#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships day six semis set

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 22) -- The U23 World Championships enters day six, the last full day of the tournament with five freestyle weight classes. Wrestlers in 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg will be in action.

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Semifinals for the evening session

61kg
Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO) vs. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) vs. Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)

74kg
Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO) vs. Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
Vasile DIACON (MDA) vs. Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)

86kg​​​​​​​
Trent HIDLAY (USA) vs. Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA)
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) vs. Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)

92kg
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Jacob Thomas CARDENAS (USA)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) vs. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)

125kg
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) vs. Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI)
Yurii IDZINSKYI (UKR) vs. Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)

15:10: In the final bout of the session, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) into the semifinals with a 12-0 win over Tejvir BOAL (CAN).

14:55: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) with a 9-3 win over Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) and the defending champion is back in the semifinals at 61kg.

14:40: Down goes defending champion Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR). Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO) first made it 5-4 and when Aliiev tried scoring a stepout, Shvelidze countered with a takedown. A big chest lock for four and the fall.

14:30: Temuri BERUASHVILI (GEO) pulls off a stunning win at 74kg against David CARR (USA) in the quarterfinals. Carr led 3-2 when Beruashvili scored a stepout with 11 seconds remaining. Carr tries to get a stepout but Beruashvili circles back and Carr cannot score the takedown as well. A lost challenge makes it 4-3

14:28: Trent HIDLAY (USA) with another controlled win. He moves into the 86kg semifinals with a 6-0 victory over Maksat SATYBALDY (KAZ). A strong arm-trap to the 4 points early in the first period.

14:22: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) is in the 92kg semifinals. Sergey SARGSYAN (ARM) had built an 8-0 lead over Maisuradze but the second period was a completely different story as Sargsyan scored three takedowns before a leg lace got him a 16-8 win.

14:10: Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) and Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) put on a show in that 61kg quarterfinal. Ormanoglu led 3-2 before a takedown and when Dzhelep got him into a body, Ormanoglu countered with a powerful throw to extend his lead to 7-2, a score by which he won.

14:00: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) with a solid 10-0 win over U23 European silver medalist Johannes MAYER (GER). He moves into the 92kg quarterfinal against Gkivi BLIATZE (GRE). 

13:40: Two big losses for the USA hurting them for the team race. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) beats Aaron NAGAO (USA) 9-0 at 61kg and Manashvili wins 16-4 against Cassioppi at 125kg.

13:34: Anthony CASSIOPPI (USA), the defending world champion at 125kg, is up against Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) and in trouble. Manashvili builds up an 8-2 lead before Cassioppi tries a headlock but fails. Manashvili leads 12-4 at the break.

13:30: Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) makes it look so easy. He wins 11-4 against Kodai OGAWA (JPN) to move into the 61kg quarters.

13:15: Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) shows how it is done against Armin HABIBZADEH (IRI). The Kazakhstan wrestler makes quick moves against a very defensive Habibzadeh to win 9-1. He will take on defending champion Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) in quarters.

13:00: At 125kg, Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) is a big contender to win the gold. He is into the 1/8 final against Vakhit GALAYEV (AZE). 

12:20: U20 world champion Amirreza MASOUMI ((IRI) turning up the heat here. He storms to an 11-0 win over Adil MISIRCI (TUR) and moves into the 125kg quarterfinals

12:00: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) is on a different level at these age-group World Championships. He beats Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) 11-2 and advances at 92kg. He has unfinished business at U23 Worlds.

11:50: Another defending champion begins with a win. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) leg laces Yousef EISSA (EGY) to start at 61kg.

11:35: Defending champion at 86kg Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR) was down 9-5 against Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT) in the opening bout but Aliiev rallied for 14 answered points to win 19-9 and advanced.

11:00: This is the start of the day we were looking for. Sajjad GHOLAMI (IRI) had built a 6-0 lead but Trent HIDLAY (USA) never stopped coming at him. Gholami eventually felt the pressure and succumbed to a 13-6 loss at 86kg.

10:30: Welcome to day six of the U23 World Championships as the final five weight classes of freestyle go on the mat. We will move straight into the qualification rounds after repechage.

#WrestlePontevedra

U23 World Championships Day 2 semis set

By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 18) -- The second day of the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra will see the action in five Greco-Roman weight classes -- 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg. The day will go on with the qualification and semifinals of these weight classes before the evening session has the gold medal bouts of the previous day.

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The semifinals for the evening session

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) vs. Nurmukhammet ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR) vs. Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)

67kg
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) vs. Seyed SOHRABI (IRI)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA) vs. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN)

72kg​​​​​​​
VIKAS (IND) vs. Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) vs. Gurban GURBANOV (AZE)

82kg
Mats AHLGREN (SWE) vs. Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO) vs. Beka GURULI (GEO)

97kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) vs. Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Alex SZOKE (HUN) vs. Igor ALVES (BRA) 

15:30: At 97kg, Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) and Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) put on a show. Ragginger got the early advantage. But Olgun got a stepout to level it. Ragginger got one for himself which was neutralized by Olgun before he added another to lead 3-2. But Ragginger scored a takedown and a turn to win 6-3 and move into the semifinals.

15:15: Seyed SHORABI (IRI), the U20 world champion, is into the semifinals at 67kg. He pins Amanat SAMAT UULU (KGZ) after developing a 7-0 lead.

15:05: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) takes out Amir ABDI (IRI). Both wrestlers got the passivity calls but Gurbanov got the advantage as Abdi was called passive in the second period. Gurbanov moves into the 72kg semifinals

14:45: Alex SZOKE (HUN) looks unstoppable here in Pontevedra. He moves into the 97kg semifinals with another technical superiority win. He beats NITESH (IND) in the quarterfinals 

14:10: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) moves closer to the final of 60kg in Pontevedra. Melkamu FETENE (ISR) got the early lead with a takedown but Kamal answered with a stepout and four to lead 5-2. Fetene scored a takedown with 30 seconds left but Kamal hung on for a 5-4 win.

13:35: U23 European champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) was in all sorts of trouble trailing 2-0 with a minute left in the bout. But Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) was called passive which allowed Chkhikvadze to return in the bout. He scores via a throw out of bounds. It was called clean but Georgia challenged and get the two extra points for a defensive foul from Joergensen. Chkhikvadze also got another stepout which Norway challenged but lost. A final attempt from Joergensen saw him jump over Chkhikvadze to get a four he lands on his to give up four. Chkhikvadze wins 10-2

13:20: Amir ABDI (IRI) is keeping the Iran juggernaut rolling today. He beats  Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) 6-0 and advances to the quarterfinal at 72kg.

13:00: Kaito INABA (JPN) brought out the front suplex and got five for that. It is undoubtedly the move of the tournament. He pins Aser EBRO (ESP) at 60kg,

12:30: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) and his streak of pinning Iran wrestlers. After Belgrade, he now pins Omid ARAMI (IRI) in the 60kg bout in Pontevedra. Arami got the passivity call and was trying to score a head pinch but Kamal held him for the fall. 

12:20: Alex SZOKE (HUN), the silver medalist at 97kg from Oslo World Championships, gets the par terre advantage against Nicholas BOYKIN (USA) and then gets the turns to win 9-0 at 97kg.

12:00: Iran has not had the best of the tournaments so far but day two looks promising. At 67kg, Seyed SOHRABI (IRI) with a fall over Julian HORTA (COL).

11:45: Another U23 European champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) has a very different start. He wins 8-0 against Ashu BAZARD (IND) at 67kg.

11:30: Returning bronze medalist Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) is up against U23 European champion Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO). A takedown and turn for Khachatryan. But Chkhikvadze stops in the middle of the second period to get exposure. After an exchange, Khachatryan led 6-5 and that will remain the final scoreline for this 72kg bout.

11:00: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) will be a strong contender at 60kg in the coming years. A strong wrestler with some clean techniques and an understanding of the mat. He begins his U23 Worlds campaign with a technical superiority win over Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ).

10:30: Welcome to the second day of the U23 World Championships. It's a pleasant day here in Pontevedra with the sun out. Let the wrestlers shine!