Weekly FIVE! July 2, 2019

Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - 11:59 By Eric Olanowski

Discussing special wrestle-offs for Russia, Canada, and Japan. Also looking at the European Games and the Yasar Dogu entries.

1. Russian National Championships Begin This Week
The Ice Palace Sports Arena in Adler, Krasnodar, Russia, will host the National Championships for the defending freestyle world champions July 4-7. But, only four wrestlers will lock up their spot on the world team spot. The other winners will have to wait until early August to hopefully book their trip to Kazakhstan.

The reason being, and as I mentioned late last week on Twitter, with a slight adjustment, the Russian Federation released European Games champions: Abdulrashid SADULAEV, Zaurbek SIDAKOV, Dauren KURUGLIEV, and Anzor KHIZRIEV, and bronze medalists Zaur UGUEV and Akhmed CHAKAEV from this week’s tournament. Russia will now hold a special wrestle-off at the Poland Open (Aug. 2-4) to determine the six remaining world team representatives. The special wrestle-offs were originally scheduled to take place at the Tbilisi GP but were moved after recent travel restrictions between Russia to Georgia.

SCHEDULE
July 4th (Thursday)
17.00-17.30 - Draw for weight categories up to 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.

July 5th (Friday)
08.30-09.00 - Medical examination and weigh in for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
11.00-18.00 - Preliminary matches for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
18.00-18.30 – Draws for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125 kg.
18.30-20.30 - Semifinal for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.

July 6th (Saturday)
08.30-08.45 - Weighing in for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
08.45-09.15 - Medical examination and weigh in for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
11.00-18.00 - Consolation matches for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
11.00-18.00 - Preliminary and semifinal matches for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
18.00-18.30 - Opening ceremony.
18.30-20.30 - Finalsl for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.

July 7 (Sunday)
08.30-08.45 - Weighing in for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
11.00-13.00 - Consolation for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
13.00-15.00 - Final matches for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.

2. Lappage Gains World Team Spot, Named Canada’s Rep at 68kg
Budapest world silver medalist Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) bumped up from her world championship weight of 65kg to the Olympic weight of 68kg and defeated Olivia DI BACCO (CAN), two matches to none (2-1 and 11-1) and gained the Canadian world team spot.

With her win last week, Lappage will represent Canada on the world stage for the third time in her career. In her first trip to the World Championships (2014), she finished in eighth place, then rounded out last year with a world silver medal. In addition to her three times representing Canada at the World Championships, Dappage also represented Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games where she suffered an injury during warms up and was forced to medically forfeit out of her opening round match.

To top off her week, the newly minted 68kg world team rep also won a Canada Cup title. Lappage stomped Jayden LAURENT (USA), 10-0 and took home her first 68kg medal of the year after falling in the finals of the Sassari and the Grand Prix of Germany.

3. Japan's Olympic-Weight World Team to be Finalized This Weekend
After the July 6 winner-take-all wrestle-offs, Japan will have their world team spots locked up at the Olympic weight classes. There are still three freestyle, two women’s wrestling and one Greco-Roman spot up for grabs, but all eyes will be locked into the three matches where a reigning world champion is one match away from defending their world gold.

Starting with the 50kg match where two-time defending world champion Yui SUSAKI will meet her nemesis Yuki IRIE.

Irie, the reigning Asian champion, is the only wrestler on Earth who has defeated Susaki multiple times. She gained the advantage over Susaki after winning December’s All-Japan Championships (Emperor’s Cup) - - a tournament in which Susaki was forced to sit out after she dislocated her elbow.

Susaki then defeated Irie en route to her Meiji Cup gold and forced the July 6 wrestle-off.

In the second highly anticipated match, Olympic champions Risako KAWAI and Kaori ICHO will meet for the world team spot at one of the deepest women’s weights in the world, 57kg.

Rio Olympic champion Kawai fell to four-time Olympic champion Icho in the All-Japan finals but got revenge at the Meiji Cup and redeemed herself with a 6-4 victory.

The third match featuring a returning world champion will take place at 65kg where Japan’s youngest male world champion in wrestling history Takuto OTOGURO will square off against Rio silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI.

Otoguro fell in his Meiji Cup final to Higuchi, 15-5, and will need to win on July 6 to regain his 65kg spot on the freestyle team.

4. Yasar Dogu Entries Released
The most anticipated freestyle Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu, will take place July 11 to 14 in Istanbul, and more than 275 wrestlers from 21 countries are expected to make the journey to Turkey's most populated city. The goal remains simple: try to pocket the remaining Ranking Series points before heading to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, for September's World Championships.

Since the Budapest World Championships, wrestlers have been stashing away Ranking Series points with hopes of becoming one of the forty top-four seeded wrestlers come September. The Yasar Dogu leaves those on the cusp of earning a top-four seed one last opportunity to gain those additional much-needed Ranking Series points.

Heading into Istanbul, five wrestlers have seized the No. 1 seed, 17 wrestlers have cemented at least a top-four seed, leaving 23 seeds open for the taking in Istanbul. Though they're not all entered, there are still 150 wrestlers who could steal a seed from a current top-four seeded wrestler if they were to win a gold medal in a weight class with 20+ wrestlers in Turkey.

Click HERE for full list of entries.

5. Successful European Games Conclude in Minsk, Belarus
The 2nd European Games wrapped up in Minsk, Belarus, with Russia winning the freestyle and Greco-Roman team titles, while Ukraine walked off with the women’s wrestling team title.

In freestyle, Russia finished with six medalists, four of which were gold, and won the team title 20 points ahead of second-place Azerbaijan, and 52 points ahead of third place Georgia. The main storyline coming from the freestyle side of the competition was Abdulrashid Sadulaev becoming the first freestyle wrestler to win back-to-back European Games titles.

In Greco-Roman, Russia won the team title, while 2016 Olympic champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) got back to his winning ways after failing to medal in Budapest. Aleksanyan lifted and tossed his way to his first European Games title at 97kg in Greco-Roman. The 27-year-old Armenian shut out local favorite Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) 5-0 in the gold-medal match.

In women’s wrestling, Ukraine finished in first place, 18 points ahead of the host nation Belarus, while two women made history by reaching the podium for a second consecutive time.

Sweden’s Sofia MATTSSON and Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) became the first women two-time champions in the short history of the European Games.

In the finals, Mattsson, a Rio Olympic bronze medalist, narrowly edged Yulia KHAVALDZHY (UKR), 6-6 after giving up a what seemed to be a match-deciding takedown. However, after a Swedish challenge, Mattsson luckily found herself on the winning end of the match and became the first-ever wrestler to win two European Games golds.

Marzaliuk was the second women to win two straight European Games titles. Her finals match went a little different than Mattsson's, as she dominated Francy RAEDELT (GER), 9-0 in the 76kg finals.

Click HERE for the European Games event hub.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media!

1. Big Move Monday -- N. NARMANDAKH (MGL) -- 2017 Cadet Worlds
2. #best10 from Day 4 at the U-15 European
3. HERSTORY MADE! @sofiammattsson becomes the first-ever two-time European Games champion!
4. Has Mahir AMIRASLANOV (AZE) been the most impressive wrestler of the European Games thus far?
5. Tickets for #WrestleNurSultan are on sale! Go to http://ow.ly/obUz50uM54Q to buy your tickets and come support the best wrestlers in the world. Are you in?

#WrestleBucharest

Returning medalists rule day one at U23 Europeans

Monday, March 13, 2023 - 16:57 By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (March 13) -- All five returning medalists who were in action on day one of the U23 European Championships made it to their respective finals in Bucharest, Romania.

Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) and Khasay HASANLI (AZE) earned a shot at winning their second straight gold medals while Denis MIHAI (ROU), Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) have a chance to improve their previous medals to gold.

The U23 European Championships got underway in the Romanian capital with five Greco-Roman weight classes and not many surprises.

Defending champion at 63kg Shotadze entered the final after a clinical performance. He began the day with a 9-0 win over Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) before the semifinal against Ismail CULFA (TUR).

Shotadze gave up passivity in the first period but defended the par terre position. He tried to body lock Culfa who answered with a head pinch. However, both wrestlers failed in their respective moves and Shotadze fell on top of Culfa, earning four points.

With less than a minute remaining in the bout, Culfa got a go behind to cut the lead to 4-3. He tried a front headlock but gave up two points on exposure, enough for Shotadze to win 6-3.

Shotadze will face Tino OJALA (FIN) for the gold medal as the latter became just the fourth wrestler from his country to reach the final at U23 Europeans.

Ojala won his first bout 9-0 and escaped Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) 6-6 in the quarterfinals. He was in trouble in the semifinal against Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR) after conceding the par terre and a turn. But he managed a near-perfect throw from par terre and a turn to lead 7-3. Semenchuk tried an arm spin that fetched him two points but could not stop Ojala from winning 7-5.

Defending champion at 77kg Khasay HASANLI (AZE) reached the final with a 5-1 win over Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 77kg, Hasanli amassed 19 points in his first two bouts before wrestling Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR) in the semifinal. He came out on top 5-1. In the final, he will take on U23 world silver medalist Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) who also had a dominating day in the office.

In the semifinal, Gutu defeated U20 world champion Deni NAKAEV (GER) 7-1 using three gut wrenches from par terre after getting the advantage in the first period. Nakaev failed to capitalize on the same in the second period.

Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) used his big throws to great effect and reached the 87kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Bisultanov clearly was the most dominant wrestler of the day as he entered the final without giving up a point in three bouts. In the semifinal, he faced Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA) and won 9-0, extending his overall score to 24-0.

He used an arm throw for the first takedown before using the same to get four points. He ended the bout with a gut wrench. Lupasco challenged the call for four points on the second throw but lost.

Bisultanov, who won a silver medal last year, will face David LOSONCZI (HUN) in the final after the Hungary wrestler defeated Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR) 7-3.

Istvan TAKACS (HUN) denied Bisultanov the gold medal last year and now it will be upon world bronze Losonczi to repeat against the world silver medalist.

Denis MIHAI (ROU) reached the 55kg final in front of his home crowd in Bucharest. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 55kg, Mihai will get yet another chance to win his first championships gold medal. He finished with a bronze medal last year but defeated Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR) 3-0 in the semifinals on Monday.

Mihai has wrestled at 13 World or European Championships in different age groups and reached the final twice. Monday marked his third entry into a final in which he will face Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM).

In a close semifinal, Manvelyan defeated Muhammet CAKIR (TUR) 1-1 after the two wrestlers traded passivities in the bout.

Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) reached the 130kg final after beating Muhammet BAKIR (TUR). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The final gold medal bout on Tuesday will see Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) take on Giorgi Tsopurashvili at 130kg.

U20 world champion Vyshnyvetskyi pinned Muhammet BAKIR (TUR) in the semifinal, his second pin of the day, to earn his spot in his first U23 European final.

Bakir got a turn from par terre to lead 3-0 in the first period but Vyshnyvetskyi scored a four-pointer using a front lock from par terre to lead 5-3. Bakir challenged the call which revealed that the move was dangerous and points were removed.

However, as Bakir got tired, Vyshnyvetskyi got him into a bear hug and launched a four-pointer. Bakir tried a desperate body throw but failed and Vyshnyvetskyi sat on him to get the fall with a minute remaining in the bout.

Tsopurashvili had a one-sided semifinal as he beat Albert VARDANYAN (ARM) 5-0 to set up the final against the Ukraine wrestler.

Bronze medalist from last year, Tsopurashvili used a big arm throw and a stepout early in the bout to claim the victory over Vardanyan. While he has already upgraded his bronze from last year, the Georgian will have a chance to claim the gold medal.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Denis MIHAI (ROU) vs. Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM)

SF 1: Karapet MANVELYAN (ARM) df. Muhammet CAKIR (TUR), 1-1
SF 2: Denis MIHAI (ROU) df. Eduard STRILCHUK (UKR), 3-0

63kg
GOLD: Tino OJALA (FIN) vs. Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO)

SF 1: Tino OJALA (FIN) df. Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR), 7-5
SF 2: Giorgi SHOTADZE (GEO) df. Ismail CULFA (TUR), 6-3

77kg
GOLD: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Khasay HASANLI (AZE)

SF 1: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) df. Deni NAKAEV (GER), 7-1
SF 2: Khasay HASANLI (AZE) df. Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR), 5-1

87kg
GOLD: David LOSONCZI (HUN) vs. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN)

SF 1: David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Muhutdin SARICICEK (TUR), 7-3
SF 2: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. Gabriel LUPASCO (MDA), 9-0

130kg
GOLD: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) vs. Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR)

SF 1: Giorgi TSOPURASHVILI (GEO) df. Albert VARDANYAN (ARM), 6-0
SF 2: Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) df. Muhammet BAKIR (TUR), 7-3

Weekly FIVE! July 2, 2019

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Returning medalists rule day one at U23 Europeans