Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! May 14, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Discussing next week's Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial, along with results from the International Ukrainian Tournament, and the Beach Wrestling World Series. Also looking at Gadzhimagomedov's surgery and the latest set of Greco-Roman rankings. 

1. Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial Begins Next Thursday 
United World Wrestling’s third Ranking Series event of the year, the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial, is just over a week away. It’ll be the first-ever Ranking Series event which will feature freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling under one roof. 

The three-day tournament, which begins on May 23, will take place 655km west of Rome on the Italian island destination of Sardinia. The thought of wrestling with the breeze of the Tyrrhenian Sea on your back has intrigued some of the sports biggest stars to sign up for the event. Though registration is not official until 24 hours before the first whistle, here are some of the stars that fans can expect to see in Sardinia: 

GR 77kg - KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR) – Olympic champion
FS 70kg - Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) – Olympic champion 
WW 76kg - Erica WIEBE (CAN) – Olympic champion
WW 72kg - Anna FRANSSON (SWE) – Olympic bronze
FS 74kg - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) –  Two-time world champion 
GR 67kg - 
RYU Hansu (KOR) – World champion 
WW 76kg - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) – World champion
WW 55kg - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) – World champion
WW 55kg - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) – World champion
GR 77kg - Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) – World runner-up 
FS 74kg - Khetik TSABALOV (RUS) - World runner-up 
FS 65kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) – Two-time world silver 
GR 87kg -Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) – U23 World champion 
WW 57kg - Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) – U23 World champion
FS 57kg - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) – Ranked No. 1 at 57kg 
FS 68kg - Fatih ERDIN (TUR) – Ranked No. 1 at 86kg

SCHEDULE

2. Brazilian Women, Georgian Men Sweep Beach Gold in Rio
Brazilian funk music thumped Saturday afternoon as four of the nation’s beach wrestling women captured gold at the second stop of the Beach Wrestling World Series (BWWS). The Brazilian side, who laughed and danced their way to the unlikely quadruple gold also each collected 1000 CHF for winning their respective weight classes at the event.

Kamila BARBOSA (50kg), Camila FAMA (60kg), Brenda AGUIAR DOS SANTOS (70kg), and Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA) each cruised their way to gold over the course of the two-day event, creating a buzz among the hometown crowd.

Also similar to the first stop, four Georgians made the finals of the event, only this time all four Georgians managed to take home top billing.

Click here for Tim Foley’s full Beach Wrestling wrap. 

3. Nine Europeans Ranked First in Latest Greco-Roman World Rankings
United World Wrestling has released their latest point-based Greco-Roman world rankings, and European nations own nine of the ten top spots heading into the final pair of Ranking Series events before the Nur-Sultan World Championships.

Even more impressive, the Russian Federation owns five of Europe’s nine top-spots. The five No. 1-ranked Russian wrestlers are Sergey EMELIN (60kg), Stepan MARYANYAN (63kg), Artem SURKOV (67kg), Musa EVLOEV (97kg), and Sergey SEMENOV (130kg). 

In addition to the Russian-five, Azerbaijan’s Eldaniz AZIZLI (55kg), Germany’s Frank STAEBLER (72kg) , Turkey’s Emrah KUS (82kg), and Ukraine’s Zhan BELENIUK (87kg) also hold the top spot at their respective weight classes. 

The lone non-European top-ranked wrestler is Korea’s  Olympic champion Hyeonwoo KIM who is ranked No. 1 at 77kg.

Click here for full breakdown of Greco-Roman rankings.

4. Gadzhimagomedov Undergoes Surgery After European C'ship Injury 
Russia’s reigning 79kg world bronze medalist Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and cruciate ligament in his right knee – but he's expected to make a full recovery before July’s Russian National Championships, where he's expected to move down to 74kg.

Gadzhimagomedov hurt his right knee in the closing seconds of the first period in his European Championship semifinals bout against Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR). Gadzhimagomedov stopped an arm spin attempt and went down in pain, grabbing his right knee. He was up 3-0 at that point and continued wrestling on one knee in the second period. The Russian scored a pair of heroic takedowns, and ultimately won the bout, 7-0. 

But, Gadzhimagomedov medically forfeited out of his finals match against reigning world runner-up Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) and settled for a silver medal. 

Olena KREMZER (UKR) defeated Anzhelina LYSAK (UKR) to win the 59kg title. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

5. International Ukrainian Tournament Concludes in Kiev
The International Ukrainian Tournament wrapped up in Kiev, Ukraine, and according to sources in the Ukrainian Wrestling Federation, the host nation will use last weekend’s results as the determining factor for June’s European Games. The highest placing Ukrainian wrestler at each weight will represent their nation in Minsk, Belarus, at the 2019 European Games. 

Of the nine gold medals up for grabs (no entries at 72kg), Ukrainian wrestlers won seven of those nine titles. Arguably, the most notable upset of the tournament came at 57kg, where Irina KHARIV (UKR) shocked reigning European runner-up Tatyana KIT (UKR) to steal the European Games spot. 

Additionally, European champions Alla CHERKASOVA (68kg) and Iryna HUSYAK (55kg), and European runner-up Lilya HORISHNA (53kg), sat out of last weekend’s competition. It’s not clear if they’ve done enough to automatically grant themselves a spot in the lineup at the European Games, or there will be a special wrestle-off prior to June's competition.

Japan’s Miyuu NAKAMURA (50kg) and Vasilisa MARZALIUK (76kg) were the two non-Ukrainian wrestlers who reached the top of the podium in their respective weight classes. 

Nakamura, the 2016 junior world champion, upset returning world bronze medalist No.2-ranked Oksana LIVACH (UKR) in the 50kg finals. In her finals, No. 19 Vasilisa Marzaliuk defeated Ukraine’s European Championship representative Alla BELINSKAYA in the 76kg gold-medal bout. 

Results

50kg    
GOLD - Miyuu NAKAMURA (JPN)
SILVER - Oksana LIVACH (UKR)  
BRONZE Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
BRONZE - Maria VINNIK (UKR)

53kg
GOLD - Yuliia BLAHINYA (UKR)  
SILVER - Kristina BEREZA(UKR)
BRONZE - Paula KOZLOV (POL)
BRONZE - Maria PPREVOLARAKL (GRE)

55kg
GOLD - Alina AKOBIYAN (UKR)  
SILVER - Zalina SIDAKOVA (BLR)           
BRONZE - Khristina DEMKO (UKR)

57kg
GOLD - Irina KHARIV (UKR)         
SILVER - Tatyana KIT (UKR)          
BRONZE - Irina KURCHKINA (BLR)

59kg    
GOLD - Olena KREMZER (UKR)    
SILVER - Anzhelina LYSAK (UKR)            
BRONZE - Sofia BODNAR (UKR)

62kg    
GOLD - Yulia TKACH (UKR)                                              

65kg    
GOLD - Irina KOLIADENKO (UKR)          
SILVER - Tatyana RYSHKO (UKR)
BRONZE - Anastasia LAVRENCHUK (UKR)

68kg    
GOLD - Kristina BEREZA (UKR)                                        

72kg                                                                        
No Competition 

76kg    
GOLD - Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)        
SILVER - Alla BELINSKAYA (UKR)         
BRONZE - Irina PASICHNIK (UKR)

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday -- DATUNASHVILI Z. (GEO) -- 2015 European Games
2. Talk about earning the No.1 ranking in the world? Here’s @koreawrestlingfederation ‘s Olympic champion and No.1-ranked (at 77kg) KIM Hyeonwoo’s (71 points) resume since the World Championships: 
World Championships:? Asian Championships:? Zagreb Open:? Hungarian GP:? 
3. The Hungarian head-scratcher. 
Who should Hungary ?? enter into the #WrestleNurSultan World Championships at 87kg?
No. 3 Erik SZILVASSY - U23 ??and European?or No. 5 Viktor LORINCZ - 2x ??, Hungarian GP and Zagreb Open ?. Lorincz is 2-0 against Szilvassy in 2019
4. Saturday smiles with No. 5 RYU Hansu ??. ?: @sachikohotaka
5. Hungary’s ?? reigning world champion Peter BACSI has retired since winning world gold on home soil - meaning the 82kg seeds (as of now) at the #WrestleNurSultanWorld Championships will be: 
No. 1 - Emrah KUS ??.
No. 2 - @saeid.abdovali68 ??.
No. 3 - Viktar SASUNOUSKI ??.
No. 4 - @bisultanov_077 ??.

#wrestlebishkek

Five Kyrgyz wrestlers highlight Sunday's RS finals

By Eric Olanowski

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (June 4) --- The final day of wrestling at the Bishkek Ranking Series event will be a full slate of freestyle wrestling. The eight classes in action today will be 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 74kg, 79kg, 85kg and 92kg.

Everything you need to know:
📍Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
🗓️: June 1-4
🥇🥈🥉= 18:00
#️⃣#WrestleBishkek
🖥️: http://uww.org 
📱: UWW App

Sunday's finals: 
57kg:  Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) vs. Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) 
61kg: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) vs. Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO) 
65kg: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) vs. Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ) 
70kg: Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)vs.  Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
74kg: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs.  Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) 
79kg: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) vs. Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) ​​​​​​​
86kg: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) vs. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) ​​​​​​​
92kg: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) 

15:41: World bronze medal winners Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) and Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) are tango'ing over on Mat A. They are even at two-a-piece after the first three minutes, with Dauletbekov holding the criteria advantage after scoring a takedown to close out the period.

15:27: As mentioned early, this match on Mat C between Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) is going to be one of the deciding factors for Azerbaijan's 74kg World Championships spot.

15:24: What a match! Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ) and Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) just put up 17 points, with the Kazakh reaching the finals, 11-6. Talgat will wrestle  Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) v

15:17: Kyrgyzstan is three-for-three in the semifinals, with world silver medalist Akmataliev looking to make it four-for-four as he's up 1-0 on Mat B.

15:15: Asian champion Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) shutout Pankaj PANKAJ (IND), 7-0, in the 61kg semifinals, but hobbled off the mat. Before getting his hand raised Zhumashbek Uulu bent down a grabbed his right ankle. 

15:13: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) picks up a 4-2 win over Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) and give the host nation their first freestyle Ranking Series finalist.

15:03: The Bishkek Arena is deafening right now. There are Kyrgyz wrestlers on every mat and they are all winning. 

14:47: Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) just pinned Osman GOCEN (TUR) after training 9-5 with :50 seconds left in the second period. He'll wrestle fellow world bronze medalist Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) in the 86kg semifinals.

14:25: We'll finish the final pair of quarterfinal matches on all matches and roll right into the semifinals. From the looks of things, it seems that we'll finish the morning session around 16:15, then start the finals at 18:00.

14:16: U23 world champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) is making his tournament debut on Mat B against Myrza ZHYRGALBEK UULU (KGZ)

14:05: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) currently holds a 8-4 lead over world and Olympic bronze medalist Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) on Mat C. When Bayramov is on the attack, he has the potential to be once of the best guys in the world, but often finds himself shutting it down and managing matches rather than wrestling matches. 

13:58: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) puts a stamp on his 11-0 win over Yerkebulan SHYNYKUL (KAZ) with a match-ending four-point throw. He'll move into the 70kg semifinals India's Mulaym YADAV (IND), who just defeated Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO), 6-1.

13:43: Pankaj dominated Aman, scoring an easy 7-1 win to move into the 61kg semifinals against reigning Asian champion Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ).

Aman was clearly too small for Pankaj. He was in on several shots, but had no penetration on his attacks, getting stopped after the first level of his attack.

13:34: Indian phenom Aman AMAN (IND) is up on Mat B against teammate Pankaj PANKAJ (IND). Aman, the 17-year-old, is up at 61kg, one weight above his Asian title-winning weight of 57kg.

13:15: One of the least talked about guys in Pan-American (outside of American athletes), in my opinion, is Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG). He's a guy that's constantly traveling the world to find quality partners and hone his craft. His technique has massively improved over the last three year and is a solid sized 65kg guy.

Destribats just dropped Nuerlaxi BIEKEZHATI (CHN) on his head in the first round, moving onto the quarterfinals with a 10-0 win. He'll wrestle Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) next.

13:03: Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) gave world bronze medalist Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) a tough match on Mat B. Tumur Ochir won 4-0 but it was closer than the score indicated.

12:56: Dauletbekov gets a pair of takedowns in the second period and defeats Jezierzanski, 5-1. He'll wrestle Gocen for a spot in the 86jg semifinals. 

12:55: We're two matches away from starting the quarterfinals. The last three days, we've finished the first round around 14:00. With the 25 matches left on each match, I'm not sure if we'll be done with the quarterfinals by that time today.

12:50: World bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) has a narrow 1-0 lead over Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL) after the first period. The winner of this match gets Osman GOCEN (TUR) in the 86kg quarterfinals.

12:23: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) just saved his Belgrade hopes with a match-deciding takedown against Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN). Gadzhiev was behind 4-3 but scored a takedown with :03 left, winning the match, 5-4. He'll wrestle the winner of the match that's currently up on Mat B between Adam Skene THOMSON (CAN) and Otari BAGAURI (GEO).

12:15: After winning his first-round match, Ilias BEKBULATOV (UZB) has dropped out of the competition. "I have a hernia and it's caused awful pain in my right arm. The pain is so bad that I can not move my arm," said Bekbulatov. "I have had two injections already, and I wanted to wrestle, but I can not continue." 

11:47: World and Olympic bronze medalist Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) will make his tournament debut against Kubat AZIZBAEV (KGZ), next on Mat A.

11:43: Akmataliev brought the crowd to their feel with a 6-2 win over Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB), punching his ticket to the quarterfinals against Yerkebulan SHYNYKUL (KAZ).

11:30: It's official, Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) receives the injury default win over Kumar RAVI (IND) in 61kg qualification round. He'll meet the winner of  Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) and Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) in the quarterfinals.

11:19: This place is going to erupt in about five minutes. Kyrgyzstan's world silver medalists Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) is in the call room, waiting to be called to Mat C, where he'll wrestle Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) in the opening round at 70kg.

11:07: One of the most important storylines we'll be following today is the three-way competition for the Azerbaijan's 74kg starting spot between Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) and Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE). "This event is the one of the selection stages. The second stage will be the Poland Open. After those events, we'll review the results and select the starter [for Belgrade]," said Azerbaijan's head freestyle coach, Khetag GAZUMOV.

10:45: This just in: Kumar RAVI (IND) has pulled out of the Ranking Series event. According to the Indian coaching staff, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist injured his knee while warming up and won't compete in Bishkek.

10:40: Good morning, wrestling fans. Today is the final day of wrestling at the Ranking Series event. During the first few days of the competition, we had around 25 matches per mat in the morning session. Today, we have 40 matches per mat which means there will be either a small break or no break at all.