring his opponents 32-3, Masoumi had only one technical superiority win. In 2022, when he won both the U20 and U23 world titles, Masoumi won all but one of his matches via superiority.

"I had an injury in my hand and it was broken, so I tried to be careful with it," he said. "Otherwise, I’m always aggressive and a fighter."

He will be in Tirana, Albania in a month's time to wrestle at the U23 World Championships. He won the gold medal in 2022 but skipped the 2023 edition. But Masoumi said his main focus is to make the senior team.

"In the match against Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in Croatia, I lost," he said of his 5-0 loss to Olympic silver medalist Zare at the Ranking Series in Zagreb in January. "Some might say that Amir Reza Masoumi has settled, but no, I’m not satisfied at all. I’m preparing myself for the World Championships in Zagreb, aiming for the national team selection."

Ali REZAEI (IRI) scores the match-winning takedown against Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ali REZAEI (IRI) was the second gold medal for the day for Iran after he defeated 2023 U17 world champion Lockett 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling 74kg final. Rezaei is the first U20 world champion from Iran at 74kg in 15 years.

Lockett was leading the final 3-1 after scoring a takedown in the second period and Rezaei, who won a silver medal last year, needed at least a takedown to win.

It came in the fifth minute of the bout when Lockett missed a sweep single and Rezaei showed exceptional speed to get him a bodylock and finish with a takedown. Leading 3-3 on criteria, Rezaei did not allow Lockett to get into any attacking positions and won the gold medal.

Ali REZAEI (IRI) defends an attack from Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"I went through a tough final but with the great analysis from the coaches, I managed to defeat the strong American opponent," Rezaei said. "I hope to continue on this path and become a world and Olympic champion."

In Amman, Rezaei dropped the 70kg final against Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) 11-6 but planned to win the gold in Pontevedra.

"Last year, I won silver," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for about a year and a half, and thankfully, in the final, my opponent was an American, and I managed to beat him. This journey continues."

Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) won the 86kg gold medal in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The third American to suffer a loss in the final was Burr as Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) beat him 8-2 in the 86kg final. Kadiev won his second U20 world gold medal after winning the 79kg gold in Amman last year.

In the final against Burr, Kadiev jumped to a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the match. Burr did get on a few leg attacks but he was able to score only a stepout in the first period, cutting the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Kadiev, who took multiple medical timeouts for his injured knee, scored a counter against Burr and got two more points. The U.S. challenged the decision to award two points to Kadiev as Burr was never in danger but the replays showed Burr's back on the mat. The lost challenge made the score 6-1. Burr scored a stepout with 12 seconds left and then tried a front headlock throw but Kadiev stopped it to get two points and an 8-2 win.

"The American opponent was the toughest one for me," Kadiev said. "I also injured my knee. I didn’t attack much, because I couldn’t risk it. If only I hadn’t injured the knee, the match would have gone in a different way. My wrestling style is to attack from the very first second, and then in the second period the opponent gets tired and it’s easier to finish him."

Kadiev will get a chance to showcase his skills again at the U23 Worlds next month in Tirana. He also said that winning the gold medal last year made his more happy than this year.

"When I first won the U20 Worlds, I was much happier than now," he said. "This time there is no such feeling of excitement as it was last time. I wrestle more confidently, and we’ve worked on our mistakes with the coaches. I don’t know how fast I can recover from this knee injury. Hopefully, I can still make it to the U23 Worlds."

At 92kg, Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) got some motivation from Kadiev as he finished his final against Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0, well before time.

Malachdibirov got Saliev in a gut-wrench and managed to turn him to win the gold medal at 92kg.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN) asks for the 'champion belt' after his 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ono warning before Tirana

At the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana from October 28 to 31, one wrestler to watch will be Masanosuke ONO (JPN) who destroyed everyone in Pontevedra to win the 61kg gold medal.

After winning his four bouts on Saturday, Ono returned to wrestle Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) for the final. It was expected to be an action-packed final but Ono finished it in one action.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Ono got an attack on Khari and scored a takedown. 26 seconds later, Ono had finished the final using the gut-wrench to win the gold medal in 26 seconds.

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"I was surprised that it ended sooner than I expected, but it was a very enjoyable 25 seconds," Ono said. "I'm satisfied."

Ono will now look to win the gold medal at 61kg in Tirana. However, he is aware that his opponents in Tirana will be more powerful.

"I'm still not satisfied unless I win there (Tirana)," he said.

Ono began wrestling only after his teacher in the music class during kindergarten encouraged him to wrestle. Ono, now at the Yamanashi Gakuin University, trains under former world champion Yuka TAKAHASHI (JPN) and is from the Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is in the countryside.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: BHUVANESH (IND) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 5-0

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Shingo ANDO (JPN) df. Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT), 9-3

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Joshua BARR (USA), 8-2

BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 3-2
BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) vs. Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0

BRONZE: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Amirreza DALIRI (IRI), 8-5
BRONZE: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 6-2

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Benjamin KUETER (USA), 4-2

BRONZE: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) df. Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Jaspooran SINGH (IND), 3-2

U17 Worlds: USA crowns two champions in Istanbul

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U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title