#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 125kg

Friday, July 30, 2021 - 19:15 By Eric Olanowski

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TOKYO, Japan (July 22) -- A pair of under 21-year-old phenoms head into the Tokyo Olympic Games looking to disrupt a heavyweight pecking order that's stood tall since the '14 World Championships.
 
Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) head into Tokyo as the betting favorites to vie for 125kg Olympic gold. The pair of dominant big men have claimed every world or Olympic title since the '14 World Championships and every continental gold medal since the '12 European Championships. Collectively, they own an Olympic gold medal, Olympic bronze, five world titles and eight European golds.
 

But rising 21-year-old stars Amir ZARE (IRI) and Gable STEVESON (USA) will look to keep their red-hot streaks alive and insert themselves into the conversation as the world's best big men.
 
The American has yet to face off against either heavyweight legend, while Zare scored a stunning 15-11 win over Petriashvili at the Iranian Pro League in late '19. The Iranian trailed the Georgian 11-2 but scored 13 unanswered points and picked up the massive victory, 15-11. 

Since then, Zare passed his last two international tests with flying colors. The Mazandaran native grabbed seven combined wins at the '20 Matteo Pellcione and the '21 Poland Open and picked up signature wins over London Olympic champion Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS) and two-time world medalist Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA).
 
Steveson made his senior-level international debut earlier this year at the Pan-American Championships. He easily won gold, and though the competition level was down significantly, he outscored his opponents 50-0 en route to his first international gold medal.

In addition to Petriashvili and Akgul, Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) and Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR) also sit in a seeded position.

Batirmurzaev is seeded second. The 25-years-old from Sulak, Dagestan, heads into Tokyo riding six consecutive senior-level podium finishes. He kicked his streak with a '20 Asian gold medal. His success continued into the Matteo Pellicone, where he reached the finals but fell to Amarveer DHESI (CAN). Then, the Russian-turned Kazakh won a ticket to Tokyo for Kazakhstan by claiming gold at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in his home country. He also won bronze medals at the Poland Open Ranking Series event and the Ali Aliyev.

Another guy who can cause a shakeup at 125kg is fourth-seeded Aleksander KHOTSIANIVSKI (URK). Despite being 0-3 against Akgul, the '19 world bronze medalist has beaten Petriashvili. He picked up his victory over the reigning three-time world champion at the '18 International Ukrainian Tournament.

A heavyweight darkhorse to keep an eye on is China's Zhiwei DENG (CHN). The 33-year-old from Qingdao, Shandong Province, captured a silver medal at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary and became China's first-ever freestyle world medalist. He followed that up with a bronze-medal finish at the '19 World Championships. 

Prior to Deng's world-medal winning performance in '18 World, China had reached the bronze medal match four times and failed to win a bronze in each of those four matches. 

125kg
No. 1 Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
No. 2 Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
No. 3 Taha AKGUL (TUR)
No. 4 Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Zhiwei DENG (CHN)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)
Gable Dan STEVESON (USA)
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
Aiaa lLAZAREV (KGZ)

#WrestleTirana

Sadulaev shuts down Taylor in World Championships showdown

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 11:59 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (October 30) -- Two-time world champion at 92kg Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) would have expected his return to the World Championships to make all the noise in Tirana. After all, it had been two years since he last competed at the World Championships.

Enter Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) and David TAYLOR (USA). The former, who last won the world title in 2021, was not able to compete at the Paris Olympics and was injured during the semifinal of the 2023 World Championships.

Taylor, world champion in 2023, missed the Paris Olympics after losing the trials in the United States, announced his retirement and took a coaching job. He came out of retirement and decided to compete at the World Championships and retire.

Both are not 92kg wrestlers. Sadulaev has been a true 97kg for eight years now. Taylor is competing at this weight for the first time after dominating 86kg for years. But the two were pitted against each other in the opening round of the World Championships in Tirana at 92kg.

The small Feti Borova Sports Hall in Tirana did not have space to sit. So where one could, they stood to watch the two wrestle. Saudulaev in a singlet not meant for his 92kg body. Taylor, in his customary elbow on the thigh and waiting for his opponent.

No one knew what was going to happen. Sadulaev was reducing weight, and Taylor was gaining. How would the two match up? It was this lack that prompted the fans to cheer for both. But after the first period, the picture became much clearer. Sadulaev shut down Taylor's offense and came out of the pressure bout 7-0.

After the initial collar ties, Taylor went for the offense. He got on Sadulaev's leg and tried the lift but Sadulaev was swift to get out of the hold. Taylor continued his attack. That's the only way he knows wrestling. Taylor took another offensive shot and Sadulaev, with lessons from the previous attack, pressured forward to neutralize the attack and scored a go-behind for two. Sadulaev resorted to heavy snapdowns and Taylor wasn't able to defend the second one. Within two minutes, Sadulaev was up 4-0.

The speed and power was Sadulaev was impressively superior to that of Taylor who decided to change a little in the second period. He went for the far leg of Sadulaev. But Sadulaev was quick and spun behind Taylor and scored a takedown with less than two minutes left.

By this time, Ghasempour had finished his bout on the other mat. He defeated Takashi ISHIGURO (JPN) 6-0 in a rather slow bout.

Sadulaev now had to defend his 5-0 lead. Taylor continued his aggressive approach and got on Sadulaev's right leg. What he did not expect was the quick counter from Sadulaev who pushed Taylor and scored an exposure for two. It was evident that Taylor could not match Sadulaev.

David TAYLOR (USA)David TAYLOR (USA) in the warm-up hall after his bout against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) at 92kg in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"I did not score on the two times I shot and he did," Taylor said after the bout. "That was the difference. I needed to score on those two occasions."

Taylor and Sadulaev went to the warm-up hall but the former sat for more than 45 minutes in silence. He finally broke his silence and talked to the United States coaches after his leg attacks. After spending 30 more minutes gathering his thoughts, Taylor packed his bags and left.

On the training mats, Ghasempour and Sadulaev jogged before cooling down after their bouts. If both continue to win, they are expected to meet in the semifinals.

The match will be rather important for Taylor as well. He will hope for a Sadulaev win which will give him the chance to wrestle for the bronze medal.

"I expect him to make the finals and come back tomorrow," Taylor said. "I need to wrestle better that is my focus for now."

If he does wrestle Thursday, fans will only be treated to another blockbuster. A Ghasemoour-Taylor bout. The only downside will be that one will go home empty-handed.