#WrestleSofia

U20 World Championships day four semis set

By Vinay Siwach

SOFIA, Bulgaria (August 18) -- The fourth day of the U20 World Championships will see the qualification rounds and semifinals of the 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, and 72kg. Later in the day, the medal bouts will also be determined.

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Here are the semifinals for the evening session

53kg
Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY) vs. Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) vs ANTIM (IND)

57kg
Melda DERNEKCI (TUR) vs. Sofia MACALUSO (USA)
Ruka NATAMI (JPN) vs. Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)

62kg
Birgul SOLTANOVA (AZE) vs. Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)
Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ) vs. Sonam MALIK (IND)

65kg
Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN) vs. Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
Dilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ) vs. Priyanka PRIYANKA (IND) 

72kg
REETIKA (IND) vs. Amit ELOR (USA)
Anastassiya PANASSOVICH (KAZ) vs. Sumire NIIKURA (JPN) 

13:00: Ruka NATAMI (JPN) with a late score to beat Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) at 57kg. Khomenets led 4-2 but Natami scored a takedown. Still trailing on criteria, Natami moves Khomenets to the zone and gets the exposure for 4 to win 8-4.

Sofia MACALUSO (USA) has pinned returning silver medalist Aurora RUSSO (ITA)

12:50: At 53kg, huge results. Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) beats returning silver medalist Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA)Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ) pins '21 U17 world champion Katie GOMEZ (USA).

Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY) beats Chadia AYACHI (FRA) 7-4 while ANTIM (IND) pins Ayaka KIMURA (JPN) 

12:35: At 72kg, Amit ELOR (USA) adds another technical superiority win over Zsofia VIRAG (HUN). Asian silver medalist Sumire NIIKURA (JPN) is up 2-1 against Nazar BATIR (TUR). In the second period, Batir comes back with a takedown to reclaim the lead 3-2. Niikura with a flurry of attacks and gets a takedown and the lead. 41 seconds remaining with Niikura leading 4-3. Batir tries to trip Niikura but not to be. Niikura wins 4-3. 

12:30: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) is dangerous. She gets the fall over Viktoria OEVERBY (NOR). On the other mat, Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA) with the fall over Iris THIEBAUX (FRA). She will face Sonam MALIK (IND) in the quarters

12:20: Sofia MACALUSO (USA) with an important win for the USA. She led 4-4 on criteria and stopped SITO (IND) from getting any points. Desperate to score, Sito commits to a duck-under when Macaluso pins her at 57kg. In the same weight class, Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) vs. Ruka NATAMI (JPN) will meet in the quarterfinals.

12:00: What dream quarterfinals do we have at 53kg

Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) vs. Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR)
Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ) vs. Katie GOMEZ (USA)
Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY) vs. Chadia AYACHI (FRA)
Ayaka KIMURA (JPN) vs. ANTIM (IND) 

11:40: At 57kg, Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) with a quick fall over Othelie HOEIE (NOR). In a contrasting bout, Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Bertha ROJAS (MEX) were going for it and the bout had 31 points with Zhumanazarova winning 17-14 

11:35: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) and Iryna BONDAR (UKR) wrestling at 62kg. Ozaki gets a takedown to lead 2-0. Bondar tries to get on Ozaki's legs but strong defense from the Asian champion. She keeps it simple and wins 5-0.

In other bouts at 62kg, Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG) defeats Luisa SCHEEL (GER), 12-0 and Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ) beats Yu LO (TPE) via fall

11:17: The qualification rounds of 72kg will kick off the rounds for day three. Amit ELOR (USA), a returning U20 world champion, begins with a fall over Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

11:15: While Japan has taken an outright lead in the team race, India, Turkey and Ukraine are still to be second. India has two in repechage while Turkey has three. Ukraine has two as well

11:00: Welcome to day four of the U20 World Championships. The women are ready to take the mats. Keep an eye on Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) at 62kg, Amit ELOR (USA) at 72kg and Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) at 57kg.

#WrestleParis

Coach Amri on road to Paris 2024 through WISH

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (March 29) -- Beyond reaching gender parity for athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also aiming to increase the number of female coaches through its Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) pathway. With six participants of the programme already confirmed as coaches in Paris, Elizabeth PIKE, WISH Project Director, explains how the programme is breaking down barriers to fix the system. Only 13 percent of coaches at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were women.

At the past four editions of the Olympic Games, Marwa AMRI (TUN) represented Tunisia in the women's freestyle wrestling competition, clinching a bronze medal in the 58kg event at Rio 2016. At Paris 2024, she will be bringing all her expertise to Tunisia’s wrestling team as a coach. Although Amri may be outnumbered by her male counterparts at these Games, her very presence indicates a growing number of female coaches.

There are a number of other female coaches still pushing to achieve their Olympic dream, such as Federica TONON, who is currently working with Vanuatu’s beach volleyball team.

Amri and Tonon have something in common – they are both participants of the WISH programme, which is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, managed and hosted by the University of Hertfordshire and led by Pike.

The programme got underway in May 2022 after a successful pilot from 2019 to 2021. All four cohorts have now embarked on the 21-month programme, a mix of online learning, group tasks, dual mentoring and a residential, with the first cohort already having graduated in January this year. In total, the WISH programme will equip a total of 123 female coaches from 22 sports and 60 countries with the tools needed to take on roles at the highest level of their sport.

Read the full article on olympics.com.