#DanKolov2019

United States and China Claim Dan Kolov Team Titles

Sunday, March 3, 2019 - 13:36 By Eric Olanowski

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RUSE, Bulgaria (March 3) – Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER sealed the Dan Kolov team title for the United States (147 points) with a 4-0 shutout win over Ukraine’s Valerii ANDRIITSEV in the 97kg gold-medal bout. 

In the finals, Snyder won the position battle and capitalized on four one-point exchanges to join fellow Americans Jordan BURROUGHS and Alex DIEREINGER as Dan Kolov freestyle champions. 

 

A second Olympic champion also claimed a gold medal on the fourth and final day of wrestling in Ruse, Bulgaria. 

Iran’s Rio Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) obliterated four-time world medalist Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 16-5 in the 86kg finals and won his first Ranking Series gold medal. Yazdani’s smothering pace and left side underhook proved to be too much for the Belarusian, as he gave up a pair of four-point moves, two takedowns, and a quartet of step-outs.

Iran’s 2018 world bronze medalist Parviz HADI (IRI) closed out the tournament and handed Iran their second gold medal of the night, when he edged Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR), 6-4, for the 125kg gold. 

Hadi trailed 3-0 but scored six unanswered points from a takedown and a four-point throw off a high crotch to gain the 6-3 lead. Hadi surrendered a late step out, but his two-point cushion was still enough to give him the win and his first Ranking Series title. 

It’s also worth noting that Hadi had to win back-to-back matches over returning world medalist just to make it to the finals. He defeated China’s returning world finalist Zhiwei DENG (CHN), 8-4, and followed that up with a 5-2 win over two-time world bronze medalist Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA). 

The United States won the freestyle team title, finishing 32 points ahead of second place Russia (115 points), and 47 points ahead of the bronze-medal winners Turkey. Ukraine (88 points) and Georgia (80 points) rounded out the top-5 respectively. 

In women’s wrestling, PANG Qianyu (CHN) and RONG Ningning (CHN) carried China to the team title with their gold-medal performance on the final day of wrestling in Ruse. 

In the 53kg finals, Pang Qianyu trailed India’s Vinesh VINESH (IND) 2-0 after the opening frame but scored nine unanswered points and gave China their first Dan Kolov women’s wrestling title of the weekend.

On her lone scoring sequence of the match, Pang grabbed a takedown from a high-level shot and fell right into a left side trapped arm gut wrench. The Chinese wrestler rolled Vinesh with a trio of gut wrenches and gained control of the match, 8-2. A failed Indian challenge brought the score to 9-2, which is where the 53kg gold medal bout ended. 

 

Reigning world champion Rong Ninging handed China their second gold medal of the day when she avenged her U23 world championship loss to Norway’s Grace BULLEN and picked up the fall in the 57kg finals. 

Rong was shutting out the Norwegian wrestler 4-0 before stopping a throw attempt and scoring the fall. 

The third women’s wrestling gold medalist on the fourth and final day of wrestling in Ruse was Iwona MATKOWSKA (POL), who defeated America's Erin GOLSTON (USA), 4-1, in the 50kg finals. 

China won the women's wrestling team title, finishing 20 points ahead of second place Ukraine (92 points), and 35 points in front of third-place the United States (77 points). Turkey (75 points) and India (65 points) finished in fourth and fifth places respectively. 

For news, highlights, interviews, and behind the scenes clips, make sure you’re following United World Wrestling on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

RESULTS 

Freestyle 
GOLD - United States (147 points)
SILVER - Russia (115 points)
BRONZE - Turkey(100 points)
Fourth - Ukraine (88 points)
Fifth - Georgia (80 points)

86kg 
GOLD - Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) df. Ali SHABANAU (BLR), 16-5 
BRONZE - Boris MAKOEV (SVK) df. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), 4 - 4
BRONZE - Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), via inj. def.

97kg 
GOLD - Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) df. Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR), 4-0 
BRONZE - Reza YAZDANI (IRI) df. Igor OVSIANNIKOV (RUS), 8 - 4
BRONZE - Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) df. Baki SAHIN (TUR), 10-0

125kg 
GOLD - Parviz HADI (IRI) df. Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR), 6-4 
BRONZE - Daniel LIGETI (HUN) df. DENG Zhiwei (CHN), 6-1 
BRONZE - Said GAMIDOV (RUS) df. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), via inj. def. 

Women’s Wrestling 
GOLD - China (112 points)
SILVER - Ukraine (92 points)
BRONZE - United States (77 points)
Fourth - Turkey (75 points)
Fifth - India (65 points)

50kg 
GOLD - Iwona Nina MATKOWSKA (POL) df. Erin Simone GOLSTON (USA), 4-1 
BRONZE - Whitney CONDER (USA) df. Victoria Lacey ANTHONY (USA), 4 - 0
BRONZE - Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB), 13-6

53kg 
GOLD - PANG Qianyu (CHN) df. Vinesh VINESH (IND), 9-2 
BRONZE - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) df. Juan DENG (CHN), via fall 
BRONZE - Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Amy Ann FEARNSIDE (USA), 6-4 

57kg 
GOLD - RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR), via fall 
BRONZE - Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) df. Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 10 - 0
BRONZE - Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) df. Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL), 8-2 

#WrestleParis

10 seeded showdowns we need to see at Paris 2024 (No. 6-10)

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 14:29 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 17) – We’re still a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 draws taking place on August 4. However, with the release of the top eight seeds per style, we can start to project potential matches that could take place as early as the quarterfinals.

SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 EVENT PAGE 

The top eight Ranking Series point collectors from the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, and the Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series events earned a top eight seed. The remaining eight wrestlers will be randomly drawn into their respective brackets.

Here are the top ten matches that we could see between seeded wrestlers from the quarterfinals on:

10. WW 68kg QUARTERFINAL - No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Koumba Larroque has been a prominent figure in French wrestling since her bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships at just 19 years old. Now in the prime of her career, she’s France’s best shot at a medal.

Larroque’s path to an Olympic medal will be bumpy, to say the least. She’s the third-seeded athlete in a bracket with six world champions and includes a potential quarterfinal clash with  familiar foe No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

Larroque and Oborududu met twice in their career, splitting their pair of previous encounters.

Oborududu won their opening meeting at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, but Larroque returned the favor a year later at the Poland Open, evening the score at 1-1.

If Larroque and Oborududu win their first match, their third career meeting would take place August 5 in the 68kg quarterfinals.

9.  FS 65kg SEMIFINAL –  No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Amouzad and Musukaev are nightmare opponents for each other and are stylistically opposites.

Amouzad, the 65kg world champ from two years ago, is a guy who wants to close the gap with his right-side underhook and fill as much space as possible. Conversely, Musukaev, the reigning 65kg world champion, wants as much space as possible to flow freely.

In their first meeting—the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships-- Musukaev fell victim to Amouzad’s pace and was shut out 6-0. In their second matches—the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships—Musukaev weathered the first period storm, saved enough energy for a last-ditch effort and stole the world finals spot, 6-5, with less than 10 seconds remaining.

If Amouzad and Musukaev meet for a third time, it’ll be on August 10 in 65kg semifinals.

8. 57kg SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. No. 3  Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
The Nichita and Adekuoroye rivalry is one that dates back to the 2019 World Championships but has since changed hands from their pre-COVID meeting.

The seasoned vet Adekuoroye is an anomaly in the wrestling world. Her style can’t be mimicked or replicated. She’s the tallest and lengthiest 57kg wrestler in the world but has also learned to use her leverage to become one of the most powerful wrestlers in the weight.

Adekuoroye’s unique style gave Nichita fits in their first meeting, as the four-time world medalist opened their three-match series with a dominant 10-0 win.

But Nichita carried what she learned from their first meeting into their next matches and had her hand raised on subsequent occasions.

In Tokyo, Nichita fell behind early but capitalized on an uncharacteristic Adekuoroye’s mistake and picked up a dramatic come-from-behind fall while trailing 8-2. Their next meeting came at the 2023 World Championships, where Nichita doubled Adekuoroye before ending the match in the first period with a left-sided trap arm gut, 10-0.

The fourth meeting between Nichita and Adekuoroye will take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

7. GR 67kg QUARTERFINAL – No. 2 Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) vs. No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
If there were ever a lesson from losing a match, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) certainly learned it the hard way.

Earlier this year at the Hungarian Open Ranking Series event, Esmaelil led reigning Olympic champion Orta, 7-5, with 0.4 seconds left in the match.

But before we get to the ending of the match, it’s important to note that Esmaeili was in a domestic battle with reigning Olympic gold medalist Reza GERAEI (IRI) for Iran’s 67kg Paris Olympic spot. If Esmaeili beat Orta, he cemented his spot on Iran’s Olympic team. If he lost, Esmaeili and Geraei would go to a three-match wrestle off and the winner goes to Paris.

Now, circling back to the match: With less than a second to go in the match, Esmaeili began celebrating as he thought the clock expired.

During Esmaeili’s lapse of judgement, Orta, being the experienced guy, continued to wrestle through the whistle. Orta took a peek at the clock, saw there was still time left, locked up a throw and picked up four points, stealing the match, 9-7.

Esmaeili will try to get his revenge on Orta August 7 in the 67kg quarterfinals.

*Esmaeili ended up beating Geraei in two straight matches to earn the Olympic spot.

6. WW 57kg SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) vs. No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Through the first two meetings between Sakurai and Maroulis, it’s been a one-sided affair. Sakurai is 2-0 against Maroulis, outscoring the Rio Olympic champion, 9-0, while picking up four offensive takedowns and not surrendering a single point.

Sakurai and Maroulis’ meeting at the 2022 World Championships was a slow-paced match, where the Japanese wrestler did enough to win but didn’t really establish her dominance.

That came in the second match.

In their second meeting, the biggest difference was Sakurai’s tatical use of her right hand when tied up with Maroulis. She used it to score three takedowns—one from an underhook front headlock, one from a underhook throw-by and the final one coming from a two-on-one—besting the American, 6-0.

The third meeting between Sakurai and Maroulis would take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympic Games starts Agust 5-11 and can be followed on www.uww.org.