Weekly FIVE! January 21, 2019

Monday, January 21, 2019 - 15:22 By Eric Olanowski

In a Russia-heavy week, we review the Mindiashvili Grand Prix and Russian Greco-Roman National Championship results. We also review this week's first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin.

1. Final Yariguin Qualification Tournament, Mindiashvili Concludes in Krasnoyarsk
In order to qualify for the Ivan Yariguin as a Russian wrestler, you had to be a 2018 world team member, an Alany Tournament champion or a Mindiashvili finalist.

This weekend, the final qualification tournament for the Ivan Yariguin, the Mindiashvili Grand Prix, concluded in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, just three days before the first Ranking Series event begins in Siberia. The Mindiashvili finalists locked up their spot at the Yariguin and placed heavy importance on the Ranking Series event later this week, only wrestling four of the ten finals matches. The four matches that were wrestled were the 61kg, 65kg, 74kg, and 86kg gold-medal bouts.

Of the four finals matches, the most notable match came at 65kg. Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), the 2017 U23 world champion and 2018 U23 world runner-up, avenged his 2-1 loss Alay loss to Kurban SHIRAEV (RUS) and grabbed the Mindiashvili gold medal with a 3-2 victory.

RESULTS
57kg – Aryian TYUTRIN df. Amirkhan GUVAZHOKOV, via forfeit
61kg – Eduard GRIGOREY df. DONGAK, 6-1
65kg – Nachyin KUULAR df. Kurban SHIRAEV, 3-2
70kg – Razambek ZHAMALOV df. Anzor ZAKUEV, via forfeit
74kg – Nikita SUCHKOV df. Arslan BUDAZHAPOV, 5-3
79kg – Alan ZASSEEV df. Khalil AMINOV, via forfeit
86kg – Soslan KTSOEV df. Omar ZIYAUTDIOV, 10-0
92kg – Alikhan ZHABRAILOV df. Magomed KURBANOV, via forfeit
97kg – Magomedov df. Tamerlan RASUEV, via forfeit
125kg – Pavel KRIVTSOV df. Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV, via forfeit

2. Olympic Champions Vlasov and Chakvetadze win Russian Greco-Roman Nationals
The Russian Federation wrapped up their 2019 Russian Greco-Roman National Championships in Kaliningrad, Russia, and the pair Olympic champions, Roman VLASOV and Davit CHAKVETADZE, inched closer to regaining their top position on the Russian Greco-Roman ladder after winning the 77kg and 87kg gold medals respectively.

The six current Greco-Roman world champions, Sergey EMELIN, Stepan MARYANIAN, Artem SURKOV, Alexander CHEKHIRKIN, Musa EVLOEV, and Sergey SEMENOV, were exempt from the Russian Greco-Roman National Championships and will take on last weekend's winners at a later date for a trip to the 2019 World and European Championships.

For Vlasov to regain the 77kg spot, he’ll have to defeat reigning world champion Alexander Chekhirkin, while 87kg didn’t have a world medalist, so Chakvetadze will represent Russia at the World and European Championship.

Another interesting note coming out of the Greco-Roman National Championships, Alexander KOMAROV, the four-time age-level world champion, made his domestic debut on the senior-level and beat Vaah MARGARYAN, 8-1 in the 82kg gold-medal bout.

RESULTS
55kg – Vitaly KABALOEV df. Victor VEDERNIKOV, 5-1
60kg – Zambolat Lokyaev df. Dmitry Lyustrickski, 7-3
63kg – Marat GARIPOV df. Alexey TADYKIN, 10-3
67kg - Alexey KIANKIN df. Saur KABALOEV, 4-2
72kg – Abuazid MANCIGOV df. Adam KURAK, 7-1
77kg – Roman VLASOV df. Islam OPIEV, 8-0
82kg – Alexander KOMAROV df. Vaah MARGARYAN, 8-1
87kg – Davit CHAKVETADZE df. Sosruko KODZOKOV, via fall
97kg – Alexander GOLOVIN df. Nikita MELNIKOV, 1-1
130kg – Vitaly SHCHUR df. Rafael Tsistuashvili, 2-0

The first Ranking Series event of the year, the Ivan Yariguin, begins Thursday. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

3. Ivan Yariguin Begins Thursday
The 30th Annual Ivan Yariguin, United World Wrestling's first freestyle and women's wrestling Ranking Series event of the year, begins this Thursday in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

This will be the first Ranking Series event where the revamped point structure will be used. This tournament is especially important because the seeding process at the 2019 Astana World Championships takes into account the number of points competitors accumulate from last year's World Championships, along with the Continental Championships and the Ranking Series events.

2019 Ranking Series Point Structure
GOLD - 8 points
SILVER - 6 points
BRONZE - 4
Fifth - 2

*The number of points awarded at a competition will also be impacted by the number of wrestlers entered in each bracket. For weight categories with 10 or fewer entries, an additional six (6) points will be added. For categories with 11-20 wrestlers entered an additional eight (8) points will be added. Ten (10) points will be added to any weight category with more than 20 entries.

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

China's 2018 world champion RONG Ningning kicked off her year by winning the Ivan Yariguin. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

4. Yariguin Rewind: Chinese Women Claim Five Gold Medals
United World Wrestling's first Ranking Series event of 2019 kicks off in three days with the Ivan Yariguin Grand Prix. While women's wrestling was featured in 2018, it was not a Ranking Series event. Fast forward a year and the 2019 edition will see women's wrestlers competing for sought after ranking points.

Four different nations claimed a women’s wrestling gold medal at last year’s Ivan Yariguin, but the Chinese women made the best of their trip to Krasnoyarsk and put seven wrestlers in the finals and finished with five champions. Of the five Chinese champions, Asian champion ZHOU Qian was the only Yariguin champion who didn’t represent China at the 2018 World Championships.

Rising star RONG Ningning captained the Chinese success in Krasnoyarsk. The 2018 Ivan Yariguin was a coming out party for Rong, who was relatively unknown coming into last year’s tournament. Rong, the Yariguin rookie, kick-started her year by knocking off reigning world runner-up Allison RAGAN (USA), 10-0 in the 59kg gold-medal bout. She later dropped down to 57kg and continued her dominance, winning the Asian Championships, the China and Poland Opens, and the 2018 Budapest World Championships. In addition to her title-winning performances at the above-mentioned tournaments, Rong was also a U23 world runner-up and an Alexander Medved Prizes bronze medalist.

Japan, Mongolia, and the United States were the other nations who had at least one wrestler reach the top of the podium at the 2018 Ivan Yariguin.

Japan, who had five finalists, grabbed gold medals from Yuki IRIE, Yu MIYAHARA, and Andoriahanako SAWA (JPN), while Mongolia's PUREVDORJ Orkhon and the United States' Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK gave their nation a solo gold medalist.

With just four days left to register, Mensah-Stock is the only returning champion registered to wrestle in Krasnoyarsk, where she'll be looking for her third Ivan Yarigiun title.

2018 WOMEN'S WRESTLING RESULTS
50kg – Yuki IRIE (JPN) df. Sonhyang KIM (PRK), 9-8
53kg – Yu MIYAHARA (JPN) df. Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS), 4-4
55kg – Andoriahanako SAWA (JPN) df. Mengyu XIE (CHN), 10-8
57kg – ZHANG Qi (CHN) df. Gantuya ENKHBAT (MGL), 6-4
59kg – RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Allison Mackenzie RAGAN (USA), 10-0
62kg – PUREVDORJ Orkhon (MGL) df. Kiwa SAKAE (JPN), 10-0
65kg – TANG Chuying (CHN) df. Yulia PRONTSEVITCH (RUS), 4-1
68kg – Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) df. HAN Yue (CHN), 3-3
72kg – WANG Juan (CHN) df. Masako FURUICHI (JPN), 4-1
76kg – ZHOU Qian (CHN) df. Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS), via injury default

David Taylor was one of three wrestlers to win the Ivan Yariguin and the World Championships. (Photo by Tony Rotundo)

5. Yariguin Rewind: Six Yariguin Medalists Eventually Won Budapest World Titles
The 30th Annual Ivan Yariguin, United World Wrestling’s first Ranking Series event of the year, begins 8 days from today (on January 24), in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Seven eventual world champions made the trip to Siberia twelve months ago to compete at the “Toughest Tournament in the World,“ but only six left with a medal.

The seven Budapest gold medalists who competed at the 2018 Ivan Yariguin were Zaur UGUEV (RUS) (57kg), Yowles BONNE RODRIGUES (CUB) (61kg), Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) (70kg), Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) (74kg), Kyle DAKE (USA) (79kg), David TAYLOR (USA) (86kg), and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) (97kg).

Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) (65kg), J’den COX (USA) (92kg), and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)(125kg) were the three world champions who missed last year's Yariguin.

Uguev, Taylor, and Sadulaev were the only three wrestlers to win gold medals at both the Yariguin and World Championships. Uguev and Taylor won their Yariguin titles at their World Championship weights, while Sadualev won his Yariguin title at 92kg and his world title at 97kg.

Zaurbek Sidakov, Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov, and Kyle Dake were the trio of Yariguin silver medalists who traveled to Budapest and claimed world titles.

On the flip side, Gadzhimurad Rashidov and Kyle Snyder won titles in Krasnoyarsk but fell short in the Budapest World Championship finals.

Cuba’s Yolwes Bonnes Rodrigues was the only 2018 world champion to depart the 2018 Yariguin empty-handed. It should be noted that Bonne competed at 65kg, 4kg heavier than his Budapest World Championship weight of 61kg.

Bonne went 1-1 and lost to Mongolia’s BATCHULUUN Batmagnai, who fell to Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS) and Nachyn KUULAR (RUS) and finished in fifth-place.

Early registration for the 2019 Ivan Yariguin closed last week but has since reopened. The updated deadline for registrations is January 21.

Results
57kg - Zavur UGUEV (RUS) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS), 4-1
61kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)df. Ismail MUSUKAEV (RUS), 3-2
65kg - Ilias BEKBULATOV (RUS)df. Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS), 3-3
70kg - Magomed KURBANALIEV (RUS)df. Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS), 2 - 2
74kg - Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS)df. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS), 3-1
79kg - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Kyle DAKE (USA), 8-2
86kg - David TAYLOR III (USA) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), via fall.
92kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Anzor URISHEV (RUS), 6-0
97kg - Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) df. Rasul Magomedovitch MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 4-1
125kg - Muradin KUSHKHOV (RUS) df. Anzor Ruslanovitch KHIZRIEV (RUS), 1-1

*2018 world champion are in bold.

Weekly FIVE in Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- BONNE Y. (CUB) -- 2018 Ivan Yariguin #wrestling #wrestler #monday #motivation #throw #takedown #mma
2. Yariguin Rewind: Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) used a six-point opening-period and a second-period takedown to defeat eventual world champion Kyle DAKE (USA), 8-2 in the 79kg finals.
3. Thanks for the #SundaySmiles, @pascal.eisele.
4. #ScoreThat - Before watching, who do you think comes out on top of this exchange? Was it red or was it blue? ?: @krakatauf
5. Yariguin Rewind: In the All-Russian 74kg finals, 2017 world runner-up Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) stopped eventual 74kg world champion @zaurbek_sidakov from winning his second Yariguin title.

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! December 3, 2019

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - 14:10 By Eric Olanowski

Previewing the Canadian Wrestling Trials and Alans Tournament. Also looking at the results from the Alrosa Cup and Indian National Championships.

1. Russia Dominates Alrosa Cup, Takes Down World, 11-1
Russia’s star-studded squad closed out the Alrosa Cup in Moscow by winning 11 of 12 matches against an all-star world team that featured wrestlers from seven different nations.

Roman VLASOV (RUS) edged his London Olympic finals opponenet Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), 3-2, in the headlining match of the dual, which came at 77kg (Greco-Roman).

Vlasov, the two-time Olympic champion, scored his three points from an inactivity then tacked on two additional points with a right-side gut wrench and commanded the 3-0 lead. Julfalakyan made it a match with under a minute left, as he picked up a late second-period takedown and closed the Russian’s lead to one point. But, it wasn’t enough to avenge his Olympic finals loss, as Vlasov hung on to edge the Armenian, 3-2.

On the freestyle side of the dual, arguably the most impressive performance of the night came at 97kg when Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) scored a 5-2 upset victory over Olympic champion, Sharip SHARIPOV (AZE).

In addition to Zhabrailov’s win, another significant victory for the Russian Federation came at 125kg, where Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS) continued his quest to improve his Olympic silver medal with a 2-0 shutout win over an undersized Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), who was wrestling up from his Nur-Sultan weight of 97kg.

Azerbaijan’s three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE) was the lone non-Russian wrestler to seize a win in the 12-match dual. Aliyev scored a last-second takedown to move past Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), 5-4, in the 65kg matchup.

Russia df. World, 11-1
Freestyle (5-1)
57kg – Ramis GAMZATOV (RUS) df. Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE), 8-4
65kg – Haji ALIYEV (AZE) df. Nachyin KUULAR (RUS), 5-4
74kg – Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 2-1
86kg – Magomed RAMAZANON (RUS) df. Ahmad BAZRI (IRI), 3-2
97kg – Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS) df. Sharip SHARIPOV (AZE), 5-2
125kg – Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS) df. Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), 2-0

Greco-Roman (6-0)
60kg – Sergey EMELIN (RUS) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 7-0
67kg – Artem SURKOV (RUS) df. Atakan YUEKSEL (TUR), 6-1
77kg – Roman VLASOV (RUS) df. Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM), 3-2
87kg – Alexander KOMAROV (RUS) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR), 2-1
97kg – Nikita MELNIKOV (RUS) df. Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR), 8-3
130kg – Vitali SCHUR (RUS) df. Nurmakhan TINALIEV (KAZ), 3-1

2. Wiebe’s Quest for Second Olympic Gold Kicks off Friday at Canadian Wrestling Team Trials
Erica WIEBE (CAN) has been on the record saying she thought chasing her first Olympic gold was the hardest thing she’d ever do. But after winning gold in Rio, the Canadian’s tone changed, saying pursuing her second Olympic title is a more difficult task.

The future hall of famer’s quest to become the first non-Japanese woman to win two Olympic gold medals officially begins this Friday at the two-day Canadian Wrestling Team Trials in Niagara, Ontario, Canada.

The process for Wiebe to make it to the Tokyo Olympic Games is relatively simple, but it'll be no easy task to do so. First, she has to win the Canadian Wrestling Team Trials. Then, she has to qualify the weight at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier (March 13-15).

Wiebe's first step in repeating her run to an Olympic gold begins this week in Ontario, where she’s entered at 76kg. Her weight class will feature five other wrestlers, including Canada’s last two world team representatives at 72kg, who are moving up to the Olympic weight of 76kg.

Wiebe’s strongest competition this week will be 2019 Pan-American champion Dejah SLATER and her biggest domestic rival, Justina DI STASIO, a 2018 world champion.

Wiebe and Di Stasio met earlier this year in the finals of the Canada Cup in Calgary, where Wiebe scored the 7-5 come-from-behind win. In that June meeting, Wiebe trailed 3-2 heading into the closing period, but the Olympic champion outscored the world champion, 5-2, and secured the gold medal with the 7-5 victory.

Outside of the massive storyline at 76kg, another weight to follow will be 57kg. Linda MORAIS, the reigning world champion at 59kg, will make her descent down to the Olympic weight with hopes is chasing Olympic gold in Tokyo. Morais will be met at 57kg by Hannah TAYLOR and Alexandra TOWN. Taylor is fresh off a bronze-medal finish at the U23 World Championships, while Town is a year removed from handing Canada their first-ever women's wrestling U23 world gold medal.

The Canadian Wrestling Team Trials begin Friday and can be followed live on www.wrestling.ca and CBC Sports! You can also follow Wrestling Canada Lutte on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for live updates.

Kyle SNYDER (USA) will lead Team USA to Vladikavkaz, Russia, for the Alans International Tournament. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

3. Snyder Leads Experienced USA Squad Headed to Russia for Alans International Tournament
Kyle SNYDER (USA) is set to lead a highly experienced American team to Vladikavkaz, Russia, for the Alans International Tournament. The Menezh Sports Palace will host the three-day tournament from December 5-8.

Thomas GILMAN, James GREEN and Nick GWIAZDOWSKI are the trio of world medalists that'll join Snyder, the two-time world and Olympic champion, in Vladikavkaz over the weekend. In total, the American team that's entered combines for nine world medals and an Olympic title.

Gilman, a 2017 world silver medalist, will wrestle in Russia for the third time in the last three months. In October, Gilman went 5-0 and won the 57kg gold medal at the Yusup Abdulsalamov Tournament in Dagestan, Russia. He followed that up a week later with a bronze-medal finish at the Intercontinental Cup in Khasavyurt, Russia.

Green, a two-time 70kg world medalist, will try to improve his bronze medal from last year’s Alans Tournament. But, he won’t be doing so at his normal weight of 70kg. Green will make his first appearance at the Olympic weight of 74kg, where he’ll look to challenge teammate Jordan BURROUGHS for the Tokyo Olympic spot.

The fourth world medalist on USA’s team is two-time world bronze medalist Nick GWIAZDOWSKI, who’ll wrestle at 125kg.

Zain RETHERFORD and Mike MACHIAVELLO round out the six-man roster for the United States. Retherford, a two-time world team representative, will compete at 65kg, while Machiavello will wrestle at 92kg.

USA Alans Teams
57kg – Thomas GILMAN ('18 silver)
65kg – Zain RETHERFORD
74kg – James GREEN ('17 silver, '15 bronze)
92kg – Mike MACHIAVELLO
97kg – Kyle SNYDER ('15 and '17 gold, '18 silver, '19 bronze) ('16 Olympic gold)
125kg – Nick GWIAZDOWSKI ('17 and '18 bronze)

Prize Money
GOLD - $5000 $ + $1000 to the coach
SILVER - $2000
BRONZE - $1000 (each bronze medalist)

Vinesh VINESH (IND) (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

4. Vinesh and Malik Shine at Tata Motors Indian National Championships
Indian stars Vinesh VINESH and Sakshi MALIK shined bright over the weekend, winning gold medals in their respective weight classes at the 64th Annual Tata Motors Indian National Championships in Punjab’s northern city, Jalandhar.

Vinesh, India’s most prominent women’s wrestling star, followed up her bronze-medal finish at the World Championships with a gold medal at the Indian National Championships. Vinesh, who qualified India for the Olympic Games at 53kg, downed Anju ANJU, 7-3, in the 55kg gold-medal match.

Sakshi Malik was the second superstar to win a national title over the weekend. Malik, the Rio Olympic bronze medalist, got back to her winning ways after a disappointing 17th-place finish at the World Championships. Malik defeated Radhika RADHIKA, 4-2, in the finals at 62kg.

In freestyle, India’s two 2019 world medalists, Bajrang PUNIA and Deepak PUNIA, elected to sit out of the competition. Bajrang, who medaled at his second straight World Championships, is preparing for the 2020 Toyko Olympics, while Deepak, the world silver medalist at 86kg, is nursing the same injury that kept him from wrestling Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) in the 86kg world finals.

The winners of the Tata Motors Indian National Championships will now travel to Nepal to compete in the South Asian Games. Wrestling at the South Asian Games begins on December 6.

Women’s Wrestling
50kg – Sheetal TOMAR df. Nirmal NIRMAL, 7-3
53kg – Pinki PINKI df. Ankush ANKUSH, 7-3
55kg – Vinest VINESH df. Anju ANJU, 7-3
57kg – Sarita MOR df. Neetu NEETU, via default
59kg – Anshu ANSHU df. Lalita SHERAWAT, 4-4
62kg – Sakshi MALIK df. Rashika RADHIKA, 4-2
65kg – Nisha DAHIYA df. Navjot KAUR, 4-1
68kg – Anita Sheoran df. Divya KAKRAN, 5-1
72kg – Kiran KIRAN df. Naina NAINA, 4-1
76kg – Gursharan PREET KAUR df. 4-2 POOJA, 4-2

Freestyle
57kg – Rahul RAHUL df. Abasaheb ABASAHEB, 7-6
61kg – RAVINDER Sonaba df. Tanaji TANAJI, 12-2
65kg – Amit KUMAR df. Rahul RAHUL, 12-2
70kg – Naveen NAVEEN df. Vishal VISHAL, 2-1
74kg – Gourav BALIYAN df. Praveen RANA, 5-3
79kg – Sandeep MANN df. Jutender JITENDER, 7-4
86kg – Pawan KUMAR df. Deepak SAROHA, 4-1
92kg – Monu MONU df Sunil SUNIL, 10-2
97kg – Satyawart KADIAN df. Kapil Chaudhary, 9-0
125kg – Sumit MALIK df. Abhijut ABHIJIT, 5-0

Shinobu OTA (JPN) (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

5. Rio Silver Medalists Ota, Higuchi Take Drastic Measures in Quest to Make Tokyo 2020
A pair of Japanese silver medalists from the Rio 2016 Olympics, denied during their preferred routes to Tokyo 2020, will be trying desperate measures in last-ditch efforts to make Games in their host country---which presents a weighty problem for both.

Shinobu OTA, the Rio 2016 silver medalist at Greco-Roman 60kg, has moved up to two divisions to 67kg for the upcoming All Japan Championships, which will serve as the final qualifier for either filling an Olympic berth that Japan has already secured, or earning the chance to win a spot at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in March.

Conversely, Rei HIGUCHI, who failed to gain an Olympic ticket at freestyle 65kg, has gone the other way, dropping two weight classes down to 57kg, the division in which he won the silver in Rio, according to the list of entries recently released by the Japan federation for the tournament to be held Dec. 19-22 in Tokyo.

Click here for Ken Martantz' full breaks down of the All Japan Championships.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media
1. Big Move Monday -- Islamova V.
2. Mijain LÓPEZ is a three-time Olympic champion, is on a quest to become the first-ever male to win four Olympic titles.
3. The most dominant wrestling nation in the world, Russia ??.
4. Happy Friday, wrestling fans! ‬
5. World Champion Spotlight: Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) outscored his four #WrestleNurSultan opponents 29-0 and captured his first world title. The 26-year-old scored a 53 second 9-0 technical superiority victory over Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) in the finals.

Weekly FIVE! January 21, 2019

Weekly FIVE in Social Media

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Weekly FIVE! December 3, 2019