#WrestleXian

Younger Geraei Earns Shot at Asian Greco Gold; Iran, Uzbekistan Put 2 Each in Finals

Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 09:01 By Ken Marantz

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XI’AN, China (April 28)— Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) has already exceeded his older brother at the Asian Championships, while Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) prevented the possibility of a Iranian sweep of the four heaviest weights in Greco-Roman. 

Geraei was one of two Iranians to advance to the finals in the five remaining weight classes on the final day of the six-day tournament in Xi’an, setting up a clash for the 72kg gold with local favorite ZHANG Hujun (CHN).

Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) gained a place in the 82kg final against Singh HARPEET (IND), but world bronze medalist Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI) was denied a shot at the 97kg gold after suffering a nail-biting 7-5 loss to Dzhuzupbekov in the semifinals.

Uzbekistan also placed two wrestlers in the finals in the night session at Xidian University’s Invengo Gymnasium, with 2018 bronze medalist Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) advancing at 60kg and Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) taking on Dzhuzupbekov at 97kg.

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will wrestle China's ZHANG Hujun in the 72kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Geraei, third at last summer’s Asian Games in Jakarta, overcame a high hurdle in the semifinals by beating 2017 world silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 9-3, capping the victory with a highlight-reel four-point throw.

Geraei had watched as older brother Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) had to settle for the 77kg bronze the day before, when Iran picked up golds at 87kg and 130kg. 

 “There was no effect on my wrestling,” Geraei said of his brother’s defeat. “But I was little sad about my brother. My brother could have been first.”

Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) will wrestle Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) in a rematch of the Asian Games bronze-medal match. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

ZHANG Hujun (CHN) seemed to be heading to the 97kg final when Dzhuzupbekov reversed him to his back during a roll attempt with 30 seconds left for the winning points. That avenged a loss to the Iranian at a tournament in Istanbul last year.

“Everyone was screaming and it was motivating me,” said Dzhuzupbekov, a bronze medalist on home soil last year in Bishkek as well as at the Asian Games. “At the end, I was just thinking to keep attacking him.”

The final against Turdiev, who turns 37 this week, will be a rematch of the bronze-medal match in Jakarta won by Dzhuzupbekov.

RI Se Ung (PRK) knocked off world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) on his road to the 60kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The depth of quality in Asia in the 60kg division came out as neither 2017 world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) nor 2018 world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) made it to the final.

Both wrestlers were knocked off by crafty RI Se Ung (PRK), and will meet for a bronze medal. Ri will take on Bakhramov for the gold.

Ri, the silver medalist at Bishkek 2018, defeated Fumita, 5-3, in the quarterfnals. From the par terre position, Ri reeled off a pair of rolls before giving up a reversal to lead 5-1. In the second period, Fumita put the pressure on, but could only gain a two-point penalty for fleeing. 

“[The difference] was that I didn’t attack, that was big,” said Fumita, who returned from a knee injury to defeat 2018 Asian champion Shinobu OTA (JPN) at the national championships in December, a month after winning the world U23 title. 

Ri’s victory over Walihan in the semifinals followed a similar pattern, as he scored five points in the first period and went on to win 5-2.

Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ), the runner-up to Fumita at the Paris 2017 world championships and an Asian bronze medalist last year, failed to make it out of the first round, falling to LEE Jungbaik (KOR), who was subsequently ousted by Walihan.

RYU Hansu (KOR) will look to win his third Asian title when he competes against Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) in the 67kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

At 67kg, Asian Games champion RYU Hansu (KOR) will look to add to his long list of laurels, which includes two previous Asian titles, when he takes on world bronze medalist Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) in the final.

Ryu, a 2017 world champion, knocked off 2018 bronze medalist Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 7-2, in the semifinals, while Shermakhanbet trailed 2-0 going into the second period against gritty Abdulkarim ALHASAN (SYR) before blitzing his way to a 10-2 technical fall victory.

Day 6 results

Greco-Roman

60kg (12 entries)
Gold – Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) v RI Se Ung (PRK)
Bronze – HUANG Jui Chi (TPE) vs Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Bronze – Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) v Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)

Semifinals
RI Se Ung (PRK) df. Sailike WALIHAN (CHN), 5-2
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Gyanender GYANENDER (IND) by TF, 9-0, 1:24

67kg (14 entries)
Gold – Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) v RYU Hansu (KOR)
Bronze – ZHANG Gaoquan (CHN) v Abdulkarim AL HASAN (SYR)
Bronze – Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN) v Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

Semifinals
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) df. Abdulkarim AL HASAN (SYR) by TF, 10-2, 4:06
RYU Hansu (KOR) df. Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 7-2

72kg (9 entries)
Gold – ZHANG Hujun (CHN) v Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Bronze – Yogesh YOGESH (IND) v Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Bronze – Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) v Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)

Semifinals
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 9-3
ZHANG Hujun (CHN) df. Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ), 5-5

82kg (9 entries)
Gold – Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) v Singh HARPEET (IND)
Bronze – Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ) v Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
Bronze – Burgo BEISHALIEV (KGZ) v QIAN Haitao (CHN)

Semifinals
Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) df. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) by TF, 10-0, 4:27
Singh HARPEET (IND) df. QIAN Haitao (CHN) by TF, 10-1, 3:42

97kg (9 entries)
Gold – Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) v Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Bronze – LEE Seyeol (KOR) v XIAO Di (CHN)
Bronze – Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) v Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI)

Semifinals
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI), 7-5
Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) df. XIAO Di (CHN), 4-1

#wrestlebishkek

Susaki 2.0 Ready to Rumble at Asian Championships

Saturday, March 28, 2026 - 07:14 By Vinay Siwach

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Yui SUSAKI (JPN) at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (March 27) -- In what has become a lasting photo of wrestling from the 2024 Paris Olympics, a wide-eyed Yui SUSAKI (JPN) is seen staring blankly into nothing.

The photo was taken after Susaki suffered her first-ever international loss. Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) had just defeated her in the opening round of the Paris Games. It was not a familiar feeling for Susaki. Not in international wrestling at least.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) lost her first bout at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

It was only after she walked off the mat and faced the cameras waiting for her in the field of play mixed zone that Susaki realized what had happened. She burst into tears.

Almost two years after that after that loss, a 'new' Susaki is returning to action at next week's Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in a bid to re-establish herself as the dominant force she was before Paris.

"The defeat at the Paris Olympics and the year-and-a-half that followed were an incredibly difficult and painful time," Susaki says.

Susaki went on to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, a downgrade from the gold medal she won in Tokyo where she outscored her opponents 41-0. The loss shocked the world as Susaki was considered unbeatable. She was a three-time world champion boasting of a 96-0 winning streak, never lost an international bout and was the first wrestler to win the Golden Grand Slam, winning the Olympic gold and all age-group world titles including senior.

A second Olympic title seemed inevitable. There was no stopping.

While the loss was on the mat, Susaki believes that things off the mat may have contributed to her loss as well.

"In recent years, my desire to give back and do things for those around me had grown stronger," she says. "My focus had shifted toward others. When my focus is on others, I feel pressure, my mind gets cluttered with distractions, and doubts arise, leading me to overthink things."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) celebrates after winning the world title in 2023. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

She is relieved that she did not overthink the loss in Paris after she returned to Japan.

"There were moments when I lost faith in myself [after that Paris loss]," she says. "But since then, I’ve focused more than ever on self-reflection and self-dialogue in my personal life, as well as on developing my character as a person. I’ve gained a deeper understanding of myself, and I feel I’ve developed a firm sense of self."

The version that Susaki has been working on over the last year did not begin just after the Olympics. There was one more bump before she made an important career decision.

Susaki was finding it incredibly difficult to reduce weight to continue wrestling at 50kg. So in September 2025, she decided to wrestle at 53kg at the National Sports Festival in Japan. It did not go as planned.

She suffered her first domestic loss in six years when world champion Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) defeated her at the festival. What was more alarming was that Susaki failed to finish a takedown in the final minute despite getting control over Kiyooka.

The 26-year-old returned to the drawing board with a sense of urgency as the Emperor's Cup was looming. The 2025 December tournament was the first step towards making the Japan team for the 2026 Asian Championships, World Championships and the Asian Games.

"The answer I arrived at after overcoming it all was simple: I wrestle because I love it and because I want to become an Olympic champion," she said. "I wrestle not for anyone else, but for myself -- to make my dream come true."

Susaki, along with her team, devised a better plan to reduce weight and remain at 50kg. She ate precise and molded her training in a way in which she managed to contain the weight.

In December, she won the Emperor's Cup at 50kg without much trouble and earn a spot on the Japan team for the Asian Championships which only be her third in her 12-year international career.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) defeated Ziqi FENG (CHN) in the 50kg final at the Asian Championships in 2024. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Incidentally, her last Asian Championships was also in Bishkek in 2024, and she won gold after beating Ziqi FENG (CHN) in the final. She is likely to face Feng again as the Paris Olympic bronze medalist is among a strong field at 50kg this year.

One of the challenges that Susaki will be keen on taking on is a bout against Son Hyang KIM (PRK), a wrestler Susaki has beaten before. The two met in the 48kg final of the 2017 Asian Championships, Susaki's first, and the Japanese wrestler won 10-0.

Then in the same year, the two met at the World Championships and Kim managed to keep it tighter but failed to stop Susaki from winning, 5-2. Susaki went on to win her first senior world title.

While the matches against formidable opponents are something she is looking forward to, Susaki is more excited to return to an international tournament after a break and kick start her new Olympic cycle.

"I’m incredibly excited to be competing in a UWW international tournament for the first time in a year and eight months," she said. "I want to win this tournament to get off to a strong start, so that I can compete in the Los Angeles Olympics and reclaim the gold medal. I also want wrestling fans to see how much stronger Yui Susaki has become.

"I think you’ll get to see a whole new Yui Susaki!"