#WrestleBudapest

#WrestleBudapest: European Championships freestyle bracket reactions

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (March 27) -- The European Championships get underway Monday in Budapest, Hungary with five freestyle weight classes. The competition will see 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg on the first day.

The brackets for the freestyle weights were drawn Monday with the four-seed system put in place for the first time at a competition.

Here are the freestyle brackets could play over the next two days.

57kg (12 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
No. 2 Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
No. 3 Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
No. 4 Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)

U23 world champion Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) will be wrestling Levan METREVELI VARTANOV (ESP) in the opening round and the winner will take on number two seed Mikyay NAIM (BUL).

Top seed Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) will be waiting for the winner of Gary GIORDMAINA (MLT) and Niklas STECHELE (GER) for his quarterfinal bout. He also has the best chance to jump up in the rankings. Currently, he's ranked 15th with 17000 points. He will jump to ninth-place with a top-two finish. However, if he finishes with a bronze medal, he'll still be ranked 10th.

Georgia's Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) is seeded third and will have the winner of Martin ZIDZIK (SVK) and Razvan KOVACS (ROU) in the quarterfinal. For rankings, he is currently ranked 21st with 11400 points. A gold could help him break into the top-15.

61kg (13 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
No. 2 Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
No. 3 Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
No. 4 Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)

Another U23 world champion Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) is the favorite to win the gold at 61kg. He is also the top seed in the weight class and will wait for the winner of Adam BIBOULATOV (BUL) and Besir ALILI (MKD) for his first match. He is also looking to win his first continental title at the senior level and jump from the fourth rank to second.

A favorite to win the title and third seed Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and second seed Georgi VANGELOV (BUL) can meet in the semifinal but they have to go through Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE) and Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO) to reach there.

Vangelov can also break into the top-four by winning gold while Atli, ranked 18th with 8520 points, can be the seventh if he reaches the final.

65kg (13 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Haji ALIYEV (AZE)
No. 2 Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
No. 3 Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
No. 4 Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)

A fan-favorite match-up at 65kg between Haji ALIYEV (AZE) and Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) can be the final in Budapest. But for that, the two have to win their side of the bracket which some big names like Munir AKTAS (TUR) and world champion Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) for Aliyev, Stevan MICIC (SRB) and Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM) for Muszukajev. 

Aliyev can also improve his ranking from fourth to second if he can win the gold medal. However, he will be third with silver and remain fourth with any other result.

Number two seed Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL), ranked 10th, has 25000 points and can remove Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) at fifth by winning the gold medal.

For Muszukajev, he can only be seventh if he wins gold in Budapest but will remain at the same rank if he fails to win a medal.

70kg (16 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
No. 2 Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
No. 3 Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA)

With 16 participants in the weight category, 70kg will begin with pre-quarters and top seed Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) has Marc DIETSCHE (SUI) in the opening round. The winner will get the winner Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK) and Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL) in the quarterfinals. An interesting match-up for Iakobishvili can occur against U23 European champion Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) in the semifinal.

In rankings, Iakobishvili is in the third position and will overtake first-placed Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), who has 45520 points, even with a ninth-place finish. 

From the lower side of the bracket, Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR), second seed Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) and third seed Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA) will be wrestling for the two semifinal spots.

Andreasyan will be ranked fourth if he can finish 10th or better while Grahmez is ranked 20th but will be in the top-eight if he can reach the medal bouts in Budapest.

74kg (17 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
No. 2 Frank CHAMIZO (ITA)
No. 3 Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
No. 4 Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL)

The deepest weight class in Budapest will be 74kg and like the last European Championships, a rematch between defending champion Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) will be for the gold medal. But he has Kamil RYBICKI (POL) in the first round and in all likelihood wrestle Malik AMINE (SMR) in the quarterfinals.

Fourth seed Ali UMARPASHAEV (BUL) will be a big test in the semifinals if Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) cannot make it to the last four from the top side.

Salkazanov has 37000 points and is ranked fifth but can be second if he wins the gold medal in Budapest. He is guaranteed to be ranked third after the competition.

Two-time world champion Chamizo is seeded second and wrestles Giorgi SULAVA (GEO) in the first round. If he wins, he will get the winner for Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) and Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR).

A semifinal against third seed Hetik CABALOV (SRB) is also on the cards for Chamizo who has a chance to break into the top-six by winning any medal.

Ranked 12th, Cabolov will be a top-10 wrestler if he can wrestle for a medal in Budapest.

Bayramov and Demitras, ranked 16th and 19th, respectively, also fall in the same category but they need to win gold to be in the top-10.

79kg (14 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
No. 2 Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
No. 3 Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
No. 4 Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)

Despite garnering the No. 1 seed, Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) has one of the toughest roads to the finals. He’ll have to get through the winner of the fourth-seeded Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) or Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) to improve on his fifth-place finish from last season. In Warsaw last year, the Armenian fell to eventual European champion Gulaev, 11-1, in the quarterfinals before dropping his bronze-medal match against Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO).

The bottom side of the chart is highlighted by reigning U23 world champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) and European runner-up Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA). The Greek wrestler is seeded second, while Alekma is seeded third. 

86kg (15 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Myles AMINE (SMR)
No. 2 Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
No. 3 Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
No. 4 Osman GOCEN (TUR)

A week removed from a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, San Marino’s Myles AMINE returns to competition as the top-seeded wrestler at 86kg. The Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist will be looking for his third consecutive European medal. He finished in second and third, respectively, in ’20 and ’21.

His toughest test on the top side will be the fourth-seeded Osman GOCEN (TUR). The Turkish wrestler is coming off five wins at the Yasar Dogu – including a semifinal win against Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB).

World medalists Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) and Boris MAKOEV (SVK) are the second and third, respectively. 

Makoev, the Paris world runner-up, has the tougher road of the two. He’ll likely have European Games bronze medalist Ahmed DUDAROV (GER) in the quarterfinals before meeting last year’s Oslo bronze medalist Abakarov for a spot in the finals.

92kg (10 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
No. 2 Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
No. 3 Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)

Top seed and Oslo bronze medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) should not have a hard time reaching the final at 92kg from the top side of the bracket. He is ranked fourth with 31000 points and is likely to move to the second spot with a medal in Budapest.

Second seed Georgii RUBAEV (MDA) will face the winner of Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) and Benjamin GREIL (AUT) in his first bout. But a tougher test awaits if he can manage to reach the semifinal and third seed Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) also reaches the semifinal.

97kg (11 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
No. 2 Radu LEFTER (MDA)
No. 3 Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
No. 4 Burak SAHIN (TUR)

Top seed Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD) and transfer to Hungary Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN) can clash in the quarterfinals at 97kg to give fans a top-class bout. The winner gets the winner of Erik THIELE (GER) and fourth-seed Burak SAHIN (TUR).

Nurov, ranked sixth with 31700 points, has the chance to be ranked third if he can win at least a bronze medal.

Second seed Radu LEFTER (MDA) Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), veteran Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) and Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) on his side and the path to the semifinal will be a tough one.

125kg (12 participants)

Seeds:
No. 1 Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
No. 2 Taha AKGUL (TUR)
No. 3 Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
No. 4 Robert BARAN (POL)

World champions Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) and Taha AKGUL (TUR) are seeded first and second, respectively, and sit on opposite sides of the bracket. If history repeats itself and both guys stay undefeated until the finals, they’d meet at the European Championships for the sixth time in their careers.

Petriashvili won their initial meeting in 2016, but since that win, Taha has won four consecutive European bouts against his Georgian rival.

For the blockbuster finals match to take place, Petriashvili has to pass a solid quarterfinals test against Italy’s fellow Olympic bronze medalist Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO. This will be the Cuban-turn-Italian’s first competition up at 125kg after bumping up from his Olympic-medal winning weight of 97kg.

#WrestleBudapest

Higuchi, Kiyooka reach finals at Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 6) -- The final Ranking Series before the Olympics kicks off in Budapest. Seven weight classes in Freestyle will be in action with top wrestlers in all the weight categories. The ranking, and ultimately the seeds for the Olympics will be determined after this Ranking Series.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

13:25: Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI) blanks Haji ALIYEV (AZE) 6-0 in the 65kg semifinal. Top win for the Iran wrestler who will now wrestle Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) for the gold medal. Kiyooka defended well against a storming Austin GOMEZ (MEX) in the second period to win 12-6.

13:00: AMAN (IND) moves into the final of the 57kg after a 14-4 technical superiority win over Aryan TSIUTRYN (AIN). He will wrestle world silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) for the gold medal. Higuchi was in all sorts of trouble in his semifinal against Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) when the Azerbaijan wrestler used a high chest wrap to lead 8-0. But Higuchi managed to defend the last turn. He scores a takedown and uses a gut wrench to finish the bout 18-8 inside the first period.

12:45: An upset from Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) as he pins Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the 125kg final. Petriashvili looks in some trouble with his elbow and has called for a medical timeout. But the pin takes him out of the final. 

12:40: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) with a stunning late exposure takedown to beat Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) 3-2 and enter the 97kg final. On Mat C, the 92kg world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) looked like entering the final when he led 5-0 against Magomedkhan MAGOMEDGOV (AZE) but the Azerbaijani world silver medalist came back to beat him 15-7.

12:30: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) with a fall over Nahshon GARRETT (USA) after building a 10-1 lead in the 61kg semifinal. He will wrestle the winner of Shahdad Ali KHOSRAVI (IRI) and Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) for the gold medal.

12:15: That will sting Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) for some time. Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) pins Abdullaev in the 57kg quarterfinal and sets up a semifinal against Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) who defeated Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) 11-0 in the quarterfinal.

12:12: Haji ALIYEV (AZE) cannot find a way past Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) at 65kg! After building a 4-1 lead at the break, he hits a huge four-pointer on Aliyev to steer clear and win 9-3.

12:00: Mason PARRIS (USA) was checked by Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) on different occasions but Parris won the 125kg bout 9-2. The Georgian, who qualified for the Paris Olympics at 97kg, is wrestling at 125kg in this Ranking Series.

11:45: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), who got a walkover in his first bout, works to a technical superiority win over Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN) at 125kg. Moments later, at 57kg, AMAN (IND) rolls to an 11-1 win over Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)

11:35: World champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) drops his Round 2 bout! Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) scores three technical points to lead 3-0 but Muszukajev's takedown cuts the lead to 3-2 with 30 seconds left on the clock. Kiyooka defends well and hits a counter takedown in the end, adding lace to win 7-2.  

11:27: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) does not show up for his Round 2 bout against Haji ALIYEV (AZE) at 65kg. A big result for Aliyev who is now poised to finish at the top of group A.

11:25: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) dominates Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) at 61kg and wins 18-5 to advance. Harutyunyan will come down to 57kg for the Paris Olympics.

11:20: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), wrestling at 70kg instead of his preferred 65kg, rolls to an 11-0 victory at Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ). The ranking points won at 70kg will not be added to the ranking points of Tevanyan at 65kg.

11:15: Paris-bound wrestler Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) comes back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Ali Hossein MOMENIJOUJADEH (IRI) 6-2 at 57kg. He will wrestle Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) in the quarterfinals.

11:00: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) with a top 9-2 win over Evan HENDERSON (USA) at 70kg. The Armenian controlled the bout throughout for the win. 

10:50: World champion Iszmail MUSZUKAKEV (HUN), wrestling for the first time since winning the World Championships, begins with a solid 6-2 win over Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB). He keeps it under control despite many attacks from Jalolov.

10:45: Haji ALIYEV (AZE) vs Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) felt like a long bout! Aliyev got a 1-0 lead at the break for Kiyooka's inactivity. Kiyooka got one point in the second period but Aliyev scored a counter just after the clock expired to lead 3-1. A stepout for Kiyooka with 17 seconds left on the clock. He needed a takedown to win and tried for one but Aliyev bodylocked for a takedown to win 5-2.

10:35: Austin GOMEZ (MEX), qualified for the Olympic Games at 65kg, begins with a 10-0 rout of Gyoergy SZILAGYI (HUN). The 65kg wrestlers are drawn in round-robin and will be wrestling again.

10:30: The first bouts in Budapest are crazy. Austin GOMEZ (MEX) is on Mat C but on Mat B, it's world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) against Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) and on Mat C, it's Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) vs Haji ALIYEV (AZE).