#wrestlebishkek

Bishkek gives peak into intense women's wrestling battles

Friday, June 2, 2023 - 17:31 By Vinay Siwach

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (June 2) -- If Friday's results are anything to go by, expect the women's wrestling competitions in the Paris Olympic cycle to throw more surprises.

Four Olympic weight classes were contested in Bishkek on Friday and three different countries won gold medals with Ukraine winning two of them at the third Ranking Series event of the year.

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) and Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) were the two gold medalists for Ukraine at 57kg and 62kg respectively while China won the gold at 68kg through Feng ZHOU (CHN) while the host country got the gold through Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) at 76kg.

The most intense weight class was 62kg which included the European Championships finalists Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) and Grace BULLEN (NOR), former U23 world champion Ana GODINEZ (CAN), world silver medalist Jia LONG (CHN), former world champ Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) and Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL).

Among all, to everyone's surprise, Prokopevniuk and Purevdorj reached the final after European champ Koliadenko lost in the first round to Sukhee while Bullen suffered a 15-10 loss to Long in the quarterfinal. But Sukhee met Purevdorj in an-all Mongolian semifinal in which the latter won 6-4.

Prokopevniuk defeated Godinez 8-3 in the opening round, moved past Lydia PEREZ (ESP) 12-1 in the quarterfinals blanked Long 10-0.

In the final, Prokopevniuk managed to hand Prevdorj an 8-3 defeat to win her second Ranking Series gold medal.

For Hrushyna, the 57kg did not offer immense competition but the wrestler still had to go through the process of winning more medals. Hrushyna defeated  Emma TISSINA (KAZ) 10-0, moving into the semifinals against ZHUOMALAGA (CHN).

She faced China in the final as Kexin HONG (CHN) also reached the final but Hrushyna won 7-4 and the gold medal.

"My motivation now is my Ukraine, which is fighting now," Hrushyna said. "This is my motherland, that motivates me to go forward and win."

Hrushyna and the team are likely to compete in more Ranking Series events after this.

"We are planning to compete at one more Ranking Series event," she said. "We are also planning to go to a training camp in Japan, that will be a nice preparation and then we will go to another training camp in the mountains of Ukraine."

Feng ZHOU (CHN)Feng ZHOU (CHN) launches Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) for a big throw. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

At 68kg, veteran Feng ZHOU (CHN) rolled back the years and wrestled well to reach the final. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) was her opponent for the gold medal bout.

Zhou first defeated Xinru ZHOU (CHN) 12-1 in the quarterfinals before she moved on 3-1 against Nesrin BAS (TUR) in the semifinal.

Enkhsaikhan got an extra bout to reach the final as she defeated Svetlana OKNAZAROVA (UZB) 11-0 in the qualification rounds, Olivia DI BACCO (CAN) 6-1 in the quarterfinals and Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) 2-1 in the semifinal.

Zhou was stunned in the final as Enkhsaikhan scored five points before she eked out a clutch performance and won 14-5.

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) won the 76kg gold medal at home. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Medet Kyzy could not have asked for a better performance in front of the home fans as she captured the gold medal at 76kg. Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN) was close to upsetting Medet Kyzy but fell short in a 5-3 loss.

The qualification round saw some interesting results as Medet Kyzy defeated Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ) 4-1, Genesis REASCO (ECU) won 5-0 against Epp MAE (EST), Martina KUENZ (AUT) won 4-1 over Cynthia VESCAN (FRA) and PRIYA (IND) won 6-0 against Anastasiia OSNIACH (UKR).

Medet Kyzy faced Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) next and won 10-6 before facing QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN) in the semifinal which also ended in the favor of Medet Kyzy 6-3. In the other semifinal, Huang moved on after Kuenz suffered an injury.

Geraei stunned

Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) continues to suffer stunning losses in the competition since last year. After losses at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup in June 2022, World Championships in September 2022 and Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking in February, Geraei suffered a shock 11-1 loss to Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) in the 72kg final in Bishkek.

Before Friday, Zoidze had lost thrice to Geraei, at the 2019 World Championships (7-5), 2021 Olympic Games (6-1) and 2021 World Championships (7-6) but was a different wrestler that stepped on the mat in Bishkek.

"Of course, I believed in my victory, I was ready for this," Zoidze said. "I had to take revenge after the Olympic Games and after the World Championships. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and thank God that I was able to take revenge."

Zoidze's final against Geraei could not have been more one-sided as the Georgian defeated him 11-1 with Geraei giving no chance to even fight.

The victory does put him as one of the contenders for the 67kg spot on the Gerogian team but Zoidze said it is still unclear if he can be at 67kg.

"I want to wrestle at 67kg, but at the moment this is still unclear which category I will wrestle," he said. "My main goal is to go down to 67kg and take part in the Olympic Games."

However, Geraei's elder brother Mohammadali won his second Ranking Series gold medal of the year as he captured the 77kg gold medal after beating Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) 8-3.

Geraei won gold in the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event in February this year.

Iran added a fifth gold to its Greco-Roman tally when Alireza MOHAMADPIANI (IRI) defeated upcoming star Alperen BERBER (TUR) 7-5 in the 82kg final.

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RESULTS

Greco-Roman

72kg
GOLD: Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) df. Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI), 11-1

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Yerassyl NURBOSSYNOV (KAZ), 9-0
BRONZE: Otar ABULADZE (GEO) df. VIKAS (IND), via fall

77kg
GOLD: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) df. Iuri LOMADZE (GEO), 8-3

BRONZE: Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR) df. Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB), 8-0
BRONZE: Rui LIU (CHN) df. SAJAN (IND), 7-5

82kg
GOLD: Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) df. Alperen BERBER (TUR), 7-5

BRONZE: Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ) df. Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB), 5-4
BRONZE: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) df. Shamil BATYROV (KAZ), 9-0

Women's wrestling

57kg
GOLD: Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR) df. Kexin HONG (CHN), 7-4

BRONZE: ZHUOMALAGA (CHN) df. Emma TISSINA (KAZ), 6-0
BRONZE: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) df. Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR), 8-4

62kg
GOLD: Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) df. Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL), 8-3

BRONZE: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Ana GODINEZ (CAN), 7-6
BRONZE: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Luisa NIEMESCH (GER), 8-3

68kg
GOLD: Feng ZHOU (CHN) df. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL), 14-5

BRONZE: Nesrin BAS (TUR) df. Xinru ZHOU (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE: Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Olivia DI BACCO (CAN), 2-1

76kg
GOLD: Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN), 5-3

BRONZE: QIANDEGENCHAGAN (CHN) df. Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR), 8-3
BRONZE: Genesis REASCO VALDEZ (ECU) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), via inj. def.

#wrestlebishkek

Five Kyrgyz wrestlers highlight Sunday's RS finals

Sunday, June 4, 2023 - 04:28 By Eric Olanowski

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (June 4) --- The final day of wrestling at the Bishkek Ranking Series event will be a full slate of freestyle wrestling. The eight classes in action today will be 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 74kg, 79kg, 85kg and 92kg.

Everything you need to know:
📍Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
🗓️: June 1-4
🥇🥈🥉= 18:00
#️⃣: #WrestleBishkek
🖥️: http://uww.org 
📱: UWW App

Sunday's finals: 
57kg:  Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) vs. Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) 
61kg: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) vs. Shota PHARTENADZE (GEO) 
65kg: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) vs. Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ) 
70kg: Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)vs.  Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
74kg: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs.  Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) 
79kg: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) vs. Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) ​​​​​​​
86kg: Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN) vs. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) ​​​​​​​
92kg: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) 

15:41: World bronze medal winners Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) and Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) are tango'ing over on Mat A. They are even at two-a-piece after the first three minutes, with Dauletbekov holding the criteria advantage after scoring a takedown to close out the period.

15:27: As mentioned early, this match on Mat C between Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) is going to be one of the deciding factors for Azerbaijan's 74kg World Championships spot.

15:24: What a match! Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ) and Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) just put up 17 points, with the Kazakh reaching the finals, 11-6. Talgat will wrestle  Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ) v

15:17: Kyrgyzstan is three-for-three in the semifinals, with world silver medalist Akmataliev looking to make it four-for-four as he's up 1-0 on Mat B.

15:15: Asian champion Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) shutout Pankaj PANKAJ (IND), 7-0, in the 61kg semifinals, but hobbled off the mat. Before getting his hand raised Zhumashbek Uulu bent down a grabbed his right ankle. 

15:13: Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) picks up a 4-2 win over Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) and give the host nation their first freestyle Ranking Series finalist.

15:03: The Bishkek Arena is deafening right now. There are Kyrgyz wrestlers on every mat and they are all winning. 

14:47: Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) just pinned Osman GOCEN (TUR) after training 9-5 with :50 seconds left in the second period. He'll wrestle fellow world bronze medalist Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) in the 86kg semifinals.

14:25: We'll finish the final pair of quarterfinal matches on all matches and roll right into the semifinals. From the looks of things, it seems that we'll finish the morning session around 16:15, then start the finals at 18:00.

14:16: U23 world champion Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) is making his tournament debut on Mat B against Myrza ZHYRGALBEK UULU (KGZ). 

14:05: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) currently holds a 8-4 lead over world and Olympic bronze medalist Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) on Mat C. When Bayramov is on the attack, he has the potential to be once of the best guys in the world, but often finds himself shutting it down and managing matches rather than wrestling matches. 

13:58: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) puts a stamp on his 11-0 win over Yerkebulan SHYNYKUL (KAZ) with a match-ending four-point throw. He'll move into the 70kg semifinals India's Mulaym YADAV (IND), who just defeated Davit PATSINASHVILI (GEO), 6-1.

13:43: Pankaj dominated Aman, scoring an easy 7-1 win to move into the 61kg semifinals against reigning Asian champion Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ).

Aman was clearly too small for Pankaj. He was in on several shots, but had no penetration on his attacks, getting stopped after the first level of his attack.

13:34: Indian phenom Aman AMAN (IND) is up on Mat B against teammate Pankaj PANKAJ (IND). Aman, the 17-year-old, is up at 61kg, one weight above his Asian title-winning weight of 57kg.

13:15: One of the least talked about guys in Pan-American (outside of American athletes), in my opinion, is Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG). He's a guy that's constantly traveling the world to find quality partners and hone his craft. His technique has massively improved over the last three year and is a solid sized 65kg guy.

Destribats just dropped Nuerlaxi BIEKEZHATI (CHN) on his head in the first round, moving onto the quarterfinals with a 10-0 win. He'll wrestle Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) next.

13:03: Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) gave world bronze medalist Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) a tough match on Mat B. Tumur Ochir won 4-0 but it was closer than the score indicated.

12:56: Dauletbekov gets a pair of takedowns in the second period and defeats Jezierzanski, 5-1. He'll wrestle Gocen for a spot in the 86jg semifinals. 

12:55: We're two matches away from starting the quarterfinals. The last three days, we've finished the first round around 14:00. With the 25 matches left on each match, I'm not sure if we'll be done with the quarterfinals by that time today.

12:50: World bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) has a narrow 1-0 lead over Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL) after the first period. The winner of this match gets Osman GOCEN (TUR) in the 86kg quarterfinals.

12:23: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) just saved his Belgrade hopes with a match-deciding takedown against Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN). Gadzhiev was behind 4-3 but scored a takedown with :03 left, winning the match, 5-4. He'll wrestle the winner of the match that's currently up on Mat B between Adam Skene THOMSON (CAN) and Otari BAGAURI (GEO).

12:15: After winning his first-round match, Ilias BEKBULATOV (UZB) has dropped out of the competition. "I have a hernia and it's caused awful pain in my right arm. The pain is so bad that I can not move my arm," said Bekbulatov. "I have had two injections already, and I wanted to wrestle, but I can not continue." 

11:47: World and Olympic bronze medalist Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) will make his tournament debut against Kubat AZIZBAEV (KGZ), next on Mat A.

11:43: Akmataliev brought the crowd to their feel with a 6-2 win over Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB), punching his ticket to the quarterfinals against Yerkebulan SHYNYKUL (KAZ).

11:30: It's official, Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) receives the injury default win over Kumar RAVI (IND) in 61kg qualification round. He'll meet the winner of  Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR) and Assyl AITAKYN (KAZ) in the quarterfinals.

11:19: This place is going to erupt in about five minutes. Kyrgyzstan's world silver medalists Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) is in the call room, waiting to be called to Mat C, where he'll wrestle Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) in the opening round at 70kg.

11:07: One of the most important storylines we'll be following today is the three-way competition for the Azerbaijan's 74kg starting spot between Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) and Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE). "This event is the one of the selection stages. The second stage will be the Poland Open. After those events, we'll review the results and select the starter [for Belgrade]," said Azerbaijan's head freestyle coach, Khetag GAZUMOV.

10:45: This just in: Kumar RAVI (IND) has pulled out of the Ranking Series event. According to the Indian coaching staff, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist injured his knee while warming up and won't compete in Bishkek.

10:40: Good morning, wrestling fans. Today is the final day of wrestling at the Ranking Series event. During the first few days of the competition, we had around 25 matches per mat in the morning session. Today, we have 40 matches per mat which means there will be either a small break or no break at all.