#WrestleAmman

U20 World Championships Day 1 semis set

Monday, August 14, 2023 - 07:39 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 14) -- The U20 World Championships kick off in Amman, Jordan with freestyle action. Wrestlers from five weight classes -- 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg -- will be on the mats with a host of returning medalists and continental champions.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Here are the semifinals for the evening session

57kg
SAGAR (IND) vs. Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN)
Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

65kg
Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) vs. Jesse MENDEZ (USA)
Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) vs. Ali REZAEI (IRI)

70kg
Julian GEORGE (PUR) vs. Meyer SHAPIRO (USA)
Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) vs. Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)

79kg
Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Matthew SINGLETON (USA) vs. Sagar JAGLAN (IND)

97kg
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) vs. Camden MC DANEL (USA)
Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) vs. Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN)

14:40: U20 European champion Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) gets Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in a double-hand lock and gets the fall! Abdullayev moves into the 57kg semifinals.

14:30: Iran puts another one in the semifinals. Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) with a very strong performance against Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) 6-1 at 97kg. No openings were given to Kurugliyev, the U20 Asian champion

14:15: Battle of two former U17 world champions and Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) clearly surprised by Meyer SHAPIRO's (USA) defense. He shoots twice but Shapiro manages to scramble out and lead 6-0 at the break in the 70kg quarterfinal. Shapiro begins the second period with a takedown after Baitukaev hits his head on the mat. 8-0 lead for Shapiro. He blocks Baitukaev for the remaining time to win 8-0. That marks the United States sending five-out-of-five wrestlers into the semifinals today.

14:00: SAGAR (IND) comes back from 5-0 down to beat Herbert AKAPIAN (AIN) 15-5 using his gas tank. Big win for Sagar at 57kg. He faces Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) in the semifinals.

13:40: Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) pins Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB)! A huge result at 65kg as Toprak takes out former U17 world champion Kadamov. 

13:25: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) scores a takedown and roll in the activity period against Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ), who won a silver medal last year, to lead 4-0 at the break. He scores another takedown after the break and wins 6-1. 

13:22: At 97kg, 2022 U17 world champion Kamil KURGULIYEV (KAZ) led 5-0 against U20 European bronze medalist Zafar ALIYEV (AZE). He did give up a takedown but was clinical in his 5-2 win over Aliyev.

13:10: U20 European champion Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) goes 10-0 over David KIEFER (GER). On Mat C, returning gold medalist from 61kg, Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN), now wrestling at 57kg, makes it to the quarterfinals with a 6-1 win over Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV (UZB).

12:50: A back-and-forth bout between Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) and Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE) but the U.S. wrestler manages to win 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals against Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN).

12:45: Julian GEORGE (PUR) takes out senior Asian silver medalist Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB). Otakhonov managed to get a four-pointer but did not press much in the second period. George was relentless and ultimately claimed an 8-5 win at 70kg.

12:35: Here are the quarterfinals for the 79kg weight class

Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO) vs. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE)
Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM) vs. Matthew SINGLETON (USA)
Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) vs. Sagar JAGLAN (IND)
Alim MIESUVIETOV (UKR) vs. Ibragim KADIEV (AIN)

12:18: Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) is living up to the hype. The former U17 world champion moves into the 70kg with a 10-0 win over Mikita DZEMCHANKA (AIN). Not the easiest of fields at 70kg and he will face the winner of Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) vs. Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE).

12:00: At 57kg, returning silver medalist Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) has made his way to the pre-quarterfinals after beating Ruslan SOLOVEI (UKR) 10-0 in the opening bout. He faces a tough Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)  

11:45: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA), who has two U17 world medals including gold, begins his quest for a U20 world title with a strong 9-2 win over Lev PAVLOV (AIN). The United States have been very successful in the morning with all five wrestlers winning their first bouts.  

11:15: Former U17 world champion Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) with a dominant 10-0 win over Yuma TOMIYAMA (JPN) at 70kg. He wrestles Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE) in the pre-quarterfinals.

10:55: Quick show from Kaiji OGINO (JPN) at 65kg as he leg laces U20 Asian champion Jaskaran SINGH (IND) 10-0 inside the first minute.

10:50: A huge match-up between Jesse MENDEZ (USA) and U20 European champion Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR) at 65kg. Mendez leads 1-0 at the break after Zubal's inactivity. Zubal takes the lead in the second period. He heeps holding criteria until Mendez scores a stepout with four seconds remaining. Referees call it neutral. A challenge from the United States and a stepout and fleeing are confirmed on review. Mendez pulls off a stunning 3-1 win.

10:40: U20 Asian champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND), who won a bronze medal at 74kg last year, trailed 4-2 against Radomir STOYANOV (BUL) but like always, unleash his attacks. Stoyanov feels the heat and is caught in a leg lace. 15-4 win for Jaglan at 79kg

10:15: First big match of the day with Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) blanking Farzad SAFIJAHANSHAHI (IRI) 10-0 at 79kg. A statement win from Kadiev here to begin the proceedings.

10:00: Welcome to day one of the U20 World Championships from the capital of Jordan, Amman. A hot day here and no doubt the action will be different.

#WrestleIstanbul

Veteran stars Huseynov, Shariati lead Azerbaijan show in World Olympic Qualifier

Thursday, May 9, 2024 - 19:34 By Vinay Siwach

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ISTANBUL, Turkiye (May 9) -- Two 35-year-old veterans Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) lead a commanding performance from Azerbaijan at the World Olympic Games Qualifier, securing three Paris Olympic spots. This has increased the number of qualified wrestlers for Azerbaijan in Greco-Roman to five with the country winning Olympic spots in 60kg, 87kg and 130kg, adding to the 67kg and 77kg it won at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Apart from Azerbaijan, four other countries won Paris Olympic spots and four Individual Neutral Athletes confirmed their tickets as well on day one of the tournament in Istanbul.

Each weight class offers three Paris 2024 quotas with two awarded on Thursday while the third will be awarded on Friday. The wrestlers eligible for repechage will compete Friday and try to reach the bronze-medal bout against the losing semifinalists. The winners of the bronze-medal bouts in each weight category will compete in a playoff and the winner of this playoff will get the third quota.

Former world champion and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist was Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) who managed to win the spot at 87kg. The veteran was up against another world champion Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) for the Paris spot and came out on top 4-1. His road to the semifinals included tough wins over Sunil KUMAR (IND) [4-3] in the 1/8 finals and Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) [2-1] in the quarterfinals.

"Everyone knows about my injuries," Huseynov said. "I had three surgeries before the European qualifying tournament in Baku. Now, I am not in optimal form but normal form for competition. After two months, we will be ready for the Olympics and I will get good form."

Huseynov will be looking to better his Tokyo Olympic bronze medal that he won at 77kg. But he also knows that the Olympics can throw several surprising results.

"I have all the medals and I hope that now I can win the Olympic title at 87kg," he said. "The Olympics is a surprise competition. No one knows how it will be. We can't say anything. If I do everything like I did in Tokyo, I think I can win. We will show the best of our wrestling."

Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) won the spot at 60kg after beating Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) 8-2 in the semifinals. Mammadov got the spot on the Azerbaijan team after European champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) lost at the European OG Qualifier in Baku. And he made the most of it.

He opened his day with a technical superiority 10-1 win over Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT), defeated Christopher KRAEMER (GER) with a similar scoreline and stopped Michal TRACZ (POL) 5-1 in the quarterfinals. In the qualifying bout, Arnaut never looked like challenging Mammadov who will now be representing Azerbaijan in Paris.

The other spot at 60kg went to Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) who crushed Dahyun KIM (KOR) 8-0 in just 37 seconds in the other semifinal.

Sahab SHARIATI (AZE)Sahab SHARIATI (AZE) defeated Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) 1-1 in the 130kg semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Rio Olympic bronze medalist Shariati had to beat up-and-coming Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) 1-1 in the 130kg semifinal to earn the Paris spot after the two exchange passivity points. Shiariati got the point in the second period to hold the criteria lead. But in his earlier bouts, Shariati defeated Nikolaos NTOUNIAS (GRE) 8-3, rocked Roman KIM (KGZ) 10-0 and held Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) to 1-1.

Another veteran was looking to earn a spot at 130kg but 38-year-old Heiki NABI (EST) was denied by 34-year-old Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU). The Romanian managed to qualify for his fourth Olympics after a 1-1 win over Nabi.

Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN)Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) celebrates after beating Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) in the 87kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 87kg, former world silver medalist Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) had to beat another world silver medalist Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) to earn a ticket to Paris 2024. He scored two turns from par terre in the first period and stopped Bisultanov in the second to post a 5-2 win.

Another world silver medalist who earned a Paris spot was Sergei KUTUZOV (AIN) at 77kg. Perhaps the most dominant wrestler of the day, Kutuzov had two technical superiority wins and an 8-2 victory in the semifinals before the defeated Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) 5-2 in the semifinal.

Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) managed to hold Riu LIU (CHN) in the semifinal 1-1 and the criteria win helped him win the quota for Bulgaria at 77kg. This was his second 1-1 win as he had beaten Paulius GALKINAS (LTU) in the quarterfinal with the same scoreline.

Before those matches, he defeated former world silver medalist Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) 2-1 and Marcos SANCHEZ SILVA (ESP) in his opening bout.

At 67kg, Moldova and Georgia got the Paris 2024 spots with Valentin PETIC (MDA) and Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) respectively. Petic defeated Etienne KINSINGER (GER) 3-1 in the qualification bout while Zoidze performed a stunning bodylock to beat Lei LI (CHN) 10-0.

"Everything went as planned," Zoide said. "I had surgery on my shoulder. I wasn’t training and competing for 10 months. I have won the Olympic quota. I have a chance to make my dream come true, but now it’s not just a dream, it’s my goal."

Zoide said that he is happy to have proved his doubters wrong after many doubted if he will return after his injury. 

"Many people didn’t believe that I would make it," he said. "They were saying that my injury was very severe and I didn’t have enough time to recover. Today I proved to everyone that I can do it.  Some people were against me competing here. I read some comments on the internet saying that Zoidze is not ready to compete. Now I am happy to prove that I actually can do it."

Tokyo Olympic fifth-placer Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) will return to the Olympics as he won the spot after beating Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN), a surprise semifinalist at 97kg, 4-2. Nakazato led 2-1 at the break but Savolainen got the par terre and a turn to lead 4-2 and win with that score.

The other wrestler qualifying at 97kg was Artur SARGSIAN (AIN) who broke his arm at the World Championships. Apart from a close 2-1 win in the quarterfinal, Sargsian was in complete control of his bouts including the semifinal in which he beat Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) 3-1.

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RESULTS

60kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) df. Dahyun KIM (KOR), 8-0
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Razvan ARNAUT (ROU), 8-2

67kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Valentin PETIC (MDA) df. Etienne KINSINGER (GER), 3-1
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Lei LI (CHN), 10-0

77kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) df. Rui LIU (CHN), 1-1
Sergei KUTUZOV (AIN) df. Iuri LOMADZE (GEO), 5-2

87kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) df. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), 5-2
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) df. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE), 4-1

97kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN), 4-2
Artur SARGSIAN (AIN) df. Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER), 3-1

130kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE) df. Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN), 1-1
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) df. Heiki NABI (EST), 1-1