U20 Worlds: New stars in focus; Iran aims Freestyle title defense

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - 09:52 By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 9) -- A week after the top U17 wrestlers were in Istanbul fighting it out to become world champions, the best at the U20 level will be in Amman, Jordan for the U20 World Championships which begins August 14.

A host of returning champions, continental champions and senior-level medalists will be in action in Freestyle with Iran, the United States, India and Azerbaijan among the favorites to win the team title like in Sofia, Bulgaria a year ago.

Iran won the team title with the U.S. finishing second and India third. This year too, Iran is fielding a strong team led by returning champion at 125kg Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI). But can the other teams displace Iran from the top? Here's a look:

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) will be the defending champion at 125kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

125kg
Masoumi at 125kg is clearly the favorite to win the gold medal but Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE), the U17 world champ a week ago, will fancy his chances as well.

The U17 Euro champ and U20 Euro silver medalist has been in terrific form this year and an upset win over Masoumi, who finished fifth at the senior Asian Championships this year, cannot be ruled out.

Other at 125kg will be U20 European champ Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), U23 European silver medalist Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR), U20 Pan-Am champ Karanveer MAHIL (CAN) and Christian CARROLL (USA).

2022 U20 world 61kg champion Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) is dropping down to 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

57kg
At 57kg, returning bronze medalist Ahmad JAVAN (IRI), who is also a bronze medalist at the U23 World Championships, will first look to reach the final before trying to win the title. In his way stands U20 European champ Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) and returning silver medalist Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) who won the Asian title in 2022.

The 61kg returning U20 world champion -- Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) -- is dropping down to 57kg in his bid for his second world title at the U20 level. He is coming back from a knee injury he suffered at the Meiji Cup in June. The U.S. is sending 2022 U17 world champ Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) who won the U20 Pan-Am title this year.

U20 Asian champ UDIT (IND) was replaced by SAGAR (IND) after the former got injured during the Asian Games selection trials and had to be stretched off.

92kg
Iran will bank highly on Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) to win the gold medal at 92kg as he comes into the competition as a two-time U20 Asian champion and an internationally unbeaten wrestler. He will have to battle it out with U20 European champion Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM) who also won the 86kg silver medal at the U23 European Championships this year.

Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) at 92kg will use his experience as a silver medalist at the senior Asian Championships and two gold medals at the U23 Asian Championships to win the world title, giving Azimi and others a tough competition.

Turkiye will be sending Muhammed GIMRI (TUR), the silver medalist from the U23 and U20 European Championships this year, with the hope of winning the first Freestyle U20 world title since 2018.

The U20 Pan-Am Jack DARRAH (USA) will also be in the race to finish on the podium with the U.S. hoping to make it to the top.

Returning medalists from 70kg, Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) and Hossein AGHAEI (IRI) are entered at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

74kg
The U.S. also has last year's 70kg silver medalist Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) who is jumping to 74kg, a weight class he won the U20 Pan-Am Championships. Reaching the final at 74kg this year will be a daunting task.

Mesenbrink's path to the gold medal may go through a familiar opponent Hossein AGHAEI (IRI), returning bronze from 70kg, who Mesenbrink defeated 9-7 in a thrilling quarterfinal last year. Aghaei won the U20 Asian silver medalist at 74kg.

Joining them in the field is returning silver medalist Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN) who will look to repeat his run from last year and upgrade his silver to gold in only his second international tournament.

U20 Asian champ Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ) will return to Amman a city where he dominated the continental final against Aghaei after a stunning 8-7 semifinal win over Asadbek KARIMOV (UZB). Bexultanov will have to be cautious of Karimov as he will also be in Amman with revenge on his mind.

Bettering the competition are U23 Asian champion Feng LU (CHN), former U17 Worlds silver medalist Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO), U20 Euro champ Stas WOLF (GER) and Amaan GULACHA (CAN) who was second to Mesenbrink at the Pan-Ams.

Keep an eye on Raul CASO (ITA) and JAIDEEP (IND), former U17 World Championships, who can cause an upset in any given match.

86kg
Another returning silver medalist for the U.S. is Bennett BERGE (USA) who will aim to change the color of his medal from last year. In all likelihood, he will have to beat returning champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) who defeated Berge 10-5 in the final. Magamadov has added U23 and U20 European Championships titles since then.

Magamadov will be looking to defend his world title over Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM) who he defeated in the U20 European finals. Mkrtchyan won a silver medal at 79kg last year in Sofia. Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO) is another wrestler who will be Amman who Magamadov defeated at the European tournament.

U20 Asian champion Mukul DAHIYA (IND) will be another wrestler looking to upset the returning champion along with Amirhossein ALIZADEH (IRI) who was second to Dahiya in the same city as it hosted the U20 Asians as well.

Bronze medalist from that tournament, Imangali KALDYBEK (KAZ), will also be in the fray along with Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR) who won bronze in Europe.

65kg
At 65kg, a few wrestlers with major international experience will battle it out for the gold. Leading the lot will be Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) who won the Yasar Dogu gold last month. He was in Sofia but lost 6-5 in the quarterfinal finishing fifth.

Others in the field include 2023 U23 and 2022 U20 European champion Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR), one of the biggest threats to the gold medal as he finished fifth last year, Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), who won a silver at the U20 European Championships, former U17 world champion Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB) and Jaskaran SINGH (IND) who lost to Kadamov in that final. Singh won the U20 Asian title in Amman in July.

The U.S. will see Jesse MENDEZ (USA) who wrestled at the 2021 U20 World Championships. U20 European bronze medalist Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) and U23 Asian silver medalist Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ) are also wrestling.

70kg
Close to 10 wrestlers will be hoping it to the final at 70kg with senior Asian silver medalist Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) leading the pack. He will have the 2021 U17 world champ at 65kg Meyer SHAPIRO (USA), Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) who was also the U17 world champ in 2021 at 55kg, and Ali REZAEI (IRI) who won the silver medal at the Yasar Dogu.

Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) won the U20 European Championships and will look to add a world medal to his resume. Returning fifth-placer Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) will look to finish on the podium this year. He won U23 European silver medal and U20 Euro silver as well but at 74kg. Saba KOBAKHIDZE (GEO) was the silver medalist at U20 Euros and he will also be in Amman.

Can Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), former U17 world champ at 92kg, win at 97kg? (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

97kg
All four 97kg medalists from the U20 European Championships are entered for the World Championships. Champion Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), who was the silver medalist at the U20 Euros last year, will be one of the favorites to win. He can have potential bouts against silver medalist Dogan UZUN (TUR) and two bronze medalists Zafar ALIYEV (AZE) and Nika PANTSULAIA (GEO).

U20 Asian champion and 2022 U17 world champ at 92kg Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) will look to add another world medal as he continues to shine at the age-group level. 2021 U20 Euro champ Islam KILCHUKOV (AIN), U20 Asian bronze medalist Deepak CHAHAL (IND) and U20 Pan-Am champ Camden MC DANEL (USA) will also look to finish on the podium.

Sagar JAGLAN (IND) will be wrestling at 79kg, a year after winning bronze at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

61kg
India has two returning bronze medalists, Mohit KUMAR (IND) at 61kg and Sagar JAGLAN (IND) at 79kg.

To upgrade his medal, Kumar, who won the U20 Asian title, will have to face 2021 U17 world champion Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI), U20 African champ Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY) and Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) who won the Pan-Ams at this age-group.

2021 U17 world silver medalist Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ) and Besir ALILI (MKD) who finished fifth at the 2022 senior European Championships are also in action.

79kg
Former U17 world champion and senior Worlds fifth Jaglan, who won a bronze medal at 74kg last year after losing the semifinal to Kamiya, won the U23 and U20 Asian titles at 79kg and will be a top contender for the gold in Amman. He is joined by Farzad SAFI (IRI) who lost to Jaglan in the U20 Asian final.

U20 European champion Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO) is entered along with Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER) who lost to Adeishvili in the final, U20 Euro bronze medalist Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM), U20 Asian bronze medalist Magzhan ZHANYRBAY (KAZ) and Matthew SINGLETON (USA).

#WrestleIstanbul

Bas cuts down, wins Paris quota; Stadnik suffers setback at World Qualifier

Saturday, May 11, 2024 - 00:41 By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkiye (May 10) -- The last time Nesrin BAS (TUR) competed in 62kg or less was in 2018 at the U17 level. Since then, as Bas continued wrestling, she moved up to 65kg, then to 68kg and even to 72kg.

But as the Paris Olympics approached, Bas had to leave the 68kg weight category for world and European champion Bose TOSUN (TUR) who qualified for the weight by winning the gold medal at the World Championships. Former world champion and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Yasemin ADAR (TUR) won the spot at 76kg from the European Qualifier. That left Bas with only one option -- to return to 62kg.

Bas, who was not sure if going to 62kg was a good idea, got rewarded for her sacrifices as she qualified 62kg weight class for the Paris Olympics with a thrilling performance in front of her home crowd.

"I cut a lot of weight," Bas said. "First I wasn't that positive that I could endure cutting weight but my coach helped me and believed me to get it done."

In a very first-period dominated bout against Astrid MONTERO (VEN), Bas managed to hang on for a 10-6 win and earn herself a ticket to Paris Olympics. Montero scored the first takedown and got on a single-leg but Bas tossed her to get two points. She used the lace to add three turns to be up 8-2. Montero got on a few attacks but was unable to finish them. The two exchanged exposure points late in the bout but that did not prevent Bas from winning the bout.

Nesrin BAS (TUR) scores two points over Astrid MONTERO (VEN) in the 68kg semifinal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

However, the U23 world champion later revealed that she doubted herself to win the match after Montero scored the first takedown.

"My opponent was really strong," she said. "During the match when I lost points first, I became hesitant if I could win. But I overcome on that feeling.

"I'm very happy. I trained a lot. I had to cut my weight. I'm happy I got the results I wanted. I'm blessed that the coaches believed in me. My goal now is the Olympic medal."

Bas was also pushed by the loud local fans who flocked to the stadium from the morning session. Bas made it a point to acknowledge them after every win. She blanked Ameline DOUARRE (FRA) 6-0 to start her day before scampering through 6-4 against Natalia KUBATY (POL). Bas survived a scare in the quarterfinal against Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) as she eked out a 4-4 criteria win.

She later celebrated her win by making a scowl-like gesture using her hands.

"My gesture of hands is a sign between me and my friends in the same club. I had promised them if I win I show that sign."

Kriszta INCZE (ROU) joined Bas as the other wrestler to win the Paris 2024 quota at 68kg after she defeated Veranika IVANOVA (AIN) 6-1 in the semifinals. Ivanova scored the first stepout which was her only scoring point in the match as Incze defended her shots.

This was Romania's second quota for Paris 2024 in women's wrestling as Andreea ANA (ROU) qualified 53kg from the European Qualifiers in Baku.

Son Hyang KIM (PRK) defeated Mariya STADNIK (AZE) in the 50kg Paris qualification bout in Istanbul. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Stadnik suffers setback

Mariya STADNIK (AZE) suffered yet another setback in her journey to qualify for her fifth Olympics after losing the Paris Olympic qualifying bout to Son Hyang KIM (PRK) 10-3 despite leading for the majority of the bout. Stadnik led 3-0 at the break but was put on the activity clock twice in the second period. Kim got a takedown just before the second activity clock expired to put herself in a 4-3 lead. Stadnik, who was struggling with her conditioning, got turned by Kim three times to trail 10-3 with 19 seconds remaining.

Kim kept that lead and earned the Paris 2024 quota which she missed after suffering a painful loss at the Asian Olympic Qualifier as she lost her bout in the final seconds.

Stadnik still has a chance to qualify for her fifth Olympics if she can win the bronze-medal bout tomorrow and follow it up with another win in the playoff bout between the two bronze-medal winners.

The other 50kg quota was secured by Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) as she defeated Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) 6-1 to give Germany its third Paris quota in women's wrestling. Blayvas countered Genesis' attacks with ease and turned them into takedowns for herself.

Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) and Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) earned the Paris 2024 spots for Moldova and Mongolia respectively. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 53kg, Moldova and Hungary earned a Paris spot each with Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) and Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) respectively. Dragutan was dominant in her semifinal against Sztalvira ORSOS (HUN), scoring 11 points before securing the fall with five seconds remaining.

Batkhuyag, a world silver medalist, was much quicker in her fall over Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) in the other semifinal, finishing the bout in just a minute and 43 seconds. She did give up the initial takedown but Batkhuyag rocked back with takedowns and ultimately getting the fall.

Yetgil and Orsos will return tomorrow in a bid to qualify for the Olympics through the bronze-medal playoffs.

Two-time European champion Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) will also have to go through that path after she lost her Paris qualifying bout to Tokyo Olympian Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN) on criteria. The Ukrainian led 5-3 with 30 seconds on the clock but Khoroshavtseva scored a takedown to earn a spot to Paris.

Giullia PENALBER (BRA) denied Uzbekistan its second women's wrestling quota by beating Asian Games bronze medalist Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) 7-5 in the other bout. This was the first Paris 2024 quota for Brazil in women's wrestling.

NISHA (IND) celebrates after winning the 68kg Paris qualification bout against Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 68kg, India and China added their fifth women's wrestling spot as NISHA (IND) and veteran Feng ZHOU (CHN) won their respective qualification bouts. Nisha defeated Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) 8-4 while Zhou won 13-2 over Mimi HRITSOVA (BUL).

Zhou was surprised by an early attack from Hritsova but she composed her to score a takedown before using the trademark high chest wrap to score six turns over Hritsova and win 12-2. Bulgaria challenged that number of turns but lost, giving a point more to Zhou.

Jia LONG (CHN) will have an opportunity to make it six out of six for China for Paris at 62kg. She lost to Incze but with Incze winning the semifinal, Long is pulled back in repechage. She will have to win a bronze medal and then beat the other bronze medalist in the playoff to earn the spot.

Nisha got on the charge against Anghel with a takedown in the first 30 seconds before adding another and a gut wrench to lead 6-0. Soon she made it 8-0 as Anghel rolled over as Nisha was trying to lock a cradle. Anghel gave herself a chance in the second period when she threw Nisha with a head lock for two before adding two more to cut Nisha's lead to 8-4. But Nisha survived the 1:50 left on the clock to win India's fifth spot.

India will now be sending five women wrestlers to the Olympics, its highest-ever qualifications in women's wrestling. MANSI (IND) lost to Ivanova at 62kg and will not be able to qualify India for all six wrestlers.

"It feels great to win five quotas," Nisha said. "I thought we would get six quotas but Mansi's luck has been bad. But feels great that we will travel with a big team."

Nisha was the Asian qualifier in a round-robin in which she won two bouts and lost one. Two other wrestlers had the same number of wins but more classification points, denying Nisha a spot in the semifinal.

"At the Asian Qualifier, we had a cross semifinal and I thought I would reach semis but I failed on [classification] points," she said. "I knew that I would qualify, if not in Asia then at the World Qualifier. I never doubted myself. The day I lost in Bishkek, I started writing the names of wrestlers who would be coming to Istanbul. I never felt sad and continued training as I was confident of qualifying."

Nisha was close to qualifying India for the Tokyo Olympics but fell one win short. She later contracted COVID-19 and missed out on going to the Olympics.

"During the Tokyo cycle, I lost the Olympic qualification bout [62kg] and later got COVID-19," she said. "I lost trials in India and when I lost the trials for the Asian Games, I wanted to leave wrestling because I got another injury. But when I got better, I told myself that I could also step away after winning a medal."

Romania and Bulgaria did get the Paris 2024 quota but at 76kg, Catalina AXENTE (ROU) defeated Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN) 6-3 while Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) stopped Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) 4-1.

RESULTS

50kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR), 6-1
Son Hyang KIM (PRK) df. Mariya STADNIK (AZE), 10-3

53kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) df. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR), via fall (8-3)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) df. Sztalvira ORSOS (HUN), via fall (11-2)

57kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Giullia PENELBAR (BRA) df. Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB), 7-5
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN) df. Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR), 5-5

62kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Astrid MONTERO (VEN), 10-6
Kriszta INCZE (ROU) df. Veranika IVANOVA (AIN), 6-1

68kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Feng ZHOU (CHN) df. Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL), 13-2
NISHA (IND) df. Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU), 8-4

76kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) df. Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL), 4-1
Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (AIN), 6-3

U20 Worlds: New stars in focus; Iran aims Freestyle title defense

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Bas cuts down, wins Paris quota; Stadnik suffers setback at World Qualifier