#WrestleIstanbul

#WrestleIstanbul: World Champ Dudova Ready to Make 62kg Her Own

Tuesday, February 22, 2022 - 03:30 By Vinay Siwach

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 22) -- The chants of 'bravo, bravo' filled the Dan Kolov stadium as Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) emerged as the new star at 62kg for Bulgaria.

The world champion at 59kg defeated Bulgaria's mainstay at 62kg, Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), in the final of the prestigious Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament,7-2, and laid claim at the Olympic weight. Now, it will be a two-way battle for the spot on the national team for the Paris Olympics. 

For a wrestler who has been juggling her weight for the majority of her career, Dudova hopes that she can finally settle in the new weight class which is easier and healthier for her.

"When I was cadet, I was around 60kg but not the best wrestler in Bulgaria," Dudova said. "There were other good girls, so coaches used to tell me to reduce my weight so I can participate internationally. Otherwise, I will be only training and losing.

"I have been training for 10 years and I was undecided on 57kg or 62kg," Dudova said. "But 62kg is close to my natural weight so I decided to go for this. Also, with two-morning weigh-ins, it's difficult to cut weight to 57kg."

The weight category is filled with strong wrestlers from around the world. Two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI (JPN), young star Iryna Koliadenko (UKR), world silver medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA) and upcoming Nonoka OZAKI (JPN).

But first, the 24-year-old needs to get past the Tokyo bronze medalist and compatriot Yusein.

In January, she wrestled at her first tournament, the Bulgarian Championships, at 62kg. As expected, she faced Yusein in the final. Dudova lost 2-1, but took the lessons from the loss seriously.

"I lost to her [Yusein] but now it's reversed," she said. "This year is just a warm-up for me in this weight. I need some time to adjust accordingly. Training and hard work are the only things that can help you get success. This year may be difficult for me but I'll do it."

As far as body weight is concerned, Dudova began her international career in 2013 wrestling at 60kg. Back then, she hoped to be the 63kg wrestler for her country. But Yusein was an established star at the weight. She even qualified Bulgaria for the 2016 Olympics with a bronze medal at the 2015 Worlds.

Dudova had no choice to reduce weight to 55kg. She even went down to 53kg in the hope to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Unfortunately, it only troubled her with health issues.

Soon after Rio, she moved up to 57kg and won a silver medal at Budapest Worlds. But winning the gold at the '21 World Championships in Oslo, her first world title, gave Dudova the confidence to make the switch to 62kg.

"That was one of the best times for me," she said. "I was so happy. It gave me confidence which is important to take this big step and move on."

The European champion, however, is not new to challenges in her life.

She lost her mother at 14 years of age. Brought up by her grandmother, it was just by chance that Dudova ended up in wrestling. Athletics was her first love.

"I was 12 when I first trained in wrestling," she recalls. "I loved athletics and practiced in 400m. Everyone said that I am perfect for sports."

During her off-season after athletics competitions, it was her uncle that asked Dudova to pay a visit to the wrestling hall. Her uncle, father and others were regular to the gym for their fitness training.

"I went just for fun," Dudova, who is a trained Bulgarian folklore singer, said. "The coach asked me to do some pull-ups and I did little. But he liked my strength and asked me to train."

Since it was off-season, she even participated in a tournament.

"After one month I participated in a tournament I got bronze. I was angry to lose and wanted to win. So I kept training. I lost in the Bulgarian Championships for kids. I trained harder. The ambition to win grew."

That ambition made her go to the wrestling hall again. Training with boys was the only option and she continued that until making the cadet team for Bulgaria.

For the first four years, Dudova did not finish with any medals until she kick-started her career with a Junior European bronze.

Now, she has senior European titles in three different weights and with another European Championships just a month away, Dudova says it will be special to win it at four different weights.

"I am studying all opponents at 62kg," she says.

As a warm-up before the European Championships in Budapest, Dudova will be in Istanbul for the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event. There too, she is expected to meet Yusein for the third time in two months.

If things fall in place, Dudova won't mind the chants of 'bravo, bravo' again.

#WrestleParis

10 seeded showdowns we need to see at Paris 2024 (No. 6-10)

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 14:29 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 17) – We’re still a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 draws taking place on August 4. However, with the release of the top eight seeds per style, we can start to project potential matches that could take place as early as the quarterfinals.

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The top eight Ranking Series point collectors from the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, and the Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series events earned a top eight seed. The remaining eight wrestlers will be randomly drawn into their respective brackets.

Here are the top ten matches that we could see between seeded wrestlers from the quarterfinals on:

10. WW 68kg QUARTERFINAL - No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Koumba Larroque has been a prominent figure in French wrestling since her bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships at just 19 years old. Now in the prime of her career, she’s France’s best shot at a medal.

Larroque’s path to an Olympic medal will be bumpy, to say the least. She’s the third-seeded athlete in a bracket with six world champions and includes a potential quarterfinal clash with  familiar foe No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

Larroque and Oborududu met twice in their career, splitting their pair of previous encounters.

Oborududu won their opening meeting at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, but Larroque returned the favor a year later at the Poland Open, evening the score at 1-1.

If Larroque and Oborududu win their first match, their third career meeting would take place August 5 in the 68kg quarterfinals.

9.  FS 65kg SEMIFINAL –  No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Amouzad and Musukaev are nightmare opponents for each other and are stylistically opposites.

Amouzad, the 65kg world champ from two years ago, is a guy who wants to close the gap with his right-side underhook and fill as much space as possible. Conversely, Musukaev, the reigning 65kg world champion, wants as much space as possible to flow freely.

In their first meeting—the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships-- Musukaev fell victim to Amouzad’s pace and was shut out 6-0. In their second matches—the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships—Musukaev weathered the first period storm, saved enough energy for a last-ditch effort and stole the world finals spot, 6-5, with less than 10 seconds remaining.

If Amouzad and Musukaev meet for a third time, it’ll be on August 10 in 65kg semifinals.

8. 57kg SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. No. 3  Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
The Nichita and Adekuoroye rivalry is one that dates back to the 2019 World Championships but has since changed hands from their pre-COVID meeting.

The seasoned vet Adekuoroye is an anomaly in the wrestling world. Her style can’t be mimicked or replicated. She’s the tallest and lengthiest 57kg wrestler in the world but has also learned to use her leverage to become one of the most powerful wrestlers in the weight.

Adekuoroye’s unique style gave Nichita fits in their first meeting, as the four-time world medalist opened their three-match series with a dominant 10-0 win.

But Nichita carried what she learned from their first meeting into their next matches and had her hand raised on subsequent occasions.

In Tokyo, Nichita fell behind early but capitalized on an uncharacteristic Adekuoroye’s mistake and picked up a dramatic come-from-behind fall while trailing 8-2. Their next meeting came at the 2023 World Championships, where Nichita doubled Adekuoroye before ending the match in the first period with a left-sided trap arm gut, 10-0.

The fourth meeting between Nichita and Adekuoroye will take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

7. GR 67kg QUARTERFINAL – No. 2 Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) vs. No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
If there were ever a lesson from losing a match, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) certainly learned it the hard way.

Earlier this year at the Hungarian Open Ranking Series event, Esmaelil led reigning Olympic champion Orta, 7-5, with 0.4 seconds left in the match.

But before we get to the ending of the match, it’s important to note that Esmaeili was in a domestic battle with reigning Olympic gold medalist Reza GERAEI (IRI) for Iran’s 67kg Paris Olympic spot. If Esmaeili beat Orta, he cemented his spot on Iran’s Olympic team. If he lost, Esmaeili and Geraei would go to a three-match wrestle off and the winner goes to Paris.

Now, circling back to the match: With less than a second to go in the match, Esmaeili began celebrating as he thought the clock expired.

During Esmaeili’s lapse of judgement, Orta, being the experienced guy, continued to wrestle through the whistle. Orta took a peek at the clock, saw there was still time left, locked up a throw and picked up four points, stealing the match, 9-7.

Esmaeili will try to get his revenge on Orta August 7 in the 67kg quarterfinals.

*Esmaeili ended up beating Geraei in two straight matches to earn the Olympic spot.

6. WW 57kg SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) vs. No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Through the first two meetings between Sakurai and Maroulis, it’s been a one-sided affair. Sakurai is 2-0 against Maroulis, outscoring the Rio Olympic champion, 9-0, while picking up four offensive takedowns and not surrendering a single point.

Sakurai and Maroulis’ meeting at the 2022 World Championships was a slow-paced match, where the Japanese wrestler did enough to win but didn’t really establish her dominance.

That came in the second match.

In their second meeting, the biggest difference was Sakurai’s tatical use of her right hand when tied up with Maroulis. She used it to score three takedowns—one from an underhook front headlock, one from a underhook throw-by and the final one coming from a two-on-one—besting the American, 6-0.

The third meeting between Sakurai and Maroulis would take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympic Games starts Agust 5-11 and can be followed on www.uww.org.