#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Ranking Series day five finals set

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 5) -- The fifth and final day of the Zagreb Open will be all Greco-Roman. Six weight classes will be in action. A few big names trying to win the gold and the 1500 Swiss Francs that are on offer here.

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Here are the results of the semifinals

55kg
Ikhtiyor BOTIROV (UZB) df. Denis Florin MIHAI (ROU), 3-1
Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) df. Mohammad JAVAHERI (IRI), via fall

60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) df. Razvan ARNAUT (ROU), 3-3
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) df. Maito KAWANA (JPN), 7-0

72kg
Sajjad IMENTALABFOUMANI (IRI) df. Robert FRITSCH (HUN), 3-1
Selcuk CAN (TUR) df. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), 5-2

97kg
Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Mihail KAJAIA (SRB), via inj. def.
Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED), 3-3

130kg
Oscar PINO (CUB) df. Amir GHASEMIMONJEZI (IRI), 8-0
Oskar MARVIK (NOR) df. Lingzhe MENG (CHN), 3-0 

14:30: Tamas LEVAI (HUN) moves into the final at 97kg. What a debut for him. Tryone STERKENBURG (NED) got a roll from par terre to lead 3-0 but Levai scored a front head pinch for two to lead 3-3 and win the semifinal. 

14:00: That got a little heated. Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) got the passivity against Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) and got the turn as well from par terre. The referee calls for a leg foul and Assakalov challenges the call. Leg foul confirmed with Kajaia leading 6-0. The bout restarts in par terre and Kajaia gets the turn and the win.

13:45: A highly competitive bout between Tamas LEVAI (HUN) and Felix BALDAUF (NOR). Both traded passivity points but Levai had the criteria. Balduaf got the par terre for the third passivity but as he was turning Levai, got pinned.

13:15: Another technical superiority win for Oscar PINO (CUB) at 130kg. He looks on a mission. Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN) had no answer to Pino's class 

12:55: Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) with a very confident run at 97kg. He reaches the semifinal with a 5-1 win over Daniel GASTL (AUT). Just the performance he needed to start this important season

12:30: The bout which may have a lot of say when Azerbaijan will select its team for the European Championships. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) beats Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) 6-2 and now the youngster will be the preferred choice for the championships.

12:10: Flex BALDAUF (NOR) with an arm throw against Zamir MAGOMEDOV (AZE) before winning 9-0. Baldauf brought it out of nowhere.

12:00: Oscar PINO (CUB) is wrestling Temurbek NASIMOV (UZB) at 130kg. He starts with a stepout before getting passivity. A toll and a four-point to finish the bout 8-0.

11:50: U23 world champion Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) is in a Nelson system at 55kg. In Round 1 he begins with a hard-fought 5-2 win against Artiom DELEANU (MDA).

11:30: The 97kg weight class has a large number of participants. World silver medalist Kiril MILOV (BUL) is also wrestling. He warms up with some calm wrestling in the first period before winning 10-1 against Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE). 

11:15: Making a big jump in weight classes, Tamas LEVAI (HUN), who was at 77kg just over a year ago, wins his first bout at 97kg at Zagreb Open. He beats Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU) via fall.

11:00: Amir Ali ABDI (IRI), one of the favorites to win the 72kg, begins with a 6-0 win over Valentin PETIC (MDA).

10:30: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB), after all these years, has still got it. He rolls to a 9-0 win over Mario VUKOVIC (SRB) at 97kg. In another bout, Felix BALDAUF (NOR) beats Markus RAGGINGER (AUT), 5-0

10:10: Daniel GASTL (AUT) with an early upset. He wins 2-1 against former world silver medalist Alex SZOKE (HUN) at 97kg. He got the second passivity and another point for Szoke's lost challenge

10:00: The final day at Zagreb Open! Big names from Greco-Roman wrestling are on the mat. 55kg, 60kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg and 130kg.

#WrestleBudapest

Must-watch storylines from Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 4) -- As the Budapest Ranking Series gets underway Thursday in the Hungary capital, a few intriguing storylines will be seen on the mats. Countries will be finalizing their Olympic line-ups, a few star wrestlers are returning to competition while others are competing for the ranking points.

Here are the top storylines that no wrestling fan should miss at the Budapest Ranking Series which will be live on uww.org using UWW+.

Iran's dilemma

A wrestle-off is set to be held by Iran in Budapest to decide on the Paris Olympic team. Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won the spot by winning bronze at the World Championships. But Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) won the Asian Championships to lay his claim for the 67kg gold medal.

60kg will also see a wrestle-off as Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) is set to face Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) to decide who goes to the Paris Games.

Also, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) is wrestling!

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will wrestle for the first time since winning gold medal at the Asian Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yazdani returns

Undoubtedly Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returning to competition is the big show in Budapest. Since winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Belgrade, Yazdani has wrestled only once, winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. A shoulder injury kept him out for eight months but Yazdani will be wrestling at 86kg on Thursday.

Before the Ranking Series, there were talks in Iran about a potential clash of Yazdani against 92kg world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) who is looking to make the Paris Olympic team for Iran. But Iran decided to send Yazdani alone and will assess his performance before deciding on a trial between the two.

Ziqi FENG (CHN)Ziqi FENG (CHN) gave a scare to Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Asian Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

China's problem of plenty

China rarely sends a portion of its team to the Ranking Series. But it has sent only five wrestlers for Budapest, all in Women's Wrestling. Three wrestlers are entered at 50kg and two at 57kg, expected for a wrestle-off.

Yu ZHANG (CHN), Jiang ZHU (CHN) and Ziqi FENG (CHN) are fighting for the Paris Olympic spot at 50kg. Feng won the quota for China by winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Qi ZHANG (CHN) and Kexin HONG (CHN) will wrestle off for the spot at 57kg. Hong won the quota at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek. But Zhang, a world champion at 59kg, won the Asian Championships, a run that also had a win over Risako KINJO (JPN) in the first round.

Jamalov's switch

Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) has been waiting for his Uzbekistan debut which will finally happen in Budapest. Jamalov will take the mat at 74kg and can also face Bekzhod ABURKHAMANOV (UZB), meaning that their match can also be a wrestle-off.  Jamalov has not wrestled at an international event since finishing fifth at the 2021 European Championships but has previously shown that he can win against any top wrestler on his day.