Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! September 25, 2018

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 - 12:35 By Eric Olanowski

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Taking a look at the 2019 World Championship host city and the team results from the 2018 Junior World Championships. Also discussing two stars who were forced to pull out of the #Budapest2018 World Championships after suffering recent injuries.  

1. Astana to Host 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships
United World Wrestling has announced the city of Astana will host the 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships September 14-22 at the Daulet Arena.

The Kazakhstan capital city has hosted several United World Wrestling events in recent years, including the 2014 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships, 2016 Asian Olympic Qualifier, and the 2018 Grappling World Championships.

Competition to host the championships was intense, as the 2019 world championships will serve as the first qualification event for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The top six finishers in each Olympic weight category in Astana will secure an Olympic qualification for their nation, with the remaining qualification spots earned at continental competitions and a “Last Chance Qualifier” during the 2020 competition calendar.

Click HERE for full release.

Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (RUS) beat  Zachery Samuel ELAM (USA), 11-0 to win the 97kg gold medal at the Junior World Championships. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

2. Russia Wins Five Gold Medals and Junior World Team Title
Russia closed out the 2018 Junior World Championships winning the freestyle team title on the backs of five individual gold medals. Heading into the final day of wrestling, the Russian Federation led the second-place United States by 31 points and finished 67 points ahead of the returning champions. 

Russia grabbed a trio of gold medals on the sixth day of competition and seized championships from Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS) and Soslan KHINCHAGOV (RUS) on the seventh and final day of wrestling at Trnava’s City Sports Hall.

Overall, Russia capped off the 2018 Junior World Championships with seven medalists. In addition to their five gold medals, they also won a silver and bronze medal. Though they had seven medalists a year ago, there five gold medals are an improvement from last year’s four gold medals. 

Team Scores 
GOLD – Russia (182 points)
SILVER – United States (115 points)
BRONZE –  Iran (98 points)
Fourth – Azerbaijan (91 points)
Fifth – India (84 points)

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Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) flexes after scoring the 12technicalcal superiority victory over Nikoloz TCHIKAIDZE (GEO) in the Greco-Roman 72kg finals. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne) 

3. Iran Wins Greco-Roman Team Title, Komarov Wins Fourth World Gold
Iran, with four gold medalists and 136 points wrapped up the Greco-Roman team title at the 2018 Trnava Junior World Championships, four points ahead of second-place Russia. 

Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI), with his left shoulder heavily taped, claimed back-to-back junior titles, making it his third overall age-level world championship. 

Meanwhile, Russia, led by Aleksandr KOMAROV who earned his fourth age-level world title finished in second place with 131 points. 

Komarov shutout out Andrew BERREYESA (USA) 10-0 in the 77kg finals to reach the top of the junior world podium for the second straight year. 

“These World Championships were the toughest yet. But it a great learning experience, and it feels good to win again,” said Komarov. “Now, my attention turns toward the senior-level and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.” 

Team Scores
GOLD - Iran - (136 points)
SILVER- Russia (131 points)
BRONZE - Armenia (83 points)
Fourth - Turkey (79 points) 
Fifth - India  (73 points)

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In the 50kg finals, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) beat Ellen RIESTERER (GER) to win her fifth world title in three different age groups. (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

4. Japanese Women Win Six Golds, World Team Title 
For the eighth straight year, Japan left the Junior World Championships with the women’s wrestling team title. The most dominant women’s wrestling nation in the world finished 55 points ahead of second place Russia, and 88 points ahead of third place China. 

Japan closed out the fifth day of competition with four additional gold medals, bringing their tournament total to six overall individual champions. This is the fifth straight year that Japan has finished the Junior World Championships with at least four gold medalists. It’s also the most golds they’ve won since winning six golds at the 2016 Junior World Championships. 

They also won a silver and three bronze medals. In total, Japan medaled in all ten women’s wrestling weight classes. 

One of the biggest notes from women's wrestling was Japan's 19-year-old superstar Yui SUSAKI (JPN) winning her fifth straight world title across three age divisions, confirming her as one of the best wrestlers in the world, regardless of age, gender or style. 

Susaki’s next competition will be October’s senior-level World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Also of note, Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) won her fourth age-level world championship. Larroque didn't give up an offensive point the entire tournament, outscoring her Junior World Championship opponents 33-0, including an overwhelming 6-0 finals win over Russia's Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS). 

​​​​​​Team Scores 
GOLD - Japan (215 points)
SILVER – Russia (160 points)
BRONZE – China (127 points)
Fourth – Ukraine (73 points)
Fifth – Mongolia (67 points)

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Roman VLASOV (RUS) defeated Viktor NEMES (SRB), 5-1 to win the 2018 European gold medal. Photo by Max Rose-Fyne.

5. Vlasov and Phogat to Miss #Budapest2018 World Championships 
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) and Roman VLASOV (RUS) recently suffered injuries and have been forced to pull out of the #Budapest2018 World Championships. 

According to Indian journalist Vinay Siwach, Phogat, the 24-year old rising Indian star tore ligaments in her elbow while practice Friday,  trying to finish a takedown against training partner Pooja DHANDA (IND). The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist was expected to compete for a medal in women's wrestling at 50kg. 

Another blow to the #Budapest2018 entry list came when two-time Olympic champion Roman Vlasov announced that he recently underwent surgery for a right knee injury. Vlasov, the four-time world and Olympic champion and reigning European champion was registered at GR 77kg. 

Click HERE for full Scroll.in's full release on Phogat

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. "Difficulties will not break me." 

2. "The 2018 #beach#wrestling #world #championships will be held in #sarigerme #turkey #beachwrestling"

3. Respect.

4. Big Move Day 6 from the Junior World Championships - TRNAVA 2018

5. Photo from the Freestyle Finals. - #uww #wrestling

Weekly FIVE!

Weekly Five! November 12, 2019

Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - 16:17 By Eric Olanowski

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Discussing the Women’s World Cup team race, wrestlers and weights to watch and Iran hosting the Greco-Roman World Cup (November 28-29).

1. The Road to the Finals 
In the 18-year history of the Women’s World Cup, Japan, China and the United States are the only teams to hoist the annual dual meet team trophy. But, dating back to 2003 when the United States claimed their lone team title, Japan or China has had a stronghold on women’s wrestling -- claiming 14 consecutive World Cup championships. 

Japan and China met in the previous two World Cup finals, with Japan coming out on the winning end of both of those meetings. But, this year is slated to be a different story, as Japan and China will wrestle on Saturday night in Group A action for a potential spot in Sunday night’s gold-medal dual. That is, of course, if they both get past a fairly young and inexperienced Ukrainian team that’s looking to send shock waves through the wrestling world and make their first finals appearance since 2005. 

Russia, the United States and Mongolia are the three Group B teams.

Though Mongolia has a pair of returning world bronze medalists, they likely won’t have enough firepower to match that of the Russian Federation or the United States -- who both have at least one world champ on their squad. 

The premier Group B matchup between Russia and the United States, which will take place on Saturday afternoon, will feature four of the ten women’s wrestling world champions. 

Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS), this year’s 62kg world champion, will lead the Russian Federation in the dual, while reigning world champions Jacarra WINCHESTER, Tamyra MENSAH and Adeline GRAY headline the entries for the Stars and Stripes. 

The two teams with the best record after their pair of group matches will meet in Sunday’s gold-medal match. The third and fourth-place match will feature the two teams with the second-best record in their groups and the remaining teams will meet for fifth and sixth place. 

Number of World Cup Titles 
Japan: 10 
China: 6
United States: 1

SCHEDULE
Saturday (November 16) 
10:30 – Mat A: JPN vs. UKR / Mat B: RUS vs. MGL 
12: 00 – Mat A: RUS vs. USA / Mat B: CHN vs. UKR 
16:30 – Opening Ceremony 
17:00 – Mat A: JPN vs. CHN / Mat B: USA vs. MGL

Sunday (November 17) 
8:00 – Medical Examination & Weigh-in
10:30 – Finals 5/6
13:00 – Finals 3/4
14:30 – Finals 1/2
16:00 – Award Ceremonies

Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) is one of five world champions that'll be wrestling at this weekend's Women's World Cup. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

2. Wrestlers to Watch: The Five World Champs
Five of the six teams entered into the Women’s Wrestling World Cup bring at least two returning world medalists – totaling 17 podium finishers from this year’s World Championships (Ukraine is the lone team without a 2019 world medalist entered). But, without a doubt, the five newly-crowned must-watch world champions are: 

55kg - Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
57kg - Risako KAWAI (USA)
62kg - Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS)
68kg - Tamyra MENSAH (USA)
76kg - Adeline GRAY (USA)

Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Ningning RONG (CHN) met in the world finals at 57kg just over a month ago. They could square off again at this weekend's Women's World Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

3. Weights to Watch: 57kg and 76kg 
The two can't-miss weights at this weekend’s Women’s Wrestling World Cup will be 57kg and 76kg. Both weight classes will feature the reigning world champion and the wrestler they defeated to win their world title. This means, there could be a pair of world finals rematches that take place this weekend.

Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Ningning RONG (CHN), who met in Nur-Sultan for the 57kg world title, could square off on Saturday night when Japan takes on China. That match will take place at 17:00 (local time).

Kawai is widely regarded as the top women’s wrestler in the world. Since winning her Rio Olympic title in 2016, Kawai has won three consecutive world titles. Her potential Chinese opponent, Ningning Rong, is a 2018 world champion and 2019 world runner-up. The highly emotional Chinese star is coming off a second consecutive year where she made the world finals, claimed a continental title and won at least three tournaments. 

Two other wrestlers that could cause Kawai and Rong fits at 57kg are ALTANTSETSEG Battsetseg (MGL) and Olena KREMZER (UKR). The 25-year-old Mongolian wrestler was a 2017 U23 world runner-up, while the Ukrainian wrestler was a 2018 U23 world bronze medalist. 

At 76kg, the two best women’s heavyweights in the world, Adeline Gray and Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN), could square off in a rematch of September’s 76kg finals, but that all depends on how the group stage plays out. Additionally, Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS) and ZHOU Qian (CHN) will also wrestle at 76kg. Bukina is a Rio Olympic bronze medalist, and Zhou is a 2015 world runner-up. 

Reigning world champion Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS) leads a loaded Russian team into Tehran for the Greco-Roman World Cup. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

4. Iran Set to Host Greco-Roman World Cup (November 28-29) 
Iran is gearing up to host the Greco-Roman World Cup for the seventh consecutive time. The two-day Greco-Roman World Cup kicks off November 28-29 in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium and will feature six teams -- which is the first time the event has housed less than eight teams since 2008. 

The Russian Federation, who are the defending champions, are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Iran did it in 2011 and ’12.  To earn their eighth overall World Cup team trophy, they’ll rely heavily on reigning world champion Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS), who’ll wrestle at 72kg. 

In addition to Mantsigov, Aleksandr CHEKHIRKIN, Stepan MARYANYAN and Sergey SEMENOV are will also compete on Russia's team at the Greco-Roman World Cup. The trio were all 2018 world champions, but Maryanan, who finished with a silver medal at this year’s World Championships, is the lone reigning medalist in the group of three. 

Outside of Russia’s loaded squad, six reigning world champs will travel to Tehran to compete in the Greco-Roman World Cup. 

The biggest storyline heading into the dual meet event is the potential Rio Olympic finals rematch between Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) and Shinobu OTA (JPN), which could be looming at 67kg. 

Borrero and Ota both won world titles in Nur-Sultan, but the Japanese wrestler will begin his ascent from his title-winning non-Olympic weight of 63kg to the Olympic weight of 67kg, where the Cuban wrestler is the current world-title holder. Shortly after winning his world title last month, Ota announced that he'd climb up 4kg to 67kg to make a run at improving his silver medal from the Rio Olympic Games, where he fell to Borrero in the finals.

In addition to Borrero, Mantsigov and Ota, the Greco-Roman World Cup will also welcome three other world champs. The returning world champs are: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and Lasha GOBADZE (GEO). 

Reigning World Champions Entered
55kg - Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg - Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) 
67kg - Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
67kg - Shinobu OTA (JPN)
72kg - Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
82kg - Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)

Two-time world and Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) highlights the list of entries at the Bill Farrell. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

5. Bill Farrell Live on FloWrestling.org 
The New York Athletic Club will host the first qualifier for America’s Olympic Team Trials, the Bill Farrell Memorial (November 16-17). The highest finisher at the six Olympic weight classes in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling will cement their spot at April’s Tokyo Olympic Team Trials. 

Our friends at Flowrestling.org have the streaming rights to the event and have provided an early list of participants who are expected to compete. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media

1. Big Move Monday -- Khoroshavtseva O. (RUS) -- Senior Worlds 2019
2. ‪Iszmail MUSZHKAJEV ??: World Championship Highlights
3. Hassan YAZDANI ?? World Championship Highlights
4. Behind the Scenes: Sadulaev and 97kg at #WrestleNurSultan
5. Kazakhstan ?? put on a show at the #WrestleNurSultan World Championships — on and off the mat.