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UPDATED Nov. 6: News from Around the World

Wednesday, November 4, 2020 - 12:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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Yazdani, Geraei Among Champions at Iran World Team Trials

Iran held its world team trials for the 2020 World Championships. Strict protocols were followed, including PCR testing and quarantining for all participants.

In the freestyle competition, Olympic and world champion Hassan YAZDANI was dominant at 86kg, defeating Asian silver medalist Ahmad BAZRI, 11-0. Yazdani will seek his sixth world or Olympic medal. Other freestyle champions included Reza ATRI (57kg), Majid DASTAN (61kg), Amir Mohammad YAZDANI (65kg), Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI (74kg), Ali SAVADKOUHI (79kg), Kamran GHASEMPOUR (92kg), Ali SHABANI (97kg) and Amin TAHERI (125kg).

In Greco-Roman, two-time world bronze medalist Mohammad Ali GERAEI earned a spot on the Iran national team at 77kg with a victory over Pejman POSHTAM, 4-2. Other Greco-Roman champions included Poya DADMARZ (55kg), Alireza NEJATI (60kg), Meysam DELKHANI (63kg), Hossein ASADI (67kg), Amin KAVIANINEJAD (72kg), Mohammad NAGHOUSI (82kg), Hossein NOURI (87kg), Mohammad Hadi SARAVI (97kg) and Amir GHASEMI MONJAZI (130kg).     
   
Freestyle

57kg  (Winner: Reza ATRI)
Reza ATRI df. Rahman AMOUZAD KHALILI, 4-4
Alireza SARLAK df. Nader HAJAHANIA, 5-3
Rahman AMOUZAD KHALILI df. Nader HAJAGHANIA by forfeit
Alireza SARLAK df. Rahman AMOUZAD KHALILI, 10-8
Reza ATRI df. Alireza SARLAK, 2-1

61kg (Winner: Majid DASTAN)
Majid DASTAN df. Behnam EHSANPOOR, 2-1

65kg Winner: (Amir Mohammad YAZDANI)
Meysam NASIRI df. Amir Hossein MAGHSOUDI, 9-0
Morteza GHIASI df. Shayan HAMZE, 12-5
Amir Mohammad YAZDANI df. Peyman BIABANI, 3-1
Meysam NASIRI df. Peyman BIABANI, 3-1
Amir Hossein MAGHSOUDI df. Shayan HAMZE, 11-10
Amir Mohammad YAZDANI df. Morteza GHIASI, 6-6
Morteza GHIASI df. Amir Hossein MAGHSOUDI, 11-0
Amir Mohammad YAZDANI df. Meysam NASIRI, 7-4

70kg (Winner: Younes EMAMI)
Amir Hossein HOSSEINI df. Erfan ELAHI, 5-1
Younes EMAMI df. Amir Hossein HOSSEINI, 5-2

74kg (Winner: Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI)
Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI df. Saeid DADASHPOUR, 3-1
Mohammad NOKHODI df. Mohammad Sadegh FIROOZPOOR, 5-2
Jamal EBADI df. Masoud KAMARVAND, 10-10
Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI df. Mohammad Sadegh FIROOZPOOR, 4-0
Mohammad NOKHODI df. Masoud KAMARVAND, 2-1
Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI df. Jamal EBADI, 3-0
Jamal EBADI df. Mohammad NOKHODI, 3-2
Mostafa HOSSEINKHANI df. Mohammad NOKHODI, 9-4

79kg (Winner: Ali SAVADKOUHI)
Hamidreza ZARRINPEYKAR df. Peyman YARAHMADI 2-2
Ali SAVADKOUHI df. Bahman TEYMOURI, 3-0
Ali SAVADKOUHI df. Peyman YARAHMADI, 4-2
Hamidreza ZARRINPEYKAR df. Bahman TEYMOURI, 11-6
Ali SAVADKOUHI df. Hamidreza ZARRINPEYKAR, 5-4

86kg (Winner: Hassan YAZDANI)
Hassan YAZDANI tf. Ahmad BAZRI, 11-0

92kg (Winner: Kamran GHASEMPOUR)
Arashk MOHEBI df. Hossein SHAHBAZI, 5-2
Hossein JALALINEJAD df. Mohammad Hossein MIRBAGHBAN, 7-4
Kamran GHASEMPOUR df. Hossein SHAHBAZI, 4-0
Arashk MOHEBI df. Mohammad Hossein MIRBAGHBAN, 7-6
Kamran GHASEMPOUR df. Hossein JALALINEJAD, 6-0
Kamran GHASEMPOUR df. Arashk MOHEBI, 6-2
Arashk MOHEBI df. Hossein JALALINEJAD, 3-0

97kg (Winner: Ali SHABANI)
Ali SHABANI df. Mojtaba GOLEIJ, 7-3
Mohammad Hossein MOHAMMADIAN df. Danial SHARIATINIA, 5-0
Mohammad Hossein MOHAMMADIAN df. Mojtaba GOLEIJ, 2-1
Ali SHABANI df. Danial SHARIATINIA, 6-2
Ali SHABANI df. Mohammad Hossein MOHAMMADIAN, 8-4
Ali SHABANI df. Mohammad Hossein MOHAMMADIAN, 4-0

125kg (Winner: Amin TAHERI)
Amin TAHERI df. Parviz HADI, 9-4
Amir Hossein ZARE df. Yadollah MOHEBI, 4-1
Amin TAHERI df. Yadollah MOHEBI by forfeit
Amir Hossein ZARE df. Parviz HADI, 4-0
Amin TAHERI df. Amir Hossein ZARE, 2-0
Amir Hossein ZARE df. Amin TAHERI, 3-1
Amin TAHERI df. Amir Hossein ZARE, 4-3

Greco-Roman

55kg (Winner: Poya DADMARZ)
Poya DADMARZ df. Sajad ABBASPOUR, 6-2

60kg (Winner: Alireza NEJATI)
Alireza NEJATI df. Poya NASERPOUR, 9-5

63kg (Winner: Meysam Delkhani)
Meysam DELKHANI tf. Reza MARDI, 8-0

67kg (Winner: Hossein ASADI)
Hossein ASADI df. Mohammad Javad REZAEI, 3-1

72kg (Winner: Amin KAVIANINEJAD)
Ali ARSALAN tf. Ashkan SAADATIFAR, 9-0
Amin KAVIANINEJAD df. Ali ARSALAN, 1-1

77kg (Winner: Mohammad Ali GERAEI)
Mohammad Ali GERAEI df. Pejman POSHTAM, 4-2

82kg (Winner: Mohammad NAGHOUSI)
Mohammad NAGHOUSI df. Jamal ESMAEILI, 3-0

87kg (Winner Hossein NOURI)
Hossein NOURI df. Ramin TAHERI, 2-1

97kg (Winner: Mohammad Hadi SARAVI)
Mehdi BALI df. Mehdi ALIYARI, 4-1
Mohammad Hadi SARAVI df. Mehdi BALI, 5-1

130kg (Winner: Amir GHASEMI MONJAZI)
Amir GHASEMI MONJAZI df. Ali Akbar YOUSEFI, 3-1

Grand Prix of Zagreb Homepage http://gpzagrebopen.com/

Also, you are free to use press materials from the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1A7xzbWtmOx8pioVMPLrJw09hNNornIle?usp=sharing

Here are the links for live streaming

Saturday, November 7th

MAT A: https://youtu.be/FRbP0ElYCLo

MAT B: https://youtu.be/9VmGDXvXKNA

MAT C: https://youtu.be/dL3DUJzvpmw

Sunday, November 8th

MAT A: https://youtu.be/zhlq5IXR-U0

MAT B: https://youtu.be/jZJzGneQQX4

MAT C: https://youtu.be/Sa8z2zHrcHU

FINALS: https://youtu.be/DSOyIRgvJWw

IG https://www.instagram.com/gpzagrebopen/ 

>>>

Zagreb and Poland to Host International Competitions

The National Federations of Croatia and Poland are hosting international tournaments this week.

For Poland the trio of tournaments will be competed starting November 4. The tournaments will also be held early next year as Ranking Series tournaments. Entry lists are not currently available but the live stream links are below and will be updated via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Freestyle gold-medal match results from the @pzz_official Poland Open:
57kg: Razvan KOVACS ?? df. CraciunPETRU ??, 12-2
61 kg: Ahmet DUMAN ?? df. Recep TOPAL ??, 1-1
65 kg: Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI ?? df. Ilman MUKHTAROV ??, 4-3
70 kg: Magomedmurad GADZHIEV ?? df. Haydar YUVUZ ??, 3-2
74 kg: Fazli ERYILMAZ ?? df. Maxim VASILIOGLO ??, 4-1
79 kg: Saifedine ALEKMA ?? df. Alan AMIROVS ??, 12-6
86 kg: Pitor IANULOV ?? df. Zbigniew BARANOWSKI ??, 5-1
92 kg: Erhan YAYLACI ?? df. Arif OEZEN ??, 10-0
97 kg: Suleyman KARADENIZ ?? df. Radoslaw BARAN ??, 10-0
125 kg: Robert BARAN ?? df. Daniel LIGETI ??, 3-2

The Croatian Federation is hosting the Zagreb Open, a Greco-Roman tournament that last hosted the Ranking Series in 2018. A short selection of entries can be find below with the official list expected November 6. The competition page for the event is http://gpzagrebopen.com/. 

Doninik Etlinger (Croatia)
Ivan Huklek (Croatia)
Bozo Starcevic (Croatia)
Riza Kayaalp (Turkey)
Kerem Kamal (Turkey)
Fatih Cengiz (Turkey)
Balazs Kis (Mađarska)
Viktor Nemeš (Serbia)
Mate Nemeš (Serbia)
Davor Štefanek, (Serbia)
Alexandros Kessidis (Sweden)
Ciobanu Victor (Moldova)
Aleksandrov (Bulgaria)
Milov (Bulgaria)

Livestreams for the Poland Open and Zagreb Open will be on the UWW homepage and updates on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Spanish Wrestling Federation Hosts U23, Junior Championships

The Spanish Wrestling Federation recently hosted the Spanish U23 Wrestling Championships and Spanish Junior Wrestling Championships. View links to the results below.

Spanish U23 Wrestling Championships Results

Junior Wrestling Championships Results

Iranians Compete in Premier League

Iranian wrestlers, following strict protocols, returned to competition for the first time in eight months with the return of the Iranian Premier Wrestling League.

Wrestlers, coaches, referees and organization staffs were the only people allowed in the competition hall. Everyone entering the hall was required to pass an antiseptic box and all participants received PCR tests before competitions and were placed in quarantine after testing.

Wrestling in Iran typically means excitement, sold-out arenas and thousands of cheering fans. This time the story was something else. There were no spectators at Azadi Sports Complex, which seats 12,000. Referees wore face shields and coaches wore masks.

After the United World Wrestling bureau approved existing plans to host the 2020 Senior Wrestling World Championships, the Iranian Premier Wrestling League was halted, and wrestlers were invited to the national training camp. All wrestlers and coaches were required to take PCR tests again before training. Iran's wrestling training center became a quarantine area.

"I am happy to be back again to wrestling camp," said Olympic and world champion Hassan YAZDANI.

"We didn't have training camp for about seventh months because of the coronavirus and I only followed my personal trainings," said Yazdani. "Competing in the league helped us to get more prepared. The federation has provided a quarantine place for our safety and nobody is allowed to leave the camp during the trainings. I have only one goal and it is to win at world title at the 2020 World Championships."

Sports federations in Iran are not allowed to start activities without the permission of the ministry of sport, as well as the health ministry. Wrestling was the first contact sport in Iran that started its league and national team training camps.

"We tried hard to receive permission and finally we succeed to hold league competitions and training camps under strict protocols," said 2000 Olympic champion and Iran wrestling president Alireza DABIR.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Une publication partagée par Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling) le

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

Greco-Roman stars headed to #WrestleUlaanbaatar in large numbers

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 - 09:32 By Eric Olanowski

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (April 12) -- A year after the Asian Olympic Qualifier and the Asian Championships split the continental talent pool, a full lineup of Asia's most electrifying wrestlers will head to the Mongolian capital looking to gain continental supremacy.

The Greco-Roman portion of the competition will feature nearly 100 wrestlers from 14 different nations – including three Olympic medalists and four returning Asian titleholders who are on a quest to defend their gold from 2021.

Yu SHIOTANI (JPN), Hansu RYU (KOR), Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) and Mehdi Mohammad BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI) are the four wrestlers who departed Almaty with gold around their necks and will take their talents to Ulaanbaatar.

Shiotani will replace reigning world champion Ken MATSUI (JPN) in Japan's lineup at 55kg.

Last year, the 20-year-old surpassed all expectations in his debut campaign on the senior level. Shiotani put up 37 total points in his three matches and closed out the competition with a thrilling 17-7 technical superiority win over Uzbekistan's then-reigning Asian champion Ilkhom BAKHROMOV.

Hansu RYUHansu RYU (KOR) will be aiming for his fourth consecutive Asian gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

At 67kg, defending three-time Asian gold medalist Ryu is coming to Mongolia with a 10-match continental winning streak. In total, the former two-time world champion has an impressive 19-2 record at the Asian Championships and has won five medals – four of which are gold. His last loss came at the 2018 Asian Championships, where a large forehead gash forced him to injury default out of his quarterfinals bout against Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN).

He'll compete at 67kg, a weight down from his '21 title-winning weight of 72kg.

Ryu’s Asian Resume
2021 – 3-0 (gold)
2020 – 3-0 (gold)
2019 – 4-0 (gold)
2017 – 1-1 (7th)
2015 – 4-0 (gold)
2014 – 4-1 (bronze)

Naser ALIZADEHNaser ALIZADEH (IRI) is the defending 87kg champion. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Although Iran is bringing is different look squad from the Olympics and World Championships, their lineup will still feature a pair of returning gold medalists from the last season.

At 87kg, fans will see the return of rising star Naser Alizadeh.

The 24-year-old is 11-2 over the last 12 months, falling only to Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) and U23 world champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (RWF) en route to bronze medal finishes at the World Olympic Qualifiers and the U23 World Championships.

Alizadeh pinned Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ), upset two-time world medalist Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), and earned a two-point win over Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ) in his senior debut and captured 82kg Asian gold.

Another Iranian looking to win a second consecutive Asian gold medal is Mehdi Balihamzehdeh. He's stepping into Iran's lineup at 97kg for the man who stole his Olympic dreams through their finals battle at the '21 Poland Open, Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI).

Balihamzehdeh is 6-1 on the senior scene, with that lone Tokyo and Oslo spot-determining loss coming to Saravi, who ultimately went on to win Olympic bronze and World gold.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOVOlympic silver medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) will be wrestling at the Asian Championships only for the second time. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Olympic medalists Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) and Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR) will also be in action in Ulaataanbar.  

Walihan, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist at 60kg, will be bumping up two weight classes to 67kg, while Makhmudov and Kim are the favorites to clash for gold at 77kg.

Makhmudov will make his second career appearance at the Asian Championships. He won gold in his home debut at the 2018 edition and if the 23-year-old superstar wants to win a second Asian gold, he'll have to knock off the two-time Olympic medalist.

In their last meeting, Makhmudov upset Kim, 7-3, to win gold at the '18 Asian Games.

This may be a continental changing of guard moment, as Makhmudov has been on a meteoric rise to the top of the world stage. In contrast, Kim has tumbled over the last year.

Since winning the London Olympic gold medal, Kim has competed in 30 events. He's finished inside the top five in 23 of those 30 events. Furthermore, he's only fallen outside of top five contentions seven times – with a trio of those finishes coming in his last three outings.

Prior to those uncharacteristic faults, Kim finished on the podium at nine consecutive events – including the World and Asian Championships and six Ranking Series events.

Zholoman SHARSHENBEKOVZholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) will be the favorite to win the 60kg title in Mongolia. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Other Greco-Roman heavy hitters to keep an eye on are Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV and Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB).

Sharshenbekov, a world finalist in Oslo, is the frontrunner to win 60kg gold. This will be his third senior Asian appearance. In his first two showings, he won silver medals.

Uzbekistan will look to Bakhramov, Bakhshilloev and Assakalov to carry their hot streaks over from the Yasar Dogu. The trio went a combined 13-0 at the first Ranking Series event of the season, winning titles at 63kg, 67kg and 97kg, respectively.

Bakhramov's run to gold in Istanbul was one of the most impressive of the competition. He picked up a fall over '22 European silver medalist Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) and an unimaginable 9-0 throttling over defending world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) in the gold-medal match.

Bakhshilloev blew through his four opponents in Turkey, including a convincing 5-2 win over European champion Morten THORESEN (NOR) in the gold medal match.

Assakalov, a long-term 87kg guy, will be wrestling in his second competition up at 97kg. The gray-hair veteran seamlessly transitioned to his new weight in Turkey, scoring big wins over European champion Felix BALDAUF (NOR) and '22 European finalist Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN).

The Asian Championships kick off next Tuesday (April 19) on www.uww.org