#BudaWrestle2018

Wrestling Releases Top Seeds for 2018 Senior World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (October 5) – With less than three weeks until the start of the Wrestling World Championships in Budapest, United World Wrestling has released the names of wrestlers eligible to receive seeds in all 30 weight categories.

The 2018 Senior Wrestling World Championships are the first to utilize a ranking system for determination of competitive seeds. Previously athletes were randomly pulled into the brackets via a random draw. The new ranking series and seeding system were announced at the 2017 World Championships in Paris.

“We are excited to see the results of this year’s rankings on the competitiveness of the world championships,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. “We will pay close attention to the results and of course, if necessary, adjust some parts of the rankings to make better conditions for athletes and fans.”

Only wrestlers finishing within the top four of the pre-World’s competition calendar are eligible to receive a seed, and the seed is non-transferable to other wrestlers of the same national federation. If a seeded wrestler does not enter at their designated weight the seed goes to the next ranked wrestler.

For example, if the N°1 seed withdraws, the N°2 seed will take his position. Then the N°3 seed will take the position of the N°2 seed and the N°4 seed will take the position of the N°3 seed. The position of the N°4 seed will be free and be randomly drawn.

Wrestlers also may not carry their seed to a new weight class.

The rankings were determined by tallying points acquired at Continental championships and several Ranking Series tournaments (listed below). Results from the world championships will also be added to the rankings and final results will be listed later in the year.

Men’s Freestyle

Ivan Yarygin (RUS) | Tbilisi GP (GEO) | Yasar Dogu (TUR) | Medved (BLR)

Women’s Wrestling

Klippan Lady Open (SWE) | Mongolia Open (MGL) | China Open (CHN) | Poland Open (POL)  

Greco-Roman

Takhti Cup (IRI) | Granma y Cerro Pelado (CUB) | Hungarian GP (HUN) | Vehbi Emre (TUR)

** The full list of seeds can be found, here. **

#WrestleTirana

Monday's U23 World Championship semifinals set

By Eric Olanowski

TIRANA, Albania (October 23) --- Welcome, wrestling fans, to Albania's capital city for the 2023 U23 World Championships--the final stop on the world championship calendar.

Day One's action will feature freestyle wrestling at 61kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 125kg.

Here are some of the biggest stars that'll be in action today:
- Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) - '22 U23 world champ
- Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) - '22 U23 world silver
- Aaron BROOKS (USA) - '22 U23 world bronze  
- Ivan ICHIZLI (MDA) - '22 U23 world bronze 
- Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) - '22 U20 world gold
Vasile DIACON (MDA) - '22 U23 world bronze
- Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA) - '21 U20 world gold

Semifinal Matches (As they come in):
61kg
Assylzhan YESSENGELDI (KAZ) vs. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Ivan HRAMYKA (AIN) vs. Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN)

74kg
Imam GANISHOV (AIN) vs. Naveen NAVEEN (UWW)
Sonny SANTIAGO (PUR) vs. Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA)

86kg
Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) vs. Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) vs. Aaron Marquel BROOKS (USA)

92kg
Andro MARGISHVILI (GEO) vs. Ion DEMIAN (MDA)
Muhammed GIMRI (TUR) vs. Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (UWW)

125kg
Adil MISIRCI (TUR) vs. Kumar ANIRUDH (UWW)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE) vs. Wyatt Avery HENDRICKSON (USA)

15:02: That'll do it for the morning session. We'll take a break until 18:00 and see you back here for the semifinals. 

14:32: Patil just ruined Vishanov's hopes of winning France their first freestyle U23 world title with a nine-point second period. More importantly, those nine points were unanswered, so after trailing 6-0, he locked up a semifinal spot with a 9-6 victory.

14:26: A sneaky storyline I'm watching is Adlan VISKHANOV's (FRA) success at 92kg. He's looking to become the first French freestyle wrestler to win a U23 world title. He leads 6-0 on Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (UWW).

14:20: Aaron BROOKS (USA) picked up his third dominant win of the day. He's now outscored his opponents 24-1 on his way to the semifinals.

13:50: We're starting the quarters, so I'll update the semifinal matches as the quarter-finals wrap up.

13:39: When the United States desperately needed a freestyle heavyweight, Wyatt HENDRICKSON (USA) arrived in Albania to save the day. As if Gable STEVESON (USA) and Mason PARRIS (USA) weren't enough, the Stars and Stripes now have Hendrickson throwing the competition around he's in his own league.

So far today, Hendrickson pinned Abdulla KURBANOV (AIN) after scoring 17 offensive points, then just took out Nicolae STRATULAT (MDA), 14-1.

13:29: We'll only run through the quarterfinals before taking a lunch break. Then, for tonight's session, we'll only wrestle through the semifinals. The first set of medal matches won't be until Tuesday night at 18:00 (local time).

13:12: It's a shame that one of those guys had to lose because that was such a hard-fought battle for both guys. Jacob Thomas CARDENAS (USA) was relentless with attacks to both sides of the body and ultimately scored the match-deciding takedown with :30 seconds left to take out Alan BAGAEV (AIN)4-1.

13:02: The reigning champ Shirai picked up a second win of the day, moving into the quarterfinals after scoring a 4-1 win over Morodion. Shirai picked up two inactivity points and a late takedown against the Canadian.

12:30: Down goes Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) at 74kg. He adopted the strategy of keeping it quiet against NAVEEN (UWW) in the first period. He led 3-1 till the final minute when Naveen got a takedown on the edge. Gadzhiev tries a headpinch to win the bout but Naveen defends to score two points. Naveen beats Gadzhiev 5-3  

12:15: The United States wrestlers remain undefeated so far in the morning! Keegan OTOOLE (USA) roars to life in the second period to get a 12-2 win over Krisztian BIRO (ROU) at 74kg. Then Aaron BROOKS (USA) comes out and completes a 10-0 win over Owen MARTIN (CAN) at 86kg. Unreal athleticism from Brooks in that win. 

11:55: After an opening round 8-0 win over Igor Stefan SZUCKI (POL), reigning U23 world champion Tatsuya SHIRAI (JPN) will take on Joshua Philipp David MORODION (GER) in five matches on Mat C.

11:47: Reigning U23 world silver medalist Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) was just assigned to Mat C. He'll take on Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) in Bout 73.

11:36: I'm working on getting the video, but the Ganishov five on Diacon is on the list of top-five throws of the year. It's one of those throws that sends any normal human straight to the hospital.

11:25: Aaron Marquel BROOKS (USA), the top threat in the United States to dethrone David TAYLOR (USA), is up now on Mat B. He's wrestling Turkiye's Ismail KUCUKSOLAK (TUR).

11:18: It's early in the day, but Imam GANISHOV (AIN) beating U23 world bronze medalist Vasile DIACON (MDA) is the leading candidate for Upset of the Day. The Neutral Athlete picked up an 8-0 win in the 74kg qualification round, pushing him to the 1/8 final against  Stas David WOLF (GER).

11:10: Keegan Daniel OTOOLE (USA) of the United States, the '2021 U20 world champion, didn't skip a beat in his return to international competition. The offensive machine picked up five takedowns en route to the 10-0 opening-round win over Vadym KURYLENKO (UKR).

10:53: It's time to close out the 2023 calendar in style! The U23 Worlds is one of my favorite competitions of the season. Today's champions will likely bloom into tomorrow's stars. It's crazy to look back at the photos from the past few years at the U23 World Championships to see how the wrestlers have transitioned into stars and global sensations.