#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open: 'Calm' Khaslakhanau creates storm, Hedayati wins 130kg

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 14) -- Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) had not wrestled Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) before. But he had watched his World Championships loss in the pre-quarterfinals. A headlock throw saw Savolainen get pinned in Belgrade last year and end his chances of winning a senior World Championships medal and a Paris Olympic quota.

So when the two met in the Zagreb Open Ranking Series final at 97kg on Saturday, Khaslakhanau did not waste any time and hit a headlock for four. While he did not get the pin, he managed to finish the final in a minute and six seconds and claim the gold medal as the tournament came to a close with six Greco-Roman weight classes.

Khaslakhanau, who finished fifth at the World Championships after losing to Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) and Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) in the bronze medal bout, showed why he could be a big medal threat in Paris as he calmly went about business and won five bouts in some fashion.

Beginning with a 13-5 win over Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO), Khaslakhanau scored an 8-1 win over Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA). He defeated Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE) 8-0 in the quarterfinals and faced Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) in the semifinal which turned out to be a close one.

Ahmadiyev was quick to take an aggressive approach in the bout but Khaslakhanau kept himself calm and got the first par terre advantage. He scored a turn to lead 3-0 against Ahmadiyev who got par terre advantage in the second period but failed to score. Khaslakhanau decided to keep the 3-1 lead and thwarted every Ahmadiyev attack to win. A stepout in the final second of the bout made it 4-1.

In the final, Savolainen was just getting started when Khaslakhanau hit a stunning headlock and held the Finland wrestler on his back. Savolainen had Khaslakhanau on his back to earn two points but he could not do that for long. Khaslakhanau once again went on top, giving him two more points. Savolainen was cautioned for blocking and asked to return in par terre trailing 8-2.

Khaslakhanau lifted Savolainen for a big throw but managed only a two-point throw which ended the bout. Finland challenged that it was only a stepout which was the case but the replays showed Savolainen blocking Khalakhanau again. A second caution and two points were awarded against him, ending the bout 11-2.

Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN)Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) won the 97kg gold medal in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

"Today’s matches went perfect," Khaslakhanau said. "All the five matches were tough apart from the final. I had to prepare for each one in the same way. That’s why I am satisfied with my performance, but it’s not a limit, I should still work more and achieve more."

Despite perfect bouts, the U20 world champion maintained an expressionless face and did not give away much.

"I am a very disciplined wrestler thanks to my coach Kiril FOMENKO," he said. "Being respectful to my opponents doesn’t let me show any emotions. That’s why I am so reserved when I lose and when I win."

Khaslakhanau will now head to the European Championships but a clash with U23 world champion Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) did not take place after the latter lost his quarterfinal.

"We wrestle together at the training, we also wrestled each other two times at competitions, I lost both times," he said.

Just 19 years old, Khaslakhanau has added two world titles to his name and qualified for the Paris Olympics. But it was only a piece of luck that he ended up being a wrestler.

"I started wrestling when I was 10 years old," he said. "A coach came to school to choose the kids and he invited me and I decided to give it a try. I liked it. I train in the wrestling club “Legend”. I want to say that it’s the best club at least in our country, and soon will be the best one in the world."

Savolainen was satisfied with his wrestling till the final and said that he knows his weakness and will continue to work on it.

"I was quite happy until the evening. In the final, it was the same mistake as the World Championships where I lost because of the same head throw," he said. "It could have been my time on the mat in the second period but we never got there in the final."

Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI)Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated Oscar PINO (CUB) 8-2 in the 130kg quarterfinals. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Another U20 world champion had a great day in office as Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) won the gold medal at 130kg after two big wins. His first big test came against world bronze medalist Oscar PINO (CUB) and he passed that with flying colors, winning 8-2.

In the final, Hedayati faced Asian silver medalist Lingzhe MENG (CHN). After giving up the first passivity, Hedayati scored two stepouts before getting a par terre advantage in the second period to win 3-1.

The victory makes Hedayati the real successor behind world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) at 130kg. Only time will tell when Hedayati will take over the reins from Mirzazadeh who is likely to go to Paris and will have to wrestle Hedayati.

At 60kg, Victor CIOBANU (MDA) pulled out injured and Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) got the gold medal. That was after both Lalaev and Ciobanu had a dominant morning session. Ciobanu defeated Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) 3-3 in an action-packed semifinal.

Nazaryan led 1-1 on criteria after par terre advantage. At one point, he lifted Ciobanu for a suplex but the Moldovan used his hands to avoid landing in danger position, saving him from giving up any points. Moldova challenged the call asking for two points as Ciobanu landed on top of Nazaryan but it was deemed clean with no points to any wrestler.

Ciobanu, trailing on criteria, got Nazaryan in a lock and as he tried to score a takedown, Nazaryan got the exposure and then Ciobanu scored a reversal. The referees ruled it two points only for Ciobanu. Bulgaria challenged the call and the judge ruled it two points each to both wrestlers with Ciobanu scoring later which gave him a 3-3 criteria and the win.

Lalaev defeated two Individual Neutral Athletes before beating Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR) 9-0 in the semifinal.

Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE)Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) won the 72kg gold medal in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In the two non-Olympic weight classes of 72kg and 82kg, Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) and Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) were the respective gold medalists.

Ganizade took on Levente LEVAI (HUN) and began with a big front headlock throw for four, got another point for par terre and got two more when Levai tried to throw him but landed on his own back. No more points were awarded and Ganizade won 7-0.

In the 82kg final Ezilvassy took on U20 world champion Alperen BERBER (TUR) and never gave the youngster a chance to trouble him. Ezilvassy scored a turn from par terre and added a takedown in the second period to rule out any passivity warning against him. He won 5-0.

Adem UZUN (TUR) and Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN) were the only two wrestlers entered in 55kg and Uzun was too good for Stupakevich, winning the gold medal 10-2.

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RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Adem UZUN (TUR) df. Maksim STUPAKEVICH (AIN), 10-2

60kg
GOLD: Sadyk LALAEV (AIN) df. Victor CIOBANU (MDA), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN) df. Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR), 9-0
BRONZE: Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) df. Hafizov ILDAR (USA), 5-1

72kg
GOLD: Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) df. Levente LEVAI (HUN), 7-0

BRONZE: Dominik ETLINGER (CRO) df. Calebe CORREA (BRA), 9-0
BRONZE: Muhammed GOCMEN (TUR) df. Iulian LUNGU (ROU), 9-0

82kg
GOLD: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Alperen BERBER (TUR), 5-0

BRONZE: Deni NAKAEV (GER) df. Mahmoud SEBIE (USA), 6-2 
BRONZE: Mats AHLGREN (SWE) df. Tornike DZAMASHVILI (GEO), 6-3

97kg
GOLD: Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) df. Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), 11-2

BRONZE: Pavel HLINCHUK (AIN) df. Alex SZOKE (HUN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE) df. Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), 3-2

130kg
GOLD: Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN), 3-1

BRONZE: Dariusz VITEK (HUN) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 7-4
BRONZE: Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) df. Laszlo DARABOS (HUN), via inj. def.

#WrestleZagreb

Stadnik, 34, remains unbeaten in Europe

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (April 20) --  The cornrow braids and the focused scowl on her face may be absent on Thursday but the 'endless will' to win is still present in Mariya STADNIK (AZE).

As the four-time Olympic medalist stepped on the mat in the Zagreb Arena for her European Championships gold medal bout against Oksana LIVACH (UKR), there was only one way the final could have ended. The 34-year-old wrestler posted a controlled win over Livach for her ninth European title, 14 years after she won her first title in Vilnius, Lithuania.

"I always have the motivation and will to win," Stadnik said. "I have had this will since early childhood, and this is endless."

The result was hardly a surprise given Stadnik came into the final on a 33-bout winning streak at the European Championships dating back to 2009. She extended that streak to 34 after winning the final 9-4.

Returning to the tournament after skipping the last edition, she won the title in 2008, '09, '11, '14 to '18, '21 and '23. In 2015, the European Championships were replaced by the European Games. However, that was not the case in 2019 when both tournaments were held.

With her career stretching over two decades, Stadnik has faced a wrestler from almost every European country. Livach was just one of them and like all others before her, she too fell to Stadnik's highly technical and counter-attacking wrestling.

 

Stadnik, who was born in Ukraine and has trained with Livach, opened the scoring with a counter on Livach's double-leg attack. She used her high gut wrench to score two more points and make it 4-0. The second time Livach tried a double-leg attack, Stadnik ducked and picked Livach's left leg for a takedown. She once again used the high gut wrench to score two more points and led 8-0 within two minutes of the bout. Livach cut the lead to 8-2 at the break when Stadnik was trying to reach her legs but Livach moved back and came behind to score a takedown.

The second period also witnessed Livach trying to attack but either her throws were slips or Stadnik would defend them with ease and happily engage in standing. Stadnik scored a pushout to make it 9-4 but she was clearly tired after five minutes of pacey wrestling. She tried to counter Livach's double-leg attempt like she did in the first period but had no energy to grab it with force. Livach scored a takedown but Stadnik was happy to be on the mat for the final 20 seconds even as Livach tried to get a lace going.

"We were training with Oksana back in Ukraine," she said. "She is like my little sister. Every year she gets stronger. We don’t train together anymore, but she has a very good perspective. Hopefully, she will make it to Paris [Olympics]."

A visibly relieved Stadnik did not celebrate like she did after winning the first European title but put a smile on her face as she walked back. It was a flashback to 2009 when she won her first title. Those days the flag celebration was not customary and Stadnik just walked off the mat with a smile on her face. However, she says that wrestling now is a habit.

"Honestly speaking, this tournament wasn’t much fun for me," she said after her final. "But the most important is the result. After the [Tokyo] Olympics, I had a little break. I was thinking if I should keep wrestling or retire because of age. I didn’t know if my physical shape would be okay or not. But as you can see I am still wrestling. I started  training in January, so I am not in my best shape."

With the exception of a short appearance at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey last year, Stadnik did not compete after the Tokyo Games. However, she made a comeback in February of this year at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series, where she won two matches before withdrawing.

The European Championships was her first top-level competition in a while and there is no denying that age has caught up. Even she agrees with the fact.

"When I was 18 years old, I had more excitement and motivation," she said. "Now it’s all kind of habitual to me, but I still don’t wanna lose."

Stadnik has had her share of heartbreaks as well. She lost two Olympics finals and is still trying to find a way to beat the world and Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) who has a 4-0 record against her.

"I still have one year to think how to wrestle her. I’ll make it up," she said.

While she would previously stress about winning the Olympic gold, Stadnik's obsession with the top medal has toned down, especially after finishing with a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Games.

Five years later in Tokyo, a beaming Stadnik, with the bronze medal around her neck, looked at the medal and a photo of her family on her phone and said, "these are my medals."

StadnikMariya STADNIK (AZE) with her two kids -- Igor and Mia. (Photo: Mariya Stadnik)

Her two children, Igor and Mia, have been staying with Stadnik in Baku, Azerbaijan after they were forced to move out of their home in Ukraine due to the current situation. She, along with the kids, shifted to her father's house, 60 kilometers from Lviv before traveling to Baku.

Igor, 13, has been one of Stadnik's biggest supporters in recent times. A keen footballer, he tries his hand at wrestling. Mia, on the other hand, is a prolific gymnast and is actively practicing wrestling. The two even had the 'retirement talk' with their mother after the Tokyo Games.

"I remember I told them I would like to retire," she recalled. "When my son was little he kept telling me, 'Mom, please, don’t go away to the tournaments'. Now he says, 'Mum, you are so strong, don’t stop.' They are my biggest fans now. When they were little, they didn’t realize where I was always going away. But now they are my biggest fans."

Fuelled by the happiness of her children and the will to win again, Stadnik will aim to become the first wrestler to win five Olympic medals in Paris next year. She also wants to win another European title.

"I would love the national anthem to be played for the 10th time. Ten is a nice number," she said. "I would also like to say that I dedicate this win to my motherland - Ukraine."

At the medal ceremony in Zagreb, Stadnik clicked a selfie with other medal winners. She did not care if she had a bruised eye, a patent for Stadnik. Even her 10-year-old daughter knows it

"My daughter told me today, 'It wouldn’t have been you if you hadn’t got this makeup [the bruise].' They are happy."

Yasemin ADAR (TUR)Yasemin ADAR (TUR) won the European gold for the sixth time after beating Martina KUENZ (AUT) in Zagreb. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

While Stadnik added to her record number, Yasemin ADAR (TUR) managed to equal the second-best record of six. Two-time Olympic silver medalist and five-time world champion Stanka ZLATEVA (BUL) also has six titles.

Adar defended her European title from Budapest with a tight, hard-fought 2-2 win over Martina KUENZ (AUT).

In what was the fifth meeting between the two, Adar scored a takedown in the first period and waited on that lead in the second. She was put on the activity clock and Kuenz scored a stepout during that time. With the score tied 2-2, Adar led on criteria owing to her takedown against Kuenz's one-point moves. Kuenz tried hard to break the criteria with 34 seconds left but Adar stood firm, winning her sixth European title.

This was the second time the two wrestlers met in the final of a European Championships as Adar had beaten Kuenz 6-1 in the 76kg final at the 2019 edition in Bucharest, Romania. Overall, Adar leads the head-to-head record 4-1.

After that final in Bucharest, Kuenz and Adar met at the 2019 Yasar Dogu. Kuenz led 5-0 when Adar threw her for a four and got the fall in that match. The two then met in the European Olympic Qualifiers in Budapest in 2021. Kuenz pinned Adar in the quarterfinals. The fourth meeting was at the World Olympic Qualifiers. In an all-important semifinal, Adar defeated Kuenz 10-1 to qualify for the Tokyo Games where she became Turkiye's first-ever female wrestler to win a medal.

Kuenz reflected on her performance in the final and said that her attacks in the first period were not confident.

"In the second period, I was more concentrated," Kuenz said. "In the first period, my attacks were confident. There are many situations, tactical, in which you think to attack or defend."

A new star rose to prominence a year before the Paris Olympics as Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) won her maiden European title after beating former European champion Alla BELINSKA (UKR), 10-3, in the 68kg final.

Yaneva began with a takedown using a single-leg attack. Belinska answered with exposure by holding on to Yaneva's arm and one leg to put her back on the mat. But the judges scored it two each for both wrestlers and a reversal for Belinska. That meant that Yaneva still had a 4-3 lead.

In the second period, both wrestlers were at it, going for leg attacks but no one was able to breach the defenses of the other. Halfway through the period, the referee called for neutral and that is when Belinska took a few extra seconds than Yaneva to return to the center, giving an impression that she was feeling the heat of the bout.

Yaneva sensed that and immediately scored a takedown to extend her lead to 6-3. Belinska tried her trademark whizzer twice but failed and Yaneva countered with a takedown. The final takedown came with 20 seconds left on the clock after which the former U20 world silver medalist celebrated her first European title.

The Bulgarian fell short of the gold in 2021 as she finished second at 72kg and won a bronze medal at the same weight last year.

Andreea ANA (ROU)Andreea ANA (ROU) won her second straight European title. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

At 55kg, Andreea Ana (ROU) asserted her dominance in the weight class by winning her second straight European title. In the final, she blanked Erika Bognar (HUN) 8-0.

Ana secured the first takedown for two points using a trip, while Bognar was on an activity clock, making it 3-0 for Ana as Bognar failed to score within the stipulated 30 seconds. She continued her aggressive wrestling in the second period, scoring a stepout in just over a minute to lead 4-0.

Bognar attempted a tame shot at Ana's legs, but the Romanian countered with a big double-leg for two points. Ana also got the turn using a locked leg to make it 8-0, leaving Bognar with no comebacks.

"I was in good shape and I win the competition. That's it," Ana said. "I am very happy."

Last year, the 23-year-old became Romania's first senior European champion in women's wrestling and managed to defend her title Thursday. Ana remains the only Romanian wrestler to win a world title in women's wrestling across all age groups. She won the U23 world gold in Belgrade in 2021.

Next year, she will attempt to become the first Olympic medalist in women's wrestling from Romania, if she manages to qualify for the Paris Games.

"For the World Championships, I will move down to 53kg," she said. "The competition is tough at 53kg but we will see."

Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) gets a walkover in the 59kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

Anastasia Nichita (MDA), the reigning world champion, secured the final gold medal of the night and claimed her third European championship title at 59kg. Her opponent, Yuliia Tkach (UKR), who had defeated Nichita in the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series in February, withdrew from the final, giving Nichita a walkover.

It is yet to be seen whether Nichita will move to 57kg or 62kg in a bid to qualify for her second Olympics. She participated in the Tokyo Games at 57kg.

Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)Defending champion Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) reached the 53kg final. (Photo: UWW / Kostadin Andonov)

4 return to finals

In the women's wrestling semifinals on day four, last year's finalists dominated as four of them advanced to the finals in Zagreb on Friday.

At 53kg, Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) secured her spot in the final with a decisive victory via fall over Turkan NASIROVA (AZE). She will face off against Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN), who defeated the silver medalist from 2022, Maria PREVOLARKI (GRE), in a close match that ended 2-2. Orshush has beaten Malmgren before in a bout in Egypt earlier this year, and the Swede will be looking to avenge that loss in the final.

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) made it to back-to-back finals. However, she won't be facing Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) like last year. That is because Hrushyna pinned Nikolova in the semifinals. She began the day with a fall against Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA), and will now face off against Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) in the final. Aliyeva defeated Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) in the semifinals with a score of 5-0.

At 62kg, two new finalists will compete for gold as world silver medalist Grace BULLEN (NOR) secured her place in the final with a thrilling 7-6 victory over Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL). She will now face Olympic bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), who laced Johanna LINDBORG (SWE) for a 10-0 win in the other semifinal.

Irina RINGACI (MDA) moved back down to 65kg for the European Championships after moving to 68kg mid-season last year. The 2022 68kg champion will now look to win the title at 65kg again. In the semifinal, she pulled off an incredible 13-6 win over Tetiana RIZKHO (UKR) after both wrestlers put on an entertaining show for six minutes. Mimi HRITSOVA (BUL) will be the wrestler trying to stop Ringaci after she defeated Kriszta INCZE (ROU) 2-1 in the other semifinals.

At 72kg, returning silver medalist Buse TOSUN (TUR) will be hoping to upgrade her medal after she dominated her semifinal match against Dalma CANEVA (ITA), winning 10-0. She will now face Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) in the final, who defeated Liudmyla PAVLOVETS (UKR) 5-1 in the semifinals.

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RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Mariya STADNIK (AZE) df. Oksana LIVACH (UKR), 9-4

BRONZE: Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA) df. Miglena SELISHKA (BUL), via inj. def. 
BRONZE: Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) df. Anna LUKASIAK (POL), 6-2

55kg
GOLD: Andreea ANA (ROU) df. Erika BOGNAR (HUN), 8-0

BRONZE: Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) df. Elnura MAMMADOVA (AZE), 9-0
BRONZE: Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA) df. Annika WENDLE (GER), 6-4

59kg
GOLD: Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) df. Yuliia TKACH (UKR), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER) df. Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 3-1
BRONZE: Othelie HOEIE (NOR) df. Eda TEKIN (TUR), 6-4

68kg
GOLD: Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) df. Alla BELINSKA (UKR), 10-3

BRONZE: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) df. Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK), 10-0
BRONZE: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE), via inj. def.

76kg
GOLD: Yasemin ADAR (TUR) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 2-2

BRONZE: Cynthia VESCAN (FRA) df. Marion BYE (NOR), 10-0
BRONZE: Catalina AXENTE (ROU) df. Anastasiia OSNIACH (UKR), 5-3

Day 4 Semifinals

53kg
GOLD: Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) vs. Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN) 

SF 1: Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) df. Turkan NASIROVA (AZE), via fall
SF 2:  Stalvira ORSHUSH (HUN) df. Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE), 2-2

57kg
GOLD: Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) vs. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)

SF 1: Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) df. Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL), via fall
SF 2: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Jowita WRZESIEN (POL), 5-0

62kg
GOLD: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) vs. Grace BULLEN (NOR) 

SF 1: Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) df. Johanna LINDBORG (SWE), 10-0
SF 2: Grace BULLEN (NOR) df. Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), 7-6

65kg
GOLD: Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) vs. Irina RINGACI (MDA)

SF 1: Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) df. Kriszta INCZE (ROU), 2-1
SF 2: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR), 13-6

72kg
GOLD: Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) vs. Buse TOSUN (TUR) 

SF 1: Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) df. Liudmyla PAVLOVETS (UKR), 5-1
SF 2: Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Dalma CANEVA (ITA), 10-0