#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Ranking Series day three finals set

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 3) -- The Zagreb Open enters day three with four women's wrestling and two Greco-Roman weight classes. The big names in GR 77kg and 87kg will be putting on a show along with women's 59kg, 62kg, 65kg and 68kg.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

15:45: The finals are set for the evening session.

GR
77kg: 
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI)

87kg: Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) vs Istvan TAKACS (HUN)

WW
62kg: 
Grace BULLEN (NOR) vs. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

65kg: Mallory VELTE (USA) vs. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN)

68kg: Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) 

15:25: Naser ALIZADEH (IRI) over Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) 5-0 in the semifinal and Istvan TAKACS (HUN) over David LOSONCZI (HUN) 5-4 in the other semifnal. The GR 87kg final will be Alizadeh vs Takacs.

15:15: Kumba LARROQUE (FRA) takes out Irina RINGACI (MDA) in the 68kg semifinal. Ringaci led 1-0 before got the takedown for two. Ringaci took the lead again with a takedown in the second period and led 3-2 with 10 seconds remaining. Larroque went for a double leg and managed to spin Ringaci for a four. Ringaci challenges the call but it stands. Larroque wins 7-4

15:05: Two big quarterfinals at 62kg. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) pins Lais NUNES (BRA) while Grace BULLEN (NOR) proved that she belongs to the new weight class. Wrestling against Kayla MIRACLE (USA), she led 4-0 but Miracle got a takedown to gut to lead 4-4. However, Bullen got two stepouts to win 8-6  

14:45: Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) moves into the final at 77kg after a thrilling 4-3 win over Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO). A critical stepout point with two minutes left proved to be the difference.

14:20: The other 62kg semifinal will see Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) take on Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA). Motoki defeated Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) 11-1 while Nunes eked out a close 2-1 win over Ana GODINEZ (CAN)

14:00: Kayla MIRACLE (USA) with a late stepout to beat Jia LONG (CHN) 6-4 at 62kg. Great performance from the American wrestler. She will face Grace BULLEN (NOR) in the semifinals as she defeated Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) 11-0 in the quarterfinal.

13:50: What a bout we had! Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) and Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) left it all on the mat. Szilvassy gets the stepout and the passivity point in the first period. But Berdimuratov scores from par terre in the second to lead 3-2. A stepout for Szilvassy but not enough as Berdimuratov wins 3-3

13:35: The quarterfinals at 77kg are set

Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) vs. Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) vs. Per KURE (NOR)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) vs. Johnny BUR (FRA)
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) vs. Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) 

13:20: The quarterfinals at 62kg are nothing less than the World Championships

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) vs. Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)
Grace BULLEN (NOR) vs. Taybe YUSEIN (BUL)
Lais NUNES (BRA) vs. Ana GODINEZ (CAN)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA) vs. Jia LONG (CHN) 

13:14: The Croatian fans are on their feet! Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO) upsets World Championships silver medalist Zoltan LEVAI (HUN). Kamenjasevic trailed 3-0 at the break but Levai was put in par terre in the second period. Kamenjasevic scored a turn to lead 3-3 and won the bout

12:45: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) builds an 8-0 lead before securing the fall over Viktoria VESSO (EST) at 62kg. She will now face Bilyana Zhivkova DUDOVA (BUL) in the quarterfinal

12:40: Grace BULLEN (NOR) looks so dominant in the new weight class. The 59kg World Championships silver medalist with a fall over Ariukhan JUMABAEVA (UZB) to reach the quarterfinals.  

12:25: World Championships silver medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) with a monster five-pointer over Michael WAGNER (AUT) before adding a turn to win via technical superiority.

12:00: U23 European champion Marcel STERKENBURG (NED), wrestling at 87kg, with a four-pointer before adding a takedown to win 8-0 over Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU). Great start for the young star

11:30: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) and Tamas LEVAI (HUN) now wrestling at 87kg. Bisultanov goes on top in the first period. He fails to score any points. Levai gets a point from par terre in the second period. No more action and Levai will win 1-1.

10:55: Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN) with a good win over Exauce MUKUBU (NOR). He scored a turn from par terre before giving up one. Mukubu, however, could not find the winning point. 

10:35: This will hurt Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) a lot. In the opening bout against Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI), he failed to get any par terre and ends up going down 3-0. Big win for Kaviyaninejad. 

10:30: Frantic action in women's 62kg as Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)Grace BULLEN (NOR)Jia LONG (CHN)Ana GODINEZ (CAN) and Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) pick up wins.

10:20: Upset? Xiaojuan LUO (CHN) with a 10-4 win over Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ). Luo with two big fours in either half. Tynybekova will be a little worried in this Paris Olympics qualifying year.  

10:00: Welcome to Zagreb! We start with 59kg round-robin bouts and world champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) picks up a quick win over Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) at 59kg. In the second bout, Viktoria BORSOS (HUN) beats Nikolett SZABO (HUN) 6-6.

#WrestleAthens

U17 World Wrestling Championships: Day 2 Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

ATHENS, Greece (July 29) -- The second day of the World U17 Championships in Athens will see five more Greco-Roman weight classes -- 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 1 RESULTS

READ THE SEMIFINALS REPORT HERE

The semifinals will begin at 17:00 hours local time and the medal bouts from Monday's weight classes will start at 18:00 hours.

15:50: Asian bronze medalist Otabek TURSUNOV (UZB) takes out European champion Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) 5-2 in the 51kg quarterfinal.

15:45: Ionut PATRU (ROU) stuns Mamuka BIDZINASHVILI (GEO) in the 92kg quarterfinals and reaches the semifinal. Earlier in the day, he had said that he will become the world champion tomorrow.

15:30: In a match that took forever, Asian U17 champion Damir AKAN (KAZ) has been cautioned out after his second defensive four against Abolfazl ZARE (IRI) at 60kg. Akan led 7-0 as he scored from par terre and Zare fouled. But in the second period, Zare scored a turn and one foul from Akan made it 7-5. As the bout resumed in par terre, Akan made a second defensive leg foul which handed Zare the win.

15:15: Asian U17 champion Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) defends from par terre and holds on to his 1-1 criteria lead against Hossein KAZEMI (IRI) to enter the semifinal at 71kg. Kazemi challenged for a stepout from par terre but lost it and Valiev won 2-1.

15:05: Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI) with gut-wrench from par terre and he beats Juntao LUO (CHN) 9-0 at 45kg to enter the semifinals at 45kg.

15:00: In a rematch of the European final, Abdurrahman HUSEYNLI (AZE) comes back from 6-0 deficit and beats Saba ABASHIDZE (GEO) 9-6. Abashidze hit a big four and then a turn to lead 6-0. But Huseynli scored a takedown and two arm-trap guts to make it 6-6. Another gut-wrench made it 8-6. Huseynli got par terre in second period but did score. Abashidze could not turn around the 9-6 score and lost the quarterfinal.  

14:42: Down goes European U17 champion Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO) at 71kg. Yusif AHMADLI (AZE) beats the Georgian 7-2. He got going in the second period with a takedown and four-pointer.

14:35: Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE) with a banger of a throw to finish all hopes of Daniyar BAZARBEK (KAZ) in their 51kg match. Tsentidis was leading 5-0 when Bazarbek jumped for a big move. Tsentidis grabbed and locked him and slammed him on the mat for four! Great throw

14:25: Asian champion and returning bronze medalist Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) with a beautiful suplex for five and then pins Radoslav PERYANSKI (BUL) at 71kg. He looks good to upgrade his bronze to gold this year.

14:15: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM), European champ at 51kg, reaches the quarterfinals with a 8-0 quick win over Yuvraj KAMANNA (IND).

European bronze medalist Abu Bakar SAGA (NOR) takes a minute and 26 seconds to win 10-2 over Kaloyan BORISOV (BUL)

13:45: Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) wins a tough battle against Said PASHAYEV (AZE) at 92kg, 6-1. Just better defense from Mohammadi as he beats Pashayev, who is actually a European champion in Freestyle.

13:30: Asian champion Damir AKAN (KAZ) rolls to a 10-0 win over RITESH (IND) at 60kg and Mika LABES (GER) blanks Imre JUHASZ (HUN) 6-0 in the next bout.

13:15: Benyamin KHEZLI (IRI) pulls off a great win over European bronze medalist Ararat AVETISYAN (ARM) 8-1 at 45kg. Another big win for Iran.

13:00: Asian champion Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB) takes 2 minutes and 48 seconds to win his 71kg bout against Matias ONNENLEHTO (FIN)

12:45: Giorgi GOGELASHVILI (GEO), European champion at 71kg, just keeps his calm and despite losing a challenge in the bout, he roars in the second period to beat Balaz UJHELJI (SRB) 7-1 

12:15: Abu Bakar SAGA (NOR) hangs on for a 6-3 win over Herman BASARAB (UKR) at 51kg. Saga won bronze medal at the European Championships in Skopje

12:00: Pavlos TSENTIDIS (GRE) sends the local crowd in a frenzy with a final-second throw against Carter SHIN (USA) and wins hi 51kg bout 3-2. USA challenge but lose it on review.

11:45: Amirsam MOHAMMADI (IRI) looks so good at 92kg! He rolls Vladislav VASYLEVSKYI (MDA) and wins his bout 8-0.

11:35: Denys SEREDIN (UKR) with a massive throw on the edge to get five points and Vasileios TSAROUCHAS (GRE) is called for leg foul as well which give two more points to Seredin. The Ukraine finishes the 60kg bout 10-3

11:25: Amangeldi YSAKBAEV (KGZ) rallies to win 11-7 against Zaven MEZHLUMYAN (ARM) after being down 7-1 at 60kg. Ysakbaev throws Mezhlumyan for a four and adds a two to lead 7-7 on criteria and when the Armenian tries a flying squirrel, Ysakbaev throws him down for four more

11:15: Asian U17 champion Damir AKAN (KAZ) was never in danger against Kodai HIHARA (JPN). Akan manages an 8-1 lead before winning his 60kg bout 8-2

11:00: Abolfazl ZARE (IRI) begins day two for Iran with a big 9-0 win over Wail BEN AISSA (ALG) at 60kg. Zare got the par terre and two exposure for the lead. He then gets the par terre in the second period as well and wins with another turn.

10:30: The repechage matches will kick off day two in Athens before we move into the qualification rounds of 45kg, 51kg, 60kg, 71kg and 92kg.