#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: WW 57kg

Thursday, July 22, 2021 - 15:08 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO, Japan (July 22) – In her bid for a second straight Olympic title, Risako KAWAI (JPN) had to beat a fellow champion from the Rio 2016 Olympics just to make the Japanese team. At the Tokyo Games, she might have to contend with yet another Rio gold medalist.

Kawai, the top seed and reigning world champion at women's 57kg, faces a possible showdown with unseeded Helen MAROULIS (USA), whose stunning victory over the legendary Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) in the 53kg final made her the first American woman to win an Olympic wrestling gold and was one of the highlights of the Rio competition.

"In 2016, it was a honor to wrestle Yoshida, and it will be honor to wrestle Risako Kawai, and any woman here," Maroulis said Monday at the U.S. team base in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, in central Japan.

Others expected to be in the thick of the medal hunt are Rio 2016 silver medalist Valeria KOBLOVA (RUS), 2019 world silver medalist Ningning RONG (CHN) and the two bronze medalists at the 2019 worlds, Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) and Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR).

Kawai won her Rio gold at 63kg, having conceded the 57kg class to her venerated senior teammate Kaori ICHO (JPN), who went on to become the first four-time women's Olympic champion. But this time, she decided to challenge Icho head-on for the place at 57kg. One reason is that it opened up 62kg for her younger sister Yukako as the two aim to achieve a dream of sibling Olympics golds.

Kawai came out the winner over Icho in an intense qualifying process that drew global attention for the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, where she won the gold to secure her Olympic ticket. That gave her a third straight world title, after winning in 2017 at 60kg and in 2018 at 59kg.

In her only international competition since the 2019 worlds, she helped Japan win the World Cup later that year, then captured a fourth career Asian title in 2020. With the exception of a semifinal defeat at 62kg at the 2018 Asian Games to Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) that was later annulled when the Mongolian tested positive for doping, Kawai has not lost an international match since 2015.

In Rio, Kawai was the youngster on the team, a collegian among veterans like Yoshida and Icho. "I don't think any of the opponents had me on their radar in Rio," Kawai said recently. "If I had lost, I think people would have thought, 'Well, it's just her first appearance.'"

Now at 27, she is the team leader, and says she is taking a different attitude into the Tokyo Games.

"I came up watching Saori and Kaori from behind. Now I think there are kids watching my behavior. My predecessors were too great, so I don't know if it's possible to do the same thing. However, I believe that if I do my best, it will carry over to the next generation."

While Kawai was establishing herself as one of the world's top female wrestlers, Maroulis spent a portion of her post-Rio period battling injuries that included a debilitating concussion. She won a second world title in 2017 at 58kg, but a year later in Budapest was dealt a opening-round loss by fall at 57kg by Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE).

The 29-year-old, who had contemplated retiring as the injuries took their toll, would not take to the mat again for an international match until the Pan American Olympic qualifying tournament in March 2020, where she earned the U.S. spot at 57kg. She then defeated Jenna BURKERT (USA) at the U.S. trials.

"This time is very different, because there were a lot of injuries over the last couple of years," Maroulis said. "But I still was able to prepare, and I feel I am prepared for this tournament. I have just as much confidence this time as I did last time."

This year, Maroulis won the Grand Prix de France, but was dealt a wakeup call at the Poland Open when she was handed a 12-0 technical fall loss in the quarterfinals by Adekuoroye. She then lost in the repechage to Tetyana KIT (UKR), a two-time European silver medalist who will also be in Tokyo after just being named as a late replacement for injured Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR).

"Losing in Poland had a really good effect because it showed me what I needed to change, and I made those changes," Maroulis said.

Given all that she has been through to get to chance to win a second straight Olympic title, Maroulis goes into Tokyo with a different perspective.

"When I won the gold medal in Rio, it was a dream come true and I'm so thankful for that," she said. "But it made me realize that the journey was everything. And so this time around, I really appreciate the journey, and I'm still going for the gold medal, but I know that this is the part in life that will shape me as a person."

The 27-year-old Adekuoroye, appearing in her second Olympics, is aiming to become the first female gold medalist from Africa, which has had just one medalist -- a bronze at 58kg from Marwa AMRI (TUN) -- in the four Olympics since women's wrestling was added to the program.

Adekuoroye made her breakthrough at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, where she struck it rich by taking a bronze medal at 53kg. But her Olympic debut the next year came to an abrupt end with a loss to Sofia MATTSON (SWE).

She made history by making it the final at the 2017 World Championships, where she lost to Haruna OKUNO (JPN), and won a bronze in 2019 to secure her berth at the Tokyo Olympics after losing to Kawai in the semifinals.

Adekuoroye has had a good runup to the Tokyo Games, winning golds at the Matteo Pellicone Tournament and African Championships in 2020 and following up her victory over Maroulis in Warsaw by taking the gold with a victory in the final over Kurachkina.

China's Rong won the senior world title at 57kg in 2018, but lost in the 59kg final at the world U-23 three weeks later. In 2019, she won her second straight Asian title with a victory in the final over Myong-Suk JONG (PRK), who had knocked off Icho in the semifinals.

At the 2019 worlds in Nur-Sultan, Rong defeated Kurachkina en route to the final, where she showed some spunk in a 9-6 loss to Kawai in which she fought back after falling behind 9-0.

It looked like a rematch was in the cards at the World Cup later that year, but China opted to move Rong up to 59kg. Asked about not facing Kawai at the time, she replied, “I’m really looking forward to facing her and getting revenge.”

Koblova will certainly be one to watch. The 28-year-old Rio 2016 silver medalist was given the nod for her third Olympic appearance by the Russian federation over Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS), who had secured the Olympic berth at the final World Qualifying tournament.

In the 58kg final in Rio, Koblova came within seconds of denying Icho her historic fourth gold medal, but gave up a takedown at the buzzer and was dealt a 3-2 loss that meant settling for the silver medal.

Physical pain came a year later, when she suffered a serious knee injury at the 2017 World Championships in Paris. In addition to giving birth, she sat out for three years before returning for the Russian Championships in September 2020.

This year, Koblova has a pair of fifth-place finishes at the European Championships (at 62kg) and Poland Open, where she lost to Adekuoroye in the semifinals and Kit in the bronze-medal match.

She and Kawai have met once before, in the final at the 2015 World Cup, which Kawai won 5-1. But it was at another World Cup where Koblova imprinted her mark with Japanese fans.

In 2012, Koblova (then known by her maiden name of Zholobova) scored a stunning victory over Yoshida, making her one of just three non-Japanese in history to ever claim a win over the Japanese legend.

Although Japan defeated Russia for the title of the team tournament, the sight of Yoshida sobbing on the victory podium still remains an indelible image.

57kg
No. 1 Risako KAWAI (JPN)
No. 2 Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
No. 3 Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
No. 4 Ningning RONG (CHN)
Jowita Maria WRZESIEN (POL)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)
Fatoumata Yarie CAMARA (GUI)
Alma Jane VALENCIA ESCOTO (MEX)
Helen Louise MAROULIS (USA)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL)
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Valeria KOBLOVA (RUS)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)

#WrestleAlexandria

Atli cuts down, rises to the top in Alexandria

Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 21:44 By Vinay Siwach

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (February 26) -- Suleyman ATLI's (TUR) 2022 was rather lackluster as he failed to win a gold medal in three competitions and finished eighth at the World Championships. But as the year was ending, Atli sent a strong message through his social media, "no worries. I am doing my best to make 2023 my year. Stay tuned."

Atli took the first step in that direction on Sunday by winning the first gold medal of the year at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series event in Alexandria, Egypt.

Atli, who spent last year at 61kg, made the move back to 57kg, a weight in which he competed at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. While he looked wanting last year, Atli's physical capacity and athleticism looked better than ever Sunday, enabling him to dominate his opponents.

In the gold medal bout, he faced a familiar foe in Andrii YATSENKO (UKR), a former two-time U17 world champion, and both put on a show. Atli scraped through to win 12-11 in a final which tested him both technically and physically.

Suleyman ATLI (TUR) outscored his opponents 40-3 before the final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Before the final, Atli outscored his opponents 40-3 with a semifinal win over Nicholas SURIANO (USA) with smart tactics of keeping his energy conserved to outperform Suriano.

The former European champion coming down to 57kg also means that he is slightly bigger for this weight. Though it gives him the advantage of strength over his opponents, it also exposes the limitation of a wrestler when it comes to wrestling at the same pace for six minutes.

Like his semifinal, Atli took a smart approach conserving his energy in the first period of the final against Yatsenko and going for smart shots in the second. Hence, the score at the break read 1-0 for Yatsenko.

He came out firing in the second period, scoring ten points in the opening 55 seconds using a deep double, then gave up two from a crotch lift when trying to pick up an exposure. The two broke containment when Atli shot back in on another double leg, scoring a takedown before transitioning into a pair of ankle laces. After being down 1-0 in the opening period, Atli led 10-3 one minute into the second.

Yatsenko stormed back with a vengeance, quickly adding eight points from a takedown and three exposures, cutting Atli’s lead to 12-11. But it wasn’t enough to win, as the Turk bellied down in the final 10 seconds to hold Yatsenko’s comeback hopes.

Suleyman ATLI (TUR) raises Andrii YATSENKO's (UKR) hand after winning the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Atli congratulated Yatsenko on a great final and as a sign of a good show of sportsmanship, the Turk raised his Ukrainian opponent's hand as if signifying support for Ukraine even as his country recovers from the devasting earthquakes which occurred three weeks ago.

After the final, Atli posted an emotional message to lift the spirits of his countrymen in these testing times.

"I started the 2023 season with a gold," Atli wrote and added, "I will do my best to continue with gold. It is so important for me and on the other hand, my joy of winning the championships was bad because of the earthquakes in our country. I hope I made you happy and smile. My only wish is that we will get over this disaster together as soon as possible."

On Saturday, world champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) also won the gold but wore a black-colored tracksuit instead of Turkiye's traditional red for the medal ceremony.

"In these days when we were in mourning and low morale as a country, I was fortunate to win a gold medal in an important tournament in Alexandria, Egypt," Akgul wrote. "I went out with a black tracksuit on purpose because our sadness has not passed and our hearts are still with them [earthquake victims]. May the gold medal I won be a gift to all our earthquake victims."

The two also received 1500 Swiss Francs for winning gold medals as United World Wrestling awards prize money to all the medal winners of the Ranking Series events from this year. The gold medalists get 1500 Swiss Francs, the silver medalists get 750 Swiss Francs and the two bronze medalists get 500 Swiss Francs each. The tournaments also allow wrestlers to compete with a two-kilogram weight allowance.

Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) scores using a gut wrench against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In other gold medal bouts of the evening, Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) defeated Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to win the 65kg gold medal and continue his growth at 65kg in which he also won a U23 world title last year.

In typical Tevanyan style, he kept Mckenna at bay in the first period as both wrestlers began on a slow note. Tevanyan called passive and gave up points as well. But for action points, Tevanyan struck first with a single leg to lead 2-1. He added another as he passed McKenna’s left elbow and found his near ankle followed by a gut wrench.

McKenna, trying to find an opening to cut the lead, shot a swing single with his elbows wide, when Tevanyan used an underhook throw-by for a third takedown which was enough to win 8-2.

Tevanyan's ability to dictate terms in a wrestling bout was on display in Alexandria as he waited to hit his counters, defended like his life depends on a single point and used a few big moves one of which was a roll for four in his first bout.

Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) won the 70kg gold medal over Lucas CHITTUM (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another U23 world champion who won gold in Alexandria was Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), claiming 70kg gold over Lucas CHITTUM (USA) with a 10-0 win.

Like always, Akmataliev was involved in some exciting bouts right from the start. He wrestled Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) in the opening bout and sneaked past him with a 7-5 win with a late stepout.

He then got 2022 U23 world champion Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) and it was only the Georgian's conditioning, or rather a lack of it, which let him down as Akmataliev scored a fall after leading 14-7.

Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) thought he could get the better of his compatriot but Akmataliev never allowed the former to dominate and won the semifinal 2-2. He set up a final with Chittum who had defeated AGUDAMU (CHN), Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR) and Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR) to reach the final.

Akmataliev, well recovered from the tough morning session, began the final against Chittum with an arm throw which was stopped by Chittum who only gave up a point step out.

Akmataliev extended his lead to 5-0 using two counter-offensive exposures off of Chittum’s head inside a single leg. He then slipped out of a Chittum underhook and got to a single leg for two additional points. A step out shortly after pushed his lead to 8-0. He ended the match with another single leg, claiming technical superiority.

After the whistle, Akmataliev seemed to be upset with Chittum and added a slap to his back. As both guys got up, they had to be separated by the official, both wagging their fingers at each other. But after his hand was raised, Akmataliev did tone down and shook hands with his American opponent.

Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) tries a double-leg against Zahid VALENCIA (USA) in the 86kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Another American finished with a silver medal as Zahid VALENCIA (USA) fell in the 86kg final after some solid wins in the morning session.

Vasil MYKHAILOV (UKR), a veteran at 79kg, made the move up to 86kg and tasted success in his first tournament with a gold over a strong field in Alexandria.

The World Championships bronze medalist has wrestled at 86kg once before -- at the 2019 Alexander Medved Ranking Series -- but finished 14th. He then shuffled between 74kg and 79kg, and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics but failed to win a medal. For Paris, Mykhailov is switching to 86kg and will take home a lot of confidence along with the gold.

In his first bout, he defeated world medalist Boris MAKOEV (SVK) and with wins over Islyambek ILYASSOV (KAZ) in the quarterfinal and Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) in the semifinals, Mykhailov showed that he can handle tough bouts. He capped the day with perhaps his biggest win over Valencia.

Mykhailov took the early 4-0 lead with a chest wrap off of Valencia’s double leg but Valencia bounced back and picked up two for the exposure after his misfortunes on the double, then tacked on two step-outs, tying the match 4-4 but Mykhailov holding criteria.

The Ukrainian head-pinched Valencia for two, regaining the outright 6-4 lead but Valencia once again came back to make it 6-6. Mykhailov used a head pinch to score and seal up the win, 8-6.

Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) defeated Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) in the 79kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 79kg, Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) had to survive a late comeback from Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI) to win the gold medal.

In the final, Kentchadze used a Greco-esk high-dive double-leg to put Kavousi on his back, nearly picking up the fall. The Iranian bellied out, giving up his left arm to a trapped arm gut wrench and a pair of exposures. Kentchadze raced to an 8-0 lead after the 30-second exchange.

Kavousi brought life back into the final as he foot swept Kentchadze from his feet to his back and cut the deficit to 8-4 after the opening three minutes.

In the second period, Kavousi doubled Kentchadze in front of the Iranian corner, cutting his opponent's lead to 8-6. Kentchadze, however, weathered the storm and used a go-behind off of Kavousi’s single-leg attempt to increase his lead to 10-6. Despite giving up a late step out, the Georgian hung on to win, 10-7.

This was Kentchadze's second tournament at 79kg after the Zagreb Open in which he won the silver medal. The upgrade in Alexandria saw him win 9-6 against Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) in the opening bout, 12-2 over Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) in the quarterfinals and beat Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) 10-5 in the semifinal.

Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) defends a shot from Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR) in the 61kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 61kg, Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) defeated Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR) 9-2 to pocket the gold medal on his Ranking Series debut.

Zhumashbek Uulu had made the day significant for himself well before the final as he defeated U23 world champion Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) 10-0 in the bout. He had lost to the Armenian in the final of the U23 Worlds in Pontevedra, Spain last year.

He followed up that win with a 9-6 win over Jahongirmirza TUROBOV (UZB) and an 18-6 destruction of Yasin REZAEI (IRI) in the semifinal.

In the final, he attacked Markovych relentlessly and was rewarded with two takedowns in the first period and two more in the second. He also scored a point via stepout.

Kollin MOORE (USA) won the 92kg gold, second Ranking Series title in three weeks. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

The gold medal bouts at 74kg and 92kg saw medical forfeits and saw Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) and Kollin MOORE (USA) winning the gold respectively.

Moore was supposed to face teammate Nathan JACKSON (USA) in the final but the latter pulled out, perhaps because of the bleeding from the head he struggled with throughout the day.

Moore and Jackson looked in great touch on Sunday and deserved to be the finalists. Jackson began his day with a 5-2 win over Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) before handling Pruthviraj PATIL (IND) 10-0. He defeated Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) 8-2.

From the other side of the bracket, Moore reached the final by beating world bronze medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 12-2, a far more convincing victory than 4-3 in the Zagreb Open final, and Khaled ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY), 11-1. Moore has now won two Ranking Series gold medals in the space of three weeks.

Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU), center, alongwith the other medalists at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 74kg, Vincenzo JOSEPH (USA) forfeited his final bout to give the gold medal to Shikhdzhamalov who now has won two Ranking Series medals. He won a silver at 79kg in Matteo Pellicone last year.

While he did not wrestle in the final, Shikhdzhamalov displayed his skills on the mat which stunned everyone. After winning against Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ) in the first bout, Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) in the second and Mohamed ABDELHADY (EGY) in the quarterfinal, he set up a semifinal against Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR).

Demitras had it all figured out and did not let Shikhdzhamalov get near him for four minutes and 30 seconds, leading 3-0. That is when Shikhdzhamalov used his craft and pulled off a scoop to takedown in which he faked Demirtas to cut the lead 3-2.

Shikhdzhamalov still needed at least a point to win and with the clock ticking down, he went for a desperate move. Demirtas was backing away, defending his one-point lead in the final 25 seconds when Shikhdzhamalov launched a duck under to score the match-winning takedown.

The focus will now shift to the continental championships with the first being the U23 European Championships beginning March 13.

The Asian Championships begins April 9 in Astana, Kazakhstan and the European Championships will be held in Zagreb, Croatia from April 17.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) df. Andrii YATSENKO (UKR), 12-11

BRONZE - Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) df. Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM), 4-2
BRONZE - Rakhat KALZHAN (KAZ) df. Nicholas SURIANO (USA), 2-1

61kg
GOLD - Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) df. Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR), 9-2

BRONZE - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Yasin REZAEI (IRI), 10-0
BRONZE - Austin DESANTO (USA) df. Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO), via fall

65kg
GOLD - Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) df. Joseph MC KENNA (USA), 8-2

BRONZE - Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) df. Sebastian RIVERA (PUR), 7-2
BRONZE - Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO), 10-0

70kg
GOLD - Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) df. Lucas CHITTUM (USA), 10-0

BRONZE - Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) df. Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ), 6-4
BRONZE - Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR) df. Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR), via fall

74kg
GOLD - Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) df. Vincenzo JOSEPH (USA), via inj. def.

BRONZE - Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) df. Semen RADULOV (UKR), 7-2
BRONZE - Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) df. Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ), 5-1

79kg
GOLD - Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI), 10-7

BRONZE - Chandler MARSTELLER (USA) df. Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ), 2-1
BRONZE - Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Arman AVAGYAN (ARM), 4-2

86kg
GOLD - Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) df. Zahid VALENCIA (USA), 8-6

BRONZE - Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL) df. Ethan RAMOS (PUR), 11-8
BRONZE - Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) df. Boris MAKOEV (SVK), 13-2

92kg
GOLD - Kollin MOORE (USA) df. Nathan JACKSON (USA), via inj. def.

BRONZE - Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df. Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), 10-0
BRONZE - Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Khaled ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY), 10-0

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: WW 57kg

Comments

Atli cuts down, rises to the top in Alexandria