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 .

#WrestleHangzhou

Tumur Ochir's 'god's gift' lands Asian Games gold

Friday, October 6, 2023 - 18:43 By Vinay Siwach

LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 6) -- Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) flips the medal a few times before claiming it as the "best medal and God gift."

The Mongolian has his Asian Games gold medal around his neck. He can't stop staring at it before finally agreeing to speak for the interview.

There is one more thing that he calls a God's gift to him -- underhook, the deadly move he has mastered to win wrestling bouts.

It's a move that needs timing, accuracy, and perfect execution, combined with power to be perfect. Tumur Ochir has performed the move numerous times in his career and won. But what he did on Friday in the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Center was perfection. An underhook that brought down Asian champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in the 65kg gold-medal bout was so clean that even Amouzad, who is equally good at it if not better, failed to defend himself.

Once he got the four points, Tumur Ochir continued to punish Amouzad for weak defense from par terre, getting three gut wrenches to win the 65kg gold medal 11-1. This is Tumur Ochir's first gold at a championship or Games at the senior level.

The activity point for Amouzad was the only point that Tumur Ochir gave up in five bouts in Hangzhou, winning other bouts by blanking his opponents. He won three of those 10-0 and the semifinal against Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) via fall.

"God gave me this [move]," Tumur Ochir said. "My body is for wrestling. This is the most important thing for me."

The final in Hangzhou was a rematch of the Asian Championships final from Astan which Amouzad won 3-1. While Tumur Ochir failed to break Amouzad's defense in Astana, he worked it out on Friday.

Once he got the underhook, Tumur Ochir positioned his left arm on Amouzad's biceps. A little adjustment and he launched the throw, using a little pull of Amouzad's left arm. He then transitioned it into a gut wrench and effortlessly turned Amouzad three times.

"In the second round, Amouzad was slowly getting tired and that is when I thought that I could perform this move. It was my chance to score," he said.

Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) scores against Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Amouzad's conditioning was also in question at the World Championships in Belgrade where he was the defending champion. He finished fifth after suffering a loss to eventual champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) and Shami MAMMEDOV (AIN).

In Hangzhou, Amouzad's first bout against Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB) made it more evident that the weight loss could be hampering his performance on the mat. Amouzad fell behind against Rakhmonov thrice before putting up a 12-6 win using counters. Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) then pushed him to the brink but he held on for a 2-1 win and booked a spot in the semifinal against BAJRANG. The underhook defense worked perfectly against Bajrang who was returning to international competition for the first time in 13 months. Amouzad got a huge four and then added a double-leg lift for another four to win 8-1 to enter the final.

The World Championships were disappointing for Tumur Ochir as well. He was the returning bronze medalist but finished 19th this year after suffering a close loss to Haji ALIYEV (AZE). The loss impacted Tumur Ochir significantly but he recovered from it to push himself at the Asian Games.

"At the World Championships, I lost and it made me feel very bad for a long time," he said. "But in the 10 days after that, I recovered from everything and I got the gold medal and I am really happy. I felt extremely disheartened after the World Championships."

As he failed to win a medal or finish in the top five at the World Championships, Tumur Ochir will have to try an Olympic quota for Mongolia at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek next year. With no Asian country qualifying at the World Championships barring Iran, it would be a tough ask.

"I will train hard and try my best," he said. "I will need to prepare for the Asian Qualifiers in Bishkek. I am researching about everyone who will be there."

Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) won the gold at 57kg, Japan's first in Freestyle. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The second Freestyle gold medal at the Asian Games on Friday was won by former U23 world champion Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) as he defeated Chongsong HAN (PRK) in the final. The gold medal ended Japan's 13-year wait for an Asian Games champion in Freestyle. Tatsuhiro YONEMITSU (JPN) was the last Asian Games champion in 2010.

Yonemitsu, who was in Hasegawa's corner in Hangzhou, himself had ended Japan's 16-year-long wait for a gold medal in the Asian Games after the 1994 edition.

Hasegawa, 27, was in control of the final from the opening whistle and mostly kept Han under check in the 7-3 win. Han was close to scoring on a few occasions but Hasegawa managed to defend the attacks.

"At the end, there were many times I nearly gave up points," he said. "At that time, I panicked a bit. I could hear [my coach]. I'm the type who listens to the coach, when I hear him, it calms me down. [Hearing to the coach] is not the biggest reason [for the win], but it was a big plus for me."

However, Hasegawa remained unsatisfied with his performance despite winning the gold medal.

"I'm not really that happy," Hasegawa said. "My feeling is that if it weren't for the great deal of support I received, I wouldn't have been here at all. Every time coach {Kenichi] Yumoto is in my corner I can wrestle relaxed. He told me to stay calm. When things get tough, he would shout advice, like the opponent is getting tired, or give it all to the end. I could clearly hear him and that spurred me on."

Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) defeated Asian champion AMAN 12-10 in the 57kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yumoto's advice came in handy in the semifinal against Asian champion AMAN as Hasegawa won 12-10 despite building a 6-1 lead at the break.

Aman stormed back with a takedown and increased the pace of the bout which challenged Hasegawa. But the Japanese was up for the challenge and countered Aman's single-leg attacks with takedowns.

He had earlier beaten Minghu LIU (CHN) and Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) 7-0 and 10-0 in the opening bout and quarterfinals.

A product of the Nippon Sports Science University, Hasegawa is employed by San-Ei Transportation along with the World Championships bronze medalist in Greco-Roman 77kg Nao KUSAKA (JPN). Both train full-time at the NSSU campus despite being employed.

"Kusaka got the ball rolling by taking third at the World Championships," Hasegawa said. "Unlike other companies, they really watch out for us. The president is always available and people are calling us. I think I'm really blessed."

In the bronze medal bouts, Asian champion Aman scored a 11-0 technical superiority win over Minghu LIU (CHN) to claim his first Asian Games medal at just 19 years of age. The second bronze medal was won by Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH (MGL) as he defeated Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 8-2.

At 65kg, Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) put up an impressive display against defending champion and four-time world medalist BAJRANG to win 10-0. The blanking meant that Bajrang will finish without a medal at an international tournament for the first time since 2017.

Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) claimed the other gold medal as he broke Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ) to win 11-6.

The 65kg medalists at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) df. Chongsong HAN (PRK), 7-3

BRONZE: AMAN df. Minghu LIU (CHN), 11-0
BRONZE: Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH (MGL) df. Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 8-2

65kg
GOLD: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), 11-1

BRONZE: Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. BAJRANG, 10-0
BRONZE: Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) df. Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ), 11-6

Weekly FIVE! February 19, 2019

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Tumur Ochir's 'god's gift' lands Asian Games gold