Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! November 5, 2018

Monday, November 5, 2018 - 16:26 By Eric Olanowski

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Reviewing results from the Iranian Freestyle League and the American Wrestling League draft. Also looking at Russia's Ivan Yarygin qualification process.   

1. Gadzhimagomedov, Karimi, Kurbanaliev Give Iran FS League Title to Bimeh
Using Russian and Iranian stars, Bimeh Razi Babol captured the 2018 Iran Freestyle League title, earning a 26-15 victory over Setaregan Sari in the final match in Gorgan city.

Sari's team opened up the finals with back-to-back wins from Nader HAJAGHANIA (IRI) and Mehran SHEIKHI (IRI) 57kg and 61kg respectively, before 2016 Asian champion Meysam NASIRI (IRI) downed Farzad AMOUZAD (IRI), 6-2, giving Bimeh their first team victory.

Russia's 2016 world champion Magomed KURVANALIEV (RUS) evened things up after a 15-4 technical fall at 70kg. 

In the fifth match, it was Hossein ELYASI (IRI) who kept Sari's hopes alive, beating Reza AFZALI, 6-4, breaking the two to two tie and giving Sari the 3-2 lead.

Bimeh, won four of the final five bouts, including wins from Budapest world bronze medalists, Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) (79kg) and Alireza KARIMI (IRI) (92kg) to defeat Setaregan Sari 26-15 to capture 2018 Iran Freestyle League Title.

Final Match: Bimeh Razi Babol df. Setaregan Sari, 26-15 (6-4)
57kg- Nader HAJAGHANIA (Sari) df. Mehran REZAZADEH (Bimeh), 5-3
61kg- Mehran SHEIKHI (Sari) df. Behnam EHSANPOUR (Bimeh), 5-2
65kg- Meysam NASIRI (Bimeh) df. Farzad AMOUZAD (Sari), 6-2 
70kg- Magomed KURBANALIEV (Bimeh) df. Mohammad Mehdi YEGANEH JAFARI (Sari) by TF, 15-4
74kg- Hossein ELYASI (Sari) df. Reza AFZALI (Bimeh), 6-4
79kg- Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (Bimeh) df. Fariborz BABAEI (Sari) by TF, 10-0
86kg- Alireza KARIMI (Bimeh) df. Masoud MADADI (Sari) by FALL
92kg- Mohammad Javad EBRAHIMI (Bimeh) df. Sina GHOLAMI (Sari), 8-3
97kg- Vladislav BAITSAEV(Bimeh) df. Amir MOHAMMADI (Sari), 6-0
125kg- Jaber SADEGHZADEH (Sari) df. Abbas FOROUTAN (Bimeh), 8-7

2. United World Wrestling Joins World Taekwondo in Worldwide Peace Initiative
United World Wrestling has joined with World Taekwondo and the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) to sign a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote humanitarian, peace and development-supporting activities around the world.

United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC met with World Taekwondo President Chungwon CHOUE the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest on October 22 to sign the agreement.

“We have followed the development of this humanitarian fund and have seen what it can achieve and look forward to joining World Taekwondo’s effort to diversity athletic opportunities in the camps,” said Lalovic. “We trust that wrestling and taekwondo will add light to the lives of the children in these refugee camps.”

The agreement will allow full cooperation and information exchange between the three organizations. They aim to commit to developing close cooperation in the following areas:

Promoting sport as a powerful vehicle towards peace, social development, and integration of vulnerable populations;

Uniting forces in offering sport for development and peace activities, in particular in THF’s existing Azraq Taekwondo Academy in Azraq Refugee Camp, Jordan, and potentially other locations worldwide; 

Exchanging and sharing of expertise, know-how, information, and publications.

Click here for the full release.

Photo from Max Rose-Fyne of the 2018 Ivan Yarygin competition venue. 

3. Russia’s Ivan Yarygin Qualification Process Announced 
The best Russian wrestlers will head to Vladikavkaz, Ossetia, Russia this weekend to compete at the 2018 Alans for an opportunity to head to Krasnoyarsk, Russia in January to wrestle in the Ivan Yarygin - which is often called the toughest tournament in the world. 

The only wrestlers that are exempt from the Alans are Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS), Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS), Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS), and Zavur UGUEV (RUS) who all won gold medals at the 2018 World Championships.

Only three Russian wrestlers at each weight will qualify for the Ivan Yarygin. The first qualifying criteria is the world team member from the 2018 world championships, followed by the gold medalist of the Alans, and finally, the winner of January’s Mindiashvili Grand Prix. 

Kyle DAKE (USA) carries the American flag after winning his first world title. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

4. World Champs Dake and Taylor Draft Team for Inaugural “American Wrestling League I The Beginning”
Reigning world champions Kyle DAKE (USA) and David TAYLOR (USA) drafted their teams for the inaugural “American Wrestling League I The Beginning” which takes place at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on November 30. 

Though there will be only ten matches, on Saturday night, each of the rookie world champions drafted ten starters, along with ten back-ups to compete at the ten international weight categories.  

Each of the starters from Team Dake and Team Taylor will pick up $2,500 to show, and $5,000 to win.

Fans can follow all of the AWL action live on trackwrestling.com on November 30. 

Team Kyle DAKE 
57kg - Zach SANDERS and Alan WATERS
61kg – Tony RAMOS and Nick SIMMONS 
65kg – Jordan OLIVER and Josh KINDIG 
70kg – James GREEN and Frank MOLINARO 
74kg – Isaiah MARTINEZ and Richie LEWISH 
79kg – Nate JACKSON and Josh ASPER
86kg – Nick HEFLIN and Pat DOWNEY 
92kg – Hayden ZILLMER and Deron WINN
97kg – Jacob KASPER and Ty WALZ
130kg – Dom BRADLEY and Ceron FRANSISCO  

Team David TAYLOR 
57kg – Nico MEGALUDIS and Frank PERRELLI 
61kg – Cory CLARK and Bryce MEREDITH 
65kg – Zain RETHERFORD and Evan HENDERSON 
70kg – Brandon SORENSEN and Anthony COLLICA 
74kg – Tommy GANTT and Joey LAVALLEE
79kg – Alex DIERINGER and Dan VALLIMONT 
86kg – Sammy BROOKS and Brett PFARR
92kg – Michael MACCHIAVELLO and Ben PROVISOR 
97kg – Kyven GADSON and Blaize CABELL 
130kg – Adam COON and Robbie SMITH 

5.  U23 World Championships Begin November 12 
Next week,  the Polyvalent Hall in Bucharest, Romania will host the 2018 U23 World Championships. Wrestling begins on Monday, November 12. 

Greco-Roman wrestling will kick off the championships, followed by women's wrestling, and will end with freestyle. 

Click here for the full schedule. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Big Move Monday! #grecoromanwrestling #olympic #wrestling#activewrestling #5pointsthrow 
#budawrestle2018
2. Nice action in 82kg Peter Bácsi two times World Champion,2018 Budapest #grecoromanwrestling #olympicwrestling 
@unitedworldwrestling
3. ? #Budawrestle2018
4. Russia's U23 world squad. 
5. Kyle Dake and David Taylor AWL draft picks 

#WrestleTirana

Jamalov loss, historic Olympic medal for Albania, defensive style: Valiev opens up to UWW

Monday, October 21, 2024 - 17:06 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 21) -- Cherman VALIEV (ALB) sits in the 'VIP Lounge' of the Feti Borova Sports Hall in Tirana on the sidelines of the U23 World Championships. He certainly is a very important person in Albania. At the Paris Olympics in August, Valiev won the bronze medal in the 74kg weight class, becoming Albania's first-ever Olympic medalist in any sport.

Two months later, he has had time to reflect on his Paris Olympic campaign, the controversial loss against Razambek JAMALOV (UZB), and is preparing for the new season, in which he wants to avenge that loss against Jamalov.

United World Wrestling caught up with Valiev on the sidelines of the U23 World Championships. Excerpts from the interview:

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)

- Reflecting on his bronze medal at the Paris Olympics

Valiev: It’s a dream for every athlete to compete at the Olympic Games. As for me, I was able to win a medal. It’s a historic medal for Albania, the first one ever in any sport. It’s a great honor for me that I was able to live up to their expectations. When I joined the national team, they believed in me. I am glad that I could meet their expectations.

I was given an apartment in Albania for winning the Olympic bronze. I am very grateful that they value the athlete’s hard work. I was given prize money as well. Sometimes people on the streets in Albania would come over and ask for a photo. It’s really nice and it motivates me to continue giving my all to show the best results. 

I realize that I’ve won a medal at the Olympic Games. This motivates me to keep working even harder. Time flies quickly, and before you know it, the next Olympic Games will be here.

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)

- Experience at the Paris Olympics

Valiev: I think I gave my all in those two days and did everything I could. I wrestled with all my strength and did my best on the mat. As I said before, I had four matches in Paris, and I won all four of them. To this day, I have been reviewing the matches and I believe that I won without any doubts. If there was any other wrestler in my position he would defend when leading the match. I wasn’t fleeing the mat, I was just defending and this is within the rules.

[In the bronze medal bout], I was emotionally motivated to avenge that loss in Istanbul [at the World Olympic Qualifier]. It was crucial for me at that time to prove that I was better than him, and I was very determined and focused on that match. So, I convincingly defeated Viktor with a score of 6-2 in Paris.

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)

- On his return to Ossetia after Paris Olympics

Valiev: I was welcomed very well in Ossetia as if I was an Olympic champion. I received a lot of support, people were saying that I was their Olympic champion. Even many people not from Ossetia, but from other regions were saying that they saw everything and that I was an Olympic champion for them. It’s very pleasing for me to be appreciated that way.

- On his wrestling style

Valiev: I am not going to change anything in my style. If you don't defend in wrestling, you will give up points. I defend and attack at the same time, scoring points. After all, I win matches somehow. If I didn’t attack, the referees wouldn’t give me points. As I said before, I will try to take the lead in order to avoid such situations in the future. I haven’t really noticed anyone saying that I have a passive wrestling style. I don’t know how to explain it, but as soon as I feel the referee is about to give a passivity point, I always try to change the course of the match. 

I don’t usually prepare for any specific wrestler. I just do my job. I have a plan in my head, I watch their matches, and I know their strengths and weaknesses. For example, if I know he has a signature move, I try not to get caught for that. Sitting and watching the matches of my opponents all day long isn't something I do.

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)

- On growing up with wrestling

Valiev: Wrestling is the number one sport in Ossetia. In my hometown Ardon, there was just wrestling and football. My elder brother started wrestling first. All our family is into it. My father used to wrestle as well. There are three kids in the family. My brother, sister and myself. I started wrestling when I was eight years old. My dad was wrestling only when he was at school, but my elder brother still trains, he sometimes competes at the local tournaments and finishes on the podium. So there was no choice. I liked playing football as well, but up until now, I do freestyle wrestling. When I was wrestling at the cadet level, I started showing some good results, I started going here and there to the training camps and competitions. I really loved that atmosphere of traveling to different places and meeting new people. So, I couldn’t give it up.

When I was a kid, the coaches were telling me that I was talented and that I had to train hard, but it wasn’t something like being a wonder kid or someone very special.

- On his idol Kudukhov

Valiev: I always wanted to be like Besik KUDUKHOV. I always tried to copy his wrestling style, his moves and his throws. He was super-fast and I really copied him, but only when I was a child. Over time I’ve got my own style and technique. It’s difficult to be as fast as he was. I got the chance to train with Besik only once. It was two days before he died. Up until now, people keep saying that he was a very well-mannered, decent man. He was not just a good wrestler, but also a very kind person. 

- On his return to competition next year

Valiev: My next tournament will be a Ranking Series here in Albania. When I step on the mat, the number one priority for me is to win the match. Of course, the Olympic medal gives me more confidence and status, but the medal won’t wrestle for me. So, I have to do my best to win the match.  

I have learned a little bit of the Albanian language, I really want to improve on that. But I need to start with English first.

(Translation by Karina Mirzoian)