Weekly FIVE! February 19, 2019

Monday, February 18, 2019 - 20:00 By Eric Olanowski

Previewing this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and reviewing results from the 25th Annual Klippan Lady Open. Also looking at Makhmudov's injury, Ramonov's return, and Magomed Kurbanaliev opening up his sports school in Dagestan.

1. Hungarian Grand Prix Begins This Weekend
Azerbaijan's reigning world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI headlines a Hungarian Grand Prix field of over 175 wrestlers from 25 different nations which boasts an impressive eight returning world medalists (listed in bold in below link).

Though they only enter three wrestlers, Azerbaijan has arguably the most successful team in the tournament. Their three entries are Azizli, Rasul CHUNAYEV, and Sabah SHARIATI.

Azizli is coming off a run to his first world title and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world at 55kg, while Chunayev and Shariati both hold Rio Olympic bronze medals.

Chunayev, who's 25 points is good enough for the No. 4-ranking in the world at 72kg has three world medals to go along with his Rio bronze-medal finish. In 2015, he won the world title and grabbed bronze medals at the 2014 and 2018 world championships.

The last Azeri entry is Sabah Shariati, who will be making his 2019 season debut at 130kg.

Korea and Serbia are two other nations that enter stacked squads into the second Ranking Series event of the year.

Korea's team features Olympic champion KIM Hyeonwoo, two-time world champion RYU Hansu, and reigning 130kg world bronze medalist KIM Minseok.

Kim Hyeonwoo brings 25 Ranking Series points into the Hungarian Grand Prix and is ranked third in the world after a bronze-medal finish at last weekend's Zagreb Open.

Kim Minseok, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the world at 130kg, is looking to bounce back after failing to medal at the Zagreb Open, and two-time world champion Ryu Hansu will make his season debut at 67kg.

Viktor NEMES, the 2017 world champion and reigning world bronze medalist Mihail KAJALA lead Serbia's team into the second Ranking Series event of the year. Both wrestlers are ranked fourth in the world at 77kg and 97kg respectively.

The Hungarian Grand Prix begins on February 23 at the Olimpiai Sportpark in Gyor, Hungary.

Click here for full list of entries.

Schedule

Friday (February 22)
Till 12:00 - Final entries for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97 kg
15:00 - Referee meeting
16:00 - Technical conference – all teams
17:00 - Draw – GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97 kg

Saturday (February 23)
08:00 - Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg
10:00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg
Till 12:00 - Final entries/ Inscriptions définitives pour GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16:30 - Draw – GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
17:00 - Opening Ceremony
18:00 - Finals for GR cat. 55, 63, 72, 82, 97kg Award ceremonies

Sunday (February 24)
8.30- Medical examination & Weigh-in for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
10.00 - Qualification rounds and repechage for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg
16.00 - Finals for GR cat. 60, 67, 77, 87, 130kg and Award ceremonies

Monday (February 25)
Departure of the delegations

China's reigning world champion NINGNING Rong grabbed her first Klippan Lady Open title. (Photo: Martin Gábor )

2. China Wins Four Golds at 25th Annual Klippan Lady Open
The 25th Annual Klippan Lady Open, one of the oldest all women's wrestling tournaments in the world, took place in Sweden last weekend and four different nations had wrestlers claim a gold medal, but it was China who led the way with a quartet of gold medalists.

China’s 2018 world champion Rong NINGNING and Rio Olympic bronze medalist YANAN Sun (CHN) were the leaders of the Chinese squad that had four champions.

Rong, who made her first Klippan Lady Open appearance, won the 57kg gold medal, while Sun improved on her 2015 fifth-place finish by winning the 50kg title.

The other two Chinese champions were FENG Zhou (CHN) and JUAN Wang (CHN). The pair won the 68kg and 76kg championships respectively.

The host nation of Sweden finished with the second most gold medalists, grabbing a trio of titles.

Jenny FRANSSON, Sweden's 2016 Rio bronze medalist, won her second consecutive 72kg Klippan Lady Open title and third overall while making her tenth Lady Open appearance.

The other two Swedish wrestlers who won gold medals were Moa NYGREN (SWE) Henna JOHANSSON (SWE).

Nygren, who was wrestling in her fifth Klippan Lady Open had never placed higher than eight before winning the 62kg title on Sunday.

Johansson finally got over the hump and claimed a Klippan Lady Open title after nine previous attempts.

Japan grabbed two titles and Russia rounded out the winners with a solo gold medalist.

Umi IMAI (JPN) and Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN) won the 53kg and 55kg gold medals respectively, while Russia’s Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS) won the last gold medal, which came at 59kg.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD - YANAN Sun (CHN)
SILVER - Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN)
BRONZE - Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Iwona MATKOWSKA (POL)

53kg
GOLD - Umi IMAI (JPN)
SILVER - QIANYU Pang CHN)
BRONZE - Annika WENDLE (GER)
BRONZE - Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)

55kg
GOLD - Sena NAGAMOTO (JPN)
SILVER - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
BRONZE - Diana WEICKER (CAN)
BRONZE - Marina SIMONYAN (RUS)

57kg
GOLD - NINGNING Rong (CHN)
SILVER - Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
BRONZE - Roksana ZASINA (POL)
BRONZE - Ramóna GALAMBOS (HUN)

59kg
GOLD - Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)
SILVER - Pei XINGRU (CHN)
BRONZE - Lauren LOUIVE (USA)
BRONZE - Emma JOHANSSON (SWE)

62kg
GOLD - Moa NYGREN (SWE)
SILVER - Jessica BROUILLETTE (CAN)
BRONZE - Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
BRONZE - JUAN Kang (CHN)

65kg
GOLD - Henna JOHANSSON (SWE)
SILVER - Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
BRONZE - Kriszta INCZE (ROM)
BRONZE - Naomi RUIKE (JPN)

68kg (One bronze)
GOLD - FENG Zhou (CHN)
SILVER - Natalia KHRAMENKOVA (RUS)
BRONZE - Alena SUKHAREVA (RUS)

72kg
GOLD - Jenny FRANSSON (SWE)
SILVER - CHUCHU Yan (CHN)
BRONZE - Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)
BRONZE - Tatiana KOLENIKOVA (RUS)

76kg
GOLD - JUAN Wang (CHN)
SILVER - Epp MAE (EST)
BRONZE - Masako FURUICHI (JPN)
BRONZE - Francy RADELT (GER)

3. Kyrgyzstan’s Makhumdov to miss Two Months
The future of Kyrgyzstani Greco-Roman wrestling Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) is set to have surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee and is expecting to miss at least two months.

Makhmudov told United World Wrestling that he will depart Kyrgyzstan on February 18 and will travel to Germany where he'll have surgery February 20.

The 19-year-old expects to return to the mat in mid-April and projects that he'll compete at the September’s Astana World Championships, which are seven months away.

If you’re not familiar with Makhmudov, he’s the three-time age-level Greco-Roman world medalist who introduced himself to the senior level by forging an 8-6 win over Paris 2017 world silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) in the 72kg Asian finals. That match, which took place in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan’s Kozhomkul Sports Palace, was voted United World Wrestling's Greco-Roman Match of the Year.

In his memorable post-match interview, Makhmudov thanked the Kyrgyzstani fans for their support, saying, "When I heard it, I thought, 'I can die here on the floor, but I will still win. This win will be for them.'"

4. Olympic Champion Ramonov Returns After Three-Month Layoff
Rio Olympic champion Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) returned to the mat for the first time since undergoing spinal surgery in early November to correct a back issue that has long troubled him.

Ramonov told United World Wrestling, “I’ve returned to the mat. I’m going to wrestle at the Russian National Championships and possibly the World Championships.” (The dates for this year's Russian National Championships have not been announced, but they're usually one month before the World Championships so we can expect them to be in late July or early August.)

Last November, Ramonov told UWW, “It’s true that I had an operation on my back, but I’ve already got back to work and started physical therapy. I expect to return to the mat in January, and hopefully enter a tournament at 65kg closer to the fall.”

Ramonov's November announcement that he's dropping back down to 65kg should raise eyebrows of wrestling fans around the world because the Russian was arguably the most dominant wrestler in the world during his run to the 65kg Rio Olympic gold medal. On that run, he outscored his Olympic opponents 53-11 and thumped the returning Olympic champion Toghrul ASGAROV (AZE) 11-0 in the gold-medal bout.

But, since his title-winning performance in Rio, Ramonov hasn't been the same and a big reason is that he bumped up to 70kg. While up at 70kg, Ramonov has failed to make it back on the Russian world team in back-to-back years after earning medals at three consecutive World Championships and Olympic Games.

For a healthy Ramonov to represent Russia in Astana, he'll have to make a run in one of the countries deepest weight classes. The 65kg weight class in Russia houses returning 65kg world bronze medalist Akhmed Chakaev (RUS), returning two-time 61kg world runner-up Gazhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) and Yariguin runner-up Nachyin KUULAR.

5. Kurbanaliev Opens Up Wrestling School in Dagestan
Russia’s 2016 world champion Magomed KURBANALIEV recently opened the doors to his namesake sports facility, the Kurbanaliev Sports School, which is “located high in the mountains of Dagestan, in the village of Bezhta that's in the Tsunta district.”

“This sports school is located in my small homeland, where I was born and raised,” said Kurbanaliev.

The reigning European champion went further, saying he aspired to open the school because “We did not have the right conditions for normal training, and there was only a small room and a mat. Our youth had no place to train, and I understand them.”

In addition to freestyle wrestling, the Kurbanaliev Sports School will also be a practice facility for students training boxing, sambo, and volleyball.

The gym is currently open for wrestling practices, but Kurbanaliev won't officially celebrate the grand opening until the summer. “The official opening will take place in the summer, and now training has begun in various sports.”

For more information about the Kurbanaliev Sports School, please visit the school’s official Instagram account.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Rəsul Çunayev (AZE) -- 2018 Dan Kolov
2. Sunday Smiles ?. ?: Lu Marin
3. #ScoreThat - Who do you think scored on this exchange? Was it red or was it blue? (Find out by watching the full match, which is linked in our bio).
4. We traveled to Puerto Rico with members of the USA Women’s national team as they took part in a 10-day training camp on the island. Video: Lu Marin @ Lu Marin Creative
5. Four days until the #HungarianGP2019 .

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Azarpira beats Snyder; Zare, Susaki dominate

Friday, January 12, 2024 - 00:01 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 11) -- He was ready to take over the 97kg weight class in Iran after the Tokyo Olympics. He won the U23 World Championships aged 19 years. He repeated as the champion in 2022. But then Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) rose along with Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI).

After spending a year struggling at 92kg because of the decision of Iran's management, Amirali AZAPIRA (IRI) is back to his best at 97kg. He defeated Goleij and Mohammadian in Iran and shocked the wrestling world on Thursday with a controlled win over Kyle SNYDER (USA) at the Zagreb Open to win the gold medal.

Snyder, who was the favorite to win the gold medal, especially after his easy 4-0 win over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) in the semifinal, was shut down by Azarpira in the second period, suffering a 6-3 loss after leading 3-0.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) scores on Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the 97kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Memories from last year's Zagreb Open final must have flashed for Azarpira as he lost that match 3-0 to return with a silver medal. But this year, despite Snyder's 3-0 lead, Azarpira continued his attacks and scored two takedowns in the second period to win 6-3.

"I had already thought about the final," Azarpira said. "I had practiced with the other guys [on the Iran team] for a long time for this competition. Last year, I lost to Snyder in the same tournament and the same final but this year, I was confident that I could defeat him."

Snyder led 1-0 at the break after Azarpira was on the activity clock and opened the second period with a takedown to lead 3-0. But Azarpira answered with a takedown of his own to make it 3-2 and added a stepout which Snyder challenged but lost.

Azarpira led 4-3 with over a minute remaining in the final and Snyder came close to scoring the winning stepout twice but Azarpira's defended well.

"It was a good takedown in the first period and then he got into my legs and scored," Snyder said. "I still had a minute and 15 seconds to score but could not. He had good defense. It was good to compete and keep learning. I need to get better at opening guys up and score points."

Azarpira used Iran's traditional underhooks and kept his legs away from Snyder's reach to avoid getting taken down or double-leg attacks.

"I was three points behind but I didn’t lose my focus because I had a plan," Azarpira said. "I knew that even if I was six points behind, I could win it. I was relieved because I already knew that I was going to win. My mind was ready for this competition and I had gained self-confidence."

Azarpira lost some of his self-confidence in 2023 when Iran decided to prepare him for the World Championships at 92kg after Ghasempour's injury. He finished fourth at the Ranking Series event in Budapest and eighth at the World Championships after a loss to Zahid VALENCIA (USA).

But come 2023, he won the Iran nationals to earn his spot for Zagreb and with the win over Snyder, he will be headed to the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek in April.

"I’ve been playing at the weight of 97kg for about three or four years and I fit in this weight," he said. "But according to the opinion of the technical staff of my country, they allowed me to participate in the World Championships at 92kg. But at this weight, considering the weight I lost and the circumstances, I didn’t have the necessary preparation for the competition and I was very annoyed during this time. But I wasn’t real me in the World Championships when I lost."

Azarpira opened the day with a 5-0 win over Radoslaw BARAN (POL) and survived a scare against Isaac TRUMBLE (USA) 8-7 before winning 10-0 against VICKY (UWW).

But Snyder was dominant in the first three matches. He defeated Tuerxunbieke MUHEITE (CHN), Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) and Cristian SARCO (VEN) via technical superiority. He would then beat Ghasempour 4-0 in their second career meeting.

Azarpira's win over Snyder has all but ended Ghasempour's Olympic hopes. Winning the quota in Bishkek would mean that Azapira's ticket to Paris is all but guaranteed.

"It can be said that this weight is the hardest weight in the World, Olympic, Asian," Azarpira said. "With the plans I have, I hope I can get the best results in this weight and I have high hopes in myself.

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) defeated Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) 5-0 in the 125kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another Iran wrestler who has confirmed his Paris Olympics ticket is world champion Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) as he defeated Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) in the 125kg final. The bout was a playoff for the Olympic spot as Masoumi had won the national championships. Like their previous encounters, Zare was in control of the bout which he won 5-0.

"Masoumi is a young and powerful wrestler and he wrestles with high physical strength," Zare said. "Because of that, I was under pressure but according to the training I had done before this tournament, I showed my body was ready to defeat all my opponents."

Throughout the day, Zare showed why he remains the top wrestler at 125kg, winning two bouts via technical superiority before the final.

"The competition was high level and in our weight, except for one or two wrestlers, the champions of different countries were all present and this shows that this year is the year of the Olympics," he said.

Having won the World Championships twice now and a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Zare said that he would do everything in his control to win the Paris Olympics.

"The biggest dream of every athlete is Olympic gold and I practice and work hard every day to achieve the Olympic gold and I wanna do it not just once, but several times."

Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) won the 79kg gold after a 6-0 win over Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Iran's third gold medal was won by Mohamad NOKHODI (IRI) who recovered from a grueling semifinal against Evan WICK (USA) to win gold at 79kg with a 6-0 win over Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO). The two-time world silver medalist Iranian struggled with his conditioning in the semifinal but managed to win 6-6. In the final, he scored all the points in the first period and then defended Kentchadze's attacks to win the gold.

Kentchadze finished with a silver medal last year as well after losing to Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) in the final.

In the other non-Olympic weight class in Freestyle, Nathan JACKSON (USA) won the gold medal at 92kg after a fall over Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) in the final.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) defeated Ziqi FENG (CHN) in the 50kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Susaki show

A fully fit and rejuvenated Yui SUSAKI (JPN) remained untouchable in wrestling as she won the 50kg gold medal with ease, finishing each of her five bouts well before time.

Her opponent in the final and world bronze medalist Ziqi FENG (CHN) had similar results, finishing her three bouts before time but suffered a 10-0 loss to Susaki in the final.

At the World Championships, Feng had troubled Susaki and only lost 4-2 but Susaki said it wasn't a big deal.

"I have no injury now," Susaki said. "After the World Championships, I planned a lot [for Feng]."

The 24-year-old has been on a long exposure trip to Europe in which she trained in Germany and France.

"I want to train with foreign athletes and know the style," she said. "I have the Olympics so I want to feel the power of foreign wrestlers, how to fight them, how to plan against them. I had a great experience."

At 55kg, Samantha STEWART (CAN) came home with a gold medal after a 3-1 victory over Roksana ZASINA (POL) in the final.

RESULTS

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE: Evan WICK (USA) df. Abdollah SHEIKHAZAMI (IRI),

92kg
GOLD: Nathan JACKSON (USA) df. Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO), via fall

BRONZE: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Eric SCHULTZ (USA), 8-7

97kg
GOLD: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Kyle SNYDER (USA), 6-3

BRONZE: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) df. Erhan YAYLACI (TUR), 3-1
BRONZE: Isaac TRUMBLE (USA) df. VICKY (UWW), 8-5

125kg
GOLD: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) df. Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI), 5-0

BRONZE: Zhiwei DENG (CHN) df. Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Mason PARRIS (USA) df. Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE), 6-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Ziqi FENG (CHN), 10-0

BRONZE: Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN) df. Kseniya STANKEVICH (AIN), via fall (10-2)
BRONZE: Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) df. Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR), 7-6

55kg
GOLD: Samantha STEWART (CAN) df. Roksana ZASINA (POL), 3-1

BRONZE: Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Roza SZENTTAMASI (HUN), 2-2
BRONZE: Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA) df. Albina RILLIA (UKR), via fall (4-0)

Weekly FIVE! February 19, 2019

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

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Zagreb Open: Azarpira beats Snyder; Zare, Susaki dominate