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

 

#WrestleTirana

Friday's U23 World Championships semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

TIRANA, Albania (October 27) --- Welcome back to Albania for Day Five of the 2023 U23 World Championships. Today, we’ll pass the baton to the Greco-Roman wrestlers at 60kg, 67kg, 72kg, 82kg and 97kg.

Top Stars in Action:
60kg: Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) – U23 world silver
60kg: Melkamu FETENE (ISR) – U23 world bronze
67kg: Gagik Mishai SNJOYAN (FRA) - U23 world silver
72kg: Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) – U23 world bronze
82kg - Karlo KODRIC (CRO) – U23 world silver
97kg - Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN) – U23 world gold
97kg - Nitesh NITESH (UWW) – U23 world bronze

Semifinal matches (As they come in): 

60kg
Sumit SUMIT (UWW) vs. Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN)
Mert ILBARS (TUR) vs. Romeo BERIDZE (GEO)


67kg
Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE) vs. Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)

HARUTO YABE (JPN) vs. Mustafa Safa YILDIRIM (TUR)

72kg
Irfan MIRZOIEV (UKR) vs. Michael PORTMANN (SUI)

Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM) vs. Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN)

82kg
Aues GONIBOV (AIN) vs. Ruslan ABDIIEV (UKR)
Alperen BERBER (TUR) vs. Emad Ashraf Mohamed ABOUELATTA (EGY)

97kg
Hayk KHLOYAN (ARM) vs. Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN)

Mustafa OLGUN (TUR) vs. Yuri NAKAZATO (JPN)

13:43: I'm still waiting for the system to update to post tonight's semifinal matches. Once everything is updated, I'll put the matches above.

13:23: Yabe upsets U23 world bronze medalist Snjoyan and moves into tonight's 67kg semifinals against Mustafa Safa YILDIRIM (TUR).

13:17: Reigning U23 world bronze medalist Gagik Mishai SNJOYAN (FRA) is in a tight match on Mat C with Japan's HARUTO YABE (JPN). Yabe leads 4-4 on criteria with a minute to go.

13:09: Emad Ashraf Mohamed ABOUELATTA (EGY) just doubled up on four-pointers, punching his ticket to the 82kg semifinals with a 9-0 win over Tyler Adam EISCHENS (USA).

12:55: We're going to start the quarterfinals now on all mats so I'll post the semifinal matches as they come in. 

12:35: There's your upset of the day. Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER) just took out reigning U23 world champion Alex Gergo SZOKE (HUN). Lazogianis was down 3-0 but ended up scoring four points to win 4-4 on criteria.

13:13: You hate to see it against a hometown athlete, but  Hasan MAMMADLI (AZE) just made Albania's Ardit ZENELI (ALB) back bend in a way that should be illegal. I'll post the video above.

13:06: It looks like they are going to give Muslim IMADAEV (AIN) the fall over returning U23 world bronze medalist Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO). Imadaev was behind 2-1 with :50 left when he went to a four-point head pinch. After a failed challenge that gave the Neutral Athlete the 6-2 advantage, Imadaev stopped a flying squirrel attempt by planting Chkhikvade on his back for the fall.

I'll work on getting up the video of the final slam because it was pretty impressive.

12:54: World medalists Nitesh, Chkhikvadze and Guluzade are all coming up now on Mat A. That's three world medalists coming up in the next four matches.

12:38: We're getting closer on the Szoke watch. He's five matches out on Mat B. 

12:23: Tetsuto KANUKA (JPN) just launched Anil ANIL (UWW) twice in 15 seconds to pick up the 11-2 win. The match was tied 2-2 before Kanuka went four, then five on Anil. I'll work on getting the clip up right now so you can see how beautiful the two throws were.

12:12: The noise you hear from the crowd is coming from Mat C, where Dmitrii ADAMOV (AIN) just took out hometown boy Klodjan SHEHU (ALB), 9-0, in the 72kg 1/8 round.

12:08: That match was crazy! It was a rollercoaster of emotions for Abuladze, but he stayed strapped in and picked up the 9-8 victory. At one point of the match, Abuladze went for a pushout and was so successful that he pushed Olsson off the mat and the stage, planting him on his rear end on the floor of the arena.

12:04: The current match on Mat A between Miru Jerry OLSSON (SWE) and Otar ABULADZE (GEO) has been action-packed thus far. Olsson went down 3-0 but gave up eight unanswered points and is currently leading 8-3 with a minute left.

11:45: It's been a slow morning thus far. We're still waiting for a chunk of these stars to have their first matches. We still have at least seven matches before Gagik Mishai SNJOYAN (FRA), Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), Nitesh NITESH (UWW) and Nihad GULUZADE (AZE) come up on Mat A.

But once we get to Snjoyan, the stars will be rolling through match after match.

11:22: After bout 492 wraps up on Mat C, we'll welcome Karlo KODRIC (CRO) to Albania. Last year, Kodric fell to Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) in the finals, becoming the fourth Croatian Greco-Roman wrestler to reach the finals but settle for U23 world silver. 

11:15: The biggest storyline we're following today is the return of Alex SZOKE (HUN) after nearly eight months off the mat. Earlier this year, Szoke, the reigning U23 world champion, underwent surgery on his back after the Thor Masters in March.