Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! October 29, 2019

By Eric Olanowski

Previewing this week's U23 World Championships and the upcoming Women's Wrestling World Cup. Also reviewing results from the 7th CISM World Military Games and the Ugra Cup. 

1. U23 World Championships Underway in Budapest 
Freestyle wrestling is underway at the U23 World Championships, and Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) and Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) will take the mat on Tuesday night for a shot at winning their second U23 world titles. 

At 57kg, Andreu Ortega will go toe to toe with Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ), and Goleij will square off against Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) in the 97kg finals. 

Women’s wrestling will take over on Wednesday. They'll have a pair of U23 world champs who are looking to repeat their title-winning performances from 2018. Japan's Saki IGARASHI (55kg) and China's Paliha PALIHA (76kg) are the two women’s wrestlers that'll look to win their second consecutive U23 world title. 

Greco-Roman and its five defending gold medalists kick off the championships on Friday. 

The headliner on the Greco-Roman side of the competition is Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), who last month reached the top of the senior world podium in Nur-Sultan.

His fellow compatriot, Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), will look to defend his U23 world title from a year ago. In total, the Georgian big man's resume is littered with six age-group world titles. 

Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) and Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) are both entered at 67kg, which could set up a colossal matchup of returning U23 gold-medal winners from last season. El Sayed is coming off a fifth-place finish in Nur-Sultan, where he qualified Egypt for the 2020 Olympic Games at 67kg. 

The fifth and final Greco-Roman champ from a year ago is Semen NOVIKOV (UKR). He’s entered at 87kg. 

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Tuesday's Freestyle Finals
57kg: Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) vs. Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
65kg: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. Takuma TANIYAMA (JPN)
70kg: Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO) vs. Cherman VALIEV (RUS)
79kg: Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) vs. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
97kg: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) vs. Shamil MUSAEV (RUS)

Riza KAYAALP (TUR) remained undefeated on the season and won the 130kg World Military Games gold medal. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

2. Evloev and Kayaalp Among GR World Military Games Winners
Musa EVLOEV (RUS) and Riza KAYAALP (TUR) remained undefeated in 2019 and closed out their year with gold-medal performances at the 7th CISM World Military Games in Wuhan, China. 

Evloev, the reigning two-time 97kg world champion, went 4-0 on his quest for gold and outscored his opponents 29-1. Evloev grabbed three consecutive technical superiority wins against Udeh JOSEPH (NGR), Michail IOSIFIDIS (GRE) and Oliver HASSLER (GER), before edging Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN), 2-1, in the finals. 

The Russian's undefeated reign of terror now spans over 15 months and nine tournaments. Since Evloev's last loss, he's won gold at the Russian National Championships, European Championships and twice at the World Championships, among many others.

Kayaalp, who is freshly off claiming his Turkish record-breaking fourth world title, avenged his 2018 World Championships loss to Heiki NABI (EST) in the 130kg finals, and won his first CISM World Military Games gold medal with a 3-1 victory.

Meanwhile, Nur-Sultan world finalists Viktor LORINCZ (HUN), Sergei EMELIN (RUS) and Artem SURKOV (RUS) also competed in gold-medal matches in their respective weight classes, but the Hungarian was the only one to reach the top of the podium. 

Lorincz, a 2019 world runner-up, used a three-point second period to sneak past Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE), 4-1, in the 87kg gold-medal bout. 

Emelin and Surkov each dropped their finals matches and settled for second-place finishes. Emelin was shutout by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Ri Se UNG, 4-0, in the 60kg finals, while Surkov forfeited to Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY) in the 67kg finals. 

The sixth and final Greco-Roman gold medal went to Iran’s Pejman POSHTAM, who edged Hasan ALIYEV (AZE), 2-1, in the 77kg finals. 

Click here for full results from the 7th CISM World Military Games.

Greco-Roman Results

60kg
GOLD: Ri Se UNG (PRK) df. Sergei EMELIN (RUS), 4-0
BRONZE: Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ) df. Gyanender (IND), 6-3
BRONZE: Ildar HAFIZOV (USA) df. Tigran MINASYAN (ARM), 8-0

67kg
GOLD: Mohamed IBRAHIM (EGY) df. Artem SURKOV (RUS) by forfeit
BRONZE: Mate NEMES (SRB) df. Jolison JUNIOR (BRA), 9-0
BRONZE: Mikayil RAHMANOV (AZE) df. Shant KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 5-0

77kg
GOLD: Pejman POSHTAM (IRI) df. Hasan ALIYEV (AZE), 2-1 
BRONZE: Viktor NEMES (SRB) df. Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR), 3-0
BRONZE: Florian NEUMAIER (GER) df. Mariea GEORGE VLAD (ROU), 5-0 

87kg
GOLD: Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) df. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE), 4-1
BRONZE: Denis KUDLA (GER) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR), 6-0
BRONZE: EvgHYSHMAN (UKR), 2-1

97kg
GOLD: Musa EVLOEV (RUS) df. Matti Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN), 2-1
BRONZE: Oliver Adrian HASSLER (GER) df.  Michail IOIFIDIS (GRE) , via fall 
BRONZE-Aliksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) df. Alimulati DALAWUBAI (CHN), 5-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Heiki NABI (EST), 3-1
BRONZE: Abdellatiif AHMED (EGY) df. Berei LEONARD ISTVAN (ROU), 8-0
BRONZE: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR), 2-2

Natalia VOROBIEVA (RUS) bumped up to 76kg and scored the fall over WANG Juan (CHN) in the gold-medal match. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

3. Vorobieva Wins World Military Games Title Up at 76kg 
Natalia VOROBIEVA (RUS) returned to the Olympic weight of 76kg after winning the 72kg world title and reached the top of the podium at the 7th CISM World Military Games. The two-time Olympic finalists and London Olympic champion finished the tournament with three wins but saved the most dramatic win for last. Vorobieva found a way to score the fall over WANG Juan (CHN) after trailing 6-2 in the opening period. 

Vorobieva's  move up a weight is intreaguing because Rio bronze medalist Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS) failed to qualifty the Russian Federation for the Olympic Games at 76kg after a 17th-place finish at the 2019 World Championships. This means Russia could be without one of their Olympic medalists if the pair elect to stay at the same weight class moving into the 2020 calendar year. 

Meanwhile, the host nation was successful in claiming a trio of women’s wrestling gold medals. Their three champions were LI Yuyan, LI Hui and ZHOU Feng, who won the 50kg, 57kg and 68kg gold medals, respectively.

The Democratic People’s Republic finished with the second-most gold medals after they collected titled from Jo Hwa YON and Mun Hyon GYONG won gold at 53kg and 62kg, respectively. 

Click here for full results from the 7th CISM World Military Games.

Women’s Wrestling Results 

50kg 
GOLD: Yuyan LI (CHN) df. Whitney CONDER (USA), 6-5
BRONZE: kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR) df. Nada ASHOUR (EGY), via fall 
BRONZE: Kim Su JONG (PRK) df. Iwona MATKOWSKA (POL), 5-2

53kg
GOLD:  Jo Hwa YON (PRK) df. Seicariu SUZANA GEORGIANA (ROU), via fall 
BRONZE: Milana DADASHEVA (RUS) df. Bolorerdene BATORSHIKH (MGL), 12-6
BRONZE: Nina HEMMER (GER) df.Ellada MAKHYADDINOVA (KAZ), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: Hui LI (CHN) df. Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL), 6-3 
BRONZE: Jong Myong SUK (PRK) df. Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA), 8-1
BRONZE: Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) df. Katsiaryna HANCHAR (BLR), 10-0

62kg
GOLD: Mun Hyon GYONG (PRK) df. Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS), 11-1
BRONZE: Lais OLIVEIRA (BRA) df. Olena KREMZER (UKR), 7-0
BRONZE: Anastasiya HUCHOK (BLR) df.  Sushila CHAND (NEP) by forfeit

68kg
GOLD: Feng ZHOU (CHN) df.  Agnieszka WIESZCZEK KORDUS (POL), 6-2
BRONZE: Davaanasan ENKHAMAR (MGL) df. Dailane REIS (BRA), 9-5
BRONZE: Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR) by forfeit

76kg
GOLD: Natalia VOROBIEVA (RUS) df. Juan WANG (CHN), via fall 
BRONZE: Alla BELINSKA (UKR) df. Ariunjargal GANBAT (MGL), 6-2
BRONZE: Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ) df. Greta CEPONYTE (LTU), 10-0

Israil KASUMOV (RUS) took down an Olympic champion and a two-time world medalist en route to winning the 70kg title at the Ugra Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

4. Russia Wins Eight Golds at Ugra Cup
Israil KASUMOV (RUS) knocked off Alan GOGAEV (RUS) and Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) as Russian wrestlers claimed eight of ten gold medals at the Grand Prix of Vladimir Semenov "Ugra Cup" in Russia’s wintery city of Nefteyugansk.

Kasumov won the 70kg gold medal, but his biggest win came in the semifinals when he downed Rio Olympic champion Soslan RAMONOV (RUS), 9-7. Kasumov followed up his huge semifinals win with a 5-3 victory over Alan Gogaev, who is a two-time world medalist.  

Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER) and Danylo KARTAVYI (UKR) were the two non-Russian wrestlers who won gold medals at the Ugra Cup. The German used a 4-2 victory over Znaur KOTSIEV (RUS) to seize the 97kg title, while the Ukranian wrestler pinned Magomedamin DIBIROV (RUS) in the 125kg finals. 

After three consecutive weekends of high-level competitions, the Russian calendar takes a few weeks off before the Grand Prix Moscow Alrosa Cup (November 29-30) and the Alans International Tournament (December 5-8). 

Ugra Cup Results
57kg – Khasankhusein BADRUDINOV (RUS) df. Artur CHEBODAEV (RUS) , 7-2 
61kg – Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (RUS) df. Efim KORMILTSEV (RUS), 5-2 
65kg – Lulian GREGENOV (RUS) df. Aleksandr BOGOMOEV (RUS), via injury default 
70kg – Israil KASUMOV (RUS) df. Alan GOGAEV (RUS), 5-3 
74kg – Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) df. Magomed KHIZRIEV (RUS), 5-2 
79kg – Kakhaber KHUBEZHTY (RUS) df. Malik SHAVAEV (RUS), via fall ­
86kg – Arsen-Ali MUSALALIEV (RUS) df. Tamerlan TAPSIEV (RUS), 3-2 
92kg – Magomed KURBANOV (RUS) df. Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS), 6-1 
97kg – Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER) df. Znaur KOTSIEV (RUS), 4-2
125kg – Danylo KARTAVYI (UKR) df. Magomedamin DIBIROV (RUS), via fall 

Adeline Gray is one of five world champions that'll wrestle at the Women's Wrestling World Cup. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

5. Women’s World Cup Schedule to be Released this Week
Later this week, United World Wrestling will announce the schedule for the 2019 Women's Wrestling World Cup, which will take place at the Nakadai Sports & Recreation Park Gymnasium in Narita, Japan, from November 16-17.

The can't-miss competition is set to feature an impressive list of wrestlers who have world and Olympic medals on their resumes. As the entries sit, five of the ten women’s wrestling world champions from Nur-Sultan will make the trip to Japan for the 18th installment of the annual dual meet event. Furthermore, the tournament will also feature at least three additional wrestlers that have a world gold on their resume -- bringing the grand total of past and reigning world champions to eight.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Nasibov P. (UKR)
2. Who is ready to watch Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) defend his U23 and SR level world title?!
3. Back and forth match between IBRAGIMOV (AZE) and PANTALEO (USA) with IBRAGIMOV grabbing the 9-8 win ?? ? ?
4. Some behind the scenes photos from day one at the 2019 U23 World Championships. .
5. The #best10from day 1 at #wrestlebudapest 

#WrestleBudapest

Bisultanov preps for Zagreb Worlds with Budapest gold

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 19) -- After winning the Zagreb Open gold medal in February, Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) had said that his main goal for the year to become a world champion. For that, he skipped European Championships as he had previously won gold there.

He focused on his shortcoming and weight management as he prepared for the World Championships, to be held in September in Zagreb.

With two months to go for that, Bisultanov entered the Budapest Ranking Series to test his preparations, and came out with flying colors. He won the Greco-Roman 87kg gold medal with a scintillating performance in Budapest.

Bisultanov did not break a sweat to reach the final against David LOSONCZI (HUN), who struggled throughout the day, and later pulled out of the final injured.

This was Bisultanov's second Ranking Series gold of the year and is expected to jump to number three in the rankings for 87kg. If all the top five ranked wrestlers are entered for the World Championships, Bisultanov will likely have Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) on side of the bracket.

But a performance like Saturday could potentially see Bisultanov get he better of Novikov, who lost the European Championships final to Losonczi this year.

Bisultanov, who won Thor Masters in June, warmed up with a 4-1 victory over Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) before he blanked Alan OSTAEV (UWW), 8-0, in the quarterfinal.

He faced local wrestlers Tamas LEVAI (HUN) in the semifinal and after a 7-0 lead, he decided it safe and defended from par terre. He gave a late stepout but managed to win 7-2 easily.

A Bisultanov-Losonczi final was what the fans wanted but Losonczi had struggled with his health all day long and decided to not risk it in the final.

He opened his day with tough bout against former European champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB), winning 3-1. His second match was also against a Serbian wrestler, Andrija MIHAJLOVIC (SRB), and he won 6-1.

It was the quarterfinal in which Losonczi was troubled by world U20 champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) who launched him for a suplex to lead 5-0. But Losonczi roared in the second period, scoring from par terre and getting points for Yevloyev's defensive fouls to win 9-5.

He then managed to keep Islam ABBASOV (AZE) quiet to win 4-0 in the semifinal and entertained the local fans with a back-flip. He would later not wrestle the final and win the silver.

In other two Greco-Roman weight classes of the day, Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) defeated Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 8-2, in the 72kg final took a big step towards being on the Georgian team of the World Championships.

At 130kg, Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) got the better of Darius VITEK (HUN) in the final to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

72kg
GOLD: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) df. Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 8-2

BRONZE: Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE) df. Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 9-0

87kg
GOLD: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB), 5-2
BRONZE: Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Alan OSTAEV (UWW), 5-2

130kg
GOLD: Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) df. Darius Attila VITEK (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) df. Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN), 5-3
BRONZE: Koppany LASZLO (HUN) df. Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE), 2-1