#WrestleCoralville

World Cup: All-World, Mongolia win bronze

By Vinay Siwach

CORALVILLE, Iowa (December 11) -- The All-World team and Mongolia won bronze medals at the freestyle and women's World Cup respectively. The All-World team defeated Georgia 8-2 while Mongolia defeated the USA 7-3.

WATCH

14:30: All over in this dual! The All-World team beats Georgia 8-2 to capture the bronze at this World Cup. Batyrbek TSAKULOV (UWW) won his 97kg bout 7-7 while Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UWW) was injured.

14:15: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (UWW) scores after being put on the clock against Mirani MAISURADZE (GEO). Both are bronze medalists from the World Championships. Nurmagomedov leads the bout 3-0 and it will end that way.

14:00: Azamat DAULETBEKOV (UWW) led 2-1, all three points for passivity, and scores a takedown at the end to win 4-1 against Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO) and wins the bronze for the All-World team. This was the sixth win for the team.

13:45: 15th straight loss for Georgia as Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (UWW) beats Giorgi SULAVA (GEO) 10-0 at 74kg. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) vs Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (UWW) at 79kg now. A good start for Gamkrelidze as he slowly builds up his lead. A takedown and two turns as he leads 8-2. A takedown and gut to win 12-2. He ends the drought for Georgia.

13:30: Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) was so close to beating Ernazar AKMATALIEV (UWW). He scored a takedown in the second period to make it 4-3 and kept shooting to get that point but Akmataliev with very solid defense to win at 70kg. 

13:10: Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) was up 4-0 but has no gas left in him. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (UWW) uses that to his advantage and wins 14-4 at 65kg. The All-World team now leads 3-0

12:55: Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (UWW) and Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) at 57kg. Abakarov gets a takedown after giving up a passivity point. He goes to an easy 4-1 win. At 61kg, Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO) is injured and Georgi VANGELOV (UWW) will get a walkover.

Now it's time for the men's bronze medal bouts between Georgia and All-World team.

12:50: Solin PIEARCY (USA) and Dymond GUILFORD (USA) won their respective bouts but Mongolia claims the bronze medal at the World Cup by winning this dual 7-3. What a weekend for them.  

12:15: Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) and Mallory VELTE (USA) go back and forth with takedowns and Purevdorj holds the criteria 6-6 and adds one more at the end to make it 9-6. That is the sixth win for Mongolia and it is the bronze medal for Mongolia.

12:05: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) with two unorthodox takedowns against Kayla MIRACLE (USA) to lead 8-5. Sukhee caught Miracle in an arm-to-foot bow position. Miracle seems very disturbed by the early injury on her hand. But Sukhee with lace and finishes the bout 16-5.

12:00: Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL) is up 2-0 as Lexie BASHAM (USA) was called passive twice. Erkhembayar with a headlock for four but Basham is also awarded two. She does it again and leads 11-2. A takedown to win 13-2. Mongolia leads 4-1 now.  

11:45: That was a crazy bout! Erdenesuvd BAT ERDENE (MGL) scored a suplex for four over Alexandra HEDRICK (USA) but the American kept the pressure and scored two takedowns. Trailing 4-4 on criteria and 31 seconds remaining, she lifts Bat Erdene and gets the stepout with less than one second remaining. Mongolia challenges but the stepout is in time. The USA win its first bout. Mongolia still leads 3-1.

11:25: Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) gives up a stepout against Jenna BURKERT (USA) but then gets a takedown and lace to make it 4-1. Burkert gets her takedown to close the gap to 4-3 and then shoots for the legs and almost got it but Bat Ochir with exposure to win 6-4. The USA challenges the call and it is 6-6 for Burkert but the jury says the challenge lost which means Bat Ochir will win 7-6  

11:10: At 50kg, Erin GLOSTON (USA) will take on world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL). Gloston puts up a fight but Dolgorjav wins via fall. The Otgonjargal GANBAATAR (MGL) vs Felicity TAYLOR (USA) bout at 53kg goes the distance but Taylor can't bring the USA back in this. Ganbaatar with a strong game to win 12-1.

10:50: Welcome to day two of the World Cup. It was non-stop action on Saturday and expect nothing less today as the USA takes on Mongolia for the third place in women's before the All-World team takes the mat against Georgia for the same in men's.

#WrestleBucharest

Kayaalp reaches European final; Nazaryan, Abuladze stunned

By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (February 12) -- Riza KAYAALP (TUR) took a step closer to a record 13th European title after reaching the 130kg final on the first day of the European Championships which began in Bucharest Monday.

The defending champion has won the gold medal at the European Championships, tying him with Aleksandar KARELIN and a win Tuesday in the final will make him the most successful wrestler in the continent.

For the gold medal, Kayaalp will take on Sergei SEMENOV (AIN), a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics.

Four other Greco-Roman weight classes were also in action on Monday. Three defending champions failed to advance to the finals of their respective weight classes. Adem UZUN (TUR) dropped his quarterfinal at 55kg, Leri ABULADZE (GEO) lost to Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) at 63kg while Istvan TAKACS (HUN) lost to Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB) in the 1/8th final.

The only defending champion to make it to the final apart from Kayaalp was Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) at 77kg. He defeated Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) 2-1 in the semifinal and will take on Yunus BASAR (TUR) for the gold medal.

Kayaalp was up against Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) in the semifinal and trailed 2-0 at the break. But he began the second period with a stepout before getting the point for par terre. He reached the final with a 2-2 win.

Semenov defeated Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) 2-1 in the semifinal as he also scored an extra stepout against Kajaia's par terre point.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) defeated Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) 2-1 in the semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In a low-scoring bout, Amoyan scored a crucial pushout in the first period and then put up a strong defense in the second period to win 2-1. He got the first par terre advantage and added a stepout point from that position. Gutu got it in the second period but he was not able to score any points.

The gold-medal bout will see Amoyan take on Yunus BASAR (TUR), a repeat of the semifinal from last year that Amoyan won 6-1. Basar's path to the final included a win over 72kg world champion Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) in the qualification round. Basar held off Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) 3-1 in the last-four bout.

Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB)Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB) won his quarterfinal against Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) 3-1. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 87kg, world champion Ali CENGIZ (TUR) will try to win his first European title as he takes on Aleksandar KOMAROV (SRB) in the final. Cengiz defeated Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN) in the semifinal 4-1 while Komarov reached the gold medal bout after beating Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 3-1 in the semifinal.

Komarov, who first wrestled at the senior level at the European Championships in 2019 in Bucharest, looks to make his return to the city golden.

"My first time wrestling at a senior-level competition was back in 2019 in Bucharest," Komarov said. "Now I am back after five years and I want to win the gold medal. It’s my dream."

But the Zagreb Open Ranking Series bronze medalist accepted that it was a tough day in the office for him. In the pre-quarterfinals, Komarov defeated defending champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN), and stopped Olympic champion Zhan BELENUIK (UKR) in the quarterfinals before beating Abbasov.

"It’s been a tough day today," he said.

Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) stunned Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) 9-5 in the 63kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The biggest upset of the day came in the 63kg semifinal as Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) stunned Nazaryan 9-5 in a comeback victory. Nazaryan managed to take a 5-0 lead after getting the par terre advantage but Hrushyn scored a big four and then got a par terre advantage to lead 5-5 on criteria. Nazaryan tried to get a body lock but failed. Hrushyn countered one of his attempts and scored a takedown and another in the dying moments to win 9-5.

"The semifinal went almost as I planned it," Hrushyn said. "Except for the first par terre, I was expecting a different move. I was planning to do something in a standing position. I am confident that functionally I am well-prepared, better than many other wrestlers here. I was counting on that."

Hrushyn has made it to his first European Championships final but he won a bronze medal in 2022. But he is not contended with silver and hopes to win his first gold on Tuesday.

"This is my first ever European final," he said. "Not a step back, just forward. That’s it. I will prepare the same way. It’s a European Championships, so no easy opponents."

Earlier in the day, Nazaryan faced world champion Abuladze in the quarterfinal and came out with a 3-0 win. He used an arm-throw to score but Abuladze stopped him from completing the throw. As Nazaryan landed first, Abuladze was awarded two points but Bulgaria challenged the decision. On review, the judges ruled that Abuladze blocked Nazaryan and restarted the bout in par terre. Abuladze was quick to stand up but he was later warned for passivity, giving one more point to Nazaryan who led 3-0 at the break. No points were scored in the second period and Nazaryan won 3-0. But his run was cut short by Hrushyn.

For the gold medal, Hryshyn will face Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), who reached his second straight European Championships after beating Anvar ALLAKHAROV (AIN) 3-3. Till the final 30 seconds of the bout, Allakharov was destined to reach the final as he was leading 3-1. But Mammadov received a late par terre advantage, with just 40 seconds left on the clock.

Allakharov, struggling with his conditioning, failed to stop a par terre turn and conceded a 3-3 criteria lead. Mammadov kept his distance from Allakharov for the remaining time in the bout.

At 55kg, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) failed to break his Azerbaijan curse as he suffered a 5-1 loss to Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) in the semifinals. In his previous outings, he has lost to world champion Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE). Mammadov will now face Artium DELEANU (MDA) for the gold medal as he won 2-2 on criteria against Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM).

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Artium DELEANU (MDA)

SF 1: Rashad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), 5-1
SF 2: Artium DELEANU (MDA) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 2-2

63kg
GOLD: Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) vs. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)

SF 1: Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) df. Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN), 3-3
SF 2: Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR) df. Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL), 9-5

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) vs. Yunus BASAR (TUR)

SF 1: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), 2-1
SF 2: Yunus BASAR (TUR) df. Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) vs. Ali CENGIZ (TUR)

SF 1: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 3-1
SF 2: Ali CENGIZ (TUR) df. Kiryl MASKEVICH (AIN), 4-1

130kg
GOLD: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs. Sergei SEMENOV (AIN)

SF 1: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 2-2
SF 2: Sergei SEMENOV (AIN) df. Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO), 2-1