WORLD CLUBS CUP

Bimeh Razi Wins Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup

By Ali Feizasa

The host team, Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI) defeated Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), 8-2 to capture the 2017 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup title.

Defending champions, Sina Sanat started strong, winning the first two bouts. It was Saman ABDVALI’s (IRI) win at 63kg that gave Bimeh Razi their first win. Artem SURKOV (RUS) tied the match for Bimeh Razi after besting Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) at 67kg. 2017 world bronze medal winner, Mohammad Ali GERAEI’s (IRI) 10-0 victory over 2015 Asian champion Ali ARSALAN gave Bimeh the 3-2 lead.

Despite a tough first period, Russian two-time Olympic champion, Roman VLASOV (RUS) picked up a technical superiority victory over U-23 World bronze medal winner, Payam BOYERI (IRI).

 In one of the most interesting matches of the night, 2017 75kg world bronze medalist Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) beat Sina Sanat’s 2017 80kg world champion, Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM), 6-2.

Bimeh’s Iranian youngster, Mehdi FALLAH (IRI) had a great performance, downing Rio Olympics silver medalist, Zhan BELENYUK (URK), 1-0, which ultimately secured Bimeh Razi’s second Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup title.

Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI) and Shahab GHOUREH JILI (IRI) finished the match with two victories, giving Bimeh Razi the 8-2 victory over Sina Sanat.

In the third place match, Buyuksehir (TUR) defeated Georgian Club (GEO), 6-4, while Moscow (RUS) beat Shohadaye Modafe Haram Qom (IRI), 8-2 to place fifth.

The results of final day of Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup:

Final Match: Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI) df. Sina Sanat IZEH (IRI), 8-2
55kg- Reza KHEDRI (Sina) df. Moslem NADERI KHADEM (Bimeh), 2-1
60kg- Meysam DELKHANI (Sina) df. Mehrdad MARDANI (Bimeh) , 3-2             
63kg- Saman ABDEVALI (IRI) TF. Behnam MORADI  (Sina), 9-1
67kg- Artem SURKOV (Bimeh) df. Mohammadreza GERAEI (Sina), 5-2
72kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI (Bimeh) TF. Ali ARSALAN (Sina), 10-0
77kg- Roman VLASOV (Bimeh) TF. Payam BOYERI (Sina), 10-1
82kg- Saeid ABDVALI (Bimeh) df. Maksim MANUKYAN (Sina), 6-2
87kg- Mehdi FALLAH (Bimeh) df. Zhan BELENYUK (Sina), 1-097kg- Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (Bimeh) TF. Hassan ARYANEJAD (Sina), 10-0
130kg- Shahab GHOUREH JILI (Bimeh) df. Mehdi NOURI (Sina) by forfeit

Third place match: Buyuksehir (TUR) df. Georgian Club (GEO), 6-4
55kg- Muslum ALINLI (TUR) TF. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), 11-1
60kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR) Pinned Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO)
63kg- Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) df. Fatih UCUNCU (TUR), 4-2
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) df. Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO), 4-0
72kg- Yunus OZEL (TUR) df. Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO) , 8-1
77kg- Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR) Pinned Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df. Varlami KVARATSKHELIA (GEO), 2-1
87kg- Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR) by forfeit
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA (GEO)  df. Irfan METE (TUR), 8-4
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO) df. Fatih BASKOY (TUR), 4-0

Semifinal results
Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Georgian Club (GEO), 8-2

55kg- Reza KHEDRI (IRI)df.  Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), 4-1
60kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (IRI) TF. Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO), 9-0
63kg- Behnam MORADI  (IRI) TF. Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO), 9-0
67kg- Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM/Sina Sanat Team), 3-2
72kg- Ali ARSALAN (IRI) TF. Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO) , 9-0
77kg- Payam BOYERI (IRI) TF. Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO), 8-0
82kg- Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM/ Sina Sanat Team) TF. Varlami KVARATSKHELIA (GEO), 9-0
87kg- Zhan BELENYUK (UKR/ Sina Sanat Team) df. Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO), 3-0
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA (GEO) Pinned Hassan ARYANEJAD (IRI)
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO) df. Mehdi NOURI (IRI) by forfeit.

Bimeh Razi (IRI) df. Buyuksehir (TUR), 8-2
55kg- Moslem NADERI KHADEM (IRI) df. Muslum ALINLI (TUR), 3-1
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI) df. Hammet RUSTEM (TUR), 13-6                 
63kg- Fatih UCUNCU (TUR) Pinned Saman ABDEVALI (IRI)
67kg- Hossein ASADI (IRI) df. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) by forfeit
72kg- Farshad BELFEKE (IRI) df. Yunus OZEL (TUR), 2-1
77kg- Roman VLASOV (RUS/ Bimeh Team) df. Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR), 4-0
82kg- Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 3-1
87kg- Mehdi FALLAH (IRI) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR) by forfeit
97kg- Irfan METE (TUR) df. Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI) by forfeit
130kg- Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO/ Bimeh Team) df. Fatih BASKOY (TUR), 5-0


Fifth Place match: Moscow (RUS) df. Shohadaye Modafe Haram Qom (IRI), 8-2
55kg- Aleksei KINZHIGALIEV (RUS) TF. Mehdi GHORBANI (IRI), 11-0
60kg- Sergey EMELIN (RUS) TF. Reza MORADI (IRI), 10-1       
63kg- Sanal SEMENOV (RUS) Pinned Mehdi MORAD HASELI (IRI)
67kg- Pavel SALEEV (RUS) Pinned Aliakbar PASALARI (IRI)
72kg- Denis MURTAZIN (RUS) TF. Ali SOLEYMANI (IRI), 8-0
77kg- Hadi ALIZADEH (IRI) wins by forfeit
82kg- Roman YUSIPOV (RUS) df. Mohammad Reza REZAEI (IRI), 6-2
87kg- Mehdi EBRAHIMI (IRI) df. Aleksei MISHIN (RUS) by forfeit
97kg- Musa EVLOEV (RUS) df. Omid EFTEKHARI ASL (IRI), 3-0
130kg- Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS) TF. Parsa NAZARI (IRI), 9-0

Seventh place match: Dinamo (ARM) df. Samsun (UKR), 6-4

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Dinamo (ARM), 6-4
55kg- Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM) TF. Sergii STOROZHENKO (UKR), 8-0
60kg- Murad HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) Pinned Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR), 3-0
63kg- Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)df. Anton KUTSENKO (UKR), 9-2
67kg- Aleksan MIKAYELYAN (ARM) df. Fevzi MAMUTOV (UKR), 6-1
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) Pinned Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM), 8-4
77kg- Ruben GHARIBYAN (ARM) df. Keyvan REZAEI (IRI), 10-6
82kg- Argishti ABGARYAN (ARM) df. Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR),2-2
87kg- Iurii SHKRIUBA (UKR) df. Gegam TORGOMYAN (ARM), 6-4
97kg- Mykola KRYSOV (UKR) TF. Vagharsak MINASYAN (ARM), 9-0
130kg- Mykola KUCHMII (UKR) df. Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 4-1

Ninth place match: Olympic Hopes (ROU) df. Busapest SC (HUN), 5-4
(Both team had no wrestler at 82kg)
55kg- Florin TITA (ROU) TF. József ANDRASI (HUN), 11-2
60kg- Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) df. István VANCZA (HUN), 6-1
63kg- Bence KOVACS (HUN) TF. Teodor HORATAU (ROU), 12-1
67kg- István KOZAK (HUN) TF. Irinel BOTEZ MIHAI (ROU), 8-0
72kg- Martin TOTH  (HUN) TF. Boanta NICOLAE (ROU), 10-0
77kg- Adrian AGACHE (ROU) wins by forfeit
82kg- Both team didn’t have wrestler
87kg- Samuel OJOG NICU (ROU) TF. Bence MARTIN(HUN), 9-0
97kg- Róbert ÉRSEK (HUN) df. Constantin PIRVAN DORIN (ROU), 1-1
130kg- Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) df. Almasi FERENC (HUN), 4-0

 

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Five years after third, Kinjo earns shot at fourth gold

By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 29) -- Two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO (JPN) earned a shot at a fourth world title and first in five years, but Jia LONG (CHN) denied the powerful Japanese team a potential sweep of the women's golds.

Kinjo broke open a tight semifinal at 59kg against Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN), scoring eight points in the second period for a 9-0 victory at the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Tuesday in Tirana.

Japanese hopes of winning all four of the women's titles on Wednesday ended when Asian champion Long rode a second-period surge to an 11-1 victory over Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at 65kg, avenging a loss to the Japanese in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

The two other Japanese in action, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) at 55kg and Ami ISHII (JPN) at 72kg, had little trouble advancing to the finals of their respective weight classes.

At 59kg, Kinjo earned just an activity point in the first period against Lipatova, but came out firing in the second, scoring a takedown off a low-ankle shot that she topped off with an exposure and gut wrench for a 7-0 lead. Kinjo then added a double-leg takedown.

Kinjo, who needed a dramatic last-second victory in a domestic playoff with 18-year-old Sakura ONISHI (JPN) to earn her ticket to Tirana, will be aiming to add to her consecutive world titles from 2017 to 2019 in Wednesday's final against veteran Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL).

Sukhee, a world champion in 2014 and silver medalist in 2015, scored a late takedown to clinch a 4-1 victory over MANSI (IND) in the other semifinal. Both Kinjo and Sukhee were bronze medalists this year at the Asian Championships, with the Mongolian's coming at 62kg.

Kinjo could have been expected to retire after failing to make Japan's team to Paris 2024 in a bid for an Olympic three-peat, but she has often said that she wants her daughter, now 2 1/2, to see
how good her mother was, not just hear about it.

The 30-somethings Kinjo and Lipatova's careers had crossed paths before, meeting in the semifinals at the 2018 World Championships. Kinjo won that one 10-0 en route to the second of her three consecutive gold medals.

Kiyooka, winner of both the world U23 and U20 golds in 2022, will be aiming to capture her first senior global title, after seeing her brother Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ikuei University teammates Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) and Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) all strike gold at the Paris Olympics.

She got the parade into the final started by scoring a takedown in each period for a 4-0 victory over reigning European champion Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), who was the losing finalist to Kinjo in the 57kg final at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the final, Kiyooka will face world U20 champion Jin ZHANG (CHN), who advanced with a victory by fall over Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA). Zhang got in on a deep single for a takedown that led to two quick exposures, then levered the American over before securing the fall.

At 65kg, Morikawa was ahead 1-1 on criteria in the second period when Long used a counter lift for 2 points (originally ruled 4, but later changed on the challenge). She had Morikawa's arm locked and used that for three rolls. After the match was resumed following the challenge, Long ended it with 43 seconds left with another counter lift.

In the final, Long will face European silver medalist Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), who scored a second-period fall over Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN) after building up an 11-6 lead.

Morikawa and Long were meeting for the second time, but one round earlier than before. Morikawa edged the Chinese 2-0 in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

The two finalists at 62kg at the World U23 Championships held last week at the same venue, champion Iryna BONDAR (UKR) and runnerup Macey KILTY (USA), lost to Morikawa and Zelenykh, respectively.

Ishii, the 2022 world 68kg silver medalist, won a battle of newly crowned world U23 champions by overwhelming Kylie WELKER (USA) with a 12-1 technical fall that she concluded in the final seconds. Ishii had won the U23 68kg title, while Welker had triumphed at 72kg.

In the final, Ishii will face three-time former Asian champion Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), who will be looking to take home a first world gold after winning two silvers and a bronze over the past three years.

Bakbergenova prevailed in an entertaining 8-6 victory over Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), scoring 4 points in a first-period scramble and clinching the win with a late takedown in the second.

Both Morikawa and Ishii lost out on the place at the Paris Olympics at 68kg to Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), who ended up with a bronze medal.

For Ishii, the pain of missing out on Paris was particularly sharp, as she had earned the quota for Japan by placing fifth at the 2023 World Championships, only to lose in the last second of a playoff against Ozaki.

Morikawa rebounded from her disappointment by making the team at 72kg to the 2023 worlds, from which she took home a bronze. Now she is back at her normal weight class, in which she won the world gold in 2022 and finished second in 2021.

Women's Wrestling Results

55kg (18 entries)
SF: Jin ZHANG (CHN) df. Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA) by Fall, 1:28 (8-0)
SF: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), 4-0

59kg (22 entries)
SF: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. MANSI (IND), 4-1
SF: Risako KINJO (JPN) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN), 9-0

65kg (19 entries)
SF: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN) by Fall, 1:59 (11-6)
SF: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) by TF, 11-1, 5:17

72kg (18 entries)
SF: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) df. Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), 8-6
SF: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Kylie WELKER (USA) by TF, 12-1, 5:58