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UPDATED Nov. 6: News from Around the World

By United World Wrestling Press

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 Bhttps://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

#WrestleAcapulco

Gray falls as Ecuador wins 2 golds; Dake dominant at Pan-Ams

By Gaurav Bhatt

ACAPULCO, Mexico (February 23) -- Day three of the Pan-American Championships saw two wrestling phenoms take the mat in Acapulco. But while four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA) rag-dolled his opponents to win his fourth straight 74kg title at the event, six-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) stumbled against eventual 76kg champion Genesis REASCO (ECU) and had to settle for a bronze.

Nick SURIANO (61kg) and Chance MARSTELLER (86kg) also struck gold to make it three for Team USA, while Macey KILTY (USA) grabbed the 65kg gold. 

Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) blanked her 53kg opponents to take Ecuador's second gold of the day.

Kyle DAKE (USA)Kyle DAKE (USA) dominated his way to the 74kg gold. (Photo: UWW / William Bains)

Dake stayed levels apart in the 74kg field as the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist earned victories via fall over Angel CORTES (PAN) and Anthony MONTERO (VEN).

The 32-year-old, who won his first two world titles at 79kg, is not only strong for the 74kg division but also dazzles the field with his explosiveness. He had Bonilla squirming against a pin attempt in less than 5 seconds. Bonilla's desperation only delayed the inevitable, as Dake flattened him inside the first period.

Montero, a former South American champion, made it a scrappy affair but couldn't stop Dake from racking up points. Up against the clock, the Venezuelan went for a last-gasp shot, only for the American to counter into a four-point throw to complete the victory.

Marsteller defeated Jorge LLANO (ARG) in the quarterfinal but didn't get a chance to test his mettle against four-time champion Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB). The 34-year-old withdrew from the competition, paving the way for Marsteller to take home the 86kg gold. He also received a forfeit win from Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN). 

The title continues the remarkable life turnaround for the 28-year-old, whose childhood dreams of dominating the wrestling world were derailed by substance addiction. Addicted to alcohol and opioids — Marsteller, who amassed a 166-0 record in his Pennsylvania high school —  went into rehab in 2016. He went back to rehab in 2020 after an under-the-influencer bender saw him wreck his and his wife’s cars in one night. The 28-year-old has been clean since July 2020 and the gold in Acapulco would serve to boost both his morale and profile.

Suriano defeated two-time silver medallist Joseph SILVA (PUR) on his way to the 61kg gold. The 26-year-old, who was one of the main contenders to make the American Olympic team in 2021 before testing positive for COVID-19, also beat Jose VASQUEZ (PER) 12-2, Edwin SEGURA (GUA) via forfeit, and Juan LAVAT (MEX) with a fall (10-2).

Genesis REASCO (ECU)Genesis REASCO (ECU) blanked Adeline GRAY (USA) 10-0 at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / William Bain)

Gray was outpowered by Reasco in their meeting which saw the Ecuadorian secure two tremendous double-leg takedowns within the opening few seconds. The explosive 25-year-old, a four-time medallist at the event, completed the superiority victory over the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist in little over a minute.

Joining Reasco on top of the podium for Ecuador was Yepez, who continues her meteoric rise with a successful title defense in the 53kg category.

The stage was set for a rematch from last year's final against Betzabeth ARGUELLO (VEN), before the five-time medallist pulled out from the gold-medal clash.

Yepez, who also struck gold at the Pan-American Games last November, was the first Ecuadorian woman to win a wrestling world title at the 2021 U23 Worlds, and medalled at last year's senior World Championships.

Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN) won the 59kg women's gold. Beauregard — a four-time medallist at the event, including 2019 and 2022 champion — ran roughshod on Friday. The 26-year-old didn't give up a single point over four bouts.

Kilty grabbed the 65kg gold with two dominant wins. Kilty set the tone with a one-sided rout of 2022 silver medallist Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN).

After a tight opening minute, Kilty set up the Canadian with quick feints before securing a single-leg takedown. After netting five points from the sequence, Kilty wasted little time in getting another takedown, this time attacking Rowbottom's left leg, and completed the fall victory shortly thereafter.  

Against Andrea LOPEZ (MEX), Kilty showed both speed and strength. After earning a 7-0 lead in the first period, the 22-year-old overwhelmed the hometown favorite and earned the fall win with more than 2 minutes left on the board.

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RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Arguello BETZABETH (VEN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Gonzalez MARIA (DOM) df. Samantha STEWART (CAN), via fall
BRONZE: Katie GOMEZ (USA) df. Laura HERIN (CUB), 10-0

59kg
GOLD: Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
SILVER: Michaela BECK (USA)
BRONZE: Ana PEREIRA (BRA)

65kg
GOLD: Macey KILTY (USA)
SILVER: Andrea LOPEZ (MEX)
BRONZE: Miki ROWBOTTOM (CAN)

76kg
GOLD: Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) df. Renteria TATIANA (COL), 9-0

BRONZE: Adeline GRAY (USA) df. Shauna KUEBECK (CAN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Linda MACHUCA (ARG) df. Bautista EMELYN (DOM), 11-0

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Nicholas SURIANO (USA)
SILVER: Joseph SILVA (PUR)
BRONZE: Juan LAVAT (MEX)

74kg
GOLD: Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Julio RODRIGUEZ ROMERO (DOM), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Jones SHANE (PUR) df. Thomson ADAM (CAN), 16-5
BRONZE: Anthony MONTERO (VEN) df. Angel CORTES (PAN), 11-0

86kg
GOLD: Chandler MARSTELLER (USA) df. Ceballos PEDRO (VEN), via fall

BRONZE: Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL) df. Pool AMBROCIO GREIFO (PER), 3-1
BRONZE: Jorge LLANO (ARG) df. Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB), via inj. def.