Bajrang Storms Back to Regain Asian Title at 65kg; Iran Captures 3 of 5 Golds

Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - 16:48 By Ken Marantz

XI’AN, China (April 23) – World silver medalist Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) needed one of his trademark comebacks more than ever. His winded opponent gave him the opening he needed.

Bajrang, overcoming a five-point deficit in the second period, stormed to a 12-7 victory over Sayatbek OKASSOV (KAZ) in the freestyle 65kg final at the Asian Championships in Xi’an to regain the continental title he won two years ago in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Iran captured three of the five golds at stake on the opening day of the six-day competition—and added bronze medals in the two other weight classes--while Kazakhstan also had a champion crowned.

Bajrang looked to be heading to defeat when Okassov got the Indian’s leg in the air three times, and scored a takedown each time to build up a 7-2 lead early in the second period.

But Okassov started to show fatigue, and Bajrang started twisting the screws. In the last 1:40, he went ahead with a takedown that he followed up with three rolls to put away the match.

“I didn’t feel like I was losing,” Bajrang said. “If you see my matches, I start a bit slow, then I catch up. I gain an understanding of the strategy of the opponent.”

Bajrang acknowledged that he uses his exceptional stamina to his advantage, saying, “I tire the opponent out and score points after that.”

Bajrang’s personal coach for the past year, Greek-born Georgian Shako Bentinidis, expressed concern over the technical lapses in Bajrang’s performance.

“I mind,” Bentinidis said. “The last month, we stayed in India and he had a little problem with the food and [training] partner. That’s why his concentration here was no good.”

But Bajrang’s determination was enough to allow him to prevail. “He has a very good character,” the coach said. “He never thinks about losing, only concentration on winning.”

Although he vanquished all before him on this day, Bajrang felt something was missing. Or someone for that matter.

Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), who defeated Bajrang in a memorable final at the Budapest 2018 world championships, had entered the tournament, but pulled out due to bursitis in his knee.

“All of the athletes here I had already defeated. Only Otoguro I have not. I would have liked to face him,” said Bajrang, who is hoping for a rematch at either this year’s world championships or Tokyo 2020.

Two-time world champion Reza YAZDANI (IRI) defeated Mongolia's ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul, 7-4 in the 97kg gold-medal bout. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Two-time former world champion Reza YAZDANI (IRI) returned from an absence of over two years to win the 97kg gold with a come-from-behind win of his own. He has some unfinished business to attend to at the Tokyo Olympics.

Yazdani twice missed out on Olympic medal, at London 2012 and Rio 2016, after suffering injuries during the competition, and he sees Tokyo as his chance for redemption.

“Unfortunately, I lost two times at the Olympics because I was injured,” Yazdani said. “Now I want to make up for that in Tokyo in 2020. I tried to keep myself fit, watch my weight and train for wrestling, and now I’m back on the national team.”

In the final, Yazdani trailed ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul (MGL) 4-2 in the second period when the Mongolian ran out of gas. Yazdani took advantage and went on to win 7-4, adding to the Asian titles he won in 2010 and 2016.

“The match is six minutes,” said Yazdani, a three-time Asian Games champion. “Sometimes I go down [in the score], and sometimes I go up. I am always training to be in better condition.”

Reza ATRINAGARCHI (IRI), the 57kg champion, was one of three Iranian champions on Day 1. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Iran’s other golds came from Reza ATRINAGARCHI (IRI) at 57kg and Bahman TEYMOURI (IRI) at 70kg.

Atrinagarchi scored all of his points in the second period in posting a 9-3 victory over defending champion KANG Kumsong (PRK), who had defeated former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) in the semifinals.

Takahashi, a bronze medalist at the Budapest 2018 world championships, shook off that loss to take a bronze home, scoring a 4-point takedown-and-roll combination with 15 seconds left to defeat Kumar RAVI (IND), 5-3.

“It’s tough to take, but it gives me an idea of where I stand now, and I have to accept that,” Takahashi said of his loss. “But this [tournament] was not my goal. If this were the world championships or Olympics, I would be more disappointed. I have to not let this get me down and keep fighting to get a gold medal.”

Speaking about his 3-1 loss to Kang, Takahashi said, “The opponent was very good. He doesn’t have a strong attack, but his defense is strong. My strong point is offense, but today my offense lost and that was the result. I have to get stronger on attack. Of course, I want to get revenge.”

Teymouri, a 2017 bronze medalist, earned his first Asian gold with a sedate 3-0 win in the 79kg final over Parveen RANA (IND). Teymouri scored a first-period takedown, then received a penalty point in the second.

Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) reached the top of the podium at 70 with a 9-0 shutout win over Japan's Kojiro SHIGA. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

In the day’s other final, Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) overwhelmed Kojiro SHIGA (JPN), 9-0, at 70kg

Host China had three wrestlers in the bronze-medal matches, but only YUAN Shaohua (CHN) made the podium after he crushed Abdullrahman IBRAHIM (QAT) with a 10-0 technical fall in just 34 seconds.

Makhmudjon SHAVKATOV (UZB), last year’s runner-up to Kang at 57kg in Bishkek, took home a bronze this time by beating Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK), 4-0.

Peiman BIABANI (IRI) at 65kg and Yones EMAMICHOGAEI (IRI) at 70kg added to the Iranian medal tally by winning bronzes.

Day 1 Results

Freestyle

57kg (12 entries)
Gold – Reza ATRINAGARCHI (IRI) df. KANG Kumsong (PRK), 9-3
Bronze – Makhmudjon SHAVKATOV (UZB) df. Hikmatullo VOHIDOV (TJK), 4-0
Bronze – Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Kumar RAVI (IND), 5-3

65kg (16 entries)
Gold – Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) df. Sayatbek OKASSOV (KAZ), 12-7
Bronze – KIM Han Song (PRK) df. Haji Mohamad ALI (BRN) by TF, 10-0, :46
Bronze – Peiman BIABANI (IRI) df. Sirojiddin KHASANOV (UZB), 3-2

70kg (16 entries)
Gold – Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Kojiro SHIGA (JPN), 9-0
Bronze – YUAN Shaohua (CHN) df. Abdullrahman IBRAHIM (QAT) by TF, 10-0, :34
Bronze – Yones EMAMICHOGAEI (IRI) df. Balyr BORJAKOV (TKM) by TF, 11-0, 4:04

79kg (10 entries)
Gold – Bahman TEYMOURI (IRI) df. Parveen RANA (IND), 3-0
Bronze – Oibek NASIROV (KGZ) df. LIN Zeping (CHN) by Fall, 2:50 (2-1)
Bronze – Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ) df. Yuta ABE (JPN), 6-0

97kg (11 entries)
Gold – Reza YAZDANI (IRI) df. Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL), 7-4
Bronze – Satywart KADIAN (IND) df. GAO Haobin (CHN), 8-2
Bronze – Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) df. Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ), 6-2

#WrestleTirana

Bondar caps off remarkable year with U23 Worlds gold

Saturday, October 26, 2024 - 11:03 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (October 25) -- Iryna BONDAR (UKR) was at her home in Zhytomyr, watching her teammate Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) win the silver medal at the 62kg weight at the Paris Olympics. Bondar was inspired by her senior and vowed to make the Olympic team for 2028 Los Angeles Games. However, the 20-year-old will have to beat Koliadenko to make that team as both compete in the 62kg weight class.

"We train together and even matches during training," Bondar said. "She wins but with a close score. It is possible for me to win against her. She has won two medals at the Olympics, her hard work brings the results."

On her journey in the new Olympic cycle, Bondar has established herself as one of the biggest stars in 62kg with 2024 being one of the most remarkable years for her.

After finishing eighth in the Zagreb Ranking Series, Bondar has won gold medals at the U23 European Championships, Budapest Ranking Series, U20 World Championships and on Friday, she won the U23 World Championships gold medal, upgrading her silver from last year.

"It was a very intense year," she said. "The main goal for me was to complete the year with the U20 World gold, since this is my last Junior year. I did it."

With two world titles in a one-month span, Bondar is slowly coming to terms with her achievement. Despite coming to Tirana as a heavy favorite, Bondar says she was nervous and still cannot believe that she is a world champion.

"I am always a bit nervous at competitions," she said. "If there is no nervousness, then there is no competition. There is no difference what kind of competition it is. I came up with the idea that I had to win, because I already have two U23 silver medals, and I was coming here for gold only."

In the final, Bondar met two-time world medalist Macey KILTY (USA) who had dominated her competition till the final. An close final was expected by Bondar had different ideas. She used her quick offense and Kilty slumped to a 12-3 loss.

"I know that I have a very experienced opponent in the final but I prepared to wrestle her," Bondar said.

With three more years of U23 eligibility, Bondar may set a unique record of winning the most level at U23 World Championships. However, she said that she will be focused on senior level as well.

"At the end of November we will have qualifiers for the European Championships," she said. "I will be wrestling there but it's still hard to believe that I have won."

U.S. wins team title

While Kilty lost, the U.S. performance was good enough to win it their first-ever U23 team title. U.S. won five medals including three golds to outperform Japan which finished second. U.S. finished with 136 points while Japan had 129 points. Ukraine was third with 124 points.

Kylie WELKER (USA) added another age-group world title after she defeated Vianne ROULEAU (CAN) via fall in the 72kg final. She also has a U20 world title from 2021. Since then, Welker has wrestled at 76kg. For this tournament, she dropped down to 72kg and it proved dividends for her.

Ringaci defends

Paris Olympian and one of the biggest stars in Tirana, Irina RINGACI (MDA) returned to the mat after her medalless campaign at the Paris Olympics. She ended the season by defending her U23 world gold medal at 65kg, beating Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), 10-3.

At one point, Ringaci led only 4-3 and Kasabieva had locked her for a suplex. However, Ringaci used her trademark whizzer and scored a four-pointer. Kasabieva challenged for a stepout but lost, making it 9-3 for Ringaci.

"I came here to win the gold medal because this is my last year competing at the U23 age group," Ringaci said. "I really wanted to win this World Championships to recover from the missing Olympic medal."

Ringaci suffered a 10-6 opening round loss against Pak Sol Gum (PRK) in Paris and returned without a medal.

"My preparation for the Olympic Games was really good," she said. "Days before my first Olympic bout, I got seriously ill. I was taking antibiotics, that’s why I was feeling bad. I was so disappointed because all the preparation stages went perfectly, but something we couldn’t control happened."

"I was wrestling on the first day at the Games, and at first I didn’t realize the Olympics were over for me. Only after the Olympic Games were over, I realized that it had all come to an end. I was completely devastated, because I expected much more. I still can’t recover from that defeat. But this U23 medal has cheered me up a bit and given me a little power."

Aliyeva first for Azerbaijan

Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) became the first-ever U23 world champion in women's wrestling by beating Ruka NATAMI (JPN) 10-8 in the 57kg final. She had won the silver medal last year after losing the final to Sara NATAMI (JPN), Ruka's older sister.

Aliyeva was running with the final and at one point she led 10-4. However, with less than a minute to go, Natami mounted a comeback but she failed to get a final turn as time ran out.

Sakamoto's golden debut

Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) had never competed at any World Championships and when she did, she made sure she won gold. The former U20 Asian champion made her debut in Tirana and won the 53kg gold medal with a resounding 11-0 victory over Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN).

While the final was one-sided, Sakamoto survived a scare in the semifinal against Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL), scoring a takedown in the last five seconds to win 4-4.

"I was injured this past year," Sakamoto said. "I overcame that and the semifinal was a lot harder for me. There were a few times when I couldn't get through the tackle. The Mongolian wrestler was really strong. I didn't move very well, but I was able to seize some chances and make the final tackle, so I'm glad."

Sakamoto suffered an ACL tear last year and had to operate, making her miss a few tournaments. She returned to competition during the selection trials for the World Championships. During her recovery, she realised that returning to 50kg would be a big ask so she moved up to 53kg.

"During the injury period, I thought a lot about my weight. In 50kg, I reduced weight but my strength increased," she said. "I felt like I wasn't using my strength in the competition, so I tried 53kg. I don't cut weight now."

Last month, Sakamoto followed her younger brother and moved to the U.S. While her brother is at Oklahoma State University, Sakamoto chose Northern Michigan University. But she will continue to appear for trials in Japan.

"I wish I could challenge myself through wrestling," she said. "I heard that my younger brother was going to college in the United States, so I thought I'd give it a try as well. So I decided to go to America because there were more matches there and I thought it would be a better fit for me, so I thought I could stick to my favorite style."

RESUTLS

53kg
GOLD: Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN) df. Serena DI BENEDETTO (CAN), 11-0

BRONZE: Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER) df. Xiaomin XIE (CHN), 10-8
BRONZE: Otgontuya CHINBOLD (MGL) df. Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ), 12-2

57kg
GOLD: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Ruka NATAMI (JPN), 10-8

BRONZE: Alina FILIPOVYCH (UKR) df. Sofia MACALUSO (USA), 8-4
BRONZE: Neha SHARMA (IND) df. Mingyue ZHANG (CHN), 5-2

62kg
GOLD: Iryna BONDAR (UKR) df. Macey KILTY (USA), 12-3

BRONZE: Olha PADOSHYK (POL) df. Hanying ZHANG (CHN), via fall
BRONZE: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Viktoria VESSO (EST), 10-0

65kg
GOLD: Irina RINGACI (MDA) df. Alina KASABIEVA (AIN), 10-3

BRONZE: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Karolina POK (HUN),
BRONZE: SHIKSHA (IND) df. Rin TERAMOTO (JPN), 6-3

72kg
GOLD: Kylie WELKER (USA) df. Vianne ROULEAU (CAN), via fall

BRONZE: Viktoryia RADZKOVA (AIN) df. Olesia BEZUGLOVA (AIN), via fall (4-0)
BRONZE: Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) df. Haticenur SARI (TUR), via fall (11-0)

Freestyle Semifinals

61kg
GOLD: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) vs. Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE)

SF 1: Ruslan ABDULLAYEV (AZE) vs. Abhishek DHAKA (IND), 11-1
SF 2: Bashir MAGOMEDOV (AIN) df. Ebrahim KHARI (IRI), 10-0

74kg
GOLD: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) vs. Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)

SF 1: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN), 5-1
Sf 2: Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) df. Ismail KHANIEV (AIN), 1-1

86kg
GOLD: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) vs. Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)

SF 1: Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Yudai TAKAHASHI (JPN), 2-1
SF 2: Arslan BAGAEV (AIN) df. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA), 8-1

92kg
GOLD: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) vs. Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)

SF 1: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Fatih ALTUNBAS (TUR),
SF 2: Jacob CARDENAS (USA) df. Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN),

125kg
GOLD: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) vs. Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)

SF 1: Alen KHUBULOV (BUL) df. Aydin AHMADOV (AZE), 10-0
SF 2: Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) df. Lucas STODDARD (USA), 10-0

Bajrang Storms Back to Regain Asian Title at 65kg; Iran Captures 3 of 5 Golds

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Bondar caps off remarkable year with U23 Worlds gold