Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! January 28, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Reviewing the Ivan Yariguin and the Dave Schultz Memorial. Also looking at Punia's win over Aliyev and the first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the season. 
 

1. Russia Sweeps Freestyle Competition at Ivan Yariguin 
The stars more than aligned for the Russian Federation as they erupted for an impressive ten out of ten freestyle gold medals at the first Ranking Series even of the year, the Ivan Yariguin, and won the team title 118 points ahead of second place Mongolia. 

The region of Dagestan led the way to a mind-blowing seven gold medalists. Anzor KHIZRIEV (125kg) and Muslim SADULAEV (57kg) handed Chechnya their pair of gold medals while reigning world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV gave Ossetia the remaining gold medal. 

Outside of Russia's dominating performance, one of the biggest storylines came at 97kg when two-time world champion and Rio Olympic gold medalist Kyle SNYDER (USA) failed to medal. Snyder was upset by Rasul MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 6-5 in the opening round, and was knocked out of the tournament after Magomedov lost to Mongolia’s ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul in the quarterfinals. 

Final Wraps 
Day One 
Day Two 
Day Three 
Day Four 

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (250 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (118 points) 
BRONZE - Turkey (83 points) 
FOURTH - United States (64 points) 
FIFTH - China (53 points)

FINALS RESULTS 
57kg - Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) df. Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS), 4-4 
61kg - Magomedrasul IDRISOV (RUS) df. Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), 7-0 
65kg - Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS) df. Nachyn KUULAR (RUS), 2-1 
70kg - Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Mandakhnaran GANZORIG (MGL), 10-0 
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) df. Yakup GOR (TUR), 5-4 
79kg - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Magomed RAMAZANOV (RUS), 6-2 
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS) df. Fatih ERDIN (TUR), 12-1 
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. BAASANTSOGT Ulziisaikhan (MGL), 13-2 (Round 4) 
97kg - Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) df. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), 11-9 
125kg - Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) df. Taha AKGUL (TUR), 7-3 


Viktoriia VAULINA (55kg) smiles on her way to recieve her 55kg gold medal (Phot: Sachiko Hotaka) 

2. Russian Women Claim Three Golds, Yariguin Team Title 
The host nation Russia matched their freestyle countrymen's performance at the Ivan Yariguin and also claimed the women’s wrestling team title,  finishing 38 points ahead of second place Mongolia. 

Russian, along with Japan finished with a trio of women's wrestling champions, while Mongolia and the United States had a pair of gold medalists. 

Arguably, the most notable storyline from women’s wrestling came from the United States’ Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA), who scored a first-period fall over Japan’s Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) in the 72kg gold-medal bout and became the first American wrestler across any division to win three Yariguin titles. 

Final Wraps 
Day One 
Day Two 
Day Three 
Day Four 

FINALS RESULTS 
50kg - Kika KAGATA (JPN) df. Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS), 10-0 
53kg - Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS), 6-4 
55kg - Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS) df. Nao TANIYAMA (JPN), 7-0 
57kg - Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS), 10-5 
59kg - Yuzuka INAGAKI (JPN) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS), 4-3 
63kg - Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS) df. Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS), inj. def. 
65kg - Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS) df. Misuzu ENOMOTO (JPN), 11-4 
68kg - SORONZONBOLD Battsetseg (MGL) df. Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL), 4-0 
72kg - Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA) df. Yuka KAGAMI (JPN), 4-0 
76kg - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) df. Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR), 3-1 

Team Scores
GOLD - Russia (191 points)
SILVER - Mongolia (153 points) 
BRONZE - Japan (145 points) 
FOURTH - United States (79 points) 
FIFTH - Uzbekistan (57 points)

3. Punia Knocks Off Three-Time World Champion Aliyev 
India’s 2018 world runner-up Bajrang PUNIA (IND) knocked off three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV (AZE), 8-6 in the India Pro League as returning PWL champions NCR Punjab Royals prevailed over M.P Yodah.  

The Indian wrestler was the aggressor in the opening period and grabbed an activity point and a takedown and commanded the 3-0 lead before Aliyev returned the favor and grabbed a takedown of his own. Punia led 3-2 with less than a minute until the break. Punia increased his lead to three points with a head-inside single and took the 5-2 lead into the final three minutes.  

In the second period, it was Aliyev who scored first, transitioning from a double to a single leg and converted the attack into two points, yet Punia still led 5-4. The pair traded takedowns, but the Indian wrestler controlled the 7-6 advantage with 50 seconds left. Punia received a point after the Azeri clearly pulled his singlet, and closed out the match with an 8-6 victory. 

Click here to watch Punia defeat Aliyev in the Indian Pro League. 


Aaron BROOKS (USA), 2017 cadet world champion, won the 79kg gold medal at the Dave Schultz, which was his first senior-level competition. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

4. Dave Schultz Concludes in Colorado Springs 
The Dave Schultz Memorial wrapped up in Colorado Springs, Co, USA, and the United States won nine of the ten gold medals. Moldova’s Anatolii BURUIAN was the lone non-American gold medalist. 

Of the eight American champions, two U23 world medalists and an age-level world champion were among the victors. 

Aaron BROOKS (USA), the 2017 cadet world champion and 2018 junior world finalist, captured the 79kg gold medal with a dominating 13-0 victory over Nathan JACKSON (USA) to win his first senior-level tournament. 

Richard LEWIS (USA), the 2017 U23 world champion at 70kg scored a 10-0 technical superiority win over Dan VALLIMONT (USA) in the 74kg finalists, while Ty WALZ (USA), the 2017 U23 world bronze medalist, scored the 11-0 shutout win over Blaize CABELL (USA) to win the 97kg title.

Another interesting note, Frank MOLINARO (USA), the 2016 Olympian,  returned to individual competition for the third time since falling to Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) in the bronze-medal bout at the Rio Olympic Games. Molinaro beat Brandon SORENSEN (USA), 3-1 and claimed the 70kg gold medal. 

Final results
57kg - Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA) df. Steven TAKAHASHI (CAN), 14-4
61kg - Cody BREWER (USA) df. Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ), 10-0
65 kg - Bernard FUTRELL (USA) df. Evan HENDERSON (USA), 10-0
70 kg - Frank MOLINARO (USA) df. Brandon SORENSEN (USA), 3-1
74 kg - Richie LEWIS (USA) df. Dan VALLIMONT (USA), 10-0
79 kg - Aaron BROOKS (USA) df. Nathan JACKSON (USA), 13-0
86 kg - Pat DOWNEY (USA) df.  Kenneth COURTS (USA), 12-2
92 kg - Timothy DUDLEY (USA) df. Scottie BOYKIN (USA), 8-6
97 kg - Ty WALZ (USA) df. Blaize CABELL (USA), 11-0
125 kg - Michael KOSOY (USA) df. Jere HEINO (FIN), 10-0 

5. First Greco-Roman Ranking Series Event, Grand Prix Zagreb Open Begins February 9 
The first Greco-Roman Ranking Series event of the year, the Grand Prix Zagreb Open begins February 9-10 in Zagreb, Croatia and over 150 of the worlds best Greco-Roman wrestlers are registered to compete for the all-important Ranking Series points. 

The early registration Grand Prix Zagreb Open is closed and the preliminary entry list is set to be released later this week. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Day 3 warm-up of #yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
2. MAGOMEDOV (RUS) defeats SNYDER (USA) #yariguin2019 . #krasnoyarsk #uww #wrestling
3. FOCKEN (GER) gets the 4 pointer #yariguin2019 . #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
4.GOR (TUR) is on fire ??? #yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk
5. Clean technique puts two Russian wrestlers into the final of the 79KG weight class #Yariguin2019 #uww #wrestling #krasnoyarsk

 

#WrestleAlexandria, #WrestleParis

Algeria wins 5 Paris quotas at African & Oceania qualifiers; Elsayed falls

By Vinay Siwach

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (March 22) -- Algeria emerged as the most successful nation on the first day of the African & Oceania OG Qualifiers with five Greco-Roman quotas in Alexandria. Egypt was second with four spots while Tunisia won two and Morocco managed to grab one.

Egypt has the chance to complete the line-up with six quotas as it has already won one at the World Championships and was hoping to win the remaining five in Alexandria. But Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), the top seed and favorite to win one of the two 67kg spots, lost to Souleymen NASR (TUN) 7-4.

For Algeria, Tokyo Olympians Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) and Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) led a strong performance, qualifying for the 60kg and 87kg weight classes. Fadi ROUABAH (ALG) grabbed the quota at 97kg, Abd OUAKALI (ALG) made it at 77kg and Ishak GHAIOU (ALG) won at 67kg.

Fergat controlled his semifinal against Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR) and scored two turns from par terre while Ettalibi failed to score any. Fergat won 5-1. In the second semifinal, Moamen MOHAMED (EGY) survived a scare against Latuf MADI (COM), winning 6-5.

Made did well to not give up any points from par terre in the first period but Mohamed managed pushout in the second period to make it 2-0. As Mohamed tried to hit another big move on Madi, he fell on his own back, giving Madi two points. A lost challenge from Egypt made it 3-2. It became 5-2 when Madi once again blocked an attempted throw from Mohamed.

With time ticking, Mohamed got Madi in a bear hug and launched a big move, earning him four points and a 6-5 lead. He kept Madi in danger till 10 seconds left which he saw off.

Sid Azara dominated his bouts winning all three bouts including the semifinals via superiority. He defeated Roberto NSANGUA (ANG) 8-0 in a minute and 52 seconds to earn a Paris ticket.

Fellow Tokyo Olympian Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) also dominated his earlier bouts but was in trouble in the semifinal against Hakim TRABELSI (TUN). Metwally perhaps took it easy against Trabelsi who threw him for four using a headlock in the first second of the semifinal.

Metwally gathered himself after that eye-opener. Trabelsi was penalized for a headbutt but kept a 4-3 lead. The referees then cautioned Metwally for a headbutt, extending Trabelsi's lead to 6-3. But Metwally came out all guns blazing in the second period and at one point caught Trabelsi in a lock. Unfortunately, he fell on his back and gave up two points before scoring a reversal. As Metwally tried scoring from that position, Trabelsi committed a leg four, getting him a second caution and two-point penalty. Trabelsi was finally cautioned out of the bout when he blocked Metwally who hit a four and tried to pin Trabelsi.

Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) fell in the 67kg quarterfinal.

At 67kg, after beating Elsayed, Nasr earned a Paris quota with a solid 11-0 win over Sahid KARGBO (SLE) in the semifinals. In the quarterfinal, Nasr was the first to get the par terre advantage and he rolled Elsayed twice to lead 5-0 before Elsayed scored a stepout to cut it to 5-1. In the second period, Elsayed scored a turn from par terre to make it 5-4 and as he was trying to lift Nasr for a throw, Nasr's head touched outside the zone and the referee blew the whistle. Elsayed gave up another point for a challenge.

With 1:33 left on the clock, Nasr scored a stepout when Elsayed was trying an arm throw. Nasr's lead swelled to 7-4 and Elsayed found no opening in the remaining time. Elsayed was in disbelief as he left the mat.

Ghaiout denied Australia a Greco-Roman qualification after he defeated Ando LEHTMETS (AUS) 5-1 in the semifinal.

At 97kg, Rouabh denied Tokyo Olympian Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN) another trip to the Games after an 8-0 win in a minute and 57 seconds. The other Tokyo Olympian in this weight class, Mohamed GABR (EGY) won a spot with a 10-0 win over Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR).

The same set of countries earned the Paris spots at 77kg as well with Abd OUAKALI (ALG) beating Yassine CHEKLY (MAR) 11-0 while Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) blanked Dean VAN ZYL (RSA) 9-0 just before the first period ended.

In the 130kg weight class, four wrestlers were entered in the tournament. Oussama ASSAD (MAR) confirmed his Paris Olympic qualification in the morning while Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) got a walkover from Marcus CARNEY (NZL) and earned the ticket to Paris.

The African & Oceania OG Qualifiers will continue on Saturday with Women's Wrestling and Freestyle on Sunday. Watch live on uww.org or UWW+.

 

fg

RESULTS

60kg

Paris Qualification Bouts
SF 1: Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) df. Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR), 5-1
SF 2: Moamen MOHAMED (EGY) df. Latuf MADI (COM), 6-5

67kg

Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Souleymen NASR (TUN) df. Sahid KARGBO (SLE), 11-0
SF 2: Ishak GHAIOU (ALG) df. Ando LEHTMETS (AUS), 5-1

77kg

Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY) df. Dean VAN ZYL (RSA), 9-0
SF 2: Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG) df. Yassine CHEKLY (MAR), 11-0

87kg

Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) df. Hakim TRABELSI (TUN), via cautions (13-9)
SF 2: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) df. Roberto Mbaio NSANGUA (ANG), 8-0

97kg

Paris Qualification Bouts:
SF 1: Mohamed GABR (EGY) df. Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR), 10-0
SF 2: Fadi ROUABAH (ALG) df. Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN), 8-0

130kg

Paris Qualified Wrestlers

Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)