#BudaWrestle2018

Wrestling Releases Fan and Press Guide; Announces Documentary Series ‘Wrestling 360’

By Tim Foley

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (October 17) – With the 2018 Wrestling World Championships kicking off in three days, United World Wrestling has released its first Fan and Press Guide and announced its new documentary series, “Wrestling 360'.”

[La version française est disponible ici : Guide Presse & Fans.]

The Fan and Press guide is a full account of the past year in wrestling; providing statistics, results and link-rich text to allow fans and press from around the world to gather a better sense of matchups, rivalries, weight categories, and team races in all three styles.

The Fan and Press Guide is available for download at the World Championship event page, which will also include full, updated entry lists for each of the 90+ nations set to attend the World Championships as well as updated individual and team results, livestreams, and news wraps from the event. 

In another first, United World Wrestling is also offering free photo downloads from the world championships. The open access to United World Wrestling’s images allows fans, press, national federations and the wrestlers to download and share images from their favorite moments during the eight days of the championships. The link also includes access to all the images from the 2017 World Championships in Paris.

In addition to the press and fan-friendly items, United World Wrestling’s media team has released Episode 1 of its documentary series, “Wrestling 360.” The first installment, “From Many, One – United States Men’s Freestyle, takes viewers inside the minds of the American freestyle wrestling team as they reflect on their 2017 team title and state their intentions to repeat as world champions in 2018.

Episode 2, scheduled to be released at the end of 2018, concentrates on the wrestling culture of Dagestan and includes interviews with Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADUALEV and UFC lightweight champion Khabib NURMAMAGOMEDOV. Dagestan’s rich wrestling culture, and the positive affects it has on the region, was recently documented by the New York Times and AFP.

The 2018 Senior Wrestling World Championships will run from October 20-28 at the Papp Laszlo Arena in Budapest, Hungary. Livestream coverage of the event will be on the United World Wrestling homepage with TV coverage available worldwide.

A detailed schedule of events can be found in the Fan and Press Guide as well as on the event page for the championships.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: Leydecker Makes Senior Debut with 53kg Gold

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- If Japan swept the gold medals in Women's Wrestling on day three of the Zagreb Open on Friday, day four on Saturday was a different story. Japan failed to win any gold medal as four different countries crowned champions.

U20 world champion Everest LEYDECKER (USA) threw her name in the mix at 53kg by winning gold in her first senior event. MANISHA (IND), Asian champion at 62kg, moved down to 57kg and managed to win gold in Zagreb.

At 72kg, Buse TOSUN (TUR) had a tough path but she managed find a way and win gold after beating Diksha MALIK (IND), 5-2, i the finals. The final gold of women's went to Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) who pinned Tristan KELLY (USA), via fall (9-1)..

Leydecker, just 18 years old, secured a one-sided victory over Roksana ZASINA (POL) in the final. She managed to score three takedowns and one point for activity clock against Zasina.

This was the American's first-ever senior event internationally but she showed no signs of being overawed by the situation.

In the semifinals, Leydecker faced two-time world bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) and rallied on her one takedown to win the match 2-2 on criteria.

While the norm is to move up weight classes as wrestlers try and adjust into the Olympic weight, Manisha decided to move down from 62kg to 57kg. The decision could backfire but on Saturday, Manisha showed no mercy to her opponents and winning the gold medal at 57kg.

Facing Himeka TOKUHARA in the final, Manisha gave no chance to the Japanese in the final and two points in the first period and one in the second to close out a 3-0 blanking.

Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) brought the best for the last as she pinned Tristan KELLY (USA) in the 76kg final and capture a gold medal for Romania. Two huge throws resulted in four-points and after the second throw, Anghel held Kelly on the mat to secure the fall and the gold medal.

Paris bronze medalist Buse TOSUN (TUR), wrestling at 72kg, captured the season-opening Ranking Series gold after comfortably beating Diksha MALIK (IND), 5-2, in the final.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD:  Everest LEYDECKER (USA) df. Roksana ZASINA (POL), 7-0

BRONZE: Umi IMAI (JPN) df. Annika WENDLE (GER), via forfeit
BRONZE: ANTIM (IND) df. Anjali KACHHAWA (IND), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: MANISHA (IND) df. Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN), 3-0

BRONZE: Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) df. Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR), 11-0
BRONZE: Amory ANDRICH (GER) df. Tindra DALMYR (SWE), 4-2

72kg
GOLD: Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Diksha MALIK (IND), 5-2

BRONZE: Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE) df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN), 4-1
BRONZE: Veronika VILK (CRO) df. Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW), via inj. def.

76kg
GOLD: Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) df. Tristan KELLY (USA), via fall (9-1)

BRONZE: Kendra DACHER (FRA) df. PRIYA (IND), via fall (6-0)
BRONZE: Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. Shauna KUEBECK (CAN), 10-0

Greco-Roman

77kg
GOLD: Ali OSKOU (IRI) df. Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), 9-1

BRONZE: Robert FRITSCH (HUN) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL), 1-1

87kg
GOLD: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Tamas LEVAI (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Payton JACOBSON (USA), 2-1
BRONZE: Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) df. Matej MANDIC (CRO), 6-1