#WrestlePlovdiv

#WrestlePlovdiv: Greece, Germany End Freestyle U23 Title Drought

Saturday, March 12, 2022 - 19:05 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria (March 12) -- Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) has been close to the gold medal. He finished with silver at the cadet World Championships and the Junior European Championships. But crossing the final hurdle needed something special.

In the 79kg final at the U23 European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the 21-year-old was once again headed for a second-place finish. He trailed 8-2 against Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO) and was subjected to a flurry of attacks.

But just before the break, he brought his opponent's lead down to 8-4 and then worked on his attacks. A final that was in Shvelidze's hands suddenly lit up as Kougioumtsidis scripted a comeback as Shvelidze failed to keep up with the pace of the bout.

“At the start of the second period I realized that he is tired,” Kougioumtsidis said. “Even I was tired but tried my best and I think that was the difference.”

The Greece wrestler scored 14 straight points to change the lead to 16-8 and gave a non-consequential step out.

“It's just a different feel to win the gold,” he said. “It was a little hard, especially in the first period. But in the second period, I tried my best.”

Despite the gold medal, the Greece wrestler is taking a lesson home as he aims to qualify for the Olympics.

“I can improve my defense,” he said. “I will try my best to qualify for the next Olympics. I can't say anything because I don't know.”

Horst LEHRHorst LEHR (GER) celebrates after winning the 57kg gold medal in Plovdiv. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Germany also got its first U23 European champion in freestyle after senior World Championships bronze medalist beat Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO), 2-2 in the 57kg final. No German freestyle wrestler had reached the final at the U23 level before Lehr, who now has the record to his name.

Gegelashvili perhaps expected more attacks from Lehr to counter but he had to work harder for his points. Lehr was called passive in the final period and gave up a point but he scored a stepout at the stroke of the break.

“I wanted to keep the match open and not take any risks,” Lehr said. “I knew that I will be able to score if I needed to. So I waited.”

Using a similar game plan, Lehr frustrated his Georgian opponent with defense and despite giving up a point for another passivity, he scored a point via another stepout from a counter.

Leading 2-2 on criteria, Lehr made sure he defends all other attacks on him and ends the drought for Germany.

“I was nervous for the final and I did not want to do anything which would take it away from me,” he said. “It's the best feeling that I have been waiting for a long time.

“The journey has been long. I have been injured a lot but I stay focused and trained hard.”

Lehr has a bronze medal at the senior European as well but has been struggling with various health problems including recurring fever and knee injuries. But a bronze medal in Oslo gave his career a second wind.

"Wrestling is my life and I was mentally very pressurized to win,” he said. “But after having the health problems, I changed. I put my health first and realized that wrestling is not everything. I brought my health to a good level and that made me mentally free. That has helped me a lot.”

Keeping that in mind, Lehr has decided to skip the senior European Championships in Budapest, Hungary later this month.

“I have a history of injuries and these two tournaments are very close,” he said. “I will wrestle at the senior Worlds this year.”

Islam ILYASOVIslam ILYASOV (AZE) defeated Johannes MAYER (GER) in the 97kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

It could have been a double-delight for Germany had Johannes MAYER (GER) held on to his 4-3 lead for one more second in the 97kg final.

Islam ILYASOV (AZE) claimed the gold medal by scoring a takedown in the final second of the bout, giving Azerbaijan a second gold of the night.

He led 2-0 at the break after a point for Mayer's passivity and stepout. But he went on the defensive in the second period and gave up a point for passivity,

Mayer then attacked and scored a takedown with 16 seconds left to lead 3-2. The final push from Ilyasov with a duck under helped him get two points.

Germany challenged the call but it was confirmed on the review that Mayer did have three points touching the mat before the clock expired.

Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE)Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) improved to U23 European gold from his bronze last year. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov) 

Azerbaijan's second gold came from the rising star at 65kg Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE). He continues his rapid rise in the weight class, dominating his competition in Plovdiv.

In the final, his impeccable ability to control the center made it an easy one for him. He defeated Hrachya MARGARYAN (ARM) 4-1.

His was slow to start and was but on the activity clock but he scored via a double leg attack in that period to lead 2-0. In the second period, a single-leg takedown made it 4-0. Before the end of the bout, he gave up a point for stepout.

Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) scored six unanswered points in the 70kg final to win the gold. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

A humdinger of a bout saw Georgia steal the gold at 70kg. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) conceded a five-point throw and was staring at defeat but blasted a double-leg from nowhere against Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), ultimately winning the final 6-5.

Harutyunyan was called passive in the second period and Elbakidze's attack was in the activity period. But despite that, he trailed 5-5 on criteria. But Harutyunyan gave up a stepout with 24 seconds left and saw the gold slip out of his hands.

Azerbaijan has a chance to win two more gold Sunday as the remaining five weight classes in freestyle will be decided on the final day of the competition in Plovdiv.

RESULTS

Day 6 Medal Bouts

57kg
GOLD: Horst LEHR (GER) df Giorgi GEGELASHVILI (GEO), 2-2

BRONZE: Edik HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df Yusuf DEMIR (TUR), 10-0
BRONZE: Tofig ALIYEV (AZE) df Ivaylo TISOV (BUL), 18-8

65kg
GOLD: Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) df Hrachya MARGARYAN (ARM), 4-1

BRONZE: Ayub MUSAEV (BEL) df Leon GERSTENBERGER (GER), 9-1
BRONZE: Hamza ALACA (TUR) df Marwane YEZZA (FRA), via inj. def.

70kg
GOLD: Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) df Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 6-5

BRONZE: Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA) df Benedikt HUBER (AUT), 10-0
BRONZE: Ivan STOYANOV (BUL) df Fati VEJSELI (MKD), 1-1

79kg
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO), 16-9

BRONZE: Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) df Oktay HASAN (BUL), 14-3
BRONZE: Abdulvasi BALTA (TUR) df Mushegh MKRTCHYAN (ARM), 2-1

97kg
GOLD: Islam ILYASOV (AZE) df Johannes MAYER (GER), 5-3

BRONZE: Radu LEFTER (MDA) df Stole EFTIMOV (MKD), 10-0
BRONZE: Richard VEGH (HUN) df Riveri MTSITURI (GEO), 7-4

Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) vs Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)

SF 1: Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) df Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO), 5-2
SF 2: Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) df Besir ALILI (MKD), 5-2

74kg
GOLD: Krisztian BIRO (ROU) vs Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)

SF 1: Krisztian BIRO (ROU) df Dimitar ANGELOV (BUL), 11-0
SF 2: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) df Ismet CIFTCI (TUR), 7-3

86kg
GOLD: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) vs Lilian BALAN (MDA)

SF 1: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df Emre CIFTCI ((TUR), 14-2
SF 2: Lilian BALAN (MDA) df Bagrati GAGNIDZE (GEO), via fall

92kg
GOLD: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) vs Joshua MORODION (GER)

SF 1: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df Daviti KOGUASHVILI (GEO), 11-0
SF 2: Joshua MORODION (GER) df Gheorghe ERHAN (MDA), 14-4

125kg
GOLD: Milan KORCSOG (HUN) vs Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)

SF 1: Milan KORCSOG (HUN) df Adil MISIRCI (TUR), 9-2
SF 2: Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) df Aydin AHMADOV (AZE), 9-5

#WrestleAmman

Shkarin upgrades silver to gold; Iran wins 2 at U17 Worlds

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 20:32 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

AMMAN, Jordan (August 20) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) has lost only one bout in his international career. The loss in the U17 World Championships final at 80kg last year was so devasting for Shkarin that he made his goal to win the gold medal this year. He doubled his training time, watched videos of his bouts repeatedly and came to Amman with a mindset of a winner.

It was a similar path to the final this year as he won two close bouts, a 9-0 win in the semifinals and faced an Asian opponent in the final. The only change was that Shkarin wrestled a calculated final and became the U17 world champion.

Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) celebrates after winning the 80kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Shkarin defeated Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) 3-0 in the final to upgrade his silver from last year. He was one of the five world champions crowned in Amman on Tuesday.

"I haven’t changed anything," Shkarin said. "I just kept working hard. This gold medal is so valuable to me because last year I lost the final, which was also against an Asian athlete. The semifinal score was 9-0, just like it was this time. These coincidences distracted me a bit."

Unlike the 2023 final in which he played catch up after falling behind 7-0, Shkarin was in no mood to give points to Anapiya on Tuesday. He maintained a lead throughout the final and defended it well.

The U17 European champion explained that the bouts in Amman were tougher than what he experienced at the European Championships in Novi Sad in July.

"The matches here were tougher than at the European Championships, especially the final match," he said. "Back there, I only wrestled for a little over one minute, while here it took me two periods. I could only score three points at the beginning of the match, and then I had to hold onto that lead."

Shkarin, who hails from Lipsetsk, did not have any high-scoring match apart from the semifinal against Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI). He defeated Dinko NEYKOV (BUL) 5-0 in the first bout and Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

"Honestly speaking, I have mixed feelings," Shkarin said. "There is euphoria, but at the same time, there is emptiness. I’ve been working so hard to win this gold. I need 2-3 days to fully realize everything. I am extremely happy -- it's the first time in my career that I’ve felt this way."

In other finals, Jayden RANEY (USA) won at 55kg and Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) got the gold at 110kg. But it was Iran who dominated again as it crowned two champions -- Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg and Amir SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg.

Shamsipour continued his dominant run from Monday and posted another technical superiority win to beat Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1, in the 48kg final. He outscored his opponents 37-1 in four bouts.

Saeidi won the 65kg gold over Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) after beating him 6-2 in the final. Saeidi launched Pokotylo for a massive four-point throw and never looked in trouble in his win.

Ukraine's gold medalist came at 110kg as Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) handed Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) a 13-4 defeat to win the gold medal. The gold is another addition to his medal collection, which also has the U17 European gold.

"I prepared mentally for each match," Yankovskyi said. "My coaches and I analyzed every opponent. I prepared very professionally for this World Championships. Everything worked out for me. I always train in the gym with people who are older and bigger than me. That's why such training leads to these results."

Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) won the 110kg gold medal after beating Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

Yankovskyi did not give up a single point at the European Championships and finished three bouts via technical superiority.

"This is my life. This is a part of me," he said. "I have been dedicated to this sport for so many years. My father passed away four years ago. During this time, I have gained a lot of physical and moral strength. Now, I want to thank my mother for everything, she works hard and earns money to support me. I want to thank my father for raising me as a person and for getting me involved in wrestling."

With the U17 double done, Yankovskyi now has his eyes set on doing the double at the U20, U23 and senior level. He also wants to win the Olympic gold.

"This is my last year as a cadet. There’s more to come. I want to win the European and World Championships as a junior, and then in the U23 and senior age groups. My goal is to make it to the Olympics. This is the dream of my coaches. I'm very grateful. I want to thank the coaches who raised me from childhood. They replaced my father. How could it have been otherwise? My coaches, Viktor Viktorovich and Oleksandr Mikhailovich, are the two people who gave me a ticket to a better life."

Raney, who came back from 6-0 down in the semifinals to win via fall, saw himself leading 6-0 against Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) before the Kazakhstan wrestler mounted a comeback. That was short-lived as Raney posted a 7-5 win.

"It was a little bit under control," Raney said." After the first, I had him on his back and he got really tired. I don't know why."

Wrestling in his first international event, Raney never let the inexperience hurt him. In his five bouts, he won two via fall, one via superiority and one 4-3.

Jayden RANEY (USA)Jayden RANEY (USA) tries to score using an arm-bar in the 55kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

"It's super hard," he said. "These other countries, they do Freestyle and Greco-Roman. So they are extremely good at it. In America, we do Folkstyle too. To do all of them at the same time is different and hard."

Raney's brother, Jordyn won the U17 gold medal last year and will wrestle for bronze this year.

"I wish him luck," he said. "Last year, I was here watching him and he won gold. For him to medal again, even if bronze, super excited to watch him."

sd

RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1

BRONZE: Amrah AMRAHOV (AZE) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 3-1
BRONZE: Nikolai KRISTOV (AIN) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ), 7-5

BRONZE: Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) df. Amirali HEYDARI (IRI), via fall (4-5)
BRONZE: Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), 1-1

65kg
GOLD: Amir SAEIDI (IRI) df. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR), 6-2

BONZE: Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 9-4
BRONZE: Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) df. Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB), 1-1

80kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ), 3-0

BRONZE: Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI) df. Dinko NEYKOV (BUL), 6-0
BRONZE: Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 9-6

110kg
GOLD: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), 13-4

BRONZE: Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) df. Haorui WANG (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE: RONAK (IND) df. Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR), 6-1

Semifinals

45kg
GOLD: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) vs. Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) 

SF 1: Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) df. Damir ABILDA (KAZ), 5-1
SF 2: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) df. Umidjon KAROMOV (UZB), 8-0

51kg
GOLD: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) vs. Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)

SF 1: Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE) df. Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ), 4-1
SF 2: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) df. Abolfazl KARAMIEGAEI (IRI), 8-7

60kg
GOLD: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) vs. Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Jordyn RANEY (USA), 2-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Ilias LAAOUINA (NED), 8-0

71kg
GOLD: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) vs. Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)

SF 1: Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN) df. Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB), 7-4
SF 2: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) df. Giorgi ALADASHVILI (GEO), 3-1

92kg
GOLD: Danial IZADI (IRI) vs. Ole STERNING (GER)

SF 1: Ole STERNING (GER) df. Serkan BAKIR (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Danial IZADI (IRI) df. Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM), 5-0