U20 Worlds: First day, USA and Iran show

Monday, August 14, 2023 - 20:43 By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 14) -- The United States and Iran set the stage for a thrilling team title race at the U20 World Championships after putting three wrestlers each in the gold medal bouts on the first day of the tournament.

The U.S. ended the day just ahead of Iran as it has two wrestlers in bronze medal bouts while Iran has one wrestler in the repechage and another won't get a chance to wrestle for a medal.

Japan, Individual Neutral Athletes, India and Ukraine sent a wrestler each in the final as the competition got underway in Amman, Jordan.

Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) pins Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the 57kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The start of the evening session could not have been more dramatic for the U.S. as former U17 world champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) shocked U20 European champion Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) with a pin with seven seconds left in the semifinal.

Lilledahl was leading 3-1 at the break but Abdullayev got on his shots in the second period and scored a takedown before getting two turns to lead 7-3. Lilledahl added a takedown to close the gap and as he tried again, Abdullayev scored two points using a cradle and lead 9-5.

In a desperate attempt for a win, Lilledahl got a fake attack to which Abdullayev threw himself back. As Lilledahl tried to go behind, Abdullayev stuck his hand out which Lilledahl caught and used to pin Abdullayev.

He will have to produce another top performance if wants to win his second age-group gold medal as he wrestles Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) who won the gold medal at 61kg last year.

Nishiuchi, who won a silver medal at the Zagreb Open this year, cruised to the final as he beat SAGAR (IND) 10-0, using a leg lace.

Another former U17 world champion for the U.S. hoping to win a U20 world title is Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) who was at the top of his game to reach the final at 70kg.

In his four bouts on Monday, Shapiro gave up points only in the quarterfinals bout against Mirjavad NABIYEV (AZE) who managed to score four on the U.S. wrestler.

Shapiro's defense and crafty attacks were too much for his opponents including 2021 U17 world champion Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) who got to Shapiro four times but failed to convert once.

In the semifinals against Julian GEORGE (PUR), Shapiro began with takedown, exposure, and three more takedowns to win 11-0 with a lost challenge for George adding a point.

Trying to stop Shapiro in the final will be Ali REZAEI (IRI) who stood with a bronze medal on the same podium as Shapiro in Budapest in 2021.

Rezaei warmed up with a 9-6 win over Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) in his opening bout before blanking Zelimkhan MUTSUKHAEV (POL) and Pavel GRAUR (MDA) in his next two bouts. In the semifinals, he struggled a little against Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ) but won 6-4 using his underhooks to keep Taalaibek Uulu under check.

Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) celebrates after beating Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) in the 65kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The U.S. and Iran will go head-to-head in the 65kg final as well with Jesse MENDEZ (USA) and Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) winning their sides of the bracket.

Shakeri has already improved on his ninth-place finish from last year by reaching the final. He had to dig deep in the semifinals against Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN) for a win.

Abdulkadyrov began with a takedown but Shakeri scored a reversal before scoring a four-pointer to lead 8-2. The two scrambled with all their energies but Shakeri somehow managed to keep Abdulkadyrov to an 11-8 score.

Mendez will fancy his chances after a solid run on Monday which included wins over U20 European champion Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR), U23 Asian silver medalist Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ), Ion BERGHI (MDA) and Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR) in the semifinals.

Warned for inactivity in the first period, Mendez did give up a point before scoring a stepout on a counter. Toprak was called for fleeing as well which gave Mendez a 2-1 lead. An inactivity point against Toprak made it 3-1 which was also the final score of the bout.

Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) defeated Camden MC DANEL (USA) 5-1 in the 97kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran's third finalist of the night was U20 Asian champion Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) who stepped up and made it to the 97kg gold medal bout.

A month ago, Babaloo lost two bouts in Amman to finish fifth at the U20 Asian Championships. However, he avenged his loss to Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) 6-1 before beating Camden MC DANEL (USA) 5-1 in the semifinals.

For a gold medal, Babaloo will have to overcome Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) who scored a takedown in the final minute of the semifinal to win 5-3 against Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN).

Leading 3-1, Kazlou set out to defend his lead but Prymachenko went for single leg to score a takedown. While Kazlou tried regaining the lead, Prymachenko locked him and scored another takedown to win 5-3.

Sagar JAGLAN (IND) reached the 79kg final after winning 16-6 against Matthew SINGLETON (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The only final which does not feature either the U.S. or Iran is 79kg as U20 Asia champion Sagar JAGLAN (IND) and Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) reached the gold medal bout.

Jaglan, who won the bronze medal at 74kg last year, defeated Matthew SINGLETON (USA), 16-6, in the semifinals while Kadiev beat Ali TCOKAEV (AZE) 8-4 in the other semifinal.

Singleton opened the scoring with a single-leg for four. But Jaglan went all out with his pressure and broke Singleton as time progressed. Jaglan scored five stepouts, a takedown and got a point for fleeing in the first period to lead 8-4 at the break.

The American wrestler was cautioned for not engaging before Jaglan scored a takedown to make it 11-4. Singleton pulled off a takedown but Jaglan return with four points to win the semifinal 16-6.

In Kadiev, Jaglan gets an opponent who will frustrate him with his defense. Kadiev brought his top game for the semifinals as he began with a four-pointer and added a turn to lead 6-0. Tcokaev scored a takedown to cut the lead to 6-2 but Kadiev scored two stepouts to make it 8-2 which seemed a little too much for Tcokaev to cover despite him scoring a late takedown.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) vs. Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)

SF 1: Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) df. SAGAR (IND), 10-0
SF 2: Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) df. Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE), via fall (7-9)

65kg
GOLD: Jesse MENDEZ (USA) vs. Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI)

SF 1: Jesse MENDEZ (USA) df. Abdullah TOPRAK (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) df. Dalgat ABDULKADYROV (AIN), 11-8

70kg
GOLD: Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) vs. Ali REZAEI (IRI)

SF 1: Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) df. Julian GEORGE (PUR), 11-0
SF 2: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ), 6-4

79kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) vs. Sagar JAGLAN (IND)

SF 1: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Ali TCOKAEV (AZE), 8-4
SF 2: Sagar JAGLAN (IND) df. Matthew SINGLETON (USA), 16-6

97kg
GOLD: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) vs. Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)

SF 1: Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR) df. Uladzislau KAZLOU (AIN), 5-3
SF 2: Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) df. Camden MC DANEL (USA), 5-1

#WrestleBelgrade

Japan secures 2 Olympic spots; Elor returns to World Championships final

Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - 23:48 By Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 20) -- The World Championships in Belgrade has seen a number of champions fall to young stars but the biggest of all could have come on Wednesday as Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) scored five points on Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), who entered the tournament with a 122-match winning streak which goes back to her junior high school days.

In the 53kg quarterfinal, Yepez scored raced to a 5-0 lead against Fujinami, who admitted that she felt anxious after giving up the lead, but composed herself and pinned the Ecuadorian.

Fujinami recovered from that shock match and defeated Maria PREVALORAKI (GRE) to secure a spot for Japan for the Paris Olympics next year. According to Japan Wrestling Federation rules, a wrestler who qualifies the weight for Paris with a medal in Belgrade automatically secures a spot on the Japan team as well.

"In the match against Ecuador, it's something that's never happened up to now," Fujinami said. "It ended up being a good match. Right now, I don't know, it really hasn't sunk in."

Yepez opened the bout with a double leg for two then hit a single leg which Fujinami defended before Yepez grabbed her around the waist and threw the Japanese, earning two more points. A stepout made it 5-0. Fujinami then got back to doing what she does best and locked up a lace to lead 14-5.

She gave up two more points but Fujinami locked the arm and got the fall with 1:10 remaining on the clock. The 2021 world champion explained that she will try to win her second world gold medal on Thursday.

"I came for the Olympic berth and to become the world champion and I want it to carry over to tomorrow," she said. "In the third-round match, I got a little anxious at one point, but I just thought, it's OK, just do what I always do. It was a tough match, but I was able to pull out the win."

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) will join Fujinami on that trip to Paris as she entered the final at 62kg, securing her spot on the Japan team.

However, Ami ISHII (JPN), returning silver medalist, will have to slog it out in the bronze medal bouts to secure her spot after she was stunned by Buse TOSUN (TUR) 11-1 in the 68kg semifinals.

Fujinami will now face Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN) for the gold medal after the Individual Neutral Athlete snatched a victory from U20 world champion ANTIM (UWW) in the final second of the semifinal.

Antim scored a takedown with an ankle pick and led 4-3 with three seconds remaining and got her grip loose. The willy Kaladzinskaya locked Antim's elbow and scored an exposure with 0.3 seconds on the clock for a remarkable 5-3 win.

Motoki had to dig deep to beat world silver medalist at 59kg Grace BULLEN (NOR) as she etched out a 2-1 win. Motoki will now face Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ).

Motoki will look to join the list of Japanese wrestlers who have denied Tynybekova a world or Olympic gold medal in the last two years. The Kyrgyz wrestler lost to Yukako KAWAI (JPN) in the Tokyo Olympics final and then to teenage star Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) in the World Championships last year.

Tynybekova has bounced back, beating Ozaki in the Asian Championships and will have her hands full as she takes on Motoki for her third world gold medal.

Kyrgyzstan's first world champion, Tynybekova defeated Tokyo bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), 2-2, in the quarterfinal, a completely contrasting win than her 10-0 win in Tokyo over the Ukrainian. Tynybekova then defeated Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) 4-2 in the semifinal.

At 68kg, Tosun did not let Ishii settle down after giving up a stepout, using a headlock when Ishii was going for an underhook for four points. Tosun tried pinning Ishii but the Japanese survived and as she was trying to escape, Tosun put her on the back for two more points to lead 6-1 with four minutes left. And as Ishii tried calming herself, Tosun scored another takedown on the edge.

Ishii tried an underhook again and Tosun hit another headlock, this time getting only two points. But that made the score 10-1 and Tosun managed to push Ishii out to win 11-1 with 3:19 left on the clock.

Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) reached the final from the other side of the bracket as she pinned Emma BRUNTIL (USA) in the other semifinal. She defeated Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

In the non-Olympic weight class 72kg, defending world champion Amit ELOR (USA) entered the final with another dominant display, winning her semifinal against Kendra DACHER (FRA) 12-2. Elor took out 65kg world champion Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the quarterfinals.

Chasing her second straight title, Elor will take on Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) in the final after the Mongolian defeated two-time returning world silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 6-2.

U20 Worlds: First day, USA and Iran show

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Japan secures 2 Olympic spots; Elor returns to World Championships final