#WrestleBudapest19

Andreu Ortega and Goleij Seek Second U23 World Titles

By Taylor Miller

Photo: Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB). / Photo: Kadir Caliskan

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Two men’s freestyle athletes and 2017 U23 World champions, Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) at 57 kg and Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) at 97 kg, seek to earn their second U23 World gold medals on Tuesday in Budapest, Hungary.

Both Andreu Ortega and Goleij won their first U23 World titles in 2017.

At 57 kg, Andreu Ortega will return to the U23 gold-medal finals, thanks to three wins on Monday in Budapest.

After taking out 2016 Junior World champion Afgan Smail KHASHALOV (AZE) in the first round and 2018 U23 World bronze medalist Wanhao ZOU (CHN) in the quarterfinals, Andreu Ortega battled 2019 Russian Nationals champion Ramiz GAMZATOV (RUS).

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Andreu Ortega used a takedown, trapped-arm gut and a four-point takedown for an 8-2 win and a spot in the finals.

Tomorrow for gold, Andreu Ortega will face 2019 Junior World bronze medalist and 2017 Cadet World bronze medalist Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ).

Askarov had several close battles on the day, including his semifinal match against Alireza Nosratolha SARLAK (IRI).

Sarlak led 3-1 late in the second period, but with less than 20 seconds left, Askarov scored a takedown to take the lead and secure a 3-3 win on criteria.

Photo of Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI). Photo: Kadir Caliskan

Wrestling at 97 kg, Goleij had a big day, opening his day with an 11-0 win against Lukas KRASAUSKAS (LTU). In the quarterfinals, Goleij took down 2018 U23 World champion Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) in an 8-6 decision.

To move onto the finals, Goleij put together a decisive 8-2 win against Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR) in a rematch of the 2017 U23 World gold-medal match.

In his finals bout tomorrow, Goleij will face 2017 Junior World champion Shamil MUSAEV (RUS), who was dominant in his opening day of competition, picking up three-straight technical falls, including a 12-0 victory over Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ) in the quarterfinals.  

Photo of Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO). Photo: Kadir Caliskan

2018 Cadet World champion Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) seeks his second-career World title, advancing to the 65 kg finals.

Bayramov, a 2019 Junior World bronze medalist and a 2017 Cadet World silver medalist, outlasted Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA) in the semifinals tonight, scoring a second-period takedown to give him a 2-1 advantage.

For gold, Bayramov will take on 2018 Junior Asian champion Takuma TANIYAMA (JPN). In his semifinal, Taniyama held off Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) with a 4-3 decision.

Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO) locked up his second U23 World medal by battling his way to the 70 kg finals. He was a bronze medalist at the 2017 U23 World Championships.

For the 70 kg title, Skhulukhia will go head-to-head with Cherman VALIEV (RUS), who did not give up a single point in his first four matches of the tournament. He outscored his opponents on Monday, 39-0, including a 10-0 win over Amirhossein HOSSEINI (IRI) in the semifinals.

Wrestling in the gold bout at 79 kg is 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) and three-time World medalist Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE).

Abakarov is a 2016 Cadet World champion, 2018 Junior World silver medalist and a 2019 Junior World bronze medalist.

The finals will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Fans can watch live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Semifinals results
57 kg
Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) df. Ramiz GAMZATOV (RUS), 8-2
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ) df. Alireza SARLAK (IRI), 3-3

65 kg
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) df. Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA), 2-1
Takuma TANIYAMA (JPN) df. Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), 4-3

70 kg
Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO) df. Oleksii BORUTA (UKR), 9-5
Cherman VALIEV (RUS) df. Amirhossein HOSSEINI (IRI), 10-0

79 kg
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) df. Ramazan SARI (TUR), 10-6
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df. Ver Dev GULIA (IND), 8-1

97 kg
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) df. Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (BLR), 8-2
Shamil MUSAEV (RUS) df. Danylo STASIUK (UKR), 13-2

Finals matchups
57 kg: Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) vs. Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
65 kg: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. Takuma TANIYAMA (JPN)
70 kg: Mirza SKHULUKHIA (GEO) vs. Cherman VALIEV (RUS)
79 kg: Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) vs. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
97 kg: Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) vs. Shamil MUSAEV (RUS)

#WrestleBudapest

Bisultanov preps for Zagreb Worlds with Budapest gold

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 19) -- After winning the Zagreb Open gold medal in February, Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) had said that his main goal for the year to become a world champion. For that, he skipped European Championships as he had previously won gold there.

He focused on his shortcoming and weight management as he prepared for the World Championships, to be held in September in Zagreb.

With two months to go for that, Bisultanov entered the Budapest Ranking Series to test his preparations, and came out with flying colors. He won the Greco-Roman 87kg gold medal with a scintillating performance in Budapest.

Bisultanov did not break a sweat to reach the final against David LOSONCZI (HUN), who struggled throughout the day, and later pulled out of the final injured.

This was Bisultanov's second Ranking Series gold of the year and is expected to jump to number three in the rankings for 87kg. If all the top five ranked wrestlers are entered for the World Championships, Bisultanov will likely have Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) on side of the bracket.

But a performance like Saturday could potentially see Bisultanov get he better of Novikov, who lost the European Championships final to Losonczi this year.

Bisultanov, who won Thor Masters in June, warmed up with a 4-1 victory over Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) before he blanked Alan OSTAEV (UWW), 8-0, in the quarterfinal.

He faced local wrestlers Tamas LEVAI (HUN) in the semifinal and after a 7-0 lead, he decided it safe and defended from par terre. He gave a late stepout but managed to win 7-2 easily.

A Bisultanov-Losonczi final was what the fans wanted but Losonczi had struggled with his health all day long and decided to not risk it in the final.

He opened his day with tough bout against former European champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB), winning 3-1. His second match was also against a Serbian wrestler, Andrija MIHAJLOVIC (SRB), and he won 6-1.

It was the quarterfinal in which Losonczi was troubled by world U20 champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) who launched him for a suplex to lead 5-0. But Losonczi roared in the second period, scoring from par terre and getting points for Yevloyev's defensive fouls to win 9-5.

He then managed to keep Islam ABBASOV (AZE) quiet to win 4-0 in the semifinal and entertained the local fans with a back-flip. He would later not wrestle the final and win the silver.

In other two Greco-Roman weight classes of the day, Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) defeated Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 8-2, in the 72kg final took a big step towards being on the Georgian team of the World Championships.

At 130kg, Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) got the better of Darius VITEK (HUN) in the final to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

72kg
GOLD: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) df. Abdullo ALIEV (UZB), 8-2

BRONZE: Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE) df. Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 9-0

87kg
GOLD: Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB), 5-2
BRONZE: Tamas LEVAI (HUN) df. Alan OSTAEV (UWW), 5-2

130kg
GOLD: Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) df. Darius Attila VITEK (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) df. Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN), 5-3
BRONZE: Koppany LASZLO (HUN) df. Sarkhan MAMMADOV (AZE), 2-1