Weekly FIVE! May 14, 2019

Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - 14:19 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 ??.

#WrestleAmman

U20 Worlds: New stars in focus; Iran aims Freestyle title defense

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - 09:52 By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (August 9) -- A week after the top U17 wrestlers were in Istanbul fighting it out to become world champions, the best at the U20 level will be in Amman, Jordan for the U20 World Championships which begins August 14.

A host of returning champions, continental champions and senior-level medalists will be in action in Freestyle with Iran, the United States, India and Azerbaijan among the favorites to win the team title like in Sofia, Bulgaria a year ago.

Iran won the team title with the U.S. finishing second and India third. This year too, Iran is fielding a strong team led by returning champion at 125kg Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI). But can the other teams displace Iran from the top? Here's a look:

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) will be the defending champion at 125kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

125kg
Masoumi at 125kg is clearly the favorite to win the gold medal but Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE), the U17 world champ a week ago, will fancy his chances as well.

The U17 Euro champ and U20 Euro silver medalist has been in terrific form this year and an upset win over Masoumi, who finished fifth at the senior Asian Championships this year, cannot be ruled out.

Other at 125kg will be U20 European champ Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR), U23 European silver medalist Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR), U20 Pan-Am champ Karanveer MAHIL (CAN) and Christian CARROLL (USA).

2022 U20 world 61kg champion Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) is dropping down to 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

57kg
At 57kg, returning bronze medalist Ahmad JAVAN (IRI), who is also a bronze medalist at the U23 World Championships, will first look to reach the final before trying to win the title. In his way stands U20 European champ Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) and returning silver medalist Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ) who won the Asian title in 2022.

The 61kg returning U20 world champion -- Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) -- is dropping down to 57kg in his bid for his second world title at the U20 level. He is coming back from a knee injury he suffered at the Meiji Cup in June. The U.S. is sending 2022 U17 world champ Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) who won the U20 Pan-Am title this year.

U20 Asian champ UDIT (IND) was replaced by SAGAR (IND) after the former got injured during the Asian Games selection trials and had to be stretched off.

92kg
Iran will bank highly on Mohammadmobin AZIMI (IRI) to win the gold medal at 92kg as he comes into the competition as a two-time U20 Asian champion and an internationally unbeaten wrestler. He will have to battle it out with U20 European champion Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM) who also won the 86kg silver medal at the U23 European Championships this year.

Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) at 92kg will use his experience as a silver medalist at the senior Asian Championships and two gold medals at the U23 Asian Championships to win the world title, giving Azimi and others a tough competition.

Turkiye will be sending Muhammed GIMRI (TUR), the silver medalist from the U23 and U20 European Championships this year, with the hope of winning the first Freestyle U20 world title since 2018.

The U20 Pan-Am Jack DARRAH (USA) will also be in the race to finish on the podium with the U.S. hoping to make it to the top.

Returning medalists from 70kg, Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) and Hossein AGHAEI (IRI) are entered at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

74kg
The U.S. also has last year's 70kg silver medalist Mitchell MESENBRINK (USA) who is jumping to 74kg, a weight class he won the U20 Pan-Am Championships. Reaching the final at 74kg this year will be a daunting task.

Mesenbrink's path to the gold medal may go through a familiar opponent Hossein AGHAEI (IRI), returning bronze from 70kg, who Mesenbrink defeated 9-7 in a thrilling quarterfinal last year. Aghaei won the U20 Asian silver medalist at 74kg.

Joining them in the field is returning silver medalist Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN) who will look to repeat his run from last year and upgrade his silver to gold in only his second international tournament.

U20 Asian champ Yerkhan BEXULTANOV (KAZ) will return to Amman a city where he dominated the continental final against Aghaei after a stunning 8-7 semifinal win over Asadbek KARIMOV (UZB). Bexultanov will have to be cautious of Karimov as he will also be in Amman with revenge on his mind.

Bettering the competition are U23 Asian champion Feng LU (CHN), former U17 Worlds silver medalist Giorgi GOGRITCHIANI (GEO), U20 Euro champ Stas WOLF (GER) and Amaan GULACHA (CAN) who was second to Mesenbrink at the Pan-Ams.

Keep an eye on Raul CASO (ITA) and JAIDEEP (IND), former U17 World Championships, who can cause an upset in any given match.

86kg
Another returning silver medalist for the U.S. is Bennett BERGE (USA) who will aim to change the color of his medal from last year. In all likelihood, he will have to beat returning champion Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) who defeated Berge 10-5 in the final. Magamadov has added U23 and U20 European Championships titles since then.

Magamadov will be looking to defend his world title over Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM) who he defeated in the U20 European finals. Mkrtchyan won a silver medal at 79kg last year in Sofia. Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO) is another wrestler who will be Amman who Magamadov defeated at the European tournament.

U20 Asian champion Mukul DAHIYA (IND) will be another wrestler looking to upset the returning champion along with Amirhossein ALIZADEH (IRI) who was second to Dahiya in the same city as it hosted the U20 Asians as well.

Bronze medalist from that tournament, Imangali KALDYBEK (KAZ), will also be in the fray along with Ivan CHORNOHUZ (UKR) who won bronze in Europe.

65kg
At 65kg, a few wrestlers with major international experience will battle it out for the gold. Leading the lot will be Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) who won the Yasar Dogu gold last month. He was in Sofia but lost 6-5 in the quarterfinal finishing fifth.

Others in the field include 2023 U23 and 2022 U20 European champion Mykyta ZUBAL (UKR), one of the biggest threats to the gold medal as he finished fifth last year, Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), who won a silver at the U20 European Championships, former U17 world champion Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB) and Jaskaran SINGH (IND) who lost to Kadamov in that final. Singh won the U20 Asian title in Amman in July.

The U.S. will see Jesse MENDEZ (USA) who wrestled at the 2021 U20 World Championships. U20 European bronze medalist Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) and U23 Asian silver medalist Aden SAKYBAEV (KGZ) are also wrestling.

70kg
Close to 10 wrestlers will be hoping it to the final at 70kg with senior Asian silver medalist Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) leading the pack. He will have the 2021 U17 world champ at 65kg Meyer SHAPIRO (USA), Magomed BAITUKAEV (AIN) who was also the U17 world champ in 2021 at 55kg, and Ali REZAEI (IRI) who won the silver medal at the Yasar Dogu.

Ibrahim YAPRAK (TUR) won the U20 European Championships and will look to add a world medal to his resume. Returning fifth-placer Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM) will look to finish on the podium this year. He won U23 European silver medal and U20 Euro silver as well but at 74kg. Saba KOBAKHIDZE (GEO) was the silver medalist at U20 Euros and he will also be in Amman.

Can Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), former U17 world champ at 92kg, win at 97kg? (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

97kg
All four 97kg medalists from the U20 European Championships are entered for the World Championships. Champion Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), who was the silver medalist at the U20 Euros last year, will be one of the favorites to win. He can have potential bouts against silver medalist Dogan UZUN (TUR) and two bronze medalists Zafar ALIYEV (AZE) and Nika PANTSULAIA (GEO).

U20 Asian champion and 2022 U17 world champ at 92kg Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) will look to add another world medal as he continues to shine at the age-group level. 2021 U20 Euro champ Islam KILCHUKOV (AIN), U20 Asian bronze medalist Deepak CHAHAL (IND) and U20 Pan-Am champ Camden MC DANEL (USA) will also look to finish on the podium.

Sagar JAGLAN (IND) will be wrestling at 79kg, a year after winning bronze at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

61kg
India has two returning bronze medalists, Mohit KUMAR (IND) at 61kg and Sagar JAGLAN (IND) at 79kg.

To upgrade his medal, Kumar, who won the U20 Asian title, will have to face 2021 U17 world champion Ali KHORRAMDEL (IRI), U20 African champ Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY) and Nicholas BOUZAKIS (USA) who won the Pan-Ams at this age-group.

2021 U17 world silver medalist Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ) and Besir ALILI (MKD) who finished fifth at the 2022 senior European Championships are also in action.

79kg
Former U17 world champion and senior Worlds fifth Jaglan, who won a bronze medal at 74kg last year after losing the semifinal to Kamiya, won the U23 and U20 Asian titles at 79kg and will be a top contender for the gold in Amman. He is joined by Farzad SAFI (IRI) who lost to Jaglan in the U20 Asian final.

U20 European champion Otari ADEISHVILI (GEO) is entered along with Gregor EIGENBRODT (GER) who lost to Adeishvili in the final, U20 Euro bronze medalist Narek GRIGORYAN (ARM), U20 Asian bronze medalist Magzhan ZHANYRBAY (KAZ) and Matthew SINGLETON (USA).

Weekly FIVE! May 14, 2019

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

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U20 Worlds: New stars in focus; Iran aims Freestyle title defense