#WrestleOslo: Taylor, Yazdani set up gold-medal showdown; USA puts 3 in finals

Saturday, October 2, 2021 - 18:47 By Ken Marantz

OSLO (October 3) -- Just two months after a victory that gave him an Olympic gold medal, David TAYLOR (USA) will meet nemesis Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) again, this time with the world championship on the line in the latest edition of one of wrestling's biggest rivalries.

Taylor was one of three Americans to advance to the finals in the four freestyle weight classes in action on the opening day Saturday of the World Championships in Oslo, storming into the 86kg gold-medal match with a victory by fall over Abubakr ABARAKOV (AZE) in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Kyle DAKE (USA) will get a chance to add the world 74kg title to the two he owns at 79kg, while Daton FIX (USA) rampaged through the rounds to make the final at 61kg at the Jordal Amfi arena.

At 125kg, rising star Amir ZARE (IRI) outlasted two-time former world champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) in a clash of Olympic bronze medalists to set up a gold-medal showdown with three-time defending champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO).

Yazdani, aiming for his third career world title, advanced into Sunday night's 86kg final by defeating Artur NAIFONOV (RWF) 8-2 -- a virtual repeat of their semifinal clash at the Tokyo Olympics in August which Yazdani won 7-1.

David TAYLOR USA David TAYLOR (USA) advanced to the 86kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Taylor's victory in the Tokyo final over Yazdani was the third in three career meetings between the two, but he knows not to underestimate such a dangerous foe, given that he needed a late takedown to forge out a 4-3 win.

"You can't take this one for granted," Taylor said. "It was a very close match at the Olympics. So we'll see which guy prevails in this match. Either way, it's going to be very tough. I'm ready, I'm looking forward to it."

Yazdani, the 2016 Rio Olympic champion at 74kg, has similar sentiments, but thinks he is ready to turn the tide.

"It will be a beautiful wrestling bout," Yazdani said. "Based on my three times wrestling with him, I know him, I am getting better and I can do a good job so that I can avenge my Tokyo loss."

Taylor, who started the day with a technical fall and a fall, had a rare lapse in his semifinal against 2019 world U23 silver medalist Abarakov, who scored an early takedown with a shrug and go-behind.

But Taylor came back with a vengence, scoring a quick takedown and gut wrench. Then, harkening back to his American folkstyle roots, he used a chicken wing and arm bar to turn Abarakov over and secure the fall at 2:34.

"My background is folkstyle wrestling, I'm a dangerous freestyle wrestler, and I can score from so many positions." Taylor said, "It's about adapting, finding ways to make that stuff work...You get to the World Championships, where people really want to win and want to scramble a little longer, that kind of stuff opens up for me."

Taylor's high-pace attack has always been his strongpoint, helping him win his first and only world title in 2018. He is certainly showing none of the effects of the knee injury that kept him out of the 2019 worlds.

"People have been trying to slow me down since I was 10," Taylor said. "It hasn't changed, it's just a different level. They're not going to wrestle my pace, we know that.

"It's about making adjustments, getting a good game plan ready to go. He gets the first takedown, but now what, there's five minutes? Know that I'm coming for five. He was good, he was prepared. He's a good skilled guy."

Asked about the strong opening-day showing by the US, which includes all but one of its Olympic medalists, Taylor said he didn't really understand why some countries would opt to skip the tournament or send lower-level teams.

"We have a great team," he said. "A lot of countries chose to take this one off, but I think it's a big mistake. You only get so many healthy world championship opportunities, you got to show up. We showed up, we performed really well today, we got to keep it rolling. I hope we set the tone for the next couple of days."

Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) will wrestle Kyle DAKE (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Also getting the ball rolling was Dake, who rolled to a 9-1 victory over Azamat NURYKAU (BLR), which got a little testy at times, to advance to the 74kg final, where he will face Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK).

"I am excited to be back and to compete at a high level, whoever I face," Dake said.

Dake scored a single-leg takedown that he followed with a gut wrench and two tilts for a quick 8-0 lead. All that Nurykau could manage was a stepout in the second period, while a penalty point capped Dake's scoring.

Nurykau, who is competing in his seventh World Championships, will get yet another chance for a medal -- he wrestled for a bronze three times, in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and lost each time.

The Russian-born Salkazanov assured his adopted country of a fourth world medal in its history, and will look to become its first-ever gold medalist, after defeating 2018 world silver medalist Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) 5-0.

"It would be a great honor for me to bring the gold medal of the World Championships for my country Slovakia, I would be unbelievably proud of it," Salkazanov said. "I will be happy if I can make it."

Salkazanov, this year's European champion and a 2019 world bronze medalist at 79kg, barely made it out of the quarterfinals, scoring a last-second stepout to stun Timur BIZHOEV (RWF) 2-2.

Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF) will wrestle Daton FIX (USA) in the 61kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 61kg, the final was set up between Fix and European champion Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF), as the two were equally dominant in opposite brackets.

Fix, a 2017 world junior champion, needed just 34 seconds to overwhelm two-time world junior bronze medalist Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) by 10-0 technical fall, giving him a shot at a gold medal in his second career World Championships.

"I wanna be a world champion," Fix said. "I am here, you know, the time is now. I am not gonna let another opportunity slip away from me....I feel good, I am wrestling well, and I am just gonna keep it rolling into the finals."

Magomedov, the 2018 world junior champion, had little trouble in also advancing with a 10-0 technical fall, ending his clash at 3:41 with 2018 world U23 champion Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN), who couldn't pull off another comeback after rallying in all three of his previous wins.

As the lone Russian Wrestling Federation wrestler in the first group of finals, Magomedov is also thinking of the importance of a victory in terms of the team race.

"I will be the first one to wrestle [in Sunday’s finals] and I’ll try to give it all I can with God's will to help my team get the team title," Magomedov said.

Fix chalked up three technical falls without giving up a point leading up to the semifinals, while Magomedov had a pair of first-period falls.

"It’s not my special tactic to pin the opponents," Magomedov said. "I see how it goes during the match. It’s better to pin the opponent and rest rather than wrestle for six minutes. If I feel it’s gonna work, I’ll pin. But it’s not something I’ve learned on purpose."

Fix recalled that he and Magomedov met once before, in the 54kg quarterfinals at the 2015 world cadets in Sarajevo. Magomedov won that encounter 3-2 (he went on to the final, but lost to Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), the Tokyo 2021 65kg champion).

"I’ll let him have that one, and I’ll get one here," Fix said.

The 125kg field is missing Olympic champion Gable STEVESON (USA), but the three other medalists are all here, and Akgul ended up being the odd-man out of the final.

Amir ZARE (IRI) defeated Taha AKGUL (TUR) in the semifinal and will wrestle Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the 125kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Zare, the 2019 world U23 gold medalist, gained an activity point in each period, then scored a takedown countering a late attack by Akgul for a 4-0 victory and a chance to avenge a semifinal loss to Petriashvili from the Tokyo Olympics.

"After the Olympics and a short break, I joined the training camp," Zare said. "The coaches analyzed carefully and I am really ready for the [final] and I am eager for it. In the final, I will not repeat my mistakes as I did in Tokyo and I can win gold medal."

Petrashvili, who lost a 10-8 thriller to Steveson in the Olympic final, had little trouble scoring a 10-0 technical fall over Asian champion Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ). The Georgian scored three takedowns, adding a gut wrench after two of them to win in 4:50.

Boltin will get a chance for take home a bronze in likely his final competition. The 28-year-old, who won four Japan national collegiate titles at Yamanashi Gakuin University, will reportedly start a career with the New Japan Pro-Wrestling organization following the tournament.

Day 1 Results

61kg
Semifinal - Daton FIX (USA) df. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) by TF, 10-0, :34
Semifinal - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF) df. Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) by TF, 10-0, 3:41

74kg
Semifinal - Kyle DAKE (USA) df. Azamat NURYKAU (BLR), 9-1
Semifinal - Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO), 5-0

86kg
Semifinal - David TAYLOR (USA) df. Abubakr ABARAKOV (AZE) by Fall, 2:34 (6-2)
Semifinal - Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) df. Artur NAIFONOV (RWF), 8-2

125kg
Semifinal Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ) by TF, 10-0, 4:50
Semifinal - Amir ZARE (IRI) df. Taha AKGUL (TUR), 4-0

#WrestlePontevedra

U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title

Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 23:21 By Vinay Siwach

PONTEVEDRA, Spain (September 8) -- Iran won two gold, a silver, and a bronze medal on the final day of the U20 World Championships, but it failed to stop the United States from winning the team title. The U.S. collected the top rank in the team race with 175 points, 15 better than Iran, which finished second. Japan finished third with 90 points.

This was the first time since 2017 that the U.S. won the team title and stopped Iran from completing a hat trick of top-place finishes. All 10 U.S. wrestlers competed for a medal and nine won a medal.

The U.S. fielded a very young team, with five wrestlers who were only 18 years old and eight wrestlers who could wrestle at the U20 level again next year.

"Everyone put themselves in the position to get on the podium and win the best medal they could," J'den COX, coach of Team USA, said. "Everyone is going to get better but overall it was great. They are the best in the world. I get it that individually in some cases we didn't get where we wanted to go but as a whole, we wrestled an amazing tournament."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) scores a takedown against Benjamin KUETER (USA). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

However, the final day of the U20 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain did not go as planned for the U.S. It had five wrestlers on the mat and only one won his match. Marcus BLAZE (USA) won a bronze medal over Tolga OZBEK (TUR).

Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), Joshua BARR (USA) and Benjamin KUETER (USA) all dropped their finals while Connor MIRASOLA (USA) lost his bronze medal match.

Kueter, a U20 world champion at 97kg in 2022, was wrestling at 125kg and reached the final. However, he ran into a mountain named Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) who already has a U23 world gold, two U20 world golds, and a U17 world gold.

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) gestures towards the crowd after winning the 125kg final in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Championships / Jake Kirkman)

Masoumi added a third U20 world gold medal to his name after he won the 125kg final 4-2 over Kueter and is now a five-time age-group world champion. A naturally aggressive wrestler, Masoumi dropped that approach and was happy to win his matches by sitting on the lead.

He did the same against Kueter in the final as he scored a takedown, a point for Kueter's passivity and a stepout. As he defended his 4-0 lead, Kueter managed to trip him in the final 30 seconds to score a takedown for two points.

"My opponent in the final is a well-known wrestler as he won the World Championships Sofia, Bulgaria, two years ago," Masoumi said. "He had taken a year off from wrestling but had improved a lot since then. He’s a skilled and accomplished wrestler. Thank God I was able to use my knowledge of him to wrestle smartly and win 4-2"

Kueter did trouble Masoumi in the final but Masoumi, despite wrestling with a heavily tapped left hand, never dropped his guard. Masoumi said he had broken his wrist before coming to Spain so he was careful with his attacks.

While he won his four bouts outscoring his opponents 32-3, Masoumi had only one technical superiority win. In 2022, when he won both the U20 and U23 world titles, Masoumi won all but one of his matches via superiority.

"I had an injury in my hand and it was broken, so I tried to be careful with it," he said. "Otherwise, I’m always aggressive and a fighter."

He will be in Tirana, Albania in a month's time to wrestle at the U23 World Championships. He won the gold medal in 2022 but skipped the 2023 edition. But Masoumi said his main focus is to make the senior team.

"In the match against Amirhossein ZARE (IRI) in Croatia, I lost," he said of his 5-0 loss to Olympic silver medalist Zare at the Ranking Series in Zagreb in January. "Some might say that Amir Reza Masoumi has settled, but no, I’m not satisfied at all. I’m preparing myself for the World Championships in Zagreb, aiming for the national team selection."

Ali REZAEI (IRI) scores the match-winning takedown against Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ali REZAEI (IRI) was the second gold medal for the day for Iran after he defeated 2023 U17 world champion Lockett 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling 74kg final. Rezaei is the first U20 world champion from Iran at 74kg in 15 years.

Lockett was leading the final 3-1 after scoring a takedown in the second period and Rezaei, who won a silver medal last year, needed at least a takedown to win.

It came in the fifth minute of the bout when Lockett missed a sweep single and Rezaei showed exceptional speed to get him a bodylock and finish with a takedown. Leading 3-3 on criteria, Rezaei did not allow Lockett to get into any attacking positions and won the gold medal.

Ali REZAEI (IRI) defends an attack from Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"I went through a tough final but with the great analysis from the coaches, I managed to defeat the strong American opponent," Rezaei said. "I hope to continue on this path and become a world and Olympic champion."

In Amman, Rezaei dropped the 70kg final against Meyer SHAPIRO (USA) 11-6 but planned to win the gold in Pontevedra.

"Last year, I won silver," he said. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for about a year and a half, and thankfully, in the final, my opponent was an American, and I managed to beat him. This journey continues."

Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) won the 86kg gold medal in Pontevedra. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The third American to suffer a loss in the final was Burr as Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) beat him 8-2 in the 86kg final. Kadiev won his second U20 world gold medal after winning the 79kg gold in Amman last year.

In the final against Burr, Kadiev jumped to a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the match. Burr did get on a few leg attacks but he was able to score only a stepout in the first period, cutting the lead to 3-1 at the break.

Kadiev, who took multiple medical timeouts for his injured knee, scored a counter against Burr and got two more points. The U.S. challenged the decision to award two points to Kadiev as Burr was never in danger but the replays showed Burr's back on the mat. The lost challenge made the score 6-1. Burr scored a stepout with 12 seconds left and then tried a front headlock throw but Kadiev stopped it to get two points and an 8-2 win.

"The American opponent was the toughest one for me," Kadiev said. "I also injured my knee. I didn’t attack much, because I couldn’t risk it. If only I hadn’t injured the knee, the match would have gone in a different way. My wrestling style is to attack from the very first second, and then in the second period the opponent gets tired and it’s easier to finish him."

Kadiev will get a chance to showcase his skills again at the U23 Worlds next month in Tirana. He also said that winning the gold medal last year made his more happy than this year.

"When I first won the U20 Worlds, I was much happier than now," he said. "This time there is no such feeling of excitement as it was last time. I wrestle more confidently, and we’ve worked on our mistakes with the coaches. I don’t know how fast I can recover from this knee injury. Hopefully, I can still make it to the U23 Worlds."

At 92kg, Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) got some motivation from Kadiev as he finished his final against Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0, well before time.

Malachdibirov got Saliev in a gut-wrench and managed to turn him to win the gold medal at 92kg.

Masanosuke ONO (JPN) asks for the 'champion belt' after his 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Ono warning before Tirana

At the non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana from October 28 to 31, one wrestler to watch will be Masanosuke ONO (JPN) who destroyed everyone in Pontevedra to win the 61kg gold medal.

After winning his four bouts on Saturday, Ono returned to wrestle Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) for the final. It was expected to be an action-packed final but Ono finished it in one action.

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Ono got an attack on Khari and scored a takedown. 26 seconds later, Ono had finished the final using the gut-wrench to win the gold medal in 26 seconds.

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"I was surprised that it ended sooner than I expected, but it was a very enjoyable 25 seconds," Ono said. "I'm satisfied."

Ono will now look to win the gold medal at 61kg in Tirana. However, he is aware that his opponents in Tirana will be more powerful.

"I'm still not satisfied unless I win there (Tirana)," he said.

Ono began wrestling only after his teacher in the music class during kindergarten encouraged him to wrestle. Ono, now at the Yamanashi Gakuin University, trains under former world champion Yuka TAKAHASHI (JPN) and is from the Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is in the countryside.

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: BHUVANESH (IND) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-5
BRONZE: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Tolga OZBEK (TUR), 5-0

74kg
GOLD: Ali REZAEI (IRI) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 3-3

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Tamir ESHINIMAEV (AIN), 4-1
BRONZE: Shingo ANDO (JPN) df. Muhamed BEKTEMIROV (AUT), 9-3

86kg
GOLD: Ibragim KADIEV (AIN) df. Joshua BARR (USA), 8-2

BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 3-2
BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Gabriele NICCOLINI (ITA), 9-2

92kg
GOLD: Mustafagadzhi MALACHDIBIROV (AIN) vs. Sali SALIEV (BUL), 11-0

BRONZE: Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) df. Amirreza DALIRI (IRI), 8-5
BRONZE: Anar JAFARLI (AZE) df. Connor MIRASOLA (USA), 6-2

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Benjamin KUETER (USA), 4-2

BRONZE: Nambardagva BATBAYAR (MGL) df. Alikhan KUSSAINOV (KAZ), 4-1
BRONZE: Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR) df. Jaspooran SINGH (IND), 3-2

#WrestleOslo: Taylor, Yazdani set up gold-medal showdown; USA puts 3 in finals

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U20 Worlds: Iran wins golds, U.S. team title