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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.

World Combat Games: Kyrgyzstan dominates final day in Riyadh

Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 18:17 By United World Wrestling Press

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (October 26) -- Central Asian powerhouses Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan returned with a rich haul of gold medals in Belt Wrestling at the World Combat Games in Riyadh on Thursday.

While wrestlers from Kyrgyzstan won four gold medals, their counterparts from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan completed a golden hat-trick each. The competition was held in 10 categories across the two styles: Qazak (men’s 65kg, 75kg, 85kg; women’s 60kg, 70kg) and Alysh (men’s 70kg, 80kg, 90kg; women’s 55kg, 65kg).

Begai BEISHENAALY KYZY (KGZ) began the medal rush for Kyrgyzstan with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Mariam MAZANASHVILI (GEO) by Zhartylai Zheni, the acting of putting your opponent on the mat with three-point contact, in the women's Qazak Style 60kg. Soon after, Marlen ABDURASULOV (KGZ) overcame Mohammad NABIZADEH (IRI) by fall in the Men's Alysh Style 70kg.

Azizkhan MUSABEK UULU (KGZ) beat Arslan HOJAMBERDIYEV (TKM) to extend Kyrgyzstan’s dominance. He won in the Men's Alysh Style 90kg. And in the day’s penultimate gold medal bout, Elzada MOMUNZHANOVA (KGZ) defeated Gantsetseg GANBOLD (MGL) 4-2 in the Women's Alysh Style 55kg to cap off a successful day in office for the country’s wrestlers.

Meanwhile, Zhumazhan KOZHAMBEKOV, Madi AMANGELDI and Roza NYSSANTAIKYZ led the march for Kazakhstan. All three gold medals for the wrestlers from Kazakhstan came in the Qazak style.

In the women's 70kg category, Nyssantaikyz was dominant from the get-go. She began her campaign with a win over Shakhnoza BOZOROVA (UZB) and followed it up with another strong show against the Netherlands’ Sem VAN DUN (NED). In the final, the Kazakh wrestler defeated Mariasole MOMENTE (ITA) via Taza, a throw that lands the opponent with both shoulders on the mat.

There was some consolation for Van Dun as she won a bronze medal along with Reihaneh GILANIASL (IRI).

Kozhambekov, meanwhile, reigned supreme in the men’s 75kg category of the Qazak style as he defeated Tornike GRIGALASHVILI (GEO) 2-0 in the final. It was the only time in the day Kozhambekov was made to work hard as he hardly broke a sweat en route to the gold medal bout.

It was a similar story in the 85kg class, too, where Amangeldi won all three of his bout via Taza, a flawless throw for victory, as he romped to the top of the podium. After making short work of Sanga GOMBOSUREN (MGL) in the quarterfinals and Amir SHEIKH HOSSEINI (NED) in the semifinals, Amangeldi defeated Khamroz RAJABOV (TJK) in the final.

Nur AMANSHUKIROV (KAZ) could have won another gold medal for Kazakhstan but he fell short against an inspired Manucher SHIRINOV (UZB), who didn’t put a foot wrong as he claimed the title in the 65kg category.

Meanwhile, the day that began with a gold medal for Uzbekistan, with Shirinov claiming the title, ended on a similar note after Maftunbonu MAHMUDOVA (UZB) beat Jemal OVLYAKULYYEVA (TKM) 9-6 in the women's Alysh Style 65kg. Khusan ABDUKHAKIMOV (UZB) beat Rozymyrat MEDOV (TKM) via fall to win the title in men’s Alysh Style 80kg.