After Olympic disappointment, Malmgren starts afresh with U23 world gold

Friday, October 25, 2024 - 05:37 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 24) -- Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) was one of the favorites to win a medal at the Paris Olympics. She began well, winning her first bout via fall. She scored two points on returning silver medalist Qianyu PANG (CHN) but fell short in the quarterfinals, losing 10-2.

The loss hurt Malmgren.

"I actually had a really tough time after the Olympics," Malmgren said. "Everybody who goes to the Olympics feels some kind of emptiness after and so did I and it was a tough couple of months getting back to the mat."

Malmgren spent some time with her family, coached at her club and pondered over her Olympic campaign. She could not remain disappointed in the Olympics and wanted to get out of it.

"I decided to go to U23 Worlds, to get some sort of revenge and get a good ending to the season," she said. "That was pretty much my goal. I went up one weight class and I just wanted to have fun and get to wrestle the way that I know I can.

"I also come to a point where maybe I don't need to feel the best. I do train for the U23 worlds to wrestle my best. I know wrestling. I know how to wrestle. Sometimes you just have to put your brain aside and just go in and do what you love."

Wrestling at 55kg, Malmgren won the gold medal at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, dominating the final against Zeltzin HERNANDEZ (MEX). She won the final 10-0 in just over three minutes. On her way to the final, Malmgren also defeated former world silver medalist Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR), 4-3, who was making a comeback to international wrestling after more than a year.

"I don't have too many world medals," Malmgren, who won the U20 World Championships gold in 2021, said. "That's why I also wanted to go because I feel like it's a good, confident boost for me as well to be here and just feel like I leave it all on the mat."

Barring the Olympics, Malmgren has had an incredible year. She opened the year with a gold medal at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix and followed that with a silver medal at the European Championships. Three months later she won gold at 53kg at the U23 European Championships before claiming the 53kg gold at the Budapest Ranking Series. Then came the Olympics and Malmgren failed to reach the medal bouts in her debut Games.

"I did my best to be as prepared as I could for the Olympics," she said. "That's why the disappointment was so tough for me. I had a really good feeling when I went up on the mat on the Olympics and I don't feel like I wrestled the way that I wanted and how I expected to wrestle."

Now with four more years for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, Malmgren is going to continue wrestling at 53kg and 55kg.

"I feel good in 55, there's no doubt about it, but I feel good in 53 as well," she said. "I feel like that's my weight now, but like if I would go up, I would definitely need to get stronger to wrestle the 57 girls. The most important thing is that I wrestle and I feel good in 53kg and 55kg. I like to switch between those just to skip like cutting weight all the time."

Another wrestler who had to put away her disappointment was Ami ISHII (JPN). The world silver medalist had won the Paris Olympics quota for Japan at 68kg but without a medal. According to Japan federation, a wrestler winning quota without had to go through a trial. Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) defeated Ishii in the playoff and earned a right to go to the Paris Games.

Though she missed the Olympics, Ishii did not forget the two World Championships to be held after the Games. She arrived in Tirana as the hot favorite to win the gold and did not disappoint, beating Paris Olympian Nesrin BAS (TUR) 8-1 for the gold medal.

"I was definitely aiming to win this tournament," Ishii said. "It wasn't as difficult as I thought."

Ishii had two victories via technical superiority and two via fall. Only the final in which she failed to finish the bout before time. Ishii was even cautioned for twisting the foot of Bas. Five days later, she will aim to win the 72kg gold medal at the World Championships in Non-Olympic weight classes.

A gold medal in that tournament will only help her forget the disappointment in Paris and focus on the next year.

"Everyone else except me was practicing, so I didn't feel comfortable being the only one not practicing," she said. "I didn't take much time off and started practicing wrestling right away. My goal is to go to the world championships and win the same way next year."

U.S. wins two golds

The United States has been in exceptional form at the U23 World Championshis and captured two gold medals. Sage MORTIMER (USA) at 50kg and Yelena MAKOYED (USA) at 76kg won gold medals in contrasting finals.

Mortimer stunned defending champion Umi ITO (JPN) in the semifinal with a fall despite trailing 12-4. She carried the same confidence in the final but was tested. She faced Natalia PUDOVA (AIN) in the final and swelled her early lead. However, in the second period, Mortimer allowed some sloppy takedown which made the score 7-5. Pudova failed to turn Mortimer in the end and suffered a 7-5 loss.

Ito returned to win the bronze medal but the loss against Mortimer has made her criticized herself.

"I wasn't particularly conscious of winning consecutive matches overseas, but this was my first loss in a match overseas," Ito said. "I felt very disappointed to lose like this. No matter what the situation is, I was able to learn once again that I should not focus on the immediate value, but rather perform each technique carefully and without being sloppy."

Ito has been stuck behind Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) at the senior level in Japan and is awaiting her first break at the senior level.

"It's not the end here, I'm aiming for the Los Angeles Olympics," she said. "It's an experience for me to grow in order to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics. I will take this as a positive experience and do my best for the next tournament."

The second gold medal was won by Yelena MAKOYED (USA) who had the most impressive run to the gold with three technical superiorities and one fall. Makoyed gave little chance to Shuiyan CHENG (CHN) in the final and after leading 8-0, she managed to secure a pin for the win.

Makoyed was happy to get a title under her belt after long and relieved that she back to winning ways after a indifferent year as far as the results were concerned.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Sage MORTIMER (USA) df. Natalia PUDOVA (AIN), 7-5

BRONZE: Nataliia KLIVCHUTSKA (UKR) df. Natallia VARAKINA (AIN), 9-1
BRONZE: Umi ITO (JPN) df. Laura GANIKYZY (KAZ), 11-0

55kg
GOLD: Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) df. Zeltzin HERNANDEZ GUERRA (MEX), 10-0

BRONZE: Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) df. Ekaterina KARPUSHKINA (AIN), 5-0
BRONZE: Amani JONES (USA) df. Bhavika PATEL (IND), 5-2

59kg
GOLD: Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) df. ANJLI (IND), 7-4

BRONZE: Hong LIANG (CHN) df. Aurora RUSSO (ITA), via fall (6-1)
BRONZE: Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN) df. Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN), 6-1

68kg
GOLD: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Nesrin BAS (TUR), 8-1

BRONZE: Alina SHAUCHUK (AIN) df. Brooklyn HAYS (USA), 6-4
BRONZE: MONIKA (IND) df. Xinze DU (CHN), 5-3

76kg
GOLD: Yelena MAKOYED (USA) df. Shuiyan CHENG (CHN), via fall (8-0)

BRONZE: Valeriia TRIFONOVA (AIN) df. Zsofia VIRAG (HUN), via fall
BRONZE: Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN) df. Alina YERTOSTIK (KAZ), 11-0

Semifinals

53kg
GOLD: Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) vs. Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN)

SF 1: Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN) df. Xiaomin XIE (CHN), 10-5
SF 2: Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) df. Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL), 4-4

57kg
GOLD: Ruka NATAMI (JPN) vs. Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE)

SF 1: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Sofia MACALUSO (USA), via fall (10-0)
SF 2: Ruka NATAMI (JPN) df. Neha SHARMA (IND), 3-2

62kg
GOLD: Macey KILTY (USA) vs. Iryna BONDAR (UKR)

SF 1: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Hanying ZHANG (CHN), 2-1
SF 2: Macey KILTY (USA) df. Viktoria VESSO (EST), 12-2

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) vs. Alina KASABIEVA (AIN)

SF 1: Alina KASABIEVA (AIN) df. Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), 3-2
SF 2: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. SHIKSHA (IND), 10-0

72kg
GOLD: Kylie WELKER (USA) vs. Vianne ROULEAU (CAN)

SF 1: Vianne ROULEAU (CAN) df. Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN), 10-0
SF 2: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 3-1

#WrestleTirana

U23 Euros: Dzhioev stops Magamadov, Khaniev wins 74kg gold

Monday, March 10, 2025 - 20:19 By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (March 10) -- The match wasn’t even over when Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) broke into a jig.

A couple of feet away, Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA) sunk to his knees and Dzhioev thumped his chest, kneeled on the mat and said a silent prayer.

Before he stepped on the mat on Monday, Dzhioev had seen four of his compatriots falling short at the final hurdle over the first two medal days of the U23 European Championships. Had he lost, Azerbaijan would have returned without a gold despite a solid overall show.

But Dzhioev, the U23 worlds silver medalist, ensured that did not happen. In a stunning performance, the 23-year-old defeated Magamadov -- the silver medalist from the 2024 U23 European Championships -- 9-2 to rule the 86kg weight class.

Dzhioev needed a little more than a minute to open his account with a push-out, followed by a passivity penalty on Magamadov. He doubled his lead with two more push-outs, but his French opponent halved the lead with a reversal just before the break. However, that was the only time Magamadov challenged his rival.

When they returned after the break, Dzhioev – with his trunk-like thighs – used all the force he could summon to overpower Magamadov, who kept going out of bounds. He thus kept conceding points and two fleeing cautions and Dzhioev wrapped up the match with a fine two-pointer to capture his first U23 title – and his nation’s first of the tournament.

Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) held on to a 5-4 win against Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Minutes earlier, in an epic 74 kg title bout, Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) defeated Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) 5-4 but not before surviving a massive scare.

It was a match of two halves. In the first, Khaniev, 18, constantly hassled and harried his opponent with wily leg attacks and faster reactions. A minute into the bout, Khaniev and Novruzov were locked arm-in-arm in the center of the mat. With his lightning quick hand speed, Khaniev hit a single-leg attack and earned a brilliant takedown for two points.

With the clock ticking down -- and Novruzov on activity clock -- Khaniev initiated another similar attack. This time, the Azerbaijani wrestler seemed prepared for it and tried to counter-attack. Novruzov tried a counter-lift but Khaniev controlled his legs and scored two points for exposure. Earning one more point from activity clock, Khaniev had a comfortable 5-0 cushion at the break.

After the 30-second interval, Novruzov did most of the attacking against a tired-looking Khaniev. He reduced the deficit by two points with 37 seconds left on the clock after a single-leg takedown. Khaniev tried to take evasive action in the closing moments but right at the final whistle, Novruzov earned another two-point takedown.

His valiant attempt, however, counted for nothing as a breathless Khaniev won the bout 5-4.

Georgi IVANOV (BUL) is now a two-time U23 European champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Georgi IVANOV (BUL) regained the 125 kg title he won in 2023 by making a short work of Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR). The 23-year-old, who spent most of 2024 playing on the senior circuit, didn’t give Kochanov the slightest of chances as he needed only five seconds to launch his first attack, an arm throw, for a two-point takedown.

He made it 4-0 with another arm-throw to go-behind before Kochanov was put on the activity clock. A point for the clock and a stepout for Ivanov made it 6-0 and a takedown and stepout later, he led 9-0 at the break. He blocked a trip attempt from Kochanov to win 11-0 and claim the U23 European crown for the second time.

Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM) celebrates after winning the 61kg gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Mikayelyan wins first-ever gold

Twice before in his nascent career, Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM) came agonizingly close to winning a gold medal. The first time was at the U20 European Championships four years ago, and then again in 2023 at the U20 continental competition. Both times, he settled for a silver.

On Monday, the 22-year-old won his first-ever title in a defensive final where all points were won via activity clock warnings. Mikayelyan defeat Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE) 2-1 to clinch the gold medal in the 61kg category.

Allahverdiyev led 1-1 on criteria when the match entered its final minute, having got the latest point from activity time. But he was put on activity time in the final minute and he failed to score, giving Mikayelyan a 2-1 advantage with only 30 seconds remaining in the bout.

Allahverdiyev threw the kitchen sink at his rival in the final few seconds but Mikayelyan defended like his life depended on it to take home the gold medal.

Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) scored a 12-1 technical superiority over Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM) in the 92kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In the 92kg category, Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) took a while to get going but when he did -- with 2:45 left on the clock and him leading 1-1 on criteria -- he didn’t give Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM) a chance to come back.

Khaniev launched a venomous leg-attack after a snapdown. He rolled him over in one swift move to go 5-1 up. He scored a counter throw-by, a stepout before a go-behind and gut wrench to win the gold medal via 12-1 technical superiority against Iboyan.

Nesrin BAS (TUR) secured a fall in the semifinals. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Bas leads three into WW finals

Paris Olympian and senior European champion Nesrin BAS (TUR) led from the front as three Turkish wrestlers entered the Women's Wrestling finals.

Bas, a U23 world and European champion, scored a fall in the semifinal over Viktoryia RADZKOVA (UWW) and will face returning silver medalst Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR), also three-time U20 European champion, in the final.

After winning the U17 and U20 European Championships last year, Tuba DEMIR (TUR) will hope to win the U23 gold on Tuesday to complete her full set of age-group medals. Demir, who beat Amory Olivia ANDRICH (GER) 11-6, will face multiple-time age-group world and European medalist Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) in the 55kg gold medal bout.

U20 European champion Elmira YASIN (TUR) also made it to the final after beating Veronika NYIKOS (HUN), 6-1, and set up the 76kg gold medal bout against former U17 world champion Olga KOZYREVA (UWW), the returning bronze medalist.

Former U20 world champion and Paris Olympian Aurora RUSSO (ITA) set up a mouth-watering 59kg final against 17-year-old Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) who recently won the Zagreb Open in February.

RESULTS

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Levik MIKAYELYAN (ARM) df. Jeyhun ALLAHVERDIYEV (AZE), 2-1

BRONZE: Mykyta ABRAMOV (UKR) df. Simone PIRODDU (ITA), 10-0
BRONZE: Tolga OZBEK (TUR) df. Besir ALILI (MKD), via fall (10-0)

74kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) df. Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE), 5-4

BRONZE: Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO) df. Bohdan OLIINYK (UKR), 2-1
BRONZE: Ion MARCU (MDA) df. Manuel WAGIN (GER), 11-4

86kg
GOLD: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA), 9-2

BRONZE: Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA) df. Radomir STOYANOV (BUL), 7-2
BRONZE: Arslan BAGAEV (UWW) df. Alperen ATAR (TUR), 7-4

92kg
GOLD: Mukhamed KHANIEV (UWW) df. Knyaz IBOYAN (ARM), 12-1

BRONZE: Sadig MUSTAFAZADE (AZE) df. Sandro KURASHVILI (GEO), 5-3
BRONZE: Denys SAHALIUK (UKR) df. Artsiom IHNATSIUK (UWW), 10-0

125kg
GOLD: Georgi IVANOV (BUL) df. Volodymyr KOCHANOV (UKR), 11-0

BRONZE: Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) df. Efe Anil AL (TUR), 10-3 (via fall)
BRONZE: Khachatur KHACHATRYAN (ARM) df. Michal DUBOWSKI (POL), 10-0

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Natalia PUDOVA (UWW) vs. Anastasiya YANOTAVA (UWW)

SF 1: Natalia PUDOVA (UWW) df. Natalia WALCZAK (POL), 11-0
SF 2: Anastasiya YANOTAVA (UWW) df. Asmar JANKURTARAN (AZE), via fall

55kg
GOLD: Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) vs. Tuba DEMIR (TUR)

SF 1: Mihaela SAMOIL (MDA) df. Anastasiia IANDUSHKINA (UWW), via fall (10-4)
SF 2: Tuba DEMIR (TUR) df. Amory ANDRICH (GER), 11-6

59kg
GOLD: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) vs. Aurora RUSSO (ITA)

SF 1: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) df. Yuliia PAKHNIUK (UKR), 11-1
SF 2: Aurora RUSSO (ITA) df. Evgeniia OGORODNIKOVA (UWW), via fall

68kg
GOLD: Nesrin BAS (TUR) vs. Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR)

SF 1: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Viktoryia RADZKOVA (UWW), via fall
SF 2: Manola SKOBELSKA (UKR) df. Maria PANTIRU (ROU), 10-0

76kg
GOLD: Olga KOZYREVA (UWW) vs. Elmira YASIN (TUR)

SF 1: Olga KOZYREVA (UWW) df. Laura KUEHN (GER), via fall (7-5)
SF 2: Elmira YASIN (TUR) df. Veronika NYIKOS (HUN), 6-1

After Olympic disappointment, Malmgren starts afresh with U23 world gold

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U23 Euros: Dzhioev stops Magamadov, Khaniev wins 74kg gold