#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.

#WrestleParis

10 seeded showdowns we need to see at Paris 2024 (No. 6-10)

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 14:29 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 17) – We’re still a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 draws taking place on August 4. However, with the release of the top eight seeds per style, we can start to project potential matches that could take place as early as the quarterfinals.

SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 EVENT PAGE 

The top eight Ranking Series point collectors from the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, and the Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series events earned a top eight seed. The remaining eight wrestlers will be randomly drawn into their respective brackets.

Here are the top ten matches that we could see between seeded wrestlers from the quarterfinals on:

10. WW 68kg QUARTERFINAL - No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Koumba Larroque has been a prominent figure in French wrestling since her bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships at just 19 years old. Now in the prime of her career, she’s France’s best shot at a medal.

Larroque’s path to an Olympic medal will be bumpy, to say the least. She’s the third-seeded athlete in a bracket with six world champions and includes a potential quarterfinal clash with  familiar foe No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

Larroque and Oborududu met twice in their career, splitting their pair of previous encounters.

Oborududu won their opening meeting at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, but Larroque returned the favor a year later at the Poland Open, evening the score at 1-1.

If Larroque and Oborududu win their first match, their third career meeting would take place August 5 in the 68kg quarterfinals.

9.  FS 65kg SEMIFINAL –  No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Amouzad and Musukaev are nightmare opponents for each other and are stylistically opposites.

Amouzad, the 65kg world champ from two years ago, is a guy who wants to close the gap with his right-side underhook and fill as much space as possible. Conversely, Musukaev, the reigning 65kg world champion, wants as much space as possible to flow freely.

In their first meeting—the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships-- Musukaev fell victim to Amouzad’s pace and was shut out 6-0. In their second matches—the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships—Musukaev weathered the first period storm, saved enough energy for a last-ditch effort and stole the world finals spot, 6-5, with less than 10 seconds remaining.

If Amouzad and Musukaev meet for a third time, it’ll be on August 10 in 65kg semifinals.

8. 57kg SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. No. 3  Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
The Nichita and Adekuoroye rivalry is one that dates back to the 2019 World Championships but has since changed hands from their pre-COVID meeting.

The seasoned vet Adekuoroye is an anomaly in the wrestling world. Her style can’t be mimicked or replicated. She’s the tallest and lengthiest 57kg wrestler in the world but has also learned to use her leverage to become one of the most powerful wrestlers in the weight.

Adekuoroye’s unique style gave Nichita fits in their first meeting, as the four-time world medalist opened their three-match series with a dominant 10-0 win.

But Nichita carried what she learned from their first meeting into their next matches and had her hand raised on subsequent occasions.

In Tokyo, Nichita fell behind early but capitalized on an uncharacteristic Adekuoroye’s mistake and picked up a dramatic come-from-behind fall while trailing 8-2. Their next meeting came at the 2023 World Championships, where Nichita doubled Adekuoroye before ending the match in the first period with a left-sided trap arm gut, 10-0.

The fourth meeting between Nichita and Adekuoroye will take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

7. GR 67kg QUARTERFINAL – No. 2 Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) vs. No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
If there were ever a lesson from losing a match, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) certainly learned it the hard way.

Earlier this year at the Hungarian Open Ranking Series event, Esmaelil led reigning Olympic champion Orta, 7-5, with 0.4 seconds left in the match.

But before we get to the ending of the match, it’s important to note that Esmaeili was in a domestic battle with reigning Olympic gold medalist Reza GERAEI (IRI) for Iran’s 67kg Paris Olympic spot. If Esmaeili beat Orta, he cemented his spot on Iran’s Olympic team. If he lost, Esmaeili and Geraei would go to a three-match wrestle off and the winner goes to Paris.

Now, circling back to the match: With less than a second to go in the match, Esmaeili began celebrating as he thought the clock expired.

During Esmaeili’s lapse of judgement, Orta, being the experienced guy, continued to wrestle through the whistle. Orta took a peek at the clock, saw there was still time left, locked up a throw and picked up four points, stealing the match, 9-7.

Esmaeili will try to get his revenge on Orta August 7 in the 67kg quarterfinals.

*Esmaeili ended up beating Geraei in two straight matches to earn the Olympic spot.

6. WW 57kg SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) vs. No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Through the first two meetings between Sakurai and Maroulis, it’s been a one-sided affair. Sakurai is 2-0 against Maroulis, outscoring the Rio Olympic champion, 9-0, while picking up four offensive takedowns and not surrendering a single point.

Sakurai and Maroulis’ meeting at the 2022 World Championships was a slow-paced match, where the Japanese wrestler did enough to win but didn’t really establish her dominance.

That came in the second match.

In their second meeting, the biggest difference was Sakurai’s tatical use of her right hand when tied up with Maroulis. She used it to score three takedowns—one from an underhook front headlock, one from a underhook throw-by and the final one coming from a two-on-one—besting the American, 6-0.

The third meeting between Sakurai and Maroulis would take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympic Games starts Agust 5-11 and can be followed on www.uww.org.