#UWWAwards

UWW Awards: USA Dominates WW Rankings With 4 Top Spots; Tynybekova Collects Most Points

By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 3) -- Just like they dominated the show in Tokyo, Japan and USA highlight the women's wrestling top rankings.

Four USA and two Japan wrestlers finished year-end ranking while four other spots went to Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Kazakhstan.

Like in freestyle and Greco-Roman, top wrestlers in women's wrestling will be awarded $10,000 while second-placed wrestlers will receive $7,000 and third-placed wrestlers given $3,000.

Earlier, United World Wrestling announced winners of the 10 weights each of freestyle and Greco-Roman.

As women's wrestling continues to be the priority of UWW, it had announced equal prize money for all wrestlers. A total of $600,000 was announced for 90 wrestlers, 30 from each style, based on a ranking system that honors the most active wrestler throughout the season.

In 2019, nine wrestlers were awarded prize money but UWW's emphasis on putting athletes first made it expand to 90 and the prize money from around $200,000 to $600,000. The 2021 prize money combines the amount that was reserved for 2020 but was not distributed due to the impact COVID-19 had on the competition.

As a result of the Olympics and World Championships being held in the same year, UWW Bureau decided to award the medalist at the Olympic Games 20 percent more than the points awarded at the 2021 World Championships. All Tokyo Games gold medalists will get 10 additional points, silver will get 6 additional points and bronze will be awarded 3 additional points.

For the convenience of the fans, here's a breakdown of how the points are distributed.

Sarah HILDEBRANDTSarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) captured her second Worlds silver to jump to top spot at 50kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

50kg
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) 82
Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 68
Mariya STADNIK (AZE) 60

Three Olympic medalists feature in the top-three list at 50kg with bronze medalist and 2021 World Championships silver medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) claiming the top spot. With her bronze in Tokyo, the USA wrestler collected 26 points and the silver medal in Oslo added 38 more. The 18 other points for her came from the gold she won at the Pam-Am Championships to complete 82 points.

Olympic champion and undefeated at the international level Yui SUSAKI (JPN) finished second w

ith 68 points. All her points came from the gold-medal winning performance at home in Tokyo.Four-time Olympic medalist and bronze in Tokyo Mariya STADNIK (AZE) began her season with 18 points with a gold medal at European Championships and then 16 more at the Poland Open ranking event. She added 26 more for the bronze medal in Tokyo which took her total to 60 points.

Mayu MUKAIDAOlympic champion Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) also finished at the top of 53kg rankings. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

53kg
Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) 68
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) 58
Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) 58

Olympic champion at 53kg Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) finished at the top with 68 points. Just like her teammate Susaki, she collected all her points from the gold medal win in Tokyo.

Her rival Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) finished with 58 points to claim the second point. She finished with gold medals at the Rome ranking event, Asian Championships and Poland Open ranking and received 14 points, 18 points and 14 points respectively.

From the Olympics, she finished a lowly ninth and collected only 12 points from Tokyo Games.

In a rare instance, a second Japanese wrestler finished in the top three as world champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) finished with 58 points. She was level with Phogat but the latter wrestled at the Olympics, Fujinami finished lower than Phogat.

All her points were collected at the Oslo World Championships in which she had a dominant 41-0 run.

Tsugumi SAKURAITsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) won the gold in Oslo and also the rankings at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

55kg
Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) 58
Andreea ANA (ROU) 39
Roksana ZASINA (POL) 39

Japan had a world champion at 55kg as well in Oslo and Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) collected 58 points for that performance. She was only the second Japan wrestler to finish at the top.

U23 world champion Andreea ANA (ROU) finished second with 39 points accumulated over three tournaments. She won a bronze medal at the European Championships and collected 16 points for that.

She also participated in the Poland Open ranking event and finished sixth. Since there were only seven wrestlers in the weight class in Warsaw, Ana's sixth position got her one point and six additional. That was followed by a seventh-place finish at the World Championships which gave her 16 more points, taking her tally to 39 points.

Roksana ZASINA (POL) also finished with 39 points but her ninth-place finish at World Championships kept her below Ana. She won a silver medal at the European Championships giving her 18 points followed by a fourth-place finish in Warsaw which gave her nine points. She received 12 points for her ninth-place finish in Oslo.

Helen MaroulisHelen MAROULIS (USA) won the bronze at Olympics and gold at World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Helen MAROULIS (USA) 84
Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) 76
Anshu MALIK (IND) 76

She could not win her second Olympic gold medal but Helen MAROULIS (USA) won a bronze medal in Tokyo and won the gold at the World Championships to finish at the top of the ranking at 57kg. She got 26 points for the bronze in Tokyo and followed that with 58 in Oslo.

Bronze medalist in Tokyo Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) was eight points behind Maroulis to finish second with 76 points. The European champion began with 20 points at the continental championships for her gold medal followed by a second-place finish at the Poland Open ranking and Olympics Games.

For Poland Open, she got 12 points while for her silver in Tokyo, she received 44 points taking her to 76 points.

Anshu MALIK (IND) also finished with 76 points but her performance at the Olympics was below Kurachkina's silver. Malik was fifth at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event collecting eight points. In April, she became the Asian champion and got 18 points for that performance.

The former cadet world champion finished ninth at the Olympics but still managed to collect 12 points from Tokyo. But her big boost came when she won the silver at the World Championships, adding 38 points to her total. She lost to Maroulis in the final in which a win would have taken the Indian to the top spot.

Bilyana DUDOVAWorld champion Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) finished top of the rankings at 59kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

59kg
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) 76
Sarita MOR (IND) 41
Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) 39

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) could not have asked for a better finish to the year. She won the European Championships in Warsaw to start with 18 points but became the world champion in October to add 58 points and jump to the top spot at 59kg.

Sarita MOR (IND), just like Dudova, won the continental in Asia but failed to win the Worlds gold. As a result, she finished second in the ranking. She collected 18 points from the win at the Asian Championships and 23 from the bronze medal at the World Championships.

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVAAisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) became a two-time world champion and also the top-ranked wrestler at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Theo Lowenstein)

62kg
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) 136
Yukako KAWAI (JPN) 68
Kayla MIRACLE (USA) 56

No wrestler accumulated more points in the rankings than Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). The two-time world champion managed 136 points over four different events.

She became the Asian champion in April to begin her rankings with 18 points and later finished with a gold medal at the Poland Open to add 16 more.

At the Olympic Games, she won a silver medal which helped her get 44 more points to take her total to 78 points. At the World Championships, she defended her title from Nur-Sultan and added 58 more points to extend her lead and claim the top spot.

Tokyo Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI (JPN) defeated Tynybekova in the final and her gold medal got her 68 points, enough to finish at the second spot and collect $7,000.

Kayla MIRACLE (USA) finished second to Tynybekova in Oslo and her silver medal-winning performance got her 38 points. She also won the Pan-Am Championships before Worlds which had given her 18 points.

Irina RINGACIMoldova's first-ever WW world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) is top-ranked at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

65kg
Irina RINGACI (MDA) 78
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) 38
Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ) 26

Moldova's first-ever world champion in women's wrestling Irina RINGACI (MDA) jumped to the top spot with her gold medal. She got 58 points for winning the gold in Oslo after she won the European Championships. The gold in Warsaw was worth 20 points.

Second to Ringaci in Oslo, Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) finished the rankings with 38 points, all collected via the silver medal.

Kazakhstan's Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ) finished third with 26 points. She did not participate in the Olympics or World Championships but won the Matteo Pellicone ranking event to collect 14 points and her fifth-place finish at the Asian Championships gave her 12 more.

Tamyra Mensah StockTamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) collected 123 points to finish at the top at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

68kg
Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) 123
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) 114
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 90

She suffered a shock defeat at the World Championships but Olympic champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) finished at the top of the rankings at 68kg. She won gold medals at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event for 14 points, gold at the Pan-Am Championships for 18 points and gold at the Olympics Games for 68 points.

She managed to finish with a bronze at the World Championships which added 23 more points to her tally taking it to 123 and safety.

World champion in 2021 and Olympic bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) finished second and just nine points shy of Mensah Stock. Zhumanazarova began with gold at the Asian Championships for 18 points and later added 12 points for her third-place finish at the Poland Open ranking event.

Her bronze at the Olympic Games added 26 more points to her account before the big step up happened when she won the gold medal in Oslo for 58 points and jumped to 114 points in total.

Tokyo Games silver medalist and Nigeria's first-ever Olympic medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) managed to finish at third place despite an eighth-place finish at the World Championships.

Her silver in Tokyo gave her 44 points while the same medal in the Poland Open ranking was worth 14 points. Even her eighth finish at Worlds was worth 14 points.

Since Africa Championships could not be held in 2021, points from 2020 were carried over and Oborududu had finished with gold last year for 18 points.

Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) collected 72 points to be top-ranked at 72kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

72kg
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 72
Masako FURUICHI (JPN) 58
Buse TOSUN (TUR) 35

One of the most active wrestlers in women's wrestling in 2021 was Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) and for her efforts, she managed to claim the top spot at 72kg. She won a silver medal at the World Championships which gave her 38 points.

Before that, she had gold at the Matteo Pellicone ranking event for eight points followed by a silver-medal finish at the Asian Championships for 16 points. She also participated in the Poland Open ranking event and received 10 points.

World champion in Oslo Masako FURUICHI (JPN) collected all her 58 points from the Oslo event and finished in the second spot.

A bronze medal at the World Championships and silver at the Poland Open ranking event helped Buse TOSUN (TUR) collect 23 and 12 points respectively to finish third.

Adeline GRAYAdeline GRAY (USA) won a record-breaking sixth world title which lifted her to the top at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

76kg
Adeline GRAY (USA) 120
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) 100
Epp MAEE (EST) 86

Olympic champion Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) and world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) were involved in a neck-to-neck battle for the top spot at 76kg.

Focken began the year with a bronze medal at the European Championships which helped her get 16 points while a month later Adeline GRAY (USA) won the Pan-Am Championships and collected 18 points.

Focken took the lead when he added a gold medal at the Poland Open ranking event for 16 points while Gray did not participate in the event.

At the Olympics, Focken and Gray reached the final. The German stunned the six-time world champion Gray in the final to win the gold medal. That gold gave Focken 68 points while Gray received 44 points for the silver medal.

Before the World Championships, Focken had 100 points while Gray stood at 62 points. But Gray won a record-breaking sixth world title in Oslo to add 58 more points to her tally and overtook Focken with 120 points in total to finish at the top.

European champion Epp MAEE (EST) had a historical year with a continental title and a World Championships finals appearance for Estonia.

Her gold in Warsaw saw her collect 20 points and she returned to the same city for a silver medal at the Poland Open for 14 more points. At the Olympics, she finished eighth but got 14 points for that performance.

She registered a jump of 38 points when she created history for her country by reaching the final in Oslo and finishing with a silver medal.

The 2022 ranking season will begin with the Matteo Pellicone ranking event in Rome from February 3 to 7 followed by the second event – Yasar Dogu – in Istanbul, Turkey from February 24-28.

For more events, log on to uww.org/events.

#WrestleTirana

Turkiye rejoices with Bakir gold, team title; Gutu ends Worlds gold drought

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 29) — There certainly could not be one more loss for Turkiye in the finals. After three losses on Saturday, as the law of averages, Turkiye had to win one Greco-Roman gold medal at the U23 World Championships.

But with just over a minute left and returning silver medalist Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) leading 3-3 on criteria, it seemed to be turning out to be another heartbreak for Turkiye.

That’s when Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) turned things around, quite literally.

Turning 130kg+ wrestlers from par terre in the final minute is superhuman stuff. But then, wrestlers are that. Bakir got the par terre advantage, thanks to a third passivity in the final. He would smartly move his grip towards Vyshnyvetskyi’s waist, the limit allowed in Greco-Roman, instead of a grip on his chest. Defending the gut-wrench needs unreal strength, but when the grip is on the waist, it’s close to impossible. A tired Vyshnyvetskyi’s was turned and so was the mood in the Turkish camp.

After Saturday’s gloom, Turkiye finally claimed a gold medal in Greco-Roman, also winning the team title with 121 points, 28 points more than second-placed Azerbaijan. Georgia was third with 78kg, one more than Armenia.

Muhammet BAKIR (TUR)Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) celebrates after winning the 130kg gold medal in Tirana. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The furious Turkish coach, who had to be escorted off mat after Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) lost the 97kg 4-3 Saturday, was in a saner mood as well. Emotions ran high after Mert ILBARS (TUR), Alperen BERBER (TUR) and Olgun lost and he came on the mat to express his displeasure. On Sunday, he would simply clap to celebrate win.

For Vyshnyvetskyi, that is a second straight U23 world finals loss to a Turkish wrestler. Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) had defeated him 9-1 last year. Though he did not suffer a technical fall this year, the Ukrainian will reflect on this loss more critically.

Bakir now has world title at three age groups with the senior level the one left. Wrestling at his first World Championships since the 2021 U20 one, which he won, Bakir was on a roll in Tirana. He opened the tournament with a win over Mikhail LAPTAEV (AIN) 4-0, thrashed Assylbek ZHANIBEKULY (KAZ) 9-0 in quarterfinals and defeated Razmik KURDYAN (ARM) 4-2 in the semifinal.

He was a off to a great start in the final as well, turning Vyshnyvetsjyi from par terre in the first period. But he gave up a takedown in the second period. His passivity added another point to the Ukrainian’s score and gave him a 3-3 lead.

That was until his magical turnaround when awarded the third passivity which only offers par terre advantage and not a point. He defended his 5-3 lead for the 22 seconds left on the clock and claimed the gold.

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) celebrates with his coach after winning the 77kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Gutu golden after 5 years

“Nothing is impossible.”

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) was a relieved man. He said after clinching his first gold medal at a World Championships after years. In between, it was increasing looking impossible.

Since winning the U17 World Championships and the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, Gutu has reached the final of the World Championships once — 2022 U23 World Championships.

After putting behind the ghosts of all those losses, Gutu managed to end the drought by winning the 77kg gold medal at the U23 World Championships on Sunday. He defeated Khasay HASANLI (AZE) 3-1 in the gold-medal bout.

“ I’ve been working hard for this medal for so long, not only this year,” Gutu said. “Only last year I could make it to the final, before that it’s been a long time that I couldn’t even qualify for the final.”

In the seven World Championships at different levels since 2018, Gutu has one silver and three bronze medals. He is yet to medal at the senior level with his best finishing being eighth in Belgrade this year.

But Gutu has been taking long strides in the sport. He won the U23 European Championships this year and was fifth at the senior continental event.

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) scored a takedown after Khasay HASANLI (AZE) failed to score from this position. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Wrestling Hasanli in the final on Sunday was a rematch of the U23 Euros from March which Gutu won 6-3. The one in Tirana was a little similar as Gutu, after leading 1-1 on criteria, was called passive.

As Hasanli got the par terre advantage on the third passivity, he tried throwing Gutu who landed on his feet and scored a takedown. Hasanli had little chances of coming back from there.

“Last year I couldn’t win the gold medal, because I had a knee injury and I couldn’t wrestle in my full potential,” he said. “This year I’ve had a really good training camp together with my coaches and training partners.

“We wrestled each other in the [U23] European final. We showed a really good match then and here as well. I am thankful to him for this match.”

With that load off his back, Gutu has a new challenge waiting for him next. After failing to earn an Olympic quota for Moldova, he will have to try and earn it at the European Olympic Qualifiers next year.

“I have big plans for this sport,” he said. “I am not gonna stop. My dream is the Olympic gold. I will follow it util I win it. I will first need to win the national championships and then I am ready to train day and night to get the Olympic quota. Nothing is impossible.”

Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO)Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) completes a throw to win 9-0 against Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ) in the 55kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Returning bronze medalist Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) earned the gold medal at 55kg in Tirana after beating Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ) 9-0 in the final in just 38 seconds.

Kurbayev was hoping to win a second gold medal for Kazakhstan in two days after Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) became the country’s first-ever U23 world champion on Saturday. But Tokhadze was not allowing any of that.

He got his first four-pointer over Kurbayev 15 seconds into the final. Kazakhstan corner decided to challenge the four but lost, adding one more point to Tokhadze’s score. Using double overhook, Tokhadze threw Kurbayev once again to claim a 9-0 win.

Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN)Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) won the 87kg gold medal over Matej MANDIC (CRO). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 87kg, Matej MANDIC (CRO) became the fifth wrestler from Croatia to reach the Greco-Roman final at U23 World Championships and finishing with a silver medal, prolonging the country’s wait for a world champion.

Mandic seemed to have competed well for the initial period in the final but Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) build a 9-4 lead before a desperate attempt from Mandic saw him fall on his back and Murtazaliev used that opportunity to pin Mandic.

At 63kg, Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (AIN) was crowned as the champion as he defeated Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN), 6-1, in the final.

 

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Giorgi TOKHADZE (GEO) df. Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ), 9-0

BRONZE: Farid SADIKHLI (AZE) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU), 10-0
BRONZE: Adem UZUN (TUR) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 10-0

63kg
GOLD: Rakhman TAVMURZAEV (AIN) df. Hleb MAKARANKA (AIN), 6-1

BRONZE: Chiezo MARUYAMA (JPN) df. Yurik HOVEYAN (ARM), 2-1
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. PRAVESH (UWW), 9-0

77kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Khasay HASANLI (AZE), 3-1

BRONZE: Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Aleksa ILIC (SRB), 8-0
BRONZE: Khvicha ANANIDZE (GEO) df. Attila TOESMAGI (HUN), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) df. Matej MANDIC (CRO), via fall (13-4)

BRONZE: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Exauce MUKUBU (NOR), 2-1
BRONZE: Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL) df. Waltteri LATVALA (FIN), 9-0

130kg
GOLD: Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) df. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR), 5-3

BRONZE: Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Apostolos TSIOVOLOS (GRE), 10-0
BRONZE: Mikhail LAPTEV (AIN) df. Razmik KURDYAN (ARM), 7-1