Shapiro achieved that by wrestling one of the greatest finals in tournament history as he broke Rezaei with his hard wrestling and remained unbeaten internationally.
Though the final did not positively for Shapiro as he got spun for two before Rezaei scored a trap for two more points, Shapiro headed a hit to the head, literally to regain his focus. Shapiro hit his head against Rezaei's hip and a cut to his took some serious medical attention.
Despite "freaking out", Shapiro returned with a focused mind and opened his scoring with a stepout. He then added two points via exposure by thrusting Rezaei to the mat when he was trying to lift Shapiro.
"Lot of emotions in that match," he said. "I came out hard and he also came out hard. In that exchange, a lot of emotions were going on in my head. I was freaking out a little bit. But that was enough time to reset my mind. It looks hard out there but that was my favorite match of the tournament. I really got to show off my skill.
Shapiro was a different wrestler in the second period as he used his reach to score via ankle picks. He scored a takedown 10 seconds after the break. A stepout and another counter takedown made it 8-4 for the U.S. wrestler. Rezaei got one back using a lighting double and closed the gap to 8-6. But Shapiro controlled the center of the mat and put Rezaei in uncomfortable positions. He managed one more stepout and takedown to win 11-6.
"I have long arms and legs. I can use that pretty well," he said. "Being able to wrestle into positions, wrestling with Yianni [Diakomihalis] and other guys who push me, I kept being told that put these guys in position, they are not better than you."
Shapiro will try proving that in the domestic college season later this year when he wrestles for Cornell University, home to Diakomihalis and four-time world champion Kyle DAKE (USA). But before that is his introduction where, in most likelihood, Shapiro will reach with a bruised eye and a cut to his head.
"I got a few bruises and cuts but I will be back to training," he said.
Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) celebrates after winning the gold medal against Jesse MENDEZ (USA). (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)
The United States had two more wrestlers in the finals both failed to repeat what Shapiro managed.
At 65kg, Jesse MENDEZ (USA) wrestled Mohammad Reza SHAKERI (IRI) and just could not match Shakeri's level, dropping the final 5-2.
Shakeri, who had finished ninth at last year's U20 World Championships, jumped levels to win the gold medal this year. He put Mendez in strong underhooks and opened the scoring via a steptout before getting a point for the U.S. wrestler's inactivity.
In the second period, Shakeri was put on the shot clock and gave up a point but added a stepout to lead 3-1. He made it 4-1 with a minute left with another stepout. Mendez got on a single leg but only managed to push Shakeri out for a point. As Mendez's desperation grew, Shakeri kept his ground to win 5-2, earning himself a first world medal as he finished fifth at the 2021 U17 World Championships.
Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) scores a takedown against Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) in the 57kg final. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)
Last year's U17 world champion Luke LILLEDAHL (USA) was looking to add a U20 world title to his resume to he ran into Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) who won the U20 world title at 61kg in 2022.
Wrestling in the 57kg final this year, Nishiuchi created history by becoming the first wrestler from Japan to win two U20 world gold medals in Freestyle.
A wrestler who has won medals at the senior Ranking Series events, Nishiuchi used his experience to completely shut down Lilledahl who reached the final after a buzzer-beating fall over Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) in the semifinal.
But there were no comebacks from him in the final as Nishiuchi scored two takedowns and one stepout to win the gold medal 5-0.
"I wanted to go harder, widen the gap in points, and aim for a technical fall win," he said. "My opponents were physically strong and we couldn't attack as much as I wanted."
Nishiuchi was relieved with the gold medal as he had to recover from a knee injury suffered at the Meiji Cup in June in a short period of time.
"I was injured at the Meiji Cup and was worried if I will be able to recover in the short period before this World Championships. But I am in good condition now with taping," he said.
Dropping down from 61kg to 57kg brought its own challenges and the biggest one for Nishiuchi was the weight cut. That caused a few bumps on his way but the Japan wrestler managed to keep things under control.
"The most difficult match was the first one against Uzbekistan because I was cutting weight and I was not moving smoothly," he said."But my condition improved later."
Aware of the fact that he can create history, Nishiuchi felt the pressure of being a defending champion.
"I knew that no Japan wrestler has won two times at the U20 world championships," he said. "Last year I was the challenger but this year I was the champion so I was under pressure and also nervous.
"Even though I won last year, I didn't expect it to be easy because it's a world championship. However, I had been fighting for the Paris Olympics, so I could not afford to lose in the U20 category."
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) defeated Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), 5-0, in the 97kg final. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)
Iran won its second gold medal of the day when Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) defeated Ivan PRYMACHENKO (UKR), 5-0, in the 97kg final.
In a remarkable turnaround, Babaloo went from finishing fifth at the U20 Asian Championships in Amman to becoming a U20 world champion in a month. He avenged his losses to Kamil KURGULIYEV (KAZ) and Deepak CHAHAL (IND).In the final, Babaloo got a point for Prymachenko's inactivity before adding two stepouts to lead 3-0 at the break. Any attempt from Prymachenko was easily defended by Babaloo who scored takedown to win 5-0.
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