Beach wrestling

Wrestling Announces Creation of Beach Wrestling World Series

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (August 23) -- United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, has announced details behind The Beach Wrestling World Series. 

The creation of the Beach Wrestling World Series contributes to the structuring and promotion of Beach Wrestling to include the sport in all official multi-sport events.  

Senior-level competitions will be comprised of eight weight categories divided equally amongst men and women. The four men’s weight classes are 70kg, 80kg, 90kg, and +90kg, and the four women’s weight classes are 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, and +70kg.

Beach Wrestling matches will consist of a single three-minute period and will only practice the standing position where the use of the legs are allowed in all actions.


Each bout will begin with both wrestlers standing opposite one another in the in the neutral position in the center of the 7-meter circle, waiting for the referee’s whistle to start wrestling. If the match is interrupted for any reason, action will resume in the neutral position in the center of the circle. 

Wrestlers will be award one (1), or three (3) points using the following criteria: 

One (1) point is the awarded to:
• the wrestler who manages to bring any of his opponent’s body part to the ground, except the hands.
• the wrestler who manages to bring any of his opponent’s body part out of the competition area.
• the wrestler whose opponent has received a caution for illegal action.

Note: the attacker (and only the attacker) can put one knee to the ground when executing an action if this action is finished by the opponent in the ground.

Three (3) points are awarded to:
• the wrestler who manages to expose his opponent’s back to the ground during a takedown or a throw.

Cautions for illegal actions award one (1) point to the opponent up to a total of 3 points during the same match, which results in the end of the match.

The first athlete to three (3) points wins the match. If there is a tie at the end of the match, the following criteria will be used to declare the winner: 

  • The highest value of holds
  • Last point scored
  • Weight of the athletes*
  • The lowest number pulled during the draw/rank

*Their weights (at the official weigh-in) will be checked and the lighter (lightweight) one will be declared as the winner. 

The 2018 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Sarıgerme-Ortaca (Mugla), Turkey on October 6-7 will be the first Beach Wrestling World Series event and will serve as a qualification tournament for the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games which will be held on San Diego’s Mission Beach from October 12-14. 

#WrestleBucharest

Turkiye steals team title from Azerbaijan; Aleksanyan defends

By Vinay Siwach

BUCHAREST, Romania (February 14) -- Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) had a positive head-to-head record against Selcuk CAN (TUR) from their previous meetings. Whether it was last year's European Championships or the 2022 World Championships, Ganizade defeated Can by a one-point difference.

On Wednesday, as the two met in the European Championships final at 72kg in Bucharest, Romania, Can made sure he didn't let Ganizade dominate and blanked the Azerbaijan wrestler 2-0 to win his first-ever European gold medal.

Can's gold and teenager Alperen BERBER's (TUR) dream run to the 82kg gold medal helped Turkiye win the Greco-Roman title by five points over Azerbaijan who also had two champions on Wednesday.

The 97kg gold medal was defended by Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in a come-from-behind victory over Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN) in the final. Armenia finished third in the team race.

Selcuk CAN (TUR)Selcuk CAN (TUR) won his first-ever European Championships gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Can and Ganizade were aggressive from the first whistle in the final but it was the former who was awarded the par terre advantage. Ganizade did well to defend from par terre and not let Can score any points.

In the second period, Ganizade would have hoped to get a par terre advantage but in a rare case, Can was awarded the second par terre advantage as well, making his lead 2-0 which remained the final score.

Alperen BERBER (TUR)Alperen BERBER (TUR) celebrates after winning the 82kg gold medal for Turkiye. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

U20 world champion Berber's gold was not a big shot in the arm for him, but it helped Turkiye win the team title. Facing Islam ALIEV (AIN) in the final, Berber scored exposure on the edge of the zone for two points which he was awarded after a challenge. He was then awarded the par terre advantage as he led 3-0.

Aliev tried hard to attack but Berber wasn't allowing him to penetrate. Aliev challenged for a singlet-foul which was confirmed on review. A big move from Aliev was deemed a stepout for Berber who was now running away with the gold.

Aliev was giving the par terre advantage late in the second period but he failed to score from par terre and Berber held on to his 4-3 lead.

Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) defeated Victor CIOBANU (MDA) to win the 60kg gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Azerbaijan's two gold medals came with Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), both students of coach Hassan ALIYEV.  Mammadli stunned Victor CIOBANU (MDA) in the 60kg final 8-3 while Jafarov showed why he is regarded as high, beating Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN), 8-5 in the 67kg final.

Ciobanu was awarded the par terre advantage in the first period but he failed to score any points. Mammadli managed to open his account with a stepout which put him in a 1-1 criteria lead. He gripped Ciobanu by his back and added two more points, leading 3-1 at the break.

Ciobanu used a similar move which Mammadli tried to throw off but Ciobanu ended up scoring a takedown in the zone. Mammadli was cross footed by Ciobanu but the foot had landed outsided the zone which gave Mammadli a point. Ciobanu challenged only to lose it. Mammadli got two points from a pass-by which looked Ciobanu's defense but as he did not have a challenge, Mammadli was awarded two points, swelling his lead to 7-3. A stepout confirmed an 8-3 win for Mammadli.

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) hits a four on Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN) in the 67kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Jafarov followed that with an even more impressive win in the 67kg final. Wrestling Bichurin, Jafarov led 1-0 at the break and gave up exposure in the second period, falling behind 3-1. A reversal made it 3-2.

A third passivity was confirmed in the final with a minute and six seconds left and that is Jafarov ran away with the match. He hit a magical four-pointer and as Bichurin tried a head-pinch in the same sequence, Jafarov held Bichurin on his back, getting two more points.

The world silver medalist now has two back-to-back European Championships titles.

Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM)Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) won his seventh European title on Wednesday. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

For Aleksanyan, who won his seventh title, Murtazaliev did prove to be a big challenge as he scored a takedown and then led 3-0 as he got a par terre.

But once Aleksanyan got the par terre advantage in the second period, he pulled off a powerful gut wrench to lead 3-3 on criteria which he made 4-3 when Murtazaliev challenged for a leg foul and lost.

Aleksanyan scored a takedown towards the end, confirming yet another gold medal, five months after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the World Championships final.

jk

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), 8-3 

BRONZE: Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) df. Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), 2-1
BRONZE: Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) df. Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU), 10-0

67kg
GOLD: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Ruslan BICHURIN (AIN), 8-5

BRONZE: Abu AMAEV (BUL) df. Morten THORESEN (NOR), 8-5
BRONZE: Murat FIRAT (TUR) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 5-4

72kg
GOLD: Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE), 2-0

BRONZE: Narek OGANIAN (AIN) df. Krisztian VANCZA (HUN), 3-1
BRONZE: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA), 5-0

82kg
GOLD: Alperen BERBER (TUR) df. Islam ALIEV (AIN), 4-3

BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 9-0
BRONZE: Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) df. Erik SZILVASSY (HUN), 2-1

97kg
GOLD: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) df. Magomed MURTAZALIEV (AIN), 6-3

BRONZE: Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), via fall (8-0)
BRONZE: Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) df. Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR), 8-0