#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 97kg

Friday, July 30, 2021 - 12:29 By Eric Olanowski

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TOKYO, Japan (July 21) – Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS), Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) head into the Tokyo Olympic Games looking to add a second Olympic title to their storied resumes. Sadulaev and Snyder won Olympic titles in Rio while Sharifov claimed his gold at the London Olympic Games.

Sadualev is unbeatably the world's top wrestler across all styles. The 25-year-old, who hails from the village of Tsurib, Dagestan, is up a weight class from his Rio title-winning weight of 86kg. 

Sadulaev, known worldwide as "The Tank," defeated fellow Olympic champions Snyder and Sharifov in back-to-back world finals and brought his overall world gold medal tally to four. 

But, those wins came after a heartbreaking loss to his American rival in the '17 world finals, dubbed as #SnyderLaev.

In '18, Sadualev avenged that Paris loss in spectacular fashion. In the opening minute of the long-awaited second meeting, he pinned Snyder, the then-reigning two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist. The following year, he shutout Sharifov, 4-0, in the 97kg gold-medal match and captured his fourth world title. In total, he's claimed world gold in '14, '15, '18 and '19.

Sadualev is the top-seeded wrestler at 97ig and is trailed by Snyder, Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) and Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD).

Yergali is seeded third at the weight. The 22-year-old from the Kulan, Merke Region of Kazakhstan, comes into Tokyo riding a four-tournament medal streak. He finished in second place at this year's Asian Championships. He ended his campaigns with bronze medals at the '21 Poland Open Ranking Series event and '20 Asian Championships and Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event. 

Nurov is seeded fourth and will sit on the same side of the bracket as the man who ended his quest to reach the world finals, Sadulaev. Although he dropped his semifinals match in Nur-Sultan to "The Tank," Nurov won four matches and defeated Yergali in the bronze-medal match at the '19 World Championships. 

In addition to the three Olympic champions entered, Rio Olympic bronze medalists Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) and Albert SARITOV (ROU) are other names to highlight on the 97kg entry list. 

Meanwhile, there's a long list of former world medalists that also have Tokyo medal aspirations. Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA), Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI), Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) and Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) are four medal hopefuls who can disrupt the pecking order.

Mohammadian, a '14 world bronze medalist, showed in early '20 that he's worthy of sharing the mat with the heavy hitters at the weight. At the '20 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, he outscored his five opponents 41-0 en route to winning gold. His day was highlighted with a seismic win by pin over Snyder, but he also scored wins over a U23 world champion, a world bronze medalist and a world fifth-place finisher.

Since that Roman win last year, Mohammadian, the son of two-time Olympic silver medalist Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI), has continued his hot streak. He's won gold in the other two competitions he's entered. He won the Asian Olympic Qualifier and the Poland Open and earned the Iranian Olympic nod over Ali SHABANI (IRI) and Alireza KARIMI (IRI).

Odikadze is a guy who is always in the medal hunt. After consecutive World and Olympic fifth-place finishes '14, '15, '16 and '17, he finally broke down that wall and claimed a world bronze at the '18 World Championships. Since his fifth-place Tokyo Olympic qualification finish at the '19 World Championships, the 32-year-old Georgian won back-to-back bronze medals at the European Championships.

Conyedo Ruano, a '18 world bronze medalist, won the World Olympic Qualifier and punched his ticket to Tokyo. But, the former-Cuban-turned-Italian has struggled to put together back-to-back top-five finishes. In his last six appearances, he's struggled to put together consecutive podium finishes.

Cuba's explosive Salas Perez has a sneaky shot to pull an unexpected upset. He's a three-time world medalist. He made back-to-back world finals appearances in '13 and '14, but fell in both of those bouts. The 34-year-old will be wrestling in his second Olympic Games. He finished in fifth place at the '16 Rio Olympic Games.

Although Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR) is relatively inexperienced at 97kg, he's a guy to keep on your radar. He finished in eighth place at 92kg at the '19 World Championships but has wowed in his move up to 97kg. He made his initial ascent up to the Olympic weight at the '20 Individual World Cup. He won a bronze in Belgrade, then won gold at the International Ukrainian Tournament and silvers at the European Championships and European Olympic Qualifier. 

Wrestling at the Tokyo Olympic Games kicks off August 1-7 at the Makuhari Messe with 97kg action beginning on August 6.

97kg
No. 1 Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS)
No. 2 Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)
No. 3 Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
No. 4 Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
Jordan STEEN (CAN)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Magomed Idrisovitch IBRAGIMOV (UZB)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Albert SARITOV (ROU)

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series Day 5 Recap

Sunday, March 2, 2025 - 09:59 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (March 2) -- The final day of Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series will see Greco-Roman action in six weight classes. 55kg, 60kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg and 130kg wrestlers will be on the mat.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 4 RESULTS

16:15: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) and Hamza BAKIR (TUR) enter the final at 130kg. Mirzazadeh scores a gut wrench from par terre against Wenhao JIANG (CHN) to lead 3-0 at the break. Jiang gets the forced par terre advantage in the second period but no points from the position for him. Mirzazadeh wins 3-1.

Bakir had Tokyo silver medalist Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the semifinal. Kajaia gets the par terre in first period but doesn't turn Bakir, who got the par terre position in the second period but can't turn. Bakir holds the 1-1 criteria lead for the win.

16:00: Kiril MILOV (BUL) with a front headlock exposure for two and he led Alex SZOKE (HUN) 3-1. Szoke got the third passivity and as he tried to gut wrench Milov, he got stuck on the mat and Milov pinned him to enter the 97kg final.

He will take on Giorgi MELIA (GEO) in final after the Georgian defeated Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) 5-2. Melia blocked a turn from Ragginger and got two points. Ragginger got both the passivity calls and led 2-0 before the defended throw from Melia. Ragginger challenged for a defensive foul but lost it as Melia got another point and lead 3-2 with 1:30 remaining on the clock. Ragginger needs two points for a win. Melia with a stepout with 54 seconds remaining to lead 5-2. Ragginger fails to breakthrough and drops the semifinal.

15:50: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) defends from par terre when Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) got the third passivity and keep his 2-1 lead to enter the 82kg final. He will face Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in the final after he got a gift from Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL) who committed two offensive leg fouls and was cautioned out of the semifinal.

15:35: Mehmet SAHIN (TUR) enters the 72kg final with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ). He will face Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) who beat Otar ABULADZE (GEO) 6-3 which may give him a look in the Georgian team for the European Championships.

15:20: Quick finishes to the 60kg semifinals! Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) with two headpinch front throws to beat Haodong TAN (CHN) 8-0 and enter the final.

Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) brings out two reverse suplexes from par terre to beat Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) 9-0. Lost challenge from Kyrgyzstan makes it 10-0

15:10: Emre MUTLU (TUR) with a huge four-point throw and then a turn from par terre as he leads Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) 7-0 at the break in the 55kg semifinals. But Mamyrbekov storms back with two suplexes for two points each to make it 7-5. A challenge from Kazakhstan asking for a foul from Mutlu but there isn't any. A lost challenge makes it 8-5 for Mutlu with a minute remaining. Mutlu defends his lead and wins 8-5.

In the other semifinal, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) was attacking from the start and earned two turns from par terre to lead 6-0 at the break Yersin ABYIR (TUR). Lolua also pulls out a good defense to keep it 6-1 when he was put on par terre in the second period. Abyir scores three points but a 6-4 win for Lolua.

The semifinals begin at 15:00 hours local time

14:40: Two turns from par terre for Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) to lead 5-1 and he may have thought that it was enough for a win. However, Shahin BADAGHI (QAT), of Iranian origin, scores a takedown to make it 5-4. Bolkvadze scores a stepout however Badaghi challenges and wins as Bolkvadze pulled his singlet. Badaghi down 5-4 with 1:21 left in the 82kg quarterfinal. Badaghi challenges for a headbutt but this time loses the challenge which makes Bolkvadze's score 6-4 whihc is also the winning score.

14:30: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) with a five-pointer as he moves into the semifinals at 60kg! Shiotani blanks Ziyue XI (CHN) 11-0. 

14:20: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) with a grand-amplitude over Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) for five points. Sleiva blocked with his hands which gives to more to Lomadze who leads 7-0 at the break. Sleiva can manage only two points in the second period as Lomadze wins 7-2

14:10: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) pulls out his best defense from par terre and stops Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) from turning him in the second period. A turn would have surely given Knystautas a 3-3 criteria lead. But Mirzazadeh wins 3-1

14:00: China has brought some hammers here! Haodong TAN (CHN) pins Paris Olympian Enes BASAR (TUR) at 60kg. Tan got the third passivity [no points are awarded for third passivity in Greco] and got a defensive foul from Basar. He then turned him and held Basar on the mat for a fall.

13:45: Ziyue XI (CHN) takes out Victor CIOBANU (MDA) at 60kg! What a performance from Xi. He defended his par terre position before scoring a correct throw from par terre in the second period to lead 3-1. Ciobanu gave up a stepout with 40 seconds remaining to fall behind 4-1. Ciobanu challenged so a foul but there was none. Xi gets a 5-1 lead. Ciobanu could not find a way to break Xi who wins 5-1 at 60kg.

13:35: Hamza BAKIR (TUR) scores an 8-0 win over Yuta NARA (JPN) at 130kg. Bakir has been impressive so far as he prepares himself for the big challenge at the European Championships. 

13:25: Tokyo Olympic silver medalist at Greco-Roman 130kg Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) turns Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN) from par terre to lead 3-0 at the break before defending his position from forced par terre in the second and win 3-1 at 130kg.

13:10: The world is missing out on Yu SHIOTANI (JPN). A series of reverse lifts from par terre and Shiotani has Ergi UKU (ALB) in all sorts of trouble. An 11-0 win for Shiotani.

13:07: Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) brings out a reverse lift slam on Ji LENG (CHN) to score four points and snatch the win 4-2 against Leng who is a little dumbfounded with that move. Top move from Sleiva

13:05: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) can't find a way to break Iuri LOMADZE's (GEO) defense and drops his 72kg bout 5-1. Lomadze with a defensive block when Arsalan was trying to score on him.

12:50: Kyrgyzstan wrestlers are out here demoralising big star. Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ) takes out Selcuk CAN (TUR) at 72kg. After leading 5-0, Khamzaev defended well from par terre and gave up only two points. Can made it 5-5 with a push out but Khamzaev keeps the criteria win.

12:40: Former European champion Kiril MILOV (BUL), who wrestled at Paris Olympics at 130kg, drops down to his natural 97kg, and he dominates Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) 6-1. He scored two turns from par terre in the first period while Sterkenburg failed to do so in the second.

12:05: Hamza BAKIR (TUR) gets two par terre positions in the match and he scored three turns to beat 8-0 Laga BAYI (CHN) at 130kg. He expected to be the heir apparent to Riza KAYAALP (TUR) for Turkiye

11:50: Olympic bronze medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) using his aggressive style against Heiki NABI (EST) for a 4-0 win at 130kg. While he did the par terre in the first period, he asked for standing in the second.

11:45: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) gives a reality check to U20 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) of the senior level. Shiotani was in forced par terre in the first period but he didn't let Ahmadi Vafa score. The referees were about to give Ahmadi Vafa the second par terre which may have made Ahmadi Vafa relax as he gave up a takedown. A reversal in the same sequence was scored one point for Ahmadi Vafa. But Shiotani with a big lift and throw for two points. Shiotani challenges and gets two more points for a foul from Ahmadi Vafa to lead 6-2. From par terre, Shiotani would score three more points and lead 9-4 with 35 seconds on the clock.

Ahmadi Vafa threatened to cause an upset as he scored a takedown and a turn to make it 9-6 before Shiotani blocked the next turn for two points. He then score another exposure and held Ahmadi Vafa on the mat for a fall.

11:35: Ali ARSALAN (SRB), world bronze medalist at 72kg, impresses with a 4-4 win over Levente LEVAI (HUN). Levai led 3-0 at the break but Arsalan with a headpinch for four. Levai blocked his second attempt. A stepout in the end gave Levai another point but Arsalan won 4-4 on criteria.

11:31: Selcuk CAN (TUR), wrestling at 72kg, with an impressive 7-3 win against Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN). Can with a top defense from par terre to keep Peltokangas at bay

11:25: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) needed two successful challenges to remaining in the opening match at 97kg against Alex SZOKE (HUN) who committed two offensive leg fouls. Szoke still had a 7-1 lead at the break. Savolainen managed two points in the second period but failed get a move on. Szoke with a 7-3 win.

11:00: Greco-Roman all day as the final day of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series is here. Long day ahead but some classic match ups in various weight class. By the way, rain is back in Tirana.