USA puts aside Burroughs loss to win World Cup

Monday, December 12, 2022 - 04:27 By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, Iowa (December 11) -- Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) had never lost at home to a non-American wrestler. He had never lost in a World Cup. No Iran wrestler had ever beaten him.

But all that changed when Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) used a takedown to gut in a 6-6 criteria win over Burroughs in the World Cup in Iowa on Sunday.

Beating Burroughs in his home country made it even more special for Savadkouhi who became the first Iranian wrestler to beat the 2012 Olympic champion whose career has spanned around 15 years.

The Asian champion may have broken new ground by joining the list, which only has five other wrestlers, to win against Burroughs, but his feat was not enough to guide Iran to the World Cup title as it lost the final to the USA 6-4 and finished second.

The USA, led by world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA), won three straight bouts after the Burroughs loss to claim its 15th World Cup. It caps off an incredible year for the USA freestyle team which also won the team title at the World Championships in Belgrade in September.

Ukraine won the women's World Cup as it stunned China 6-4 in the final and became the first European team to win the coveted trophy.

After beating Mongolia and Georgia in the group stage Saturday, the USA waited for its opponent from the other group. Iran defeated Japan and the All-World team to set a clash against the hosts.

The final began in front of a partisan Iowa crowd that cheered every point by an American wrestler. It cheered the most when Burroughs hit a double on Savadkouhi just before the activity clock expired. He also got a lace to make his score 4-0.

"I knew I was down," Savadkouhi said. "But I was thinking of moving forward and being offensive. I lost one opportunity to score. But I knew from the first minute that he will make a mistake."

Savadkouhi was speaking from experience as he had Burroughs on the line at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event in Istanbul in February. He was on his way to winning the bout as Burroughs was put on the activity clock in the final minute but Savadkouhi pulled the singlet and was penalized for it and lost.

Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) scored six points on Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Ginnie Coleman)

In Iowa, he did not make a mistake. He went on an outside single and scored the takedown to cut the lead to 4-2. Burroughs took time to return to neutral, showing signs of tiredness. Savadkouhi pushed more from here and 15 seconds later scored another takedown. He did not let Burroughs settle down in par terre and turned him, a rare sight, to add two more.

From here, he had to defend the two-point lead for more than a minute. Burroughs tried but could not find a breakthrough. He pushed Savadkouhi out of bounds and got one point for fleeing to make it 6-6 but the Iranian still held criteria with nine seconds to go.

Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) celebrates after beating Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) in Iowa. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Savadkouhi managed to pass the time. He had achieved the unthinkable. He knew doing it in the US was special.

"I am happy to be the first Iranian to beat Burroughs and more importantly to win in his home country," he said. "I am blessed to be supported by Iranian people and the coaches."

Savadkouhi also talked about the confidence the Iran coaches had in him against Burroughs who had defeated Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI), who was in Iowa, in two finals at the World Championships.

"The coaches especially Pejman DOROSTKAR coach put more energy in me and he believed I will win," he said.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) managed to beat Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) 5-0 at 97kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

While Iran's gamble to wrestle Savadkouhi worked, another did not.

Two-time world champion at 92kg Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) bumped up to 97kg to wrestle Snyder as Iran tried to go for an outright win. But that did not pay off.

Snyder, who won the World Championships in Belgrade, was clearly the bigger and better wrestler and Ghasempour never managed to threaten with an attack. Snyder scored three stepouts against a tiring Ghasempour and a takedown to complete the win.

The USA was off to a strong start in the dual as Zane RICHARDS (USA) got a 4-3 win over Reza MOMENIJOUJAD (IRI) at 57kg before Seth GROSS (USA) manhandled U17 world champion Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) at 61kg in a 10-0 win.

It took world champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) to win a rematch against John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) at 65kg to put Iran on board. While the Belgrade final was a high-scoring affair, Amouzad and Diakomihalis were conservative in the match Sunday.

Amouzad scored a takedown but Diakomihalis was smart to not let him use the underhook to score stepouts. He then used two lighting fast duck-unders to take a 4-2 lead in the final. It looked like Amouzad was struggling to make a comeback but he scored via exposure and then added a late stepout to take a 5-4 lead and the win.

This should have put Iran in a strong position but Alec PANTALEO (USA) stunned Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) at 70kg with a 4-3 win, keeping the momentum in the USA's favor. Yazdani gave up two takedowns and his offense never got going. In the dying moments, he scored exposure over Pantaleo and then got a turn but Pantaleo had his head outside the zone which resulted in no points for the turn.

With the USA leading 3-1, Mohmmadsadegh FIROUZPOUR (IRI) was under pressure to pull one back. He was facing Jason NOLF (USA) at 74kg and was the underdog. Nolf led 1-0 at the break for an inactivity point and Firouzpour was again put on the clock but this time he scored a takedown and defended that lead for the win.

Burroughs loss had made it 3-3 and Iran had a real shot at winning the World Cup. But Zahid VALENCIA (USA), with his swaying hair, defeated Alireza KARIMI (IRI) at 86kg before Nathan JACKSON (USA) beat U23 world champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) at 92kg to all but seal the deal.

U23 world champion Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) handed Hayden ZILLMER (USA) a 6-1 defeat as consolation at 125kg. Celebrating his win, he gestured his hands for the next one before symbolizing a crown on his head as if saying that he will be the next king of this weight class.

The All-World team, which came agonizingly close to making it to the final, came back Sunday to beat Georgia 8-2 and finish with a bronze medal at the World Cup on its debut.

Ukraine Ukraine won its first ever World Cup. (Photo: UWW / Ginnie Coleman)

Ukraine stuns China

Over the weekend, Ukraine showed that it is right up there with the top women's wrestling nations. In a tough year with wrestlers struggling to find training bases and fighting an emotional battle, Ukraine not only qualified for the World Cup, but it also went on to win it.

Ukraine defeated the mighty China 6-4 in the final Sunday to claim its first-ever World Cup to cap off a successful year on a high. It did this a day after defeating women's wrestling powerhouse Japan to reach the final.

China, a close second to Japan when it comes to women's wrestling, was the favorite on paper but struggled with the high-paced and crafty wrestling of the Ukrainian team which had been in the US for the last three weeks.

The USA Wrestling, working along with the United World Wrestling, Olympic Solidarity, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the USOC, invited the team for a camp before the World Cup at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) defeated Olympic silver medalist Qianyun PANG (CHN) at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Ginnie Coleman)

That seemed to have worked for Ukraine as it broke Japan's title defense on Sunday. Japan sent a fairly young team to Iowa as most of its stars decided to skip the tournament for the Emperor's Cup scheduled to be held December 22-25. It is the first step towards qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In the final against China, there was no lack of support for the Ukraine team as the crowd at the Xtreme Arena continued to push the team with its cheering.

Oksana LIVACH (UKR) gave a dream start with a come-from-behind win at 50kg. Jiang ZHU (CHN) was on her way to win the bout when Livach unleashed a cool headlock for four and win the bout 4-4.

"I am very exhausted," she said after the win. "I am glad that I won for Ukraine. It is a very important win for us. The coaches said that I have to win the first match."

Li DENG (CHN) tied the dual 1-1 with a 2-1 win over Albina RILLIA (UKR) at 53kg which meant that the 55kg clash between Olympic silver medalist Qianyu PANG (CHN) and European champion Alina HRUSHYNA became even more important.

Hrushyna led 2-1 with three points being awarded for inactivity and Pang tried desperately for an attack in the final few seconds. She head-pinched Hrushyna, who was ready for it, defending the attempt with ease and scoring a takedown for a 4-1 win.

Yuliia TKACH (UKR) secured a fall over Yongxin FENG (CHN) at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Ginnie Coleman)

Veteran Yuliia TKACH (UKR) then got fall over Yongxin FENG (CHN) to swing it in Ukraine's favor. Qi ZHANG (CHN) did give China another chance by beating Iryna BONDAR (UKR) 7-2 at 59kg but that hope was short-lived as Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) put a cradle on Xinyuan SUN (CHN) for the fall inside the first period.

The two falls gave Ukraine a huge advantage if the dual was to end 5-5.

China was well aware of the scenario and Jia LONG (CHN) went all out against Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) at 65kg. In what will be the contender for the bout of the day, Long secured a fall despite being tossed twice for four-pointers. But she kept her composure and kept coming back and got a pin with two seconds remaining.

With Feng ZHOU (CHN) not available at 68kg, China banked on former world medalist Yue HAN (CHN) against Tetiana SOVA RIZHKO (UKR). Han almost did the job and was on her way to a 4-2 win when Rizhko got a single leg for two and Han made an illegal hold during the attack to be penalized for one point.

Rizhko's 5-4 win made it difficult for China to think of winning the title. However, QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN) gave it a shot. She defeated Alla BELINSKA (UKR) 9-1 to leave Juan WANG (CHN) with only one option -- to win the 76kg bout via fall.

Wang did try that but Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR) did not let it go for long. Shustova went on the offense and kept it up for the entire bout, winning 9-5 for an outright win.

Mongolia finished third in the World Cup after it beat the USA 7-3 in the morning session.

#JapanWrestling

Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold

Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 14:47 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 18) -- Kaisei TANABE didn't have to deal with one Olympic champion in moving halfway to his goal of achieving a historic double of national titles in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. He likely won't be able to avoid another to complete the mission.

Tanabe powered his way to his first national crown in Greco with a victory at 63kg at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Thursday, the opening day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"While I feel relieved, I have my 'real job' of freestyle 65kg the day after tomorrow, so I have to get my mind ready and do the best I can," said Tanabe, the defending champion at freestyle 65kg who will face a potential major hurdle this year in Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA.

In other action, another potential future star with Iranian roots emerged on the scene after Waseda University's Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI captured the freestyle 79kg gold, while a clash of reigning world champions between Ami ISHII and Miwa MORIKAWA was set up for the women's 68kg title.

The Emperor's Cup is also serving as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Olympic weight classes are being contested over two days, while non-Olympic divisions are completed in a single day.

Kaisei TANABE, left, works to get behind Ryota KOSHIBA in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Tanabe acknowledged that he dodged a bullet when Paris 60kg gold medalist Kenichiro FUMITA withdrew on the eve of the tournament due to injury. Fumita was entered at 63kg in what would have been his first competition since his triumph in Paris.

As both are Nippon Sports Science University alumni and still train at the campus, Tanabe said he has spent some time sparring with Fumita.

"Part of me wanted to face him [today]. But in practice, I've never scored a point," he admitted. "It was a crummy feeling. But if we faced each other in an actual match, I would never give up and try my best to win. Without him here, this became my tournament and I felt I had to take the title."

On Thursday, Tanabe showed he was clearly the best of the rest, sailing through the field with three straight technical falls. He capped his day with 4-point throw that finished off an 8-0 victory in the final in just under two minutes over Ryota KOSHIBA, another NSSU alum who happens to also dabble in freestyle.

Tanabe, whose father Chikara TANABE was a freestyle 55kg bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a current NSSU coach, said he likes to integrate techniques from the two styles into each other.

"To put it as simply as I can, Greco is mostly about throws and often has big 4-point moves, while freestyle is mainly precise techniques," Tanabe said. "Amid that, I want to add the fine, small moves to Greco and, amid the small moves in freestyle, aim for the big move that gives me a point spread."

Kaisei TANABE finishes up his victory over Ryota KOSHIBA with a four-point throw in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

This fall, Tanabe was among a number of Japanese wrestlers who participated in the German Bundesliga, where he said he sometimes worked on Greco with his teammates. And at times for fun, the Greco wrestlers and him would do freestyle.

Tanabe won his first national title at freestyle 61kg in 2024, then moved up to 65kg last year and won the gold in the absence of Kiyooka, who like other Olympic medalists was on an extended post-Olympics hiatus. He just missed out on the two-style double that year when he lost in the Greco 67kg final to Katsuaki ENDO.

Tanabe won the freestyle 65kg gold at the Asian Championships in March, then finally clashed with Kiyooka -- also an NSSU alum -- two months later at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, which is the second of the two domestic qualifiers for major international tournaments.

Tanabe held his own in a close 4-3 loss in the final, but Kiyooka dominated a playoff for the team to the World Championships with a one-sided 13-2 victory. Kiyooka went on to take the silver medal in Zagreb.

Should Tanabe manage to capture the gold on Sunday, it would make him the first wrestler to complete the Greco-freestyle double at the same tournament since Mitsuo YOSHIDA did it back in 1973 with victories in the 100kg weight classes.

As it is, Tanabe's victory on Thursday made him the first to achieve a career double since Atsushi MATSUMOTO switched to Greco and won at 85kg in 2016 after winning the first three of four national freestyle titles at 84/86kg between 2011 and 2014. He returned to freestyle and won again at 92kg in 2018.

Ironically, another wrestler could beat Tanabe to the punch. Taishi NARIKUNI, the 2022 world champion at freestyle 70kg, is entered in that weight class as well as Greco 72kg. Both divisions will be completed before Sunday, when the freestyle 65kg final will be held.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, right, spins behind Kanata YAMAGUCHI in the freestyle 79kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At freestyle 79kg, Gharehdaghi used effective counters to score an 8-0 victory in the final over Kanata YAMAGUCHI, a world U20 bronze medalist at 74kg who had beaten him in two previous encounters.

That followed up on Gharehdaghi's victory at the Meiji Cup in May, which was tempered by a loss in the world team playoff to last year's Emperor's Cup champion Ryonosuke KAMIYA, who has moved up to 86kg.

"Losing the playoff was devastating, and I was determined to work hard so that I wouldn't lose again," said the 19-year-old Gharehdaghi, a product of the JOC Elite Academy.

Gharehdaghi was born and raised in Japan to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. Through the influence of his father, who works in the automobile industry, he started wrestling at age 3.

Although he shares a compassion for the sport with his ancestral homeland, he has only been there on visits and cannot speak Persian.

His background is similar to that of one of Japan's top rising stars, world 97kg bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA, one of six siblings in the sport who use their mother's family name. They all started the sport at a kids wrestling club outside of Tokyo run by their father.

"I'm well aware of them," Gharehdaghi said. "I really respect them. Every one of them is strong. Their father was here today and gave me some advice."

In other finals on the opening day, Asian bronze medalist Takashi ISHIGURO went on the offensive in the second period to notch a 6-3 victory at freestyle 92kg over Daisuke MASUDA to defend his crown and claim a fifth career national title.

Kenta OGUSU won the Greco 55kg gold by completing a 9-1 technical fall with one second left over Mizuki ARAKI, who had knocked off Asian champion Kohei YAMAGIWA in the semifinals.

At women's 65kg, 2024 world U20 champion Nana IKEHATA defeated Haruka KOBARA 6-0 for her first national title, while Mahiro YOSHITAKE defeated Chisato YOSHIDA 7-2 for her third national crown and first at 72kg.

World champion Ami ISHII scores a takedown in the women's 68kg semifinal against Kaede MATSUYAMA. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Ishii, Morikawa set up clash; Kagami sharp in return

In Olympic weight classes that were competed through the semifinals, a blockbuster final was set up at women's 68kg when Ishii, the reigning world champion, advanced to a showdown with Morikawa, the winner at 65kg in Zagreb.

Ishii won both of her matches by one-sided technical falls -- giving up a lone takedown in her opening match when she lost her balance.

"I didn't think my matches went very well," Ishii said. "Especially in the first match, I rushed it too much. I want to be the aggressor and have crushing victories."

Morikawa met some stiff resistance in her semifinal with world U20 champion Ray HOSHINO, scoring two first-period takedowns before holding on for a 6-2 victory. Hoshino had knocked off three-time world medalist Masako FURUICHI 8-6 in the quarterfinals.

Ishii and Morikawa have met three times, with Ishii holding a 2-1 advantage. She won their first meeting 5-2 in the 2022 Emperor's Cup final. They clashed again in the semifinals at the 2023 Meiji Cup, with Morikawa winning 8-5. That set up a world team playoff between the two, which Ishii won 2-1.

Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI, left, competes for the first time since her victory in Paris. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Meanwhile, Olympic 76kg champion Yuka KAGAMI looked sharp in her first competition since her victory in Paris, scoring a technical fall before beating defending champion and Asian bronze medalist Nodoka YAMAMOTO 13-4 to advance to the final.

Kagami, who was limited to an activity point in the first period by Yamamoto, was being pressured at the edge early in the second when she neatly reversed the tide and dumped her opponent for a 4-point takedown.

Kagami padded the lead and, despite giving up a takedown and roll, she was never in danger. In Friday's final, she will face veteran Yasuha MATSUYUKI.

At Greco 87kg, rising teen star Taizo YOSHIDA, a world senior and U20 bronze medalist at 82kg, posted two technical falls, each inside of two minutes, to advance to the final. Two-time defending champion So SAKABE was a late withdrawal.

Day 1 Results

Freestyle

57kg (18 entries)
SF 1: Yamato OGAWA df. Kento YUMIYA, 6-4
SF 2: Fuga SASAKI df. Yamato FURUSAWA, 3-1

79kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 8-0
BRONZE: Kaiyo IMAI df. Hirotaka ABE, 7-0
BRONZE: Subaru TAKAHARA df. Kojiro SHIGA, 5-2

SF 1: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Hirotaka ABE by TF, 10-0, 2:06
SF 2: Kanata YAMAGUCHI df. Subaru TAKAHARA by TF, 12-2, 3:45

92kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Daisuke MASUDA, 6-3
BRONZE: Satoshi MIURA df. Sorato KANAZAWA,6-2
BRONZE: Ryogo ASANO df. Takato UCHIDA by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Sorato KANAZAWA, 7-5
SF 2: Daisuke MASUDA df. Takato UCHIDA, 4-1

125kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Akinari ORIYAMA by TF, 10-0, :50
SF 2: Taira SONODA df. Hibiki ITO, 3-2

Greco-Roman

55kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Kenta OGUSU df. Mizuki ARAKI by TF, 9-1, 5:59
BRONZE: Kohei YAMAGIWA df. Daisuke MORISHITA, 5-0
BRONZE: Sanshiro TAKAHASHI vs Taketo NINOMIYA by TF, 9-0, 2:00

SF 1: Mizuki ARAKI df. Kohei YAMAGIWA, 6-5
SF 2: Kenta OGUSU df. Sanshiro TAKAHASHI by TF, 9-1, 4:04

63kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Kaisei TANABE df. Ryota KOSHIBA by TF, 8-0, 1:54
BRONZE: Kazuki YABE df. Shoya ITO, 7-0
BRONZE: Toya MINAMI df. Miruto TOKUHIGA, 7-5

SF 1: Kaisei TANABE df. Kazuki YABE by TF, 8-0, 1:12
SF 2: Ryota KOSHIBA df. Miruto TOKUHIGA by TF, 9-0, 3:56

87kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Taizo YOSHIDA df. Genki YAHAGI by TF, 9-0, 1:59
SF 2: Daisei ISOE df. Chihiro MOTOHASHI, 10-5

97kg (16 entries)
SF 1: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Koki MATSUMOTO by TF, 9-0, 4:12
SF 2: Takahiro TSURUTA df. Kanta SHIOKAWA, 5-0

Women's Wrestling

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA df. Haruka KOBARA, 6-0
BRONZE: Suzu SASAKI df. Chika AKASHI by TF, 14-4, 2:59
BRONZE: Nanoha YASHIMA df. Rin MIYAJI, by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Nana IKEHATA df. Suzu SASAKI, 10-2
SF 2: Haruka KOBARA df. Nanoha YASHIMA, 6-4

68kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Ami ISHII df. Kaede MATSUYAMA by TF, 10-0, 3:41
SF 2: Miwa MORIKAWA df. Ray HOSHINO, 6-2

72kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Chisato YOSHIDA, 7-2
BRONZE: Ai SAKAI df. Miyu TAKAYAMA, 5-5
BRONZE: Yuka FUJIKURA df. Asahi NAKAMURA, 8-0

SF 1: Chisato YOSHIDA df. Miyu TAKAYAMA by TF, 10-0, 4:56
SF 2: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Yuka FUJIKURA, 4-0

76kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Yuka KAGAMI df. Nodoka YAMAMOTO, 13-4
SF 2: Yasuha MATSUYUKI df. Makoto KOMADA, 7-0

USA puts aside Burroughs loss to win World Cup

Comments

Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold