Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! January 14, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the Indian Pro League and Turkey's freestyle World and European Championships team. Also looking at Russia's upcoming Greco-Roman National Championships, the Ivan Yariguin and the passing of a Greco-Roman legend. 

1. Indian Pro Wrestling League Begins Monday  
The Mumbai Maharathis and NCR Punjab Royals kick off the opening night at one of the world’s most popular professional wrestling leagues, the Indian Pro League (PWL). The daily matches from India last three weeks and go from January 14-31. 

The PWL features six teams comprised of five men and four women. Each team will have five wrestlers from India and four international wrestlers.

Click here to watch the action from the PWL. 

ROSTERS

DELHI SULTANS
Women's Wrestling 
53kg - Pinki PINKI (IND) 
57kg - Katherina ZHYDACHIVSHA (ROM)
62kg - Sakshi MALIK (IND)
76kg - Shustova ANASTASIA (UKR)

Freestyle
57kg - Rahul AWARE (IND)
65kg - Andrey KVIATKOVSKI (UKR)
74kg - Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) 
84kg - Praveen PRAVEEN (IND)
125kg - Sumit Malik (IND) 

HARYANA HAMMERS
Women's Wrestling 
53kg - Seema SEEMA (IND) 
57kg - Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) 
62kg - Tayana OMELCHENKO (AZE) 
76kg - Kiran KIRAN (IND) 

Freestyle
57kg - Ravi KUMAR (IND) 
65kg – Rajneesh RAJNEESH (IND) 
74kg - Parveen RANA (IND) 
86kg - Ali SHABANOV (BLR) 
125kg - Aleksander KHOTSIANIVSKI (UKR) 

MUMBAI MAHARATHI
Women's Wrestling 
53kg - Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)
57kg - Angelica BETZABETH (VEN)
62kg - Shilpi YADAV (IND)
76kg - Zsaneet NEMETH (HUN)

Freestyle
57kg - Ibragim ILYASOV (RUS)
65kg – Harphool HARPOOL (IND)
74kg - Sachin RATHI (IND)
86kg - Deepak PUNIA (IND)
125kg - Vladislav BAITSEEV (RUS) 

NCR PUNJAB ROYALS
Women's Wrestling 
53kg - Anju ANJU (IND)
57kg - Mimi HRISTOVA (BGR)
62kg - Anita ANITA (IND)
76kg -  Alina STADNIK(UKR)

Freestyle
57kg - Nitin RATHI (IND)
65kg - Bajrang PUNIA (IND)
74kg - Amit DHANKAR (IND)
86kg - Dato MARSAHISHVILI (GEO)
125kg - Korey JARVIS (CAN) 

UP DANGAL
Women's Wrestling 
53kg - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
57kg – Sarita SARITA (IND)
62kg - Navjot Kaur (IND)
76kg - Epp MAE (EST)

Freestyle
57kg - NaveenNAVEEN (IND)
65kg - Pankaj RANA (IND)
74kg - Jitender JITENDER (IND)
86kg - Irakli Misituri (GEO)
125kg - Georgi SAKANDELIDZE (QAT)

MP YODHA
Women's Wrestling 
53kg - Ritu PHOGAT (IND) 
57kg - Pooja DHANDA (IND) 
62kg - Elise MANOLOVA (AZE) 
76kg- Andrea CAROLINA (COL) 

Freestyle
57kg - Sandeep TOMAR (IND) 
65kg - Haji ALIYEV (AZE) 
74kg - Vasil MIKHAILOV (URK) 
86kg - Deepak DEEPAK (IND) 
125kg - Akash ANTIL (IND)


Taha AKGUL (TUR), the two-time world and Olympic champion won the 125kg Turkish Freestyle National title this past weekend. He also confirmed that he'll compete at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin. (Photo: Martin Gabor)

2. Turkey's Freestyle Team Set for World and European Championships
The Çorum Hittite University Sports Hall in Corum, Turkey welcomed over 450 of the best Turkish wrestlers for the 2019 Freestyle National Championships. Similar to last week’s Turkish Women’s Wrestling National Championships, the winners of the Freestyle National Championships cemented their spot on Turkey’s World and European Championship teams. 

Taha AKGUL, the two-time world and Olympic champion, was among the wrestlers who punched their ticket to the World and European Championships. Akgul, who missed out medaling at the World Championships for the first time since 2013, confirmed to United World Wrestling that he’ll be traveling to Krasnoyarsk, Russia to compete at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin. He’ll compete at 125kg. 

The biggest surprise of the tournament came at 86kg where Osman GOCEN earned his World and European Championship trip by defeated reigning world silver medalist, Fatih ERDIN in the gold-medal bout. Gocen also finished ahead of Selim YASAR, the Rio Olympic silver medalist.  

Turkey is expected to bring their first team to the Ivan Yariguin, which begins on January 24. 

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD - Ahmet DUMAN  
SILVER - Ahmet PEKER 
BRONZE – Barıs KAYA 
BRONZE - Ali KARABOGA 

61kg 
GOLD - Recep TOPAL  
SILVER - Sedat OZDEMIR 
BRONZE -  Munir AKTAS  
BRONZE - Cabbar DUYUM 

65kg 
GOLD - Mehmet OGUT  
SILVER - Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN
BRONZE - Cengizhan ERDOGAN  
BRONZE - Ali PINE 

70kg 
GOLD - Mustafa KAYA 
SILVER - Serhat ARSLAN 
BRONZE - Mehmet KARACA  
BRONZE - Enes USLU  

74kg
GOLD - Yakup GOR
SILVER - Fazlı ERYILMAZ  
BRONZE - Muhammed AKDENİZ 
BRONZE - Nazım KARA  

79kg
GOLD - Muhammed KOTANOGLU  
SILVER -  Ender COSKUN 
BRONZE - Musa GURBUZ 
BRONZE - Abdulkadir OZMEN 

86kg
GOLD -  Osman GOCEN  
SILVER - Fatih ERDIN 
BRONZE - Selim YASAR  
BRONZE - Arif OZEN  

92kg 
GOLD - İbrahim BOLUKBASI  
SILVER -  Erhan YAYLACI  
BRONZE -  Samet OZARSLAN
BRONZE - Süleyman KARADENİZ 

97kg  
GOLD -  Fatih YAŞARLI  
SILVER -  Baki SAHIN 
BRONZE - Ali BONCEOGlU 
BRONZE -  Feyzullah AKTURK  

125kg  
GOLD -  Taha AKGUL  
SILVER -  Fatih CAKIROGLU 
BRONZE -  Huseyin CIVELEK
BRONZE - Abdullah OMAC


Roman VLASOV (RUS), the two-time Olympic champion will make his return to the mat after suffering a knee injury two weeks prior to the 2018 World Championships. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

3. Russian Greco-Roman Nationals Set to Begin on January 18
The Russian Federation has moved the competition date for the 2019 Russian Greco-Roman National Championships. The Greco-Roman National Championships will now take place this weekend, from January 18-24 in Kaliningrad, Russia. 

Sergey EMELIN, Stepan MARYANIAN, Artem SURKOV, Alexander CHEKHIRKIN, Musa EVLOEV, and Sergey SEMENOV, the six current Greco-Roman world champions, are exempted from the Russian Greco-Roman National Championships. But this does not make the upcoming competition less interesting, largely due to the fact that Olympic champions, Roman VLASOV and Davit CHAKVETADZE, will strive to regain their former positions.

Here are seven storylines you need to follow at the Russian National Championships! 


Kyle SNYDER (USA), two-time world champion and Olympic champion is set to compete at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

4. The Ivan Yariguin Just 10 Days Away  
United World Wrestling’s first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin begins 10 days from today in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. 

Turkey's Taha AKGULl and America's Kyle SNYDER (USA) are two Olympic champions that have confirmed that they'll be competing in Krasnoyarsk.

Shortly after it was announced that London Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS will make his first career trip to the Ivan Yariguin, USA Wrestling confirmed that Burroughs would no longer be competing in Siberia. Burroughs was expected to take the place of America's reigning 79kg world champion Kyle DAKE (USA), who is expected to miss some time after the birth of his daughter, EllaJo Rose, on December 12. 

On the women's wrestling side of the first Ranking Series event of the year, Norway's reigning U23 world champion Grace BULLEN has confirmed that she'll be in attendance in Krasnoyarsk. To win her 2018 U23 world title, Bullen knocked off China's reigning senior-level world champion and reigning Yariguin champion, RONG Ningning. 

SCHEDULE (Local time) 

January 23 (Wednesday)
08.00 - Arrival of delegations
15.30 - Referees clinic
15.30 - Press conference with the Organizing Committee representatives, main referees body, team leaders and coaches
16.30 - Draw: Women: cat: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: cat: 57,61,70 kg

January 24 (Thursday)
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh-in cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
11.00 - Elimination rounds cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
16.00 - Draw cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
17.00 -1⁄2 finale cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg

January 25 (Friday)
08:15 - Weigh-in cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh-in cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
11.00 - Elimination rounds and 1⁄2 finale cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg  - Repechage cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg
16.30 - Draw cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
16.00 - Opening ceremony
17.00 - Finals cat: Women: 50,55,59,65 kg Men: 57,61,70 kg

January 26 (Saturday)
08:15 - Weigh-in cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh-in cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
11.00 - Elimination rounds and 1⁄2 finale cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg - Repechage cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg
18.00 - Finals cat: Women: 53,57,62,68 kg Men: 65,79,125kg

January 27 (Sunday)
09:00 - Weigh-in cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
11.00 - Repechage cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg
13.00 - Finals cat: Women: 72,76 kg Men: 74,86,92,97 kg

January 28 (Monday)
Until 12.00 - Departure of delegations 

5. Vadim Psarev, Hall of Fame Greco-Roman Coach, Dies at 86
Legendary Greco-roman wrestling coach Vadim PSAREV passed away Saturday, January 12 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He was 86.

During his long career, Psarev coached five Olympic medalists, including three Olympic gold champions. The native Russian also coached 12 gold medalists at World Championships and World Cups. 

Psarev was recognized by United World Wrestling in 2014 with his selection to the organization's Hall of Fame. He was also awarded as an "Honored Coach of USSR" (1969) for his work with the USSR in the 40's, 50's and 60's. 

Psarev later became the head Greco-Roman coach for the Kazakhstan national team and was later given the title of "Honored Coach of Kazakhstan."

Click here to read more about Vadim Psarev. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1 . #mondaymotivation#wrestling #wrestler #suplex #grecoroman@musaevloev1
2. @tahakgul, the two-time world and Olympic champion will wrestle at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin. He’s entered at 125kg.
3. Sunday smiles ?!
4. “The 2019 season has started. It’s time to make history!” ?: @swedewrestling .#teamSweden #swedewrestling #sweden#worldchampionship #2019 #wrestling
5. Happy Friday, wrestling fans.

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! March 05, 2018

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing Yazdani's Asian debut, a duo of historic performances, hometown favorites, and the Women's World Cup.

1. Yazdani Adds Asian Championship to Resume 

In his continental championship debut, the reigning world and Olympic champion, Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI) went 3-0 and defeated two-time Asian medalist Uitumen ORGODOL (MGL) to capture the 86kg Asian championships gold medal.

The Asian Championships was the superstar's first competition since winning gold in Paris at the 2017 World Championships outscoring his opponents 36-2. This weekend, Yazdani only gave up two points and outscored his opponents 35-2. Combining Yazdani's last two tournaments, he’s outscored his opponents by a combined score of 71-4!

What may be more impressive, in his last two finals, Yazdani has picked up 10-0 technical superiority victories. 

2. Navjot Wins Historic Gold For India 

Since 2001, 13 Indian women have made the finals of an Asian Championship, and all 13 women have failed to bring home a gold medal.

This weekend, Kaur NAVJOT (IND) changed India's women's wrestling history when she beat Miyu IMAI (JPN), 9-1 in the finals of the 65kg bout

After her historic win, Navjot said: "I have been preparing for this and waiting for this for very long. Today is the best day of my life since I started wrestling." 

3. Host Nations Dynamic Duo 

Muslim EVLOEV (KGZ) and Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) used the hometown crowd as extra motivation on their way to winning Asian gold medals In Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 

Evloev, now a four-time Asian champion captured the Freestyle 74kg title by beating two-time world bronze medalist Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL), 11-1.

In the 72kg Greco-Roman finals, Makhmudov, the 2017 junior  world silver medalist captured the gold medal by defeating 2017 world silver medalist, Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 8-6. 

A topic of discussion from both wrestlers was the support that the Kyrgyzstan fans showed. "The crowd was really supporting me as much as they could and I couldn't fail them, so I did my best," said Evloev. Makhmudov told the Kyrgyz media "The biggest help for me was that the Kyrgyz people screamed for me to be strong and also to do better. 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. Sakandelidze Wins Qatar's First Asian Medal 

This weekend, the Georgian transfer, Giorgi Sakandelidze (QAT) became Qatar's first-ever medalist at an Asian Championships with a second-place finish. In the 125kg finals, Giorgi SAKANDELIDZE (QAT) was defeated by world bronze medalist, Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB), 5-0.  

Prior to Sakandelidze 's runner-up finish, Qatar's trio of Ibrahim ADULLARAHMAN(QAT), Bakhit Sharif BADR(QAT) and Abdulqader OMAR (QAT) held the record for Qatar's highest finish at an Asian Championship with fifth place finishes.

5. Two Weeks Away From the Women's World Cup 

Japan, the three-time defending World Cup champions, are set to host the 2018 Women's World Cup March 17-18 in Takasaki, Japan. This will be the fifth time that Japan has hosted the Women's World Cup and the first time since 2014. 

The eight participating teams are separated into two pools. Pool A will consist of Canada, Japan, Sweden and the United States and Pool B will consist of Belarus, China, Mongolia, and Romania. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

The crowd goes crazy after Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) win the host nations first gold medal of the Asian Championships. 

Kumsong KANG (PRK) gets extremely emotional after his amazing victory in the 57kg final!

Highlights from the first day of Freestyle action at the Asian Championships.