#WrestleUlaanbaatar

#WrestleUlaanbaatar: Three must-watch match-ups at Asian Championships

Tuesday, April 12, 2022 - 12:20 By Vinay Siwach

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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (April 12) -- After a three-year gap, China and Japan make their return to the Asian Championships. The participation of the continent's most dominant teams automatically increases the quality of wrestling -- especially women's wrestling -- at next week's tournament in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

As few rivalries will be revived, and some fresh faces will also be in action, the tournament becomes a must-watch for wrestling fans around the world.

United World Wrestling has also picked three rivalries that will be the highlight of the tournament.

Freestyle
57kg -- Ravi KUMAR (IND) vs Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)

Kumar and Abdullaev only wrestled once in six years. But in the last 10 months, they have wrestled three more times. Two of the most exciting wrestlers at 57kg keep raising the bar every time they meet on the mat, and out of the four, only one bout has been one-sided.

Back in 2016, the two clashed in the repechage round of the Junior World Championships, where Abdullaev defeated Kumar, 12-7. The bout in France had Abdullaev using his well-timed attacks and later kept Kumar's attacks at a distance. Kumar wore out the Uzbekistan wrestler but could not finish his attacks and only scored three takedowns.

The two met five years after that bout with Kumar winning 10-0 in the first round at the Poland Open Ranking Series event last year. But Abdullaev avenged that loss with a 7-5 win in the final of the same tournament at 61kg.

Their most recent meeting was at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event in Istanbul and undoubtedly it was the match of the tournament. At 61kg, the two collided in the final and the back-and-forth bout saw the lead change hands four times. Kumar won 11-10 thanks to a four-point throw from the Indian.

While Kumar has won the Asian title, World bronze and Olympics silver medal, Abdullaev has shown signs of being one of the best in the weight class. He was seconds away from upsetting world and Olympic champ Zavur UGUEV (RWF) in Tokyo and has always troubled Kumar.

His sneaky attacks and Kumar's constant high-pressure wrestling will be on display in Ulaanbaatar and Abdullaev would like to survive the six minutes to once again lead in the head-to-head record.

The two can only meet in the final of the 12-man bracket as Kumar is seeded number one and Abdullaev in the second spot.

Tynybekova OzakiAisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) and Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) wrestled at 62kg in Oslo. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Women's Wrestling
62kg -- Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) vs Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)

Tynybekova is a two-time World champion and Olympic silver medalist. Ozaki has only lost once since making her cadet debut in 2018. When the two clash in Ulaanbaatar, it could Ozaki's arrival on the big stage.

At the Oslo World Championships, the two met in the opening round at 62kg and Ozaki took a 4-0 lead at the break and Tynybekova looked in deep trouble. Ozaki's quick attacks did catch Tynybekova off-guard. But as clutch as she is, the Tokyo silver medalist responded with two takedowns and added another late in the bout to win 6-4.

Ozaki, 19, was let down by her inexperience but may come better prepared for a rematch. The two can only meet in the final being the top-two seeds.

Tynybekova will have to return to her previous levels after suffering a first-round loss at the Ranking Series event in Istanbul against Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA). 

Ozaki, who would have noticed that loss, will be fresh after coming off with a gold-winning performance at the Queen's Cup in Japan.

Sailike WALIHANSailike WALIHAN (CHN) is a bronze medalist from Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman
67kg - Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) vs Hansu RYU (KOR)

Walihan and Ryu were at the Tokyo Olympics but in different weight classes. The Chinese wrestler rose above expectations to win the bronze medal at 60kg while Ryu finished seventh at 67kg. But with Walihan jumping up to 67kg, the two are most likely to meet in Ulaanbaatar.

As the two have never wrestled before, it will be a test for Walihan as he is increasing his weight to compete in a very loaded field at 67kg. His opponent Ryu is a two-time world champion and is the last of the cream of Korean Greco-Roman wrestling. Using his experience and skill set, he will be the favorite against Walihan.

But Ryu must be aware that Walihan's defense in Asian Olympic Qualifiers and later the Olympic Games gave him win to first reach Tokyo and then win China's first Greco-Roman Olympic medal since 2008, respectively.

Ryu is seeded number one and Walihan is unseeded in the weight class which means that the two can clash in any match of the bracket.

All the action in Mongolia begins next Tuesday, April 19-24, and can be followed live on www.uww.org.

#WrestleBudapest

Orta, Kusaka win Ranking Series gold; Esmaeili books Paris 2024 spot

Monday, June 10, 2024 - 00:29 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 9) -- The 67kg weight class in Budapest was supposed to offer some interesting match-ups. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) could have avenged his World Championships loss to Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI). Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) could have qualified for the Paris Olympics if he had defeated Geraei in Budapest. Leri ABULADZE (GEO) could have become a contender in Georgia for the weight class.

But none of that happened as Orta dominated, outsmarted and controlled his way to the gold medal at 67kg in the Ranking Series, making him one of the favorites for the gold medal in Paris. The Paris Games will also present Orta a rare opportunity to win two Olympic gold medals in two different weight classes as he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 60kg.

Orta began his day with an 8-0 win over David MANYIK (HUN) before using a four-pointer to beat Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) 7-1 to set up a semifinal against Esmaeili. No one would have expected the Asian champion Esmaeili to challenge the world champion but the Iranian had different ideas.

Esmaeili raced to a 7-0 lead in the first period and was one point away from winning the bout. However, Orta managed to keep himself in the bout and began the second period with a front headlock for four and got one more for a lost challenge from Iran. Still, Esmaeili did well to defend the lead until the last three seconds.

As the bout entered the final 10 seconds left, Orta almost gave up and Esmaeili, thinking that Orta had accepted defeat, turned his back and began walking towards the Iranian corner to celebrate. Just the whole stadium gasped as Orta, realizing there was still time left, ran towards Esmaeili and threw him for four.

Midway through the throw, an air-borne Esmaeili knew he messed up. He pleaded that the time was over. Referees initially did not award points to Orta but Cuba challenged and it was clear that the move was completed with 0.1 seconds left. Orta was awarded four points, helping him win 9-7.

An inconsolable Esmaeili had to be helped to the warm-up area. For he thought his Paris 2024 dream was over. 

Orta, fueled by that unthinkable win and his Cuban teammates including Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) in the stands, went on to beat Abuladze in the final to claim the gold medal. He, however, will remain second in the seeding for the Olympics as Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) has already locked up the top seed.

Jafarov was wrestling in Budapest but was up at 72kg. He may have changed his weight class but had no trouble winning the gold medal at the higher weight as well.

Back to Esmaeili who had his task cut out in the evening session. He needed to beat Geraei in two bouts to earn the Paris 2024 spot on the Iran team. He gathered himself from that loss to Orta and scored a final second takedown against Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) to clinch a 6-5 win while Geraei defeated Andres MONTANO (ECU) 3-3 to claim the other bronze.

The two stepped on the mat for the wrestle-off for the Olympic spot with Geraei holding an advantage that if he won the first match, he would book his spot for Paris but Esmaeili had to do it in a best-of-three format. But Esmaeili did not let it go to that third as he defeated Geraei in two straight bouts in a tennis-like scoreline, 6-0 and 6-4, to earn a spot on the Iran team for the Paris Olympics and maybe a rematch with Orta in the French capital which on Sunday witness Carlos ALCARAZ win his first French Open.

David LOSONCZI (HUN)David LOSONCZI (HUN) celebrates after securing a fall over Ali CENGIZ (TUR). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

There was more drama in Budapest as David LOSONCZI (HUN) made sure he pinned Ali CENGIZ (TUR) when the two met in the 87kg semifinal. The two were awarded a shared World Championships title in September after Cengiz defeated Losonczi but the Hungarian wrestler won an appeal for judges' errors and was also awarded the gold medal.

Losonczi admitted that he was waiting for the rematch and though relieved to get the gold medal in Belgrade, he did not really celebrate it. So when he faced Cengiz this time, Losonczi stepped over when the Turkish wrestler was trying to finish a headlock throw. The local fans in Budapest were ecstatic and so was Losonczi who missed his final against Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) due to an injury, a deep cut on his chin.

Nao KUSAKA (JPN)Nao KUSAKA (JPN) defeated Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) in the 77kg semifinal in Budapest. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) has now beaten World Championships gold and silver medalists at 77kg in the past two months. After his win over world champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) at the Asian Championships in April, Kusaka handed World Championships silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) a 2-1 defeat in the semifinal. Suleymanov was leading 1-1 on criteria but Kusaka managed to score a stepout just in time to claim the win.

In the final, Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) defaulted due to injury and Kusaka won the gold medal that will take him past Suleymanov as the top-ranked wrestler in the world. Suleymanov would have remained the top-ranked wrestler if he had won a bronze medal but pulled out due to injury. Kusaka will now have 67200 points while Suleymanov will have 67100 points.

At 97kg, World Championships bronze medalist Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) had no issues beating whoever tried to challenge him. In the final Alex SZOKE (HUN) led 1-1 on criteria but Saravi scored a takedown.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
SILVER: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)
BRONZE: Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)

67kg
GOLD: Luis ORTA (CUB) df. Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 4-0

BRONZE: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN), 6-5
BRONZE: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Andres MONTANO (ECU), 3-3

72kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Moustafa ALAMELDIN (EGY), 5-2

BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI) df. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), 7-3
BRONZE: Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) df. Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA), 2-1

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Yosvanys PENA FLORESS (CUB) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), via inj. def.

82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 3-1

BRONZE: Karlo KODRIC (CRO) df. Spencer WOODS (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Mihail BRADU (MDA) df. Peter DOEMOEK (HUN), 3-0

87kg
GOLD: Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Mohammadhossein MAHMOODI (IRI) df. Ali CENGIZ (TUR), 10-4
BRONZE: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) df. Istvan TAKACS (HUN), via forfeit

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Josef RAU (USA), 11-4
BRONZE: Shayan HABIBZARE (IRI) df. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON), via inj. def.