#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 57kg

Thursday, July 29, 2021 - 15:08 By Eric Olanowski

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TOKYO, Japan (July 20) – Zaur UGUEV (RUS) has been the gold standard at 57kg since he bolstered his resume with a pair of world titles in '18 and '19. The 26-year-old Khasavyurt, Dagestan native heads into the Tokyo Olympic Games with 15 men chasing down the head-topping crown he's held since '18. He's riding a five-tournament 16-match win streak and is seeded second at 57kg, one spot behind Serbia's history-making Olympian, Stevan MICIC (SRB).

Micic, Serbia's first-ever freestyle Olympian, won the tight-knit race for the 57kg top seed after claiming gold at the final Ranking Series event of the season, the Poland Open. He earned 62 Ranking Series points and finished two points ahead of Uguev.

Uguev dropped to an uncharacteristic 23rd-place finish at the '17 World Championships but has since terrorized the rest of the 57kg field on his way to winning back-to-back world titles. Since that loss, the spry and agile lightweight has medaled at 15 consecutive events and has podium-topping finishes in 12 of those appearances.

His last loss came at the '19 European Games, where he fell to eventual champion Mahir AMIRSLANOV (AZE). But Uguev won't have to worry about the young Azeri, as he failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Uguev's path to joining fellow Russian lightweight Olympic champions Mavlet BATIROV (' 04) and Djamal OTARSULTANOV (' 12) will have to go through an insanely loaded tier-two field. That group is highlighted by fellow world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) and world medalists Suleyman ATLI (TUR), Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL), Thomas GILMAN (USA), Kumar RAVI (IND) and Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ).

Takahashi has been on a rollercoaster ride filled with mixed emotions since grabbing world supremacy in Paris in '17. He regressed to a bronze medal finish in Budapest and had a tenth-placing showing in Nur-Sultan, but capitalized on his opportunity to qualify Japan for the Olympic Games after he won the '21 World Olympic Qualifier. Then, in early June, the 27-year-old punched his ticket to Tokyo with a special playoff win over Rio Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN).

Turkey's ever-improving Atli has been a regular fixture on the 57kg podium over the last few years. The third-seed at 57kg made his world-level debut on the Turkish roster at the '17 World Championships and has since claimed a pair of world medals. Since his breakout performance in Budapest, the 27-year-old has compiled an 8-2 world championship record en route to bronze and silver medal finishes, respectively, at the '18 and '19 World Championships.

Atli will be on the bottom side of the bracket with second-seeded Uguev.

India's Ravi is the fourth-seeded guy at 57kg, so he'll be positioned on the top side of the bracket with Micic.

Ravi, the 24- year-old Haryana product, surprised the field in Nur-Sultan with four presence-announcing wins in his first senior-level world appearance. He dropped a close one in the semifinals against Uguev, but fought back and scored four wins, including top-notch wins over world champion Takahashi and European champion Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) route to a bronze-medal finish.

Other non-seeded past world-meal threats include Erdenebat, Gilman and Sanayev. 

Sanayev is only two World Championships removed from falling to Uguev by two points in the gold-medal match. Although it was a slight step down, the Chadan, Russian-born Kazakh grasped a second world medal in '19. He fell to Atli in the semifinals but bounced back to beat Micic for world gold.

Erdenebat, a two-time world bronze medalist ('15 and '17), is set to make his second Olympic appearance. The 28-years-old from Ulan Bator punched his ticket to Tokyo with a decisive 6-2 semifinal win over three-time European champion Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) at the World Olympic Qualifier in Sofia. He's now looking to improve on his 16th place from Rio.

America's 27-year-old '17 world runner-up Gilman will return to America's world-level roster for the first time since finishing in fifth place at the '18 World Championships. He lost his starting spot to Daton FIX (USA) in '19 but rebounded to his winning ways in '20. The two-time Ranking Series champion won the 57kg title at the '20 Pan American Olympic Qualifier and qualified the USA for Tokyo. He earned his spot on America's Tokyo roster with two wins over '19 junior world silver medalist Vitali ARUJAU (USA) in the U.S. Olympic Trial finals.

Other rising stars who can make some noise at 57kg are Arsen Harutyunyan and Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS).

After struggling with the massive weight cut, Harutyunyan returned to his attack-first mindset. Since that disappointing 16th place finish in Nur-Sultan, the '19 European champion at 61kg has three 57kg medals -- including a gold at the European Olympic Qualifier and a silver medal finish at the Individual World Cup where he dropped the gold-medal match to Uguev.

Iuna Fafe heads into Tokyo riding a two tournament win streak. The 20-year-old stole the show in Hammamet at the Africa and Oceania Olympic Qualifier after beating African silver medalist Gamal MOHAMED (EGY), three-time Commonwealth Games silver-medalist Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR) and 2016 Rio Olympian Chakir ANSARI (MAR), the 19-year-old pinned two-time African champion Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) in just 57 seconds en route to the 57kg title. He followed that up with a gold-medal performance at the City of Sassari Tournament at the end of June.

Wrestling at the Tokyo Olympic Games kicks off August 1-7 at the Makuhari Messe with 57kg action beginning on August 4.

57kg Entries
No. 1 Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB)
No. 2 Zavur UGUEV (RUS)
No. 3 Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
No. 4 Kumar RAVI (IND)
Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ)
Reza ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Thomas GILMAN (USA)
Oscar Eduardo TIGREROS URBANO (COL)
Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Georgi VANGELOV (BUL)
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Bekhbayar ERDENEBAT (MGL)

#wrestlebishkek

#WrestleBishkek: Ravi returns with golden aim

Friday, May 26, 2023 - 11:51 By Vinay Siwach

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NEW DELHI, India (May 16) -- Three months back, Ravi KUMAR (IND) was keen on starting the season with a bang. He was in "perfect shape" to wrestle.

Then at one training session, it all changed.

"The hit was so loud that I felt that I will need surgery," Kumar said. "My medial collateral ligament [MCL] and anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] broke."

That was February 6 and since then Kumar has been in rehabilitation, nursing his knee injury. But earlier this month, he return to the mat training sessions and is now making a comeback to competition, 10 months since his last, the World Championships. 

"I can't wait."

The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist will wrestle at the Bishkek Ranking Series scheduled for June 1 to 4. Wrestling at 61kg, Kumar will try to regain his form that helped him win three Asian titles, a Commonwealth Games gold medal and become India's biggest hope for Paris Olympics.

"This competition is very important," he said. "I have missed many. I will try to do my best and attain a level which I had before the injury."

An MCL or ACL tear can require surgery but Kumar says his injury was on the borderline and he opted out of the surgery which could have kept him away from the mat for more than six months.

"My partner got hold of my leg and while I was trying to move away, I hit his shoulder with my knee," he said. "So February, March, April I was in rehabilitation." 

That meant he missed the second Ranking Series and the Asian Championships in which he won three back-to-back gold medals, the first Indian to the title thrice.

In his absence, U23 world champion AMAN (IND) won the gold medal at 57kg to keep the top medal in India. Incidentally, Aman also trains at the same stadium.

Both Kumar and Aman are registered at 61kg for Bishkek along with a third Indian PANKAJ. European champion at 57kg Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) is also in the same weight class and so is the Asian champion at 61kg Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and so is former Asian champion Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ).

"See if I prepare for every wrestler separately, I will never win," Ravi said. "I have to focus on doing my work and make myself the best. Then whoever is the opponent, it does not matter."

Ravi KUMAR (IND)Ravi KUMAR (IND) lost to Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) at the World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Kumar, however, would have liked to wrestle Abdullaev, a wrestler who has constantly troubled him since his U20 days. Abdullaev leads the head-to-head record 3-2 after his win in Belgrade.

"Abdullaev has an attack on my left leg and he hits on me," he said. "It's kind of perfect. He always hits on me.

"That day in Belgrade, my body could not get going. Even if I had won against Abdullaev, I don't know what the next result could have been. I wanted to work, but my body didn't. My weight also was set a day before the bout so I slept with ease. I did not do anything in the morning. No warm-up as such. I remained lazy."

While he reflects on the World Championships bout, Kumar knows that it doesn't matter now. With the Asian Games and the Olympic qualifying World Championships scheduled, he has to focus on the upcoming tournaments.

"I will be back on the mat after a long time," he said. "So it's very different to be in a competition. Training is great but when you are in a tournament, it's a different feeling. So I want to be good in Bishkek."

Undoubtedly, Kumar will be the favorite to win the gold in his weight class but with young blood coming up, he will be tested.

"It's wrestling," he said. "No one can predict the result because I am not in regular competition. But if I control the bouts, the result will be in my favor."