#WrestleWarsaw European C'ship Entries

Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - 17:24 By Eric Olanowski

WARSAW, Poland (April 14) --- All eyes will be on Warsaw, Poland next week (April 19-25) as 444 athletes from 37 countries will compete for continental gold at the European Championship. Greco-Roman leads the tournament entries with 77 athletes while there will be 156 freestyle competitors and 111 women's wrestlers.

Freestyle wrestling kicks off the competition next Monday (April 19). The spotlight turns to women's wrestling on Wednesday, while Greco-Roman takes center-stage starting on Friday.

*Please note that these entries were pulled on Wednesday (April 14) and are subject to change.

57kg
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE)
Aryan TSIUTRYN (BLR)
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Ioannis MARTIDIS (GRE)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Anatolii BURUIAN (MDA)
Razvan Marian KOVACS (ROU)
Nachyn MONGUSH (RUS)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Kamil KERYMOV (UKR)

61kg
Akhmednabi GVARZATILOV (AZE)
Dzimchyk RYNCHYNAU (BLR)
Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)
Arman Norik ELOYAN (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Viktor Viktorowitsch LYZEN (GER)
Richard VILHELM (HUN)
Daniel POPOV (ISR)
Simone Vincenzo PIRODDU (ITA)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Vladimir EGOROV (MKD)
Eduard GRIGOREV (POL)
Ivan GUIDEA (ROU)
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Andrii DZHELEP (UKR)

65kg
Gevorg TADEVOSYAN (ARM)
Gabriel JANATSCH (AUT)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Andrei BEKRENEU (BLR)
Ruhan Hyusnyu RASIM (BUL)
Quentin Jean-René STICKER (FRA)
George Anthony RAMM (GBR)
Shmagi TODUA (GEO)
Niklas Dietmar DORN (GER)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Andrii SVYRYD (UKR)

70kg
Orges LILA (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Dzianis SALAVEI (BLR)
Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR)
Davit TLASHADZE (GEO)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Artem AUGA (LTU)
Mihail SAVA (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL)
Israil KASUMOV (RUS)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR)

74kg
Hrayr ALIKHANYAN (ARM)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Davud ALIZALAU (BLR)
Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
Aimar ANDRUSE (EST)
Charlie James BOWLING (GBR)
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Daniel SARTAKOV (GER)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Valentin BORZIN (MDA)
Kamil RYBICKI (POL)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Tajmuraz Mairbekovic SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Semen RADULOV (UKR)

79kg
Osman HAJDARI (ALB)
Arman AVAGYAN (ARM)
Rashad YUSIFLI (AZE)
Andrei KARPACH (BLR)
Oktay Ruzhdi HASAN (BUL)
Erik REINBOK (EST)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Eduard TATARINOV (GER)
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA)
Dejan MITROV (MKD)
Andrzej Piotr SOKALSKI (POL)
Malik SHAVAEV (RUS)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)

86kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Gadzhimurad MAGOMEDSAIDOV (AZE)
Ali SHABANAU (BLR)
Dzhemal Rushen ALI (BUL)|
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Joshua Philipp David MORODION(GER)
Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Edgaras VOITECHOVSKIS (LTU)
Gheorghi PASCALOV (MDA)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Artur NAIFONOV (RUS)
Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Mraz DZHAFARIAN (UKR)

92kg
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Hajy RAJABAU (BLR)
Akhmed Adamovitch MAGAMAEV (BUL)
Irakli MTSITURI (GEO)
Robin Michael FERDINAND (GER)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWICZ (POL)
Magomed Guseynovitch KURBANOV (RUS)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
AndriI VLASOV (UKR)

97kg
Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Ahmed Sultanovich BATAEV (BUL)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji Omardibirovich NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Albert SARITOV (ROU)
Alikhan ZHABRAILOV (RUS)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)

125kg
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR)
Islam Timurovich ADIZOV (BUL)
Jere Tapani HEINO (FIN)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Egzon SHALA (KOS)
Samhan JABRAILOV (MDA)
Kamil Tomasz KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Sergei KOZYREV (RUS)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)

Riza KAYAALP (TUR) is on a quest to win his tenth European title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman
55kg
Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Artsiom KATSAR (BLR)
Nedyalko Petrov PETROV (BUL)
Mattias Tero Alarik POUTANEN (FIN)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Fabian Bernhard SCHMITT (GER)
Andre Ricardo CARDOSO OLIVEIRA SILVA (POR)
Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
Viktor VEDERNIKOV (RUS)
Sebastian KOLOMPAR (SRB)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Mykhaylo STUPIN (UKR)

60kg
Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Murad BAZAROV (AZE)
Hleb MAKARANKA (BLR)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Irakli DZIMISTARISHVILI (GEO)
Jozsef ANDRASI (HUN)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Nicolai BURGHILA (MDA)
Michal Jacek TRACZ (POL)
Grzegorz KUNKEL (POL)
Antonio MARTINS CABRAL (POR)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Sergey EMELIN (RUS)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Viktor PETRYK (UKR)

63kg
Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM)
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Soslan DAUROV (BLR)
Nikolay Ivanov VICHEV (BUL)
Yasin OZAY (FRA)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
Andrej GINC (GER)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Andrea SETTI (ITA)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Mateusz Radoslaw SZEWCZUK (POL)
Julinho Benjamim CORREIA DJU (POR)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Zhambolat LOKYAEV (RUS)
Perica DIMITRIJEVIC (SRB)
Niklas Jan Olov Pontus OEHLEN (SWE)
Abdurrahman ALTAN (TUR)
Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR)

67kg
Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
Namaz RUSTAMOV (AZE)
Maksim NEHODA (BLR)
Ivo Krasimirov ILIEV (BUL)
Fredrik Holmquist BJERREHUUS (DEN)
Stefan Roger CLEMENT (FRA)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER)
Mate KRASZNAI (HUN)
Zaur KABALOEV (ITA)
Edgaras VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Donior ISLAMOV (MDA)
Mateusz Lucjan BERNATEK (POL)
Artem SURKOV (RUS)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Oleksii MASYK (UKR)
Aker AL OBAIDI (UWW)

72kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)
Christoph BURGER (AUT)
Khasay HASANLI (AZE)
Anton KORABAU (BLR)
Alen FODOR (CRO)
Mikko Petteri PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed Hassan GHANEM (FRA)
Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO)|
Frank STAEBLER (GER)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Juan Sebastian AAK (NOR)
Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL)
Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS)
Aleksandar MAKSIMOVIC (SRB)
Leos DRMOLA (SVK)
Daniel Mattias SOINI (SWE)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)

77kg
Varuzhan GRIGORYAN (ARM)
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Tsimur BERDYIEU (BLR)
Stoyan Stoychev KUBATOV (BUL)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Waltteri Harri Kristian LATVALA (FIN)
Johnny Just BUR (FRA)
Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
Michael Felix WIDMAYER (GER)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Roman ZHERNOVETSKI (ISR)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Mantas Kazimieras SINKEVICIUS (LTU)
Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Iwan NYLYPIUK (POL)
Ilie COJOCARI (ROU)
Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
Aleksa ERSKI (SRB)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Denis HORVATH (SVK)
Bogdan KOURINNOI (SWE)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Dmytro PYSHKOV (UKR)

82kg
Karapet CHALYAN (ARM)
Tunjay VAZIRZADE (AZE)
Radzik KULIYEU (BLR)
Rosian Ognyanov DERMANSKI (BUL)
Filip SACIC (CRO)
Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Mikko Tapani LYTTINEN (FIN)
Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
Laszlo SZABO (HUN)
Igor PETRISHIN (ISR)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Edgar BABAYAN (POL)
Adlan AKIEV (RUS)
Branko KOVACEVIC (SRB)
Marc WEBER (SUI)
Alex Michel BJURBERG KESSIDIS (SWE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

87kg
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR)
Svetoslav Nikolaev NIKOLOV (BUL)
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Turpan Ali Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO)
Denis Maksymilian KUDLA (GER)
Dimitrios PAPADOPOULOS (GRE)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Viorel BURDUJA (MDA)
Arkadiusz Marcin KULYNYCZ (POL)
Milad Valerikovitch ALIRZAEV (RUS)
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB)
Oskar Alexander Patrick JOHANSSON (SWE)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Zhan BELENIUK (UKR)

97kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Zamir MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Mikalai STADUB (BLR)
Kiril Milenov MILOV (BUL)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Balazs KISS (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL)
Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Ibrahim TIGCI( TUR)
Yevhenii SAVETA (UKR)

130kg
Pavel RUDAKOU (BLR)
Marko KOSCEVIC (CRO)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Konsta Johannes MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Eduard POPP (GER)
Alexandros PAPADATOS (GRE)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Rafal Andrzej KRAJEWSKI (POL)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Oleksandr CHERNETSKYY (UKR)

Two-time world champion Mariya STADNIK (AZE) leads the women's wrestling entries. She's entered at 50kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Natallia VARAKINA (BLR)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Emilia CIRICU BUDEANU (MDA)
Ramona ERIKSEN (NOR)
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)

53kg
Tatyana VARANSOVA (AZE)
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Kamile SERNAUSKAITE (LTU)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Mariia VYNNYK (UKR)

55kg
Katsiaryna PICHKOUSKAYA (BLR)
Sezen Behchetova BELBEROVA (BUL)
Hilary Ysaline HONORINE (FRA)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Jessica Cornelia Francisca BLASZKA (NED)
Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)
Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)
Eda TEKIN (TUR)
Khrystyna Zoryana DEMKO (UKR)

57kg
Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Anhelina LYSAK (POL)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Alina HRUSHYNA AKOBIIA (UKR)

59kg
Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR)
Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL)
Ineta DANTAITE (LTU)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Jowita Maria WRZESIEN (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
Debora LAWNITZAK (GER)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Mariana CHERDIVARA ESANU (MDA)
Katarzyna MADROWSKA (POL)
Valeria KOBLOVA ZHOLOBOVA (RUS)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)

65kg
IrIna Petrovna NETREBA (AZE)
Tatsiana PAULAVA (BLR)
Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Aleksandra WOLCZYNSKA (POL)
Kriszta Tunde INCZE (ROU)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Hanna SADCHANKA (BLR)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Ilana KRATYSH (ISR)
Elma ZEIDLERE (LAT)
Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)
Khanum VELIEVA (RUS)
Tindra Linnea SJOEBERG (SWE)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)

72kg
Yuliana Vasileva YANEVA (BUL)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Natalia Iwona STRZALKA (POL)
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Cynthia Vanessa VESCAN (FRA)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Kamile GAUCAITE (LTU)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Patrycja SPERKA (POL)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Anastasiia OSNIACH SHUSTOVA (UKR)

#WrestleIstanbul

Lee qualifies for Paris 2024; India, China earn first Freestyle spots

Sunday, May 12, 2024 - 11:36 By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Türkiye (May 11) -- Spencer LEE (USA) says it was a long day for him in Istanbul but he needed only 36 seconds to qualify for the Olympics.

After four bouts in over 10 hours at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, Lee thrashed Rakhat KALZAN (KAZ) 12-2 in just 36 seconds in the Paris 2024 qualification bout at 57kg to qualify the United States for the Olympics.

"It was kind of a long day because our bracket was a little smaller," Lee said. "Even though I was like first up pretty much, there was a little bit of a break, with the bronze medal, like people coming back to repechage. There's a lot of space between my matches."

Lee spent only 7 minutes and 50 seconds on the mat, winning three bouts before the first minute finished. The only match that went all the way was his 1/8 final against Wanhao ZOU (CHN) as Lee survived a scare, winning 10-9.

But in his quarterfinal, Lee rocked former European champion Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) 12-2 in 53 seconds using his high gut and used the same move to beat Kalzan 12-2 to confirm his journey.

"I do think that it was like 18 or 19 days I had before this," Lee said about his recovery time after the U.S. trials three weeks ago. "It was a really quick turnaround. I remember like having two or three days off and then I was already scrapping in the room again, like not 100 percent. But we were getting back into it because this is a big deal. It's a big tournament."

Lee also knew that winning the quota from the semifinals was important and did not leave it to Sunday when he would have to win the bronze medal and then the playoff.

"If you don't win right on the semis and you don't qualify, and in the long day, the next day to making weight again, and then competing in other two matches. Better is to win the semis than not," he said.

Lee, a two-time former U20 world champion, was out of international wrestling for eight years. He returned at the Pan-Am Championships earlier this year and won gold. He later defeated Thomas GILMAN (USA) in the best-of-three finals in the U.S. trials to earn the right to wrestle in Istanbul.

"It's not like you really excel in the layoff," he said. "I definitely needed some competition internationally before I competed at the Olympics anyway. So if anything, you see it as a blessing, it was a good thing. Americans are really, really into your face all over you most of the time. Then over here, they're a little more calculated, a little smarter. I think that it was good to get that feel again. Because like I said, you know, eight years has been a long time for me to compete internationally. So I'm glad that I'm back on the scene."

Apart from winning a medal at the Olympics, Lee has another special reason to be in Paris. His mother, a former judoka, hails from France and her family lives there.

"This is a big deal for me," he said. "My family lives in France. They live outside of Bordeaux. My grandmother never has seen me wrestle and it's a really big deal for me to compete in my mother's home country."

Spencer LEE (USA) and AMAN (IND) after their qualification for the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The second spot at 57kg was clinched by AMAN (IND), making him the first male wrestler from India to win a Paris Olympic quota, that it failed to win at the World Championships or the Asian Olympic Qualifier.

Aman, the Asian champion in 2023, defeated Asian Games silver medalist Chongsong HAN (PRK) 12-2 to complete a commanding day in which he had three wins, two of them via technical superiority.

"When I lost the Asian Olympic qualifier, my coaches told me that I should not wrestle outside my style," Aman said. "My style is not to allow the other wrestler to finish the bout. I have to wrestle for six minutes. I had only this target in my mind that I have to wrestle six minutes here."

Out of Aman's three wins on Saturday, only one bout went the full distance. He was up against Tokyo Olympian Georgi VANGELOV (BUL) in his first bout and built a 2-1 lead at the break. But relentless in his attacks, he quickly made it 6-1 before Vangelov hit a double-leg takedown to cut it to 6-3. But it was not enough as Aman won 10-4. Andri YATSENKO (UKR) was up next but Aman showed no mercy, winning the bout 12-2 a minute and eight seconds before time.

"I thought that Vangelov bout was a tight one," he said. "I didn't want him to get to my legs to finish it with a lace. So I kept my distance and scored points whenever I got a chance."

Aman was replacing Ravi DAHIYA (IND), a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and three-time Asian champion, and was under pressure to win India's first spot for the Paris 2024 in Freestyle.

"I am relieved," he said. "It was big responsibility on me to qualify especially in the lowest weight. I was checking the records and India has a wrestler qualifying at this weight since 2004. So I had not qualified, everyone would have blamed me."

India had a chance to win another spot as SUJEET (IND) reached the semifinal against Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) but the latter proved too strong for the former. Tumur Ochir, who earlier defeated Zain RETHERFORD (USA), beat Sujeet 6-1 to earn the Paris spot.

The two were in some intense scrambles but Tumur Ochir seemed the more active wrestler. Sujeet was put on the activity clock in each period, in which he failed to score, giving Tumur Ochir a 2-0 lead. Sujeet got a point for Tumur Ochir's passivity to come within one-point distance for a win.

But his desperate attempts to get a stepout or takedown went in vain and Tumur Ochir hit a four-pointer in the final seconds to claim a 6-1.

The second spot at 65kg was claimed by European champion Islam DUDAEV (ALB) who defeated Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) 12-2 in the semifinal. This was Albania's second Paris 2024 qualification in any style.

While Arushanian was easily seen off, Dudaev must thank his stars as he won his quarterfinals only after a long challenge that Albania threw, asking for a takedown against Kwang Jin KIM (PRK).

Kim led 2-0 with 30 seconds left on the clock when Dudaev hit a single-leg and attempted a takedown. As the time ticked, he failed to control Kim and complete a takedown. However, Albania challenged that at one point, Dudaev had control of the takedown with Kim in three-point contact with the mat.

On review, it was confirmed that Dudaev actually completed a takedown, giving him a 2-2 win which Kim did not accept and spent a few minutes protesting the decision.

Albania almost had a second Paris 2024 when Cherman VALIEV (ALB) defeated Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) 2-2 in the 74kg semifinal but Rassadin challenged and on review, it was seen that Valiev committed a singlet-pull. Rassadin was awarded a point that gave him a 3-2 win.

Valiev had defeated Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) in the quarterfinals and with his loss to Rassadin, Chamizo will not be at the Paris Olympics.

In the other 74kg semifinal, three-time world silver medalist and European champion Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) defeated Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), 4-2, to qualify for his first Olympics. After Salkazanov took 2-2 criteria lead with a stepout, Demirtas made attempts to score but Salkazanov countered one of them and scored a go-behind to make the score 4-2.

At 86kg, European champion Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) defeated Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 5-3, with a takedown in the final seconds to earn the Paris qualification while Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) controlled his semifinal and posted a 3-0 win over Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) and qualified Greece for the Paris Games.

In a stunning moment of brain-fade, Awusayiman HABILA (CHN) gave up a takedown in the final five seconds against Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) to drop his semifinal at 97kg, 2-2, and lose the Paris spot.

Erik THIELE (GER) won the other spot at 97kg after he tired out Radu LEFTER (MDA) and won 3-0.

China did achieve its first Paris quota in Freestyle when Zhiwei DENG (CHN) defeated Jose DIAZ (VEN), 4-0, in the 125kg semifinal and two-time Olympian Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) defeated Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 12-2, to win the other available spot.

RESULTS

57kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Spencer LEE (USA) df. Rakhat KALZAN (KAZ), 10-0
AMAN (IND) df. Chongsong HAN (PRK), 12-2

65kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Islam DUDAEV (ALB) df. Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), 12-2
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. SUJEET (IND), 6-1

74kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR), 4-2
Viktor RASSADIN (TJK) df. Cherman VALIEV (ALB), 3-2

86kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 5-3
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) df. Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR), 3-0

97kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL) df. Awusayiman HABILA (CHN), 2-2
Erik THIELE (GER) df. Radu LEFTER (MDA), 3-0

125kg Paris Qualification Bouts
Zhiwei DENG (CHN) df. Jose DIAZ (VEN), 4-0
Aiaal LAZAREV (KGZ) df. Daniel LIGETI (HUN), 12-2

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Lee qualifies for Paris 2024; India, China earn first Freestyle spots