#WrestleSantiago

WATCH LIVE: 2023 Pan-American Games, Day One

Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - 13:31 By Eric Olanowski

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SANTIAGO, Chile (November 1) --- Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Mason PARRIS (USA) headline the entries for the opening day at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile.

The first day will feature freestyle action at 57kg, 74kg, 97kg and 125kg.

Snyder, the three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist, will look to repeat his gold-medal-winning performance from the 2019 Lima Pan-American Games. His biggest threats are Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) and Luis PEREZ (DOM).

Snyder defeated Silot Torres to win gold at the Pan-American Championships in Buenos Aires earlier this year, while Randhawa and Perez finished in third in Argentina.

Parris, the newly minted world medalist, makes his third appearance in the Red, White and Blue singlet. His heavyweight bracket features three reigning Pan-American medalists: Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN), Aaron JOHNSON (JAM) and Catriel MURIEL (ARG), the silver through bronze medal finishers from this year's Pan-American Championships.

Wednesday’s opening round matches begin at 10:00 (local time), while the gold and bronze-medal bouts begin at 17:00.

- Watch Wednesday’s action: Freestyle 57kg, 74kg, 97kg and 125kg.
- 2023 Pan-American Games brackets.

Wednesday’s Entries:

57kg
Hernan David ALMENDRA (ARG)
Oscar Eduardo TIGREROS URBANO (COL)
Osmany DIVERSENT MARTÍNEZ (CUB)
Juan RAMIREZ (DOM)
Edwin Alexi SEGURA GUERRA (EAI)
Darian CRUZ (PUR)
Zane RICHARDS (USA)
Pedro Jesus MEIJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

74kg
Alvan BORDEAUX REGO (BRA)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Leon PERALTA LANAS (CHI)
Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB)
Luis BARRIOS ROCHEZ (HON)
Anthony VALENCIA (MEX)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Tyler BERGER (USA)
Anthony Jose MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN)

97kg
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Matias Ignacio URIBE SEPULVEDA (CHI)
Carlos Hernan ANGULO MURILLO (COL)
Maxwell LACEY GARITA (CRC)
Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB)
Luis PEREZ (DOM)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)
Cristian SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

125kg
Catriel MURIEL (ARG)
Ibrain TORRES ESPINOSA (CUB)
Elison ADAMES (DOM)
Aaron JOHNSON (JAM)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Mason PARRIS (USA)
Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN)

#WrestleBelgrade

Orta, Jafarov set showdown at World Championships

Saturday, September 23, 2023 - 17:50 By Vinay Siwach

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BELGRADE, Serbia (September 23) -- Tokyo Olympic champion at 60kg Luis ORTA (CUB) will be back in Paris, although in a new weight class, made it to his first-ever World Championships final on Saturday.

Orta moved up to the 67kg weight class at the start of the year and delivered results instantly, winning the Pan-Am gold and bronze medals at the Ranking Series events.

In Belgrade, Orta was slated to face world champion Mate NEMES (SRB) in the quarterfinals and after securing a hard-fought win over the local wrestler. Amantur ISMAILOV (KGZ) tried stopping him in the semifinals but Orta scored three takedowns in his 9-1 win over the Kyrgyz wrestler.

By reaching the final, Orta confirmed a spot for Cuba at the Paris Olympics next year.

But to be a world champion, Orta will have to beat the returning bronze medalist and a young star of the sport Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE).

The 20-year-old former U20 and U23 world champion reached the final after beating three top wrestlers in three straight bouts. He first took out European silver medalist Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) before beating Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), 10-0, in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Jafarov was made to work hard by Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM) for his 5-3 win. Jafarov scored a turn from par terre to lead 3-0. Jafarov was awarded a second passivity in the second period to change the score to 4-0 but he failed to score any points.

Galstyan scored a takedown in the second period and cut Jafarov's lead to 4-2 and got a stepout in the final second to make it 4-3. Armenia's challenge for fleeing could not be confirmed on review, adding a point to Jafarov's score.

At 87kg, David LOSONCIZ (HUN) showed why he is the most dynamic wrestler of the weight class, mauling his opponents in the run to the final. After winning his first two bouts via technical superiority, he defeated Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) 6-1 in the final before a brutal rolling of Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) in the semifinals.

He will face European silver medalist and returning bronze Ali CENGIZ (TUR) for the gold who scored a come-from-behind victory over Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ) in the other semifinal. 

Cengiz had earlier beaten Olympic champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) 3-1 in the 1/8 finals before winning 3-3 against Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) who was a silver medalist at 82kg last year.

In the non-Olympic weight class, two-time world silver medalist Leri ABULADZE (GEO) will try to win a gold medal as he reached the final for the third straight year. Abuladze defeated Stefan CLEMENT (FRA) 3-1 in the semifinals.

For the gold, Abuladze will have a rematch of the 2022 European Championships final as Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) reached the final after beating Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) from the other side of the bracket. Abuladze won the gold at Euros 3-1.