Ranking Series

USA, Turkey Wrestlers Sit Atop Women's Rankings in 5 of 10 Weight Classes

Thursday, May 10, 2018 - 18:26 By United World Wrestling Press

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Three-time world champion Adeline Gray (USA), fresh of winning a Pan American title, ascends to No.1 at 76kg in the May 2018 Ranking Series for women's wrestling. She won all three of her matches by fall at the Pan American Championships held in Lima, Puru.

Gray is one three Americans ranked No.1 in their respective weight classes. Joining Gray in the top spot are Sarah HILDEBRANDT (53kg) and Kayla MIRACLE (62kg). 


Hildebrandt, like Gray, is coming off a dominant performance at the Pan American Championships. She went 4-0 with three falls and a 10-0 technical fall. 

Miracle was a Klippan Lady Open gold medalist in February and recently earned a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships. 

Turkey has a pair of No.1-ranked wrestlers, Bediha GUN (55kg) and Elif YESILIRMAK (59kg). Both claimed medals at the Klippan Lady Open and European Championships. 

Gun, a 2016 Olympian, was a silver medalist at the Klippan Lady Open and a bronze medalist at the European Championships. 

Yesilirmak, a multiple-time world medalist, claimed a European gold medal after finishing with a bronze at the Klippan Lady Open.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE), who recently captured her eighth European title, occupies the top spot at 50kg. 

Other top-ranked wrestlers in women's wrestling include Irina OLOGONOVA (57kg), Petra OLLI (65kg), Laura SKUJINA (68kg) and Jenny FRANSSON (72kg). Olli and Fransson were gold medalists at the European Championships. 

The 2018 season is the first in which United World Wrestling is utilizing an objective ranking system. The points acquired at continental championships and select rankings series will determine the top four seeded athletes at the 2018 World Championships in October held in Budapest.

For more on the Ranking Series format, be sure to check out this article. 

View all the rankings on United World Wrestling's homepage. 

50kg
1. Mariya STADNIK (AZE) // 43 Points
2. Emilia VUC (ROU) // 39 Points
3. Chun LEI (CHN) // 24 Points
4. Whitney CONDER (USA) // 22 Points
5. Vinesh VINESH (IND) // 22 Points

53kg
1. Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) // 38 Points
2. Aysun ERGE (TUR) // 33 Points
3. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS) // 26 Points
4. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) // 24 Points
5. Yongmi PAK (PRK) // 22 Points

55kg
1. Bediha GUN (TUR) // 33 Points
2. Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) // 23 Points
3. Saki IGARASHI (JPN) // 21 Points
4. Roksana ZASINA (POL) // 21 Points
5. Hyemin OH (KOR) // 19 Points

57kg
1. Irina OLOGONOVA (RUS) // 37 Points
2. Laura MERTENS (GER) // 31 Points
3. Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) // 24 Points
4. Xingru PEI (CHN) // 22 Points
5. Alejandra ROMERO BONILLA (MEX) // 22 Points

59kg
1. Elif YESILIRMAK (TUR) // 33 Points
2. Ningning RONG (CHN) // 22 Points
3. Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) // 20 Points
4. Bisola MAKANJUOLA (NGR) // 18 Points
5. Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) // 18 Points

62kg
1. Kayla MIRACLE (USA) // 35 Points
2. Luzie MANZKE (GER) // 28 Points
3. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) // 23 Points
4. Yaquelin ESTORNELL ELIZASTIGUE (CUB) // 22 Points
5. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) // 22 Points

65kg
1. Petra OLLI (FIN) // 41 Points
2. Henna JOHANSSON (SWE) // 33 Points
3. Forrest MOLINARI (USA) // 26 Points
4. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) // 21 Points
5. Krystsina FEDARASHKA (BLR) // 19 Points

68kg
1. Laura SKUJINA (LAT) // 31 Points
2. Anastasia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS) // 25 Points
3. Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) // 23 Points
4. Feng ZHOU (CHN) // 21 Points
5. Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB) // 21 Points

72kg
1. Jenny FRANSSON (SWE) // 36 Points
2. Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) // 26 Points
3. Yue HAN (CHN) // 18 Points
4. Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR) // 18 Points
5. Veronica KEEFE (CAN) // 16 Points

76kg
1. Adeline GRAY (USA) // 40 Points
2. Yasemin ADAR (TUR) // 38 Points
3. Epp MAE (EST) // 30 Points
4. Qian ZHOU (CHN) // 21 Points
5. Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) // 19 Points
 

#WrestleBucharest

Kougioumtsidis repeats as U23 European champion

Saturday, March 18, 2023 - 19:26 By Vinay Siwach

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BUCHAREST, Romania (March 18) -- Between his U23 European title last year and today, Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) has managed only one gold medal -- the senior European gold in Budapest. He failed to win a medal in the last five events he has wrestled.

However, he ended that drought by reaching the 79kg final for the second year on the trot at the U23 European Championships on Friday and defended his title in a thrilling gold medal bout against U23 world champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO).

Kougioumtsidis wasn't as aggressive as he was last year. Yet, he found ways to deal with tricky situations and score when it mattered most. Gamkrelidze clearly dominated the tournament with two technical superiority wins before the final which he at one point led 4-0.

But Gamkrelidze should have accepted that it won't be this simple with Kougioumtsidis. He gave up three points before both wrestlers separated for the break.

When the bout resumed, it was a little surprising that Kougioumtsidis did not show intent. He was warned for passivity, however, he did enough to avoid the second call.

With 15 seconds remaining on the clock, it was now or never for Kougioumtsidis, who never has the slightest worry on his face.

He went for three fakes before a half-hearted duck-under which forced Gamkrelidze to transfer his balance to the front and he did not see Kougioumtsidis changing his attack to a single leg. The Greek wrestler elevated his leg and moved behind Gamkrelidze to bring him down.

It looked like a half throw but was good enough for two points and a 5-4 lead with four seconds remaining. Georgia challenged the call but lost, winning Kougioumtsidis a 6-4 win.

Last year, Kougioumtsidis won the U23 Euros and a month later won the senior continental title as well. The senior Europeans are a month away from Saturday, a day on which Kougioumtsidis won his second U23 Euro title.

Islam ILYASOV (AZE)Islam ILYASOV (AZE) became two-time U23 European champion. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another defending champion won gold as Islam ILYASOV (AZE) went past Oktay CIFTCI (TUR), 6-1, in the 97kg final.

The gold medal bout began on a very slow note with Ilyasov picking up a point for Ciftci's passivity after two minutes. He added a takedown and gut wrench before the break to lead 5-0.

As he tried defending his lead in the second period, Ilyasov was called passive and he gave up a point after 30 seconds but that did not cause much harm.

Ciftci dragged Ilyasov out of bounds but the referee called it neutral and did not give any point. Turkiye challenged the call but lost to add another point to Ilyasov's score.

The last 30 seconds did not yield any more points and U23 world bronze medalist Ilyasov won his second gold and third medal overall at U23 European Championships.

Niklas STECHELE (GER)Niklas STECHELE (GER) tries to score on Tolga OZBEK (TUR) in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

It was not defending champion Horst LEHR (GER) but Niklas STECHELE (GER) made sure the 57kg U23 European gold medal remains in Germany.

Stechele, like Horst, claimed the gold medal in a low-scoring final against Tolga OZBEK (TUR) and won by a score of 4-2.

Ozbek opened the final with a low single which Stechele managed to fend off before going on one of his own. After a little scramble, he managed to score a takedown and lead 2-0.

A little later, Ozbek once again tried to get hold of Stechele's leg but failed. His weak positioning cost him another two points as Stechele went for the counter and scored.

A crotch lift just before the break made it 4-2 but Ozbek was still trying to find a way to break Stechele's defense which became even stronger in the second period.

Stechele gave a little throwback to Lehr's tactics in the final last year as he completely shutdown in the second period, just like his senior. Despite Ozbek getting on a couple of shots, Stechele gave up no points and won the gold medal 4-2.

Magomed KHANIEV (AZE)Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) won the 70kg gold medal in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 70kg, a new star was born as Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) announced his arrival at the international scene with the U23 European Championships gold medal.

Wrestling against Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) in the final, Khaniev was slow to start and only led 1-0 at the break. But he cut loose in the second.

Papikyan tried avoiding a leg grab but fell on his back which gave Khaniev four points and he dragged him out of bounds with exposure to lead 7-0.

Armenia challenged the four point call but it stood, adding one more point to Khaniev's account. Khaniev finished the bout with a duck under and captured the gold medal.

Interestingly, Khaniev is the younger brother of 2019 U17 world champion Mukhamed KHANIEV (RWF).

Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), who won all his three bouts 10-0 on Friday, was crowned as the U23 European champion at 65kg after his opponent Rashid BABAZADE (AZE) forfeited due to injury.

Although he did not get to wrestle, Arsamerzouev became the first French freestyle wrestler to win a gold medal at the U23 Europeans.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Niklas STECHELE (GER) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 4-2

BRONZE: Luka GVINJILIA (GEO) df. Thomas EPP (SUI), 5-0
BRONZE: Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE), 13-2

65kg
GOLD: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df. Rashid BABAZADE (AZE), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO) df. Hamza ZOPALI (TUR), via fall
BRONZE: Mykyta HONCHAROV (UKR) df. Bozhidar DZHOROV (BUL), 6-0

70kg
GOLD: Magomed KHANIEV (AZE) df. Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM), 10-0

BRONZE: Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO) df. Benedikt HUBER (AUT), 10-0
BRONZE: Shamil USTAEV (GER) df. Moukhammad SANGARIEV (FRA), 4-2

79kg
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 6-4

BRONZE: Sabuhi AMIRASLANOV (AZE) df. Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM), 4-1
BRONZE: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) df. Gigi SUBTIRICA (ROU), via fall

97kg
GOLD: Islam ILYASOV (AZE) df. Oktay CIFTCI (TUR), 6-1

BRONZE: Ertugrul AGCA (GER) df. Richard VEGH (HUN), 10-0
BRONZE: Radu LEFTER (MDA) df. David MCHEDLIDZE (UKR), 3-2