#WrestleBucharest

Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia Each Place Three into Tuesday's European Freestyle Finals

Monday, April 8, 2019 - 17:25 By Eric Olanowski

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BUCHAREST, Romania (April 8) - Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey each placed three wrestlers into Tuesday night’s freestyle European finals, but Azerbaijan and Turkey will meet twice in tomorrow’s gold- medal bouts. They’ll wrestle for the top spots at 65kg and 70kg. 

At 65kg, Azerbaijan’s three-time world champion Haji ALIYEV and Turkey’s Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN each scored come-from-behind wins to reach the finals. 

Aliyev, the defending European champion, trailed 2-0 in his semifinals match, but scored 12 unanswered points and reached the continental finals for the third time in his career. He’s been successful in reaching the top of the podium in his previous two trips to the European finals. 

His Turkish opponent Kilicsallayan trailed Ukraine’s Vasyl SHUPTAR 4-1, but outscored him 8-2 and reached the European finals for the first time after scoring the 9-6 victory. Kilicsallayan’s Monday night win helps him improve on his bronze medal finish from a year ago. 

Mustafa KAYA (TUR) reached the European finals for the first time since 2016 when he fell short to Italy's Frank CHAMIZO. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

The 70kg weight class featured world champions Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) and Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO), but it was Turkey’s Mustafa KAYA and Azerbaijan’s Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) who’ll wrestle under the lights on Tuesday night for 70kg gold. 

Kaya outlasted 2017 world runner-up Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) in a 12 point shootout, inserting himself into the European finals for the first time since 2016 with the 6-6 criteria win.  In his last trip to the European finals, Kaya fell to two-time world champion Frank CHAMIZO (ITA). 

Mustafayev, who kicked started his finals run by upsetting reigning world champion Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov in the opening round, capped off his day with a decisive 6-0 shutout over Great Britain’s Nicolae COJOCARU.


Suleyman ATLI (TUR) will wrestle No. 11Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) in the 57kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Turkey’s third freestyle finalist came at 57kg, where reigning world bronze medalist Suleyman ATLI (TUR) will meet reigning Ivan Yariguin champion Muslim SADULAEV, who is one of Russia’s three Day Two finalists. 

Atli, who’s the second-ranked wrestler in the world at 57kg, had a tougher road to the finals than his Russia finals opponent. 

The Turkish wrestler trailed 1-0 after the opening period, but quickly scored a pair of takedowns, one of which he transitioned to a gut wrench and grabbed the 6-1 lead. Atli surrendered three straight points, but answered with a third takedown, locking up his spot in the finals with an 8-4 victory.  

His finals opponent Muslim Sadulaev, who is currently ranked No. 11 in the world at 57kg,  quieted the friendly Romanian crowd with a rock-solid 10-0 shutout win over Andrei DUKOV (ROU), reaching the continental finals for the first time in his young career. 

Russia’s second semifinal winner was Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS).

The 2018 world bronze medalist reached the 79kg finals with a heroic 7-0 victory over Ukraine’s Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR). The Russian seriously injured his right knee 7 seconds into the final period and was forced to drop to one knee for the last three minutes. The Russian brought the local crowd to their feet after he closed out the match with a pair of takedowns and reached the finals with a 7-0 victory over his Ukrainian opponenet. 

It’s not clear if Gadzhimagomedov will compete in tomorrow’s gold-medal bout, but if he does, it’ll be against Azerbaijan’s reigning world finalist Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE), who defeated Andrei KARPACH (BLR), 9-4, to reach the European finals for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. 

The pound-for-pound best wrestler in the world Abdulrashid SADULAEV was the third and final Russian wrestler to reach Tuesday night’s finals. Sadulaev had an easy time with Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD), ending the match early with a 12-0 victory.

He’ll lace up against reigning European runner-up Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR), who scored a pair of second-period stepouts to knock off 2018 world bronze medalist Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), 2-1. 

The European Championships resume tomorrow at 11:30 (local time). 


RESULTS
57kg 
GOLD - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) vs. Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) 
SEMIFINAL - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) df. Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL), 8-4
SEMIFINAL - Muslim SADULAEV (RUS) df. Andrei DUKOV (ROU), 10-0 

65kg
GOLD - Haji ALIYEV (AZE) vs. Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
SEMIFINAL -  Haji ALIYEV (AZE) df. Maxim SACULTAN (MDA), 12-2 
SEMIFINAL - Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR) df. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR), 9-6 

70kg
GOLD - Mustafa KAYA (TUR) vs. Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) 
SEMIFINAL - Mustafa KAYA (TUR) df. Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL), 6-6 
SEMIFINAL - Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE) df. Nicolae COJOCARU (GBR), 6-0 

79kg
GOLD - Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) vs. Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS)
SEMIFINAL - Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) df. Andrei KARPACH (BLR), 9-4 
SEMIFINAL - Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) df. Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR), 7-0 
 

97kg
GOLD - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) vs. Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR) 
SEMIFINAL - Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR) df.. Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), 2-1 
SEMIFINAL - Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) df. Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD), 12-0 

SCHEDULE

Tuesday (April 9) 
9:30 - Weigh-in FS – 57-65-70-79-97kg
9:45 - Medical Examination & Weigh-in FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
11:30 - Repechage FS – 57-65-70-79-97kg
15:00 - Draw WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
16:15 - Opening Ceremony
17:15 - Semi Final FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
18:00 - Finals FS – 57-65-70-79-97kg / Award ceremonies 

Wednesday (April 10) 
9:30 - Weigh-in FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
11:30 - Qualification rounds WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
11:30 - Repechage FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg
14:00 - Draw WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
17:15 - Semi Final WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg 
18: 00 - Finals FS – 61-74-86-92-125kg / Award ceremonies

Thursday (April 11) 
9:30 - Weigh-in WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg page4image2914979424 page4image2914979968
14:00 - Repechage WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg 
14:00 - Draw GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
17:15 - Semi Final WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
18:00 - Finals WW – 50-55-59-68-76kg / Award ceremonies 

Friday (April 12) 
9:30 - Weigh-in WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
11:30 - Repechage WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg 
15:40 - Draw GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg
17:15 - Semi Final GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
18:00 - Finals WW – 53-57-62-65-72kg / Award ceremonies

Saturday (April 13) 
9:30 - Weigh-in GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg
9:45 - Medical examination & Weigh-in GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
11:30 - Qualification rounds GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
11:30 - Repechage GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg 
17:15 - Semi Final GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
18:00 - Finals GR – 55-63-77-87-130kg / Award ceremonies

Sunday (April 14) 
9:30 - Weigh-in GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
16:00 - Repechage GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg 
18:00 - Finals GR – 60-67-72-82-97kg / Award ceremonies

#WrestleAmman

Coles, Canada's first U17 world champ, wants to be an inspiration

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 - 15:38 By Vinay Siwach

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CANADA (December 16) -- "I am not a natural athlete." That's how Kaura COLES (CAN) describes herself. 

The 17-year-old seems to have as much clarity describing herself as she does wrestling on the mat.

She may not be the be a "natural", but she is the best in the world. At the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan, Coles became the first Canadian wrestler to win a gold medal. She won gold in the 53kg women's wrestling weight class.

But the odds did not favor Coles. No Canadian wrestler had reached the final at the U17 Worlds, forget winning gold. The last time Canada had a U20 or U17 world champ was in 2013. Coming into the tournament, Coles had a silver medal from the 2022 U17 Pan-Am Championships and a fifth-place finish at the Spain Grand Prix. 

So Coles wasn't favored to win a medal. Nor were the other seven Canadians entered. However, Coles did it. She was so precise in her wrestling, that her opponents were shocked to see her counter from negative positions.

Coles' win was one of the highlights of international wrestling in 2024 and a big boost for Canada and its wrestling after its medalless Olympics in Paris.

"I did not expect to do as well as I did,” she said later. “I can't predict the outcome of the match. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can every match."

In Amman, Coles began with two pins over Madkhiya USMANOV (KAZ) and Chloe BREWIS (RSA). She then went on to upset MUSKAN (IND) 12-3 in the quarterfinals, Isabelle GONZALES (USA) 8-3 in the semifinals and securing a fall in the finals against Nana KOZUKA (JPN), undeterred by names or a Japanese opponent.

Coles began wrestling when she was 11 years old when her father, Cory, took her to the gym because he did not want her to just sit around all day. Kaura is one of the 11 Coles siblings from Winnipeg. She is number six with five younger siblings and she coaches them as well.

"If you had watched me wrestling four years ago, you would have never thought I could have achieved anything. Worst wrestler by far," Coles told FloWrestling. "But I knew how to do a 2-on-1. So every match, every practice, I would be grabbing a 2-on-1. For six years I have been doing that and just developed and became very good from that position. [I do well] Tying up with people. I don't do well from space since I am a slow wrestler. I want to get an underhook or a 2-on-1."

She worked hard. Having wrestler siblings around her improved her as she had to keep up with the sibling rivalries growing in the house.

"I have to be a tough wrestler just to survive every day [with my brother]," she said. "But they all wrestled, my sisters wrestle too. Everyone works hard and it makes it a lot easier"

But in the beginning, Coles did not like the sport or working hard to be better at it.

“I did not like it at first because it’s a very hard sport," Coles told The Free Press. "Back then, I didn’t really like hard work because it’s hard to like that. But over time, I saw the benefits of putting in the hard work and seeing where it can get you."

Kaura COLES (CAN)Kaura COLES (CAN) defeated Nana KOZUKA (JPN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

So far, wrestling has made Coles a three-time national wrestling champion, U17 Pan-American silver medalist, North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) champion and of course, world champion.

But Coles wants to do more. As a Métis herself, she wants to inspire, coach, and promote Indigenous groups.

"I want to be an inspiration for the other Indigenous and Métis warriors in Canada," Coles said after winning the gold. "I don't wrestle for myself."

Coles' mother Michelle is a Métis, an Indigenous group in Canada, and has kept their culture in the house including learning French. Coles wore her Métis sash after the medal ceremony at the U17 Worlds.

"I wear my Métis sash whenever I can," she said. "I have other Indigenous people come up to me and tell me how I have inspired them. I'm so glad that I was able to represent."

Another one of Coles' is to be at the Olympics. Canada has won six medals at the Olympics in Women's Wrestling. But the last came in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"My goal is to go to the next Olympics when I'm 21 years old and then I want to go to the Olympics after that," she said. "Then I will retire."