#WrestleAmman

U20 World Championships, Day 2 semis set

By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 15) -- The second day of the U20 World Championships will see the remaining five Freestyle weight classes in action. After the United States and Iran dominated day one, it will interesting to see if they can sustain their momentum.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Semifinals

61kg
Besir ALILI (MKD) vs. Mohit KUMAR (IND)
Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI) vs. Eldar AKHMADUDINOV (AIN)

74kg
Anton SUCHKOV (AIN) vs. Hossein AGHAEI (IRI)
Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) vs. Zhakshylyk BAITASHOV (KGZ)

86kg
Bennett BERGE (USA) vs. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Fumiya IGARASHI (JPN) vs. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)

92kg
Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) vs. Giorgi ROMELASHVILI (GEO)
Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) vs. Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM)

125kg
Said AKHMATOV (AIN) vs. Karanveer MAHIL (CAN)
Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR) 

Iran ended the first session on day two of the U20 World Championships slightly better than the United States. Iran managed to send four wrestlers in the semifinal while the U.S. managed only two. That makes Iran the favorite for the Freestyle team title.

15:01: U20 Pan-Am champion Karanveer MAHIL (CAN) with two big double-leg attacks for four to beat Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA) 11-0 in the 125kg quarterfinals. He will take on Said AKHMATOV (AIN) in the semifinals.

14:55: U17 world champion Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) feels the heat of U20 competition and drops his quarterfinal at 125kg against Said AKHMATOV (AIN) 5-1. Akhmatov never allowed Dursunov to complete his attacks.

14:40: Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) is right up there. In complete control of his 11-0 win against Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) in the 92kg quarterfinals. Nothing seems to trouble him.

14:35: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) may have pulled off the upset of the tournament as he beats Amirhossein ALIZADEHSHAHKOLAEI (IRI) 5-3 in the 86kg quarterfinals. The Iran wrestler looked solid as he avenged his U20 Asian finals lost to Mukul DAHIYA (IND) but could not score a decisive takedown against Mihalcean who was ecstatic after the win. 

14:31: No stopping Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) at 125kg. He makes short work of Christian CARROLL (USA) in the quarterfinals. Next up on Mat A is the supremely talented Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) who takes on Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) at 92kg.

14:28: Incredible action from both Mohit KUMAR (IND) and Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) at 61kg. Bouzakis raced to a 4-0 lead before Kumar made it 4-4. Bouzakis continued his attacks and led 8-6. In the second period, Bouzakis began with a takedown but Kumar, with his slightly better gas tank, scored three and led 12-10. Bouzakis however got a foul from Kumar and a par terre position with 19 seconds remaining. However, he failed to turn Kumar who won 12-11 to return to the semifinals at 61kg

14:15: Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) absolutely dominates JAIDEEP (IND) to win 11-0 and move into the 74kg semifinals. He is looking to reach his second straight U20 World Championships final.

13:40: The United States suffered its first defeat in this tournament on the second day. Giorgi ROMELASHVILI (GEO) beats Jack DARRAH (USA) at 92kg.

13:20: U17 world champion Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) continues his winning run at U20 World Championships as well. He blanks Teodor GJORGIEV (MKD) 10-0 at 125kg.

12:50: The U.S. continues the good show as Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) rolls through 12-1 against Elkhan GARAYEV (AZE) at 74kg.

12:45: Defending champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) with a fall! Shakjir BISLIMI (MKD) was no match for the France wrestler who scored 10 points before getting the win.

12:35: Bennett BERGE (USA) is on the mat now for his 86kg pre-quarterfinals against Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR). Berge was the silver medalist last year. He takes a 3-2 lead against Chornohuz who adds a stepout before the two wrestlers scores two-and-two. Berge leads 5-5 on criteria with a minute left. He gets the job done 7-5 

12:15: Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN) suffers a heartbreaking loss in the pre-quarterfinals at 74kg. The silver medalist from last year scored a takedown in the final minute against Anton SUCHKOV (AIN) but the AIN wrestler managed to hold on for a 3-2 win.

12:00: Defending champion Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) with a solid 9-1 win over Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) at 125kg. That strong underhook is still his go-to win bouts.

11:45: Rin SAKAMOTO (JPN) with a fall over  Musa AGHAYEV (AZE) and on Mat A, Besir ALILI (MKD) wins a 14-11 slugfest against Mykola TASHOHLO (UKR).

11:30: The 61kg weight class in action and returning bronze medalist Mohit KUMAR (IND) begins with a 12-2 technical superiority win over Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN). He will face Dmitri CARASTOIANOV (MDA) in the next round.

10:50: U20 Asian champion Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ) uses a strong leg lace to beat U20 Pan-Am silver medalist Amaan GULACHA (CAN) via technical superiority at 74kg.

10:40: Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN), who won the silver medal at 74kg last year, begins on a strong note and beats Tanner PEAKE (PUR) 10-0. Kamiya is looking to upgrade his medal.

10:30: Returning silver medalist at 70kg Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) has begun his quest for another world medal with a 10-0 win over Ion MARCU (MDA). A thoroughly controlled bout as he moves up to 74kg in Amman.

10:00: After the United States and Iran dominated day one, sending three wrestlers each in the finals, Iran will look to take the lead in the team title race as the U.S. looks for an upset.

#WrestleBuenosAires

USA earns four titles, Cuba two in opening day of Pan Ams

By Taylor GREGORIO

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (May 3) -– The 2023 Pan American Championships kicked off today in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with six Greco-Roman weight classes contested — 55kg, 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 97kg and 130kg. 

Seven weights were scheduled for today; however, no entries were registered at 63kg. 

At 55kg, it was a round-robin tournament with Dalton DUFFIELD (USA) taking the gold with a pair of wins over Jose RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX) and Axel ROLON (ARG), who earned silver and bronze, respectively. 

The USA also added gold medals at 60kg, 72kg and 97kg. 

Dalton ROBERTS (USA) registered a 9-0 technical fall in the 60kg finals over Jeremy PERALTA GONZALEZ (ECU). Roberts opened scoring with a step out for a 1-0 lead and was later awarded a four-point throw, which was overturned after Peralta’s corner challenged the call. Shortly after, Roberts got on top with a takedown and immediately went into a trapped-arm gut for three turns to end the bout. 

For gold at 72kg, Justus SCOTT (USA) outlasted Kenedy MORAES PEDROSA (BRA). The score was knotted, 1-1, at the break, but Scott gained momentum with a passivity call for a chance on top, leading to a pair of turns. Moraes earned a late step out, but it was not enough, and Scott emerged with a 6-2 victory. 

The 97kg finals was a win by injury default for Josef RAU (USA), who was slated to face two-time defending Pan Am champ Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON). The win marks Rau’s third Pan Am title with golds coming in 2015 and 2020. 

There were also injury defaults in the finals at 67kg and 130kg. Both victors in those matches hail from Cuba. Taking the crown at 67kg was Tokyo Olympic champion Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB). It’s his third Pan Am gold. At 130kg, three-time World medalist Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) collected his fifth Pan Am title. 

The tournament continues tomorrow with the conclusion of Greco-Roman (77kg, 82kg, 87kg) and the start of women’s freestyle (55kg, 59kg, 65kg, 72kg). Fans can catch all the action live on UWW.org. 

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD – Dalton DUFFIELD (USA)
SILVER – Jose RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX)
BRONZE – Axel ROLON (ARG) 

60kg
GOLD – Dalton ROBERTS (USA) df. Jeremy PERALTA GONZALEZ (ECU), 9-0 

BRONZE – Kevin DE ARMAS RODRIGUEZ (CUB) df. Ditcher TORO CASTANEDA (COL), win by injury default
BRONZE – Raiber RODRIGUEZ OROZCO (VEN) df. Alexis RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX), 7-2 

67kg
GOLD – Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) df. Nestor ALMANZA TRUYOL (CHI), win by injury default
BRONZE – Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) df. Enyer FELICIANO (DOM), 9-2
BRONZE – Andres MONTANO ARROYO (ECU) df. Edisson OLMOS GUTIERREZ (MEX), 6-1 

72kg
GOLD – Justus SCOTT (USA) df. Kenedy MORAES PEDROSA (BRA), 6-2
BRONZE – Jose VARELA GARCIA (GUA) df. Jesus GUZMAN DAVILA (PER), 3-1 

97kg
GOLD – Josef RAU (USA) df. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON), win by injury default
BRONZE – Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA) df. Ricardo GOMEZ (ARG), 9-0
BRONZE – Carlos ADAMES PALMER (DOM) df. Luillys PEREZ MORA (VEN), 9-0 

130kg
GOLD – Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) df. Gino AVILA DILBERT (HON), win by injury default
BRONZE – Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI) df. Donald LONGENDYKE (USA), 8-0
BRONZE – Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) df. Moises PEREZ HELLBURG (VEN), 5-3