#WrestleOslo Day Six Preview: GR 55kg, 72kg, 77kg and 82kg

Thursday, September 23, 2021 - 14:52 By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 23) – After a grueling weight cut down to 77kg for the Tokyo Games, newly-minted Olympic bronze medalist Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) has his eyes set on etching his name in the Azeri record books -- and an 82kg world title would do just that.

In addition to 82kg, the other three weight classes in action on October 7 will be the Olympic weight of 77kg and the non-Olympic weights of 55kg and 72kg.

Huseynov enters Oslo fresh off winning Olympic bronze at 77kg, but after the taxing weight cut in Tokyo, he'll make the ascent back up to 82kg and try to improve on his runner-up finish from the '19 Nur-Sultan World Championships.

"After the '19 World Championships, I started to think about the Olympic Games; I wanted to wrestle at 87kg in Tokyo, but the Federation suggested that I wrestle at 77kg," said the five-language speaking Azeri.

In preparation to make an Olympic run, Huseynov used the early part of '20 to get his weight under control. In early '20, he steadily stepped on the scale weighing just over 78kg. Then, COVID turned the world upside down, and after the Olympics got postponed, Huseynov started to pack on the kilos.

Huseynov's Weight in '20
Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) weight nearly 91kg in '20, but dropped to 77kg and won an Olympic bronze medal. (Photo: Rafiq Huseynov)

"In September '20, I weighed 90.80kg and thought I'd compete at 87kg. Again, our Federation suggested that I wrestle at 77kg." So, thinking back to March '20 when he weighed one kilo over the Olympic weight, Huseynov told himself, "If I can lose it once, I can do it again." He enlisted the help of professional dietitians, dropped the weight the right way, and set his sights on qualifying Azerbaijan for the Olympic Games at 77kg.

His opening test came in Bulgaria in May '21, where he competed below 80kg for the first time '14.

During that competition, he was arguably the brightest Greco-Roman wrestler of the competition. He was offensive and assertive on his way to punching Azerbaijan's ticket to the Tokyo Olympic Games. He picked up shutout wins over Gurpreet SINGH (IND) and Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG) before locking up his Tokyo spot with a three-point victory over world champion Viktor NEMES (SRB).

Then, Huseynov's success continued into the Olympic Games. The 33-year-old's life forever changed with three victories that ultimately led to an Olympic bronze medal.

"After the Olympics, my life changed a lot. Before Tokyo, two out of ten people knew me, now five or six out of ten people know me. In addition, Mr. President Ilham Aliyev presented me with a large sum of money and awarded me a state medal."

Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) battle in the first round of the Tokyo Olympic Games. They'll both compete at 82kg at the World Championships. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

If Huseynov wins a world title in Oslo, he'll etch his name in his nation's history books. The list of Azerbaijani wrestlers who've won both world and European titles is extremely short – three wrestlers to be exact -- but Huseynov knows that upgrading his Nur-Sultan '19 world silver would put in him a rarified heir.

"If I become a world champion, I will be the fourth person in the history of Azerbaijan to be both a world and European champion," said Huseynov. "I always say that the silver and bronze medals are for myself, but the gold medal remains in history. This time, I want to go down in history."

But Huseyov knew to get that long-awaited world title, he'd have to cut the Olympic celebration short. He took ten days off before he readjusted his goals to winning a world title. "I know that Alex KESSIDIS (SWE) and Adlan AKIEV (RWF) prepare well, so I started training ten days after arriving home from the Olympics. But now, I have additional motivation -- an Olympic medal."

One of the two guys that Huseynov mentioned as a top threat to block his history-making hopes was Sweden's Alex Kessidis.

Kessidis is on a quest to one-up his Nur-Sultan run, where he scored wins over Daniel CATARAGA (MDA), Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) and Karapet CHALYAN (ARM), and reached the '19 world finals.

"I'm still young and very motivated to achieve my goals which are to become European, world and Olympic champ,' said Kessidis. "I have wrestled and dreamt about becoming a world champion my whole life, and it would be great for Sweden since we have not won a world title since 2003."

Coincidentally, Kessidis and Huseyov have a history against each other, and you only have to go back to the opening round of the Tokyo Olympic Games for the meeting.

Kessidis dropped that match, 1-1, but has his sights on getting revenge at the World Championships.

"Rafiq is, of course, a threat since I lost last time, but this won't happen again. Hopefully, I'm better prepared this time, and now I have the experience with me from the previous world championship final."

Also of note at 82kg, two-time Olympian Bozo STARCEVIC is moving up from 77kg to 82kg, and Daniel CARTARAGA (MDA), a two-time U23 world champion, was expected to compete in Oslo but was late-scratched due to a back injury.

At 77kg, Tokyo Olympians Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) and Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) headline the long list of 36-entries. The two-time world bronze medalists are the favorites to get over the hump and compete for world supremacy.

Mnatsakanian won back-to-back world bronze medals in '18 and '19, while Geraei, known worldwide as 'The Falcon,' claimed his world bronze medalist in '17 and '19. Geraei was unable to be reached, but Mnatsakanian said, "I was dissatisfied with the results at the Olympic Games, but my goal in Oslo is to become a world champion."

As the entries sit now, the Russian Wrestling Federation entered Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RWF) at 77kg. But don't be surprised to see a last-minute adjustment. Mantsigov, a Nur-Sultan world champion, dropped his early-September gold-medal match at the Ljubomir Ivanovic Gedza International against two-time Olympic champion Roman VLASOV (RWF), so their entry is still up in the air.

National Federations have until three days prior to the start of the Greco-Roman portion of the competition to make updates to their entries.

At 55kg, Russian Wrestling Federation youngster Emin SEFERSHAEV (RWF) is the front runner to win world gold. Earlier this year, he reached the top of the 55kg podium at the European Championships in a bracket that featured world champions Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) and Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), and Ekrem OZTURK (TUR).

All four guys will compete at 55kg for the World Championships.

Sefershaev won four matches in Warsaw – including wins over Azizli and Ozturk – en route to claiming his first European gold medal. The 23-year-old's win over Azizli was his second victory over the '18 world champion in a four-month span. He also thumped Azizli, 9-1, in the quarterfinals of December's Individual World Cup on his way to winning gold.

Turkey's '18 world bronze medalist Ozturk ended his European campaign with a silver medal, while Azizli won the battle against fellow world champ Tsurtsumia on his way to finishing in third place.

Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) defeated Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), 4-1, in the gold-medal match at the '21 European Championships. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

The last weight class that'll be contested on Day Six will be 72kg.

Continental finals foes Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) and Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) top the entries, but two others to pay attention to are '14 world champion Chingiz LABAZANOV (RWF) and Kyrgyzstan's six-time Asian medalist Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ).

The Day Six action in Oslo kicks off on October 7 at 10:30 (local time) and will be streamed live on www.uww.org.

#WrestleOslo

Gilman Shows Progress, Maturity in Claiming 1st World Championships Gold

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 - 08:10 By Ken Marantz

OSLO, Norway (October 5) -- Winning a first world title confirmed the progress Thomas GILMAN (USA) has made as he continues to learn the international game. Now he hopes to use it in a quest to avenge a recent loss that still lingers.

Gilman showed a new-found maturity and composure when he carved out a 5-3 victory over Alireza SARLAK (IRI) in the freestyle 57kg final on Monday night in Oslo, giving him the gold medal in his third trip to a World Championships.

The victory at Jordal Amfi arena came two months after Gilman was dealt a heartbreaking 5-4 loss in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics by two-time world champion Zavur UGUEV (ROC), who went on to take the gold.

Gilman, who worked his way through the repechage to take home an Olympic bronze, noted the difference in the two matches beyond their outcomes.

"If this was a fist fight with the Iranian, Uguev was like a chess match," Gilman said. "He's very good at winning. Obviously he's a great wrestler, and a great athlete. I think what he's best at is finding a way to win, and he showed that at the Olympic Games."

The 27-year-old Gilman, who won a silver medal in 2017 and placed fifth in 2018 in his previous World Championships, said the loss to Uguev opened his eyes to the need to wrestle depending on the situation, and to not just wantonly try to score points.

Thomas GILMAN (USA), second from left, with the other three medalists at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

"I'm starting to learn how to win as a competitor," Gilman said. "I think I'm a pretty decent wrestler. But I don't know if I know how to really win on a consistent basis yet. Uguev, he can. I'm looking forward to that rematch. I respect him a lot."

In their Olympic showdown at Makuhari Messe, Gilman was leading 4-3 when Uguev managed to conjure up a takedown in the final seconds to snatch the victory.

"It's a mental thing, maybe an emotional thing," Gilman said. "Where instead of just wrestling through the positions, I kind of try to win. When you start trying to win, that's when you lose.

"In the Uguev match, I went from just wrestling to score points to, 'OK, there's 46 seconds left,let's try to win this match,' and I got taken down and lost the match."

Against Sarlak, a 2019 world U23 bronze medalist, Gilman fought his way to a 3-0 lead going into the second period. He used his previous experience facing Iranians and knowledge of their tendencies to then score a well-executed single-leg takedown that gave him a decisive five-point cushion.

"I was pretty familiar with that position," Gilman said, citing past matches with lightweight star Rezi ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI). "Iranians are really good at throwing your head to the outside, bust your lock, focus on those very fundamental things.

"I just kind of chuckled to myself, like, 'This is familiar. This is Iran right here.' If I could describe Iranian wrestling, it would be beyond the underhook and their hand wrestling. It would be fundamental and hard leg defense."

Gilman said he appreciates scrappy wrestlers like Sarlak because they force him to raise his level.

"You always know that when you are wrestling Iranians, they are known for their toughness and their hand fighting. A lot like the way I wrestle, so I was looking forward to the fist fight, the dog fight....I am grateful to him as an opponent to push me and make me better."

Thomas GILMAN (USA) defeated Alireza SARLAK (IRI) in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

In the post-match interview, Gilman referred to "we" as the winner. Asked to explain, he noted how wrestling, while an individual sport, needs a team for success.

"From me, myself and I, all the way to me and my wife, my dogs, my unborn child, my coaching staff, USA Wrestling, my training partners, my annoying cameraman," said the Iowa native, who moved to the Nittany Lion Club in Pennsylvania in 2020 to prepare for the Olympics under Cael
SANDERSON.

"Don't let this fool you, I did nothing really. I did 20 minutes of work out there, but it's all the people behind the scenes, the people who you don't see, people who would never take credit for anything. That's we."

The support of his wife was vital, particularly when it came to just making the tough decision to enter the World Championships so soon after the Tokyo Olympics.

"I didn't want it to be emotional, I wanted it to be the right decision," Gilman said. "So I got home and talked to my wife, and some of those conversations were a little bit difficult....But she understood, she said, hey, I know you want to do this, you have to do it."

Zavur UGUEV Thomas GILMAN Zavur UGUEV (ROC) defeated Thomas GILMAN (USA) in the opening round at the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Gilman attended high school in neighboring Nebraska, where he won four state titles. He went to collegiate powerhouse Iowa and twice medaled at the NCAA Championships.

His international debut came in 2011 at the world cadets, where he placed 10th. After finishing eighth at the 2013 world juniors, he returned in 2014 and made his first podium by winning a bronze medal.

Three years later, he was in the final of a senior World Championships, taking the silver at Paris 2017 after losing to Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN), who would finish out of the medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

As an Olympic medalist, Gilman's place on the team to Oslo was assured without having to go through the U.S. team trials. But that doesn't mean he didn't have hurdles to get over, including having to get his weight back down again and contracting Covid-19.

"Every competition offers something unique as far as adversity," Gilman said. "Sometimes the adversity is very small, sometimes the adversity is very big. This is no different. It was a quick turnaround."

The bout with the coronovirus three weeks ago posted the greatest threat to his preparations. But he also viewed it as another test of his resilience to overcome hardships.

"I was like, shoot, am I going to be able to go and pass the tests?" Gilman said. "I came to the conclusion that God was telling me, 'You think you're tough? Well let's see how tough you are.'

"It was more mental, emotional and spiritual than physical, because physical you can push through anything. I did and we're here, and now it's time for a break."

Known for being deeply religious and patriotic, Gilman said he had some qualms about taking a victory lap with the American flag draped around his shoulders, saying he considers the act disrespectful.

"But it's a tradition, it's what we do, so I'll deal with my stepfather when I get home," he said. "Just to stand on top of the podium, after being silver, fifth, bronze, now gold, to see our flag the highest where it belongs and hear our national anthem, that's very special to me."

As he aims to continue improving and awaits a second shot at Uguev, Gilman can now sit back and bask in what he has accomplished over the past two months.

"It's a lot coming off the Olympic Games. You're at maybe an all-time high, I was so close to accomplishing one of my lifelong dreams," he said "I was pretty proud of myself. I still am. It's nothing to really slough off, being an Olympic bronze medalist."

#WrestleOslo Day Six Preview: GR 55kg, 72kg, 77kg and 82kg

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Gilman Shows Progress, Maturity in Claiming 1st World Championships Gold