#WrestleIstanbul

#WrestleIstanbul: Oborududu Wins 68kg Gold; Tynybekova stunned

By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 25) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) clearly remembered her Olympic quarterfinal bout against Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ). She won that match, 3-2, but it wasn't as error-free as she wanted it to be. She earned two points for a takedown and a point for Zhumanazarova's inactivity but also surrendered a takedown and was on the verge of losing.

With lessons from that Tokyo bout, Oborududu stepped on the mat for her 68kg final against Zhumanazarova at the Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series in Istanbul, Turkey, with confidence.

"I wrestled her in the quarterfinals in Tokyo, but here, I knew it would be tougher," Oborududu said. "I had to keep myself from attacking too much. My coach told me to move before attacking. I can say it was easy."

Both wrestlers were cautious at the beginning of the match, and the referee warned Zhumanazarova for her inactivity. At the end of the first period, Oburududu led 1-0.

Zhumanazarova was dinged again for passivity at the start of the second period. She became desperate to score, but Oborududu defended her Kyrgyz opponent's shot attempts and gained the 2-0 lead. 

"I was calculating a lot in my mind," she said. "I knew if she scored, then she would get two points. So I needed it to be 3-2."

With 40 seconds remaining, Oborududu managed to score a stepout, which proved crucial in the end. That also gave her a first Ranking Series gold after two silver and a bronze-medal finish.

Comparing the two bouts, the African champion felt that Zhumanazarov might have taken the Istanbul bout a little easy.

"She was a bit better in Tokyo than here because everyone prepares better for the Olympics," she said. "I needed to be careful to get gold. In Tokyo, I attacked to get two points and then one passivity to win, 3-2. That was difficult.

"I am so excited. Now I have African Championships in May and then the Commonwealth Games. I want to win a world medal in September."

Tserenchimed SUKHEETserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) defeated Macey KILTY (USA) in the 62kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Pin to win

Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) had an out-of-favor Olympic cycle before Tokyo. After winning the world title in 2014 and a silver medal in 2015, Mongolia hoped Sukhee would become their country's first Olympic champion. 

Unfortunately, Sukhee failed to qualify for Rio, and after losing in the semifinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Almaty, she could not punch her ticket for the Tokyo Games.

"I was devasted after the loss in Almaty," Sukhee said. "I worked hard on my skill and techniques to improve. I have focused on my condition as well."

That was evident today, as she made her way to the final with three big wins. She pinned Tokyo bronze medalist Tabye YUSEIN (BUL), Rio bronze medalist Sakshi MALIK (IND) and beat Rio bronze Marwa AMRI (TUN), 11-0.

Furthermore, she did so in a bracket that featured two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), who lost in the first bout.

She faced a familiar opponent in the finals. A month back, Sukhee and Macey KILTY (USA) were in the gold-medal bout at the Ivan Yarguin Grand Prix. The Mongolian had no trouble getting past Kilty, winning that match, 12-0. The two made their way back to the final at the Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series events in Istanbul Friday, with Kilty hoping to avenge that loss.

But that dream quickly faded Sukhee bombed three four-point throws inside the first period to win 12-0, a score that mirrored the Yargiun final.

"I have done many camps in the USA and trained with her," she said. "The final from January also helped me prepare for this, and it was easy for me."

TynybekovaLais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) defeated two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Earlier, Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) used her pace to score a pair of stepouts over Tnynbekova, then rallied to score three takedowns to beat the Tokyo silver medalist, 8-0.

Before that, the Brazilian recovered from 8-0 deficit to beat Anastasiia PAROKHINA (RWF), 11-8.

Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) was another wrestler who went on a pinning spree on Friday. She secured four wins via fall, including one in the 57kg final.

The Tokyo bronze medalist began with a quick pin over Ozge FINDIKCI (TUR). She followed that up with a similar pin over Aisha UALISHAN (KAZ) to reach the quarterfinal. It turned out to be a lot closer than she thought but ultimately prevailed over Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR), 10-6.

Tokyo silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) thought she had secured a win over Nikolova when she led 6-4 in the semifinal, but Nikolova once again brought out the cradle to secure the win.

Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL) had also made her way to the 57kg final after three wins out of four via pin, setting up a finals matchup of big pinners.

The Mongolian was leading 6-0, and it seemed Nikolova might go home with a silver medal, but out of nowhere, she held Khurelkhuu on the back to get the gold.

"I practice the technique a lot, and it has been working," Nikolova said.

Aiperi MEDETKYZYAiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) used two exposure to win over Martina KUENZ (AUT). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The last gold medal of the day went to U23 world champion Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), who fell behind 4-2 in the finals against Martina KUENZ (AUT), but with 40 seconds remaining, hit two crotch lifts. That turned the bout on its head and gave the Kyrgyzstan wrestler a 6-4 win.

Turkey Wins GR Team Title

Turkey grabbed the Greco-Roman team title after three gold medals on the second day. Selcuk CAN (TUR) won the 72kg gold, Yunus BASAR (TUR) won at 77kg and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) claimed the gold at 82kg.

This was after two gold Thursday and Turkey finished on the top with 205 points. Kazakhstan finished second with 131 points, while Azerbaijan finished in third with 127 points.

At 77kg, Basar held off world silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 2-1. The two exchanged inactivity points, but Basar secured the one-point win with a late step out.

In the 82kg finals, Akbudak won with a similar scoreline, as he beat Mihail BRADU (MDA), 2-1.

More than the final, it was the semifinal that mattered more. In an anti-climatic rematch of Oslo's 82kg world final, Akbudak stunned Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE), 9-0, after rolling the Azeri with four exposures.

At 72kg, Can got a walkover after Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) pulled out injured.

Evelina NIKOLOVAEvelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) won the 57kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

GR RESULTS

72kg
GOLD: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df Kristupas SLEIVA (LAT), via injury default 

BRONZE: Murat DAG (TUR) df Ensar KARABACAK (TUR), 8-5
BRONZE: Mateusz BERNATEK (POL) df Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN), 5-2

77kg
GOLD: Yunus BASAR (TUR) df Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ) df Viktor NEMES (SRB), 1-1
BRONZE: Furkan BAYRAK (TUR) df Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 6-5

82kg
GOLD: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df Mihail BRADU (MDA), 2-1 

BRONZE: Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) df Ilimdor SATAYEV (KAZ), 11-0
BRONZE: Tunjay VAZIRZADE (AZE) df Rakhmet SAPIYEV (KAZ), 7-1

WW RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) df Bolortuya KHURELKHUU (MGL), via fall

BRONZE: Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) df Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR), 8-3
BRONZE: Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RWF) df Anhelina LYSAK (POL) , 7-6

62kg
GOLD: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df Macey KILTY (USA), 11-0

BRONZE: Marwa AMRI (TUN) df Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), 5-4
BRONZE: Svetlana LIPATOVA (RWF) df Veranika IVANOVA (BLR), 6-5

68kg
GOLD: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) df Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 3-0

BRONZE: Khanum VELIEVA (RWF) df Tatiana SMOLIAK (RWF), 10-0
BRONZE: Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) df Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ), 11-0

76kg
GOLD: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df Martina KUENZ (AUT), 6-4

BRONZE: Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ) df Victoria FRANCIS (USA), 5-1
BRONZE: Francy RAEDELT (GER) df Ekaterina BUKINA (RWF), 13-11

#WrestleIstanbul

Friday's U17 World Championships semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkiye (August 4) --- The fifth day of wrestling at the 2023 U17 World Championships welcomes freestyle action at 48kg, 55kg, 65kg, 80kg and 110kg.

The morning session, which starts at 11:00 (local time), will run through the quarterfinals before taking our mid-day break. We'll return at 17:00 for the semifinals, then roll directly into the first set of women's wrestling medal bouts at 18:00.

Friday's opening session will feature 30 medalists from this year's continental champions, including 11 wrestlers who reached the top of the podium at the 2023 Asian, European, African or Pan-American Championships.

Everything you need to know:
📍Istanbul, Turkiye 🇹🇷
🗓️: July 31-August 6
Qualification: 11:00
🥇🥈🥉= 18:00
#️⃣#WrestleIstanbul
🖥️: uww.org 
📱: UWW App

Here's a list of the reigning continental champs in action on Friday:
48kg - Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI)
55kg - Haji KARIMOV (AZE)
55kg - Ankush ANKUSH (IND)
55kg - Abdelghani AID (ALG)
65kg - Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI)
65kg - Manuel WAGIN (GER)
65kg - Fares Diaa Attia Hassan ELSAWY (EGY)
80kg - Abolfazl Yaser RAHMANI FIROUZJAEI (IRI)
110kg - Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)
110kg - Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE)
110kg - Marwan Ehab Thabit MOHAMED (EGY)

Friday's semifinal matches:
45kg

Paul Joseph KENNY (USA) vs. Sam Reza SAYAR (IRI) 
Yamato FURUSAWA (JPN) vs. Joseph Ivan BACHMANN (PUR) 

55kg
Marcus Glenn BLAZE (USA) vs. Samvel GEVORGYAN (ARM) 
Ankush ANKUSH (IND) vs. Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO) 

65kg
Manuel WAGIN (GER) vs. Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI) 
Magomed ALIBAKHARCHIEV (AIN) vs. Brock Ace MANTANONA (USA) 

80kg
Magomed Akhmedovitch IDRISOV (AIN) vs. Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) 
Zackary D RYDER (USA) vs. Alexandru BORS (MDA) 

110kg
Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM) vs. Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) 
Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) vs. Rakhman MALAKHMEDOV (AIN) ​​​​​​​

15:00: That does it for the morning session. We'll see you back at 17:00 for the semifinals, followed by the closing session of women's wrestling at the U17 World Championships.

14:43: Reigning U17 European champion Manuel WAGIN (GER) beat Zurab ABALAKI (GEO), 6-4, and moved to 8-0 on the season. He'll wrestle the winner of Sina Mahdi KHALILI (IRI) and Mirzaagha AKHUNDOV (AZE) in tonight's 65kg semifinals.

14:28: Brock Ace MANTANONA (USA) defeated Zafarbek KAMOLOV (UZB), 13-2, and locked up a spot in tonight's 65kg semifinals. He's scored 43 points in his first three matches.

14:20: Joseph Ivan BACHMANN (PUR)  just scored a takedown with 1.7 second left against Gegi ONIANI (GEO) to punch his ticket to the 48kg quarterfinals. He'll wrestle the winner of Mihran SLOYAN (ARM) and Ali SULTANOV (AIN).

13:54: I'm going to run and grab a bite to each before the quarterfinals get underway. Let's see if I can eat my lunch in under two matches.

13:46: We have four 1/8-final bouts left on each match before we head into the 1/4 finals. 

13:38: Byambadorj ENKHBAT (MGL), who is wrestling now on Mat C, has some impressive cauliflower ear. He had it wrapped, but the tape came off and he waved off the doctors from coming on the mat to retape it.

13:33:  Saurabh YADAV (IND) is someone to keep an eye on. He just blew through Vladislav RJABTSEV (EST), 10-0, in 60 seconds. He'll wrestle the winner of the match taking place on Mat C between Askhab KHAJIYEV (KAZ) and Zackary D RYDER (USA).

13:24: I've just confirmed that South Africa's Roehan DU PLESSIS (RSA), who is wrestling now on Mat C against Ali Tural ALIYEV (AZE), has no relation to UFC title-contender Dricus DU PLESSIS (RSA). His coach said, "He has the same surname and is from the same country, but there is no relation

13:07: What an impressive performance from Henrik HAYKYAN (ARM). His 13-3 win over Sampson Frank STILLWELL (USA) included a four and five point throw.

12:28: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO), who is wrestling now on Mat A against Bartlomiej NOWAKOWSKI (POL), is the younger brother of three-time world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO).

12:21: Reigning U17 Asian champion Abolfazl Yaser RAHMANI FIROUZJAEI (IRI) is making his world championship debut over on Mat B. He's wrestling U17 European fifth-place finisher Grigor Dianov CHERNAKOV (BUL).

12:04: Early upset of the morning alert: Kazarian of Greece just upset U17 African champion Aid, 4-0, in the opening round. He'll wrestle U17 European bronze medalist  Arshak LULUKYAN (GEO) next.

12:01: There's a clash of continental champions--Marwan Ehab Thabit MOHAMED (EGY) and Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)--coming up four match. They'll wrestle on Mat C.

11:34: The first of today's 11 continental champions--Aik KAZARIAN (GRE)--is coming up in three matches. The reigning U17 African champion will wrestle Abdelghani AID (ALG) on Mat A.

11:26: That does it for our women's wrestling repechage matches. Welcome to the Big Show, freestyle.

11:24: What a match to close out the repechage session. Beyza Nur AKKUS (TUR) was down by six points when she pinned Sofya ZMAZNEVA (KAZ) to punch her ticket to the bronze-medal bout at 61kg.

10:34: We're just under 30 minutes from the opening whistles of the day. We'll have three women's wrestling repechage matches before the start of freestyle action.