Vyshnyvetskyi, Gutu among young stars to reach U23 Worlds finals

Monday, October 17, 2022 - 20:07 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (October 17) -- When Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) saw his draw for the U23 World Championships, he had his task cut out.

In his first bout, he was pitted against the 2021 senior world champion Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI) and that made Vyshnyvetskyi the underdog. But unfazed by his opponent, the U20 world champion used a headlock throw before piling up the pressure on Yousofi to eke out a 7-1 and pull off the upset on day one of the tournament.

“I was preparing for the match because I knew he is a senior world champion,” Vyshnyvetskyi said. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy. However, his wrestling style quite suited me.”

With half the job done, Vyshnyvetskyi made sure he continued his good form and reached the final in 130kg as five gold-medal pairs were decided in Greco-Roman.

Vyshnyvetskyi wrestled Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE) in the quarterfinal and scored a 6-3 win. He will now wrestle U23 European silver medalist Fatih BOZKURT (TUR), who avenged his Euro loss to Dariusz VITEK (HUN).

“I have never wrestled him [Bozkurt] before, he said. “I hope to win because I came here to win the gold.”

Vitek would have fancied his chances against Bozkurt as he had defeated him in Plovdiv in February but the Turkey wrestler shut Vitek with top-class defense. Bozkurt won 6-1.

Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) scored an 8-0 win over Ken MATSUI at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Another Oslo world champion suffered a loss on day one. Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) stunned Ken MATSUI (JPN) at 55kg with an 8-0 win.

Matsui was called passive in the first period and Guluzade scored two turns from par terre to lead 5-0. In a rare instance, Matsui was called passive in the second period as well and Guluzade made sure he finished the bout by getting a turn.

The returning bronze medalist will now face returning silver medalist Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) in the final.

Dad Marz was up against U20 world silver medalist Denis MIHAI (ROU) and in trouble when the latter raced to a 4-0 lead early in the bout.

But Dad Marz kept his cool and scored two head pinches to lead 4-4 before making it 6-4 at the break. He was awarded the par terre position from which Dad Marz got a turn to secure a 9-4 lead, enough for him to play out the rest of the time.

That loss for Mihai denied him the opportunity to take on Guluzade for the third time this year. Guluzade defeated Mihai at the U20 European and World finals.

Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) reached the 63kg final after beating Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) 5-1. (Photo: UWW / Kostandin Andonov)

Another Iran wrestler who made it to the final was Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) as he defeated Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) 5-1 in the semifinal.

It was Babashov who opened the score but Khoon Mohammadi scored two stepouts to lead 2-1 at the break. In the second period, he was awarded the passivity call and he scored a turn from par terre to win.

The job is only half done for Khoon Mohammadi as he faces former U20 world champion and U23 European champion Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO), who beat Maksym LIU (UKR), 5-2.

Liu defended from par terre for the longest time when Shotadze tried to gut wrench. But as the referee was about to call neutral, Shotadze lifted Liu and scored four via a suplex, executed very close to the mat rather than the high-flying one.

In the second period, Liu failed to score from par terre and only got a caution.

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) reached the 77kg gold medal bout. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

In the remaining semifinals, Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) set up an exciting final against senior European champion and world bronze medalist Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM).

Gutu, one of the most active wrestlers this year, ended his long drought of missing out on finals at the World Championships and made it with a technical superiority win over Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR).

The match did not begin in favor of Gutu as he was put in par terre. But Gutu got out of the grip in stunning fashion and scored a four using a front headlock. Vasetskyi was cautioned for a defensive foul which gave two more to Gutu.

The bout restarted in par terre and Gutu scored another four-pointer to claim an 11-1 win with the final point coming off a lost challenge.

But in the final, he will be up against a far more experienced wrestler in Amoyan.

His semifinal opponent was a surprise Nao KUSAKA (JPN) who reached the last four by beating U23 world champion Idris IBAEV (GER) in the quarterfinal.

Kusaka began the semifinal on a strong note leading 5-0 but Amoyan got going with a four before adding a point for passivity and stepouts. A takedown in the second period helped him win 9-5.

Amoyan had an extremely battling day as he opened the day against Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) with a 1-1 win and faced Akylbek TALANTBEKOV (KGZ) in the quarterfinal. Talantbekov got the 1-1 lead in the second period but Amoyan scored a stepout and win 2-1.

Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) came from behind to reach the 87kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostandin Andonov)

At 87kg, Istvan TAKACS (HUN) rallied for a 4-1 win against Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL) in the semifinal. He will now take on Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) in the final.

Tadevosyan was down 4-0 against Maksat SAILAU (KAZ) as the Kazakhstan wrestler used a headlock for four. But Tadevosyan scored a takedown to cut the score to 4-2.

Another takedown and caution against Sailau meant he took the outright lead. Sailau was warned for passivity, adding another point to Tadevosyan's score as he won 6-4.

The U23 World Championships will continue on the second day with the remaining five Greco-Roman weight classes in action.

RESULTS

Greco-Roman

55kg
GOLD: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) vs. Nihad GULUZADE (AZE)

SF 1: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Denis MIHAI (ROU), 9-4
SF 2: Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) df. Ken MATSUI (JPN), 8-0

63kg
GOLD: Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) vs. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)

SF 1: Iman Khoon MOHAMMADI (IRI) df. Ziya BABASHOV (AZE), 5-1
SF 2: Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Maksym LIU (UKR), 5-2

77kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Dmytro VASETSKYI (UKR), 11-1
SF 2: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Nao KUSAKA (JPN), 9-5

87kg
GOLD: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) vs. Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL), 4-1
SF 2: Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) df. Maksat SAILAU (KAZ), 6-4

130kg
GOLD: Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) vs. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Fatih BOZKURT (TUR) df. Dariusz VITEK (HUN), 6-1
SF 2: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE), 6-3

#WrestleBucharest

Kougioumtsidis repeats as U23 European champion

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

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) 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) 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) 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

Vyshnyvetskyi, Gutu among young stars to reach U23 Worlds finals

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Kougioumtsidis repeats as U23 European champion