#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships day four semis set

Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 08:44 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 20) -- The U23 World Championships enter day four with five more women's wrestling weight classes. Three senior world champions are in action Thursday.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Semifinals for the evening session

53kg
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) vs. Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) 
Haruna OKUNO (JPN) vs. Felicity TAYLOR (USA) 

57kg
Patrycja GIL (POL) vs. Laura ALMAGANBETOVA (KAZ)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) vs. Sae NANJO (JPN) 

62kg
Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) vs. Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Astrid MONTERO (VEN) vs. Iryna BONDAR (UKR) 

65kg
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) vs. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA) vs. Nigar MIRZAZADA (AZE) 

72kg
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL) vs. Sumire NIIKURA (JPN)
Maria NITU (ROU) vs. Amit ELOR (USA) 

13:00: In the final match of the morning session, returning gold medalist Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) is up against Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA). A quick takedown from Dragutan but Yepez reverses it and scores exposure. She leads 4-2. Dragutan with another attack but Yepez throws her off to make it 6-2. Another takedown and high gut wrench from Yepez give her four points. But Dragtun catches her in the middle of another turn for two points. Yepez scores four more points to make it 14-4. But a Moldova challenge sees it reversed to 13-4. In the second period, Yepez scores two points and secures a place in the semifinal against Zenyep YETGIL (TUR).

12:36: Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN), who won the gold at 65kg in Belgrade, moves to the semifinals with a 10-0 win over Asli DEMIR (TUR).

12:33: Returning bronze medalist Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) is moving into the 53kg semifinals with a 10-5 win over Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX). Yetgil lost some gas at the end but managed to hang on.

12:30: Two-time senior world champion Haruna OKUNO (JPN) is on course for her second U23 title. She reaches the semifinal at 53kg with a 6-0 win over Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER).

12:25: Returning gold medalist Ana GODINEZ (CAN) and Yagmur CAKMAK (TUR) at 62kg. Cakmak got a four-pointer but Godinez controlled the bout to win 14-4.

12:20: World champion Amit ELOR (USA) and returning silver medalist Kendra DACHER (FRA) wrestling on Mat A. Elor with a takedown despite some defense from Dacher. Another takedown for Elor on the edge. Dacher is trying to get to the far leg but Elor is quick to throw them behind. Dacher almost scored two but unreal from Elor to use the split and score a takedown. She leads 6-0 at the break. Dacher with exposure on a scramble but Elor finish on top to make it 7-2. Another takedown for Elor. She ultimately gets the fall with 29 seconds remaining on the clock.

12:00: In a battle of world champions, Sae NANJO (JPN) gets the better of Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) at 57kg. After a slow start, Nanjo scored a takedown via duck under and then used the leg lace to score a 10-0 win.

11:40: Two quick matches at 53kg. Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) wins via technical superiority over Gultakin SHIRINOVA (AZE) while defending champion Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) gut wrenches Meng HSIEH (TPE) for a 10-0 win.

11:10: World champion Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) shows her class again. She gets the takedown and then leg laces Paulina DANISZ (POL) for a 10-0 win at 62kg.

11:05: A little anti-climatic at 65kg. Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) and Emma BRUNTIL (USA) were involved in a war at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series but Zelenykh pins Bruntil inside 30 seconds at 65kg.

11:01: Returning world champion Ana GODINEZ (CAN) is made to work hard by Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ) but she ultimately prevails 10-0 and moves into the quarterfinals.

10:55: Former world bronze medalist Sae NANJO (JPN) gets a quick start at 57kg. She pins Maria BAEZ (ESP) inside two minutes

10:30: Welcome to day four of the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra. Five women's weight classes are in action with qualification rounds till the semifinals.

#WrestleBratislava

Losonczi downs Olympic champ Novikov for 87kg European gold

Saturday, April 12, 2025 - 21:15 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 12) -- David LOSONCZI (HUN) had his task cut out at the European Championships.

Over the years, his performance at different competitions of two-day formats saw a dip on the second day. So Hungary coach Viktor LORINCZ told him to be focused for six minutes.

Losonczi was up against Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) in the 87kg final of the European Championships in Bratislava in Saturday. The two had recently met in the Paris Olympic semifinal which Novikov won.

But the final in European Championships was a different story.

Losonczi wrapped his arm around Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) and scored a takedown in the first 30 seconds to take a 2-0 lead. Novikov locked Losonczi around the chest and tried to shift to a seatbelt position but the Hungarian pushed Novikov out-of-bounds with his head to lead 3-0. Novikov was put in par terre which gave Losonczi one more point but he failed to score from par terre and settled for the 4-0 lead.

Novikov's chance came in the second period when he got the par terre position. He turned Losonczi one time but when he tried the second time, both wrestlers were out of bounds. Losonczi led 4-3 with 1:31 left on the clock.

There was no comeback for Novikov in the final. Earlier in the tournament, Novikov had won two bouts in thrilling fashion, scoring late, one time with only one second left.

"During the break I told him that just three more minute and you can be the European champion. So this pushed him," Lorincz said.

After the loss, Novikov said that he made a few which cost him dearly in the final.

"This is still the beginning of the season and I am not 100 percent, especially after winning the Paris Olympics. I think, mentally I am not ready. Olympics was different," Novikov said. "My goal is the World Championships. I am European champion and Olympic champion. I want to be world champion. More work and hope and I will be world champion. I was much better in the final than yesterday. I gifted him two positions after locking him. I made mistakes and you can't make mistakes at this level. Before the Olympics, I knew that any thing is possible. But after Olympic, I know that everything is possible. All you need is belief in yourself."

At 63kg, Kerem KAMAL (TUR) earned his second European title with big win in the final. Kamal came out with a takedown and suplex for a 6-0 lead. Armenia challenged the call asking for a foul hold below the legs from Kamal but it lost the challenge on review to give Kamal another point.

Aslanyan got one back when Turkiye challenged for a throw which was adjudged a risk action from Aslanyan who got a point for lost challenge. Both wrestlers were without any challenges after that.

In the second period, Aslanyan pushed the pace but failed to break Kamal. A stepout got him the second point which cut the lead to 7-2 with a minute left in the final.

At 55kg, Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) denied Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) his third European title by beating the Azerbaijan wrestler 1-1 in the final.

Sefershaev got the benefit of the new Greco-Roman rule that United World Wrestling is testing at the European Championships which awards the wrestler who got the first point the win if the match ends 1-1.

The former European champion got the first par terre advantage but failed to score any points. However, he defended his par terre position when Azizli got the advantage in the second period and kept his 1-1 lead for the gold, his second at the European Championships.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) did not need any par terre advantages in his 77kg final against Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) as he scored a arm-drag takedown for two points in the second period and won his fourth straight European title.

This was Amoyan's first tournament since winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics and he did not show any sings of being away from the mat.

At 130kg, Sergei SEMENOV (UWW) defended his title with a 1-1 criteria win over Hamza BAKIR (TUR).

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 1-1

BRONZE: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 8-1
BRONZE: Artiom DELEANU (MDA) df. Arnold MEGALY (SVK), 8-0

63kg
GOLD: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), 7-2

BRONZE: Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) df. Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR), 10-0
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), via fall

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Albin OLOFSSON (SWE), via fall
BRONZE: Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), 4-3

BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR), 2-1
BRONZE: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Hannes WAGNER (GER), 3-1

130kg
GOLD: Sergei SEMENOV (UWW) df. Hamza BAKIR (TUR), 1-1

BRONZE: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (UWW), 6-0
BRONZE: Jello KRAHMER (GER) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 1-1