#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.

#WrestleAmman

Shkarin upgrades silver to gold; Iran wins 2 at U17 Worlds

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 20:32 By Vinay Siwach

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AMMAN, Jordan (August 20) -- Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) has lost only one bout in his international career. The loss in the U17 World Championships final at 80kg last year was so devasting for Shkarin that he made his goal to win the gold medal this year. He doubled his training time, watched videos of his bouts repeatedly and came to Amman with a mindset of a winner.

It was a similar path to the final this year as he won two close bouts, a 9-0 win in the semifinals and faced an Asian opponent in the final. The only change was that Shkarin wrestled a calculated final and became the U17 world champion.

Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN)Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) celebrates after winning the 80kg final in Amman. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Shkarin defeated Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ) 3-0 in the final to upgrade his silver from last year. He was one of the five world champions crowned in Amman on Tuesday.

"I haven’t changed anything," Shkarin said. "I just kept working hard. This gold medal is so valuable to me because last year I lost the final, which was also against an Asian athlete. The semifinal score was 9-0, just like it was this time. These coincidences distracted me a bit."

Unlike the 2023 final in which he played catch up after falling behind 7-0, Shkarin was in no mood to give points to Anapiya on Tuesday. He maintained a lead throughout the final and defended it well.

The U17 European champion explained that the bouts in Amman were tougher than what he experienced at the European Championships in Novi Sad in July.

"The matches here were tougher than at the European Championships, especially the final match," he said. "Back there, I only wrestled for a little over one minute, while here it took me two periods. I could only score three points at the beginning of the match, and then I had to hold onto that lead."

Shkarin, who hails from Lipsetsk, did not have any high-scoring match apart from the semifinal against Emad Reza MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI). He defeated Dinko NEYKOV (BUL) 5-0 in the first bout and Luka KOCHALIDZE (GEO) 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

"Honestly speaking, I have mixed feelings," Shkarin said. "There is euphoria, but at the same time, there is emptiness. I’ve been working so hard to win this gold. I need 2-3 days to fully realize everything. I am extremely happy -- it's the first time in my career that I’ve felt this way."

In other finals, Jayden RANEY (USA) won at 55kg and Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) got the gold at 110kg. But it was Iran who dominated again as it crowned two champions -- Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 48kg and Amir SAEIDI (IRI) at 65kg.

Shamsipour continued his dominant run from Monday and posted another technical superiority win to beat Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1, in the 48kg final. He outscored his opponents 37-1 in four bouts.

Saeidi won the 65kg gold over Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR) after beating him 6-2 in the final. Saeidi launched Pokotylo for a massive four-point throw and never looked in trouble in his win.

Ukraine's gold medalist came at 110kg as Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) handed Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) a 13-4 defeat to win the gold medal. The gold is another addition to his medal collection, which also has the U17 European gold.

"I prepared mentally for each match," Yankovskyi said. "My coaches and I analyzed every opponent. I prepared very professionally for this World Championships. Everything worked out for me. I always train in the gym with people who are older and bigger than me. That's why such training leads to these results."

Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR)Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) won the 110kg gold medal after beating Zoltan CZAKO (HUN) in the final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostandin Andonov)

Yankovskyi did not give up a single point at the European Championships and finished three bouts via technical superiority.

"This is my life. This is a part of me," he said. "I have been dedicated to this sport for so many years. My father passed away four years ago. During this time, I have gained a lot of physical and moral strength. Now, I want to thank my mother for everything, she works hard and earns money to support me. I want to thank my father for raising me as a person and for getting me involved in wrestling."

With the U17 double done, Yankovskyi now has his eyes set on doing the double at the U20, U23 and senior level. He also wants to win the Olympic gold.

"This is my last year as a cadet. There’s more to come. I want to win the European and World Championships as a junior, and then in the U23 and senior age groups. My goal is to make it to the Olympics. This is the dream of my coaches. I'm very grateful. I want to thank the coaches who raised me from childhood. They replaced my father. How could it have been otherwise? My coaches, Viktor Viktorovich and Oleksandr Mikhailovich, are the two people who gave me a ticket to a better life."

Raney, who came back from 6-0 down in the semifinals to win via fall, saw himself leading 6-0 against Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ) before the Kazakhstan wrestler mounted a comeback. That was short-lived as Raney posted a 7-5 win.

"It was a little bit under control," Raney said." After the first, I had him on his back and he got really tired. I don't know why."

Wrestling in his first international event, Raney never let the inexperience hurt him. In his five bouts, he won two via fall, one via superiority and one 4-3.

Jayden RANEY (USA)Jayden RANEY (USA) tries to score using an arm-bar in the 55kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

"It's super hard," he said. "These other countries, they do Freestyle and Greco-Roman. So they are extremely good at it. In America, we do Folkstyle too. To do all of them at the same time is different and hard."

Raney's brother, Jordyn won the U17 gold medal last year and will wrestle for bronze this year.

"I wish him luck," he said. "Last year, I was here watching him and he won gold. For him to medal again, even if bronze, super excited to watch him."

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RESULTS

48kg
GOLD: Armin SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) df. Khusniddin ABDUKARIMOV (UZB), 10-1

BRONZE: Amrah AMRAHOV (AZE) df. Yedige TOLEUTAYEV (KAZ), 3-1
BRONZE: Nikolai KRISTOV (AIN) df. Laszlo SZUROMI (HUN), 10-0

55kg
GOLD: Jayden RANEY (USA) df. Alpamys BOLATULY (KAZ), 7-5

BRONZE: Yurik MKHITARYAN (ARM) df. Amirali HEYDARI (IRI), via fall (4-5)
BRONZE: Sardor KHOLMURZAEV (UZB) df. Petro ZHYTOVOZ (HUN), 1-1

65kg
GOLD: Amir SAEIDI (IRI) df. Vladyslav POKOTYLO (UKR), 6-2

BONZE: Dzhabrail UMKHADZHIEV (AIN) df. Emil ABDULLAYEV (AZE), 9-4
BRONZE: Narek GRIGORIAN (ARM) df. Fayozbek ESHMIRZAEV (UZB), 1-1

80kg
GOLD: Mikhail SHKARIN (AIN) df. Yerkebulan ANAPIYA (KAZ), 3-0

BRONZE: Emad Reza MOHSENNEJAD (IRI) df. Dinko NEYKOV (BUL), 6-0
BRONZE: Vladyslav SOLODCHUK (UKR) df. Orkhan HAJIYEV (AZE), 9-6

110kg
GOLD: Ivan YANKOVSKYI (UKR) df. Zoltan CZAKO (HUN), 13-4

BRONZE: Aliasghar DADBAKHSH (IRI) df. Haorui WANG (CHN), 3-1
BRONZE: RONAK (IND) df. Emrullah CAPKAN (TUR), 6-1

Semifinals

45kg
GOLD: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) vs. Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) 

SF 1: Aslanbek KOSTOEV (AIN) df. Damir ABILDA (KAZ), 5-1
SF 2: Marat ATSHEMYAN (ARM) df. Umidjon KAROMOV (UZB), 8-0

51kg
GOLD: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) vs. Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE)

SF 1: Turan DASHDAMIROV (AZE) df. Yerassyl MUSSAN (KAZ), 4-1
SF 2: Kutman KALBAEV (KGZ) df. Abolfazl KARAMIEGAEI (IRI), 8-7

60kg
GOLD: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) vs. Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE)

SF 1: Aykhan JAVADOV (AZE) df. Jordyn RANEY (USA), 2-1
SF 2: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Ilias LAAOUINA (NED), 8-0

71kg
GOLD: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) vs. Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN)

SF 1: Kiryl VALEUSKI (AIN) df. Behruzbek VALIEV (UZB), 7-4
SF 2: Vladislav BYRLIA (AIN) df. Giorgi ALADASHVILI (GEO), 3-1

92kg
GOLD: Danial IZADI (IRI) vs. Ole STERNING (GER)

SF 1: Ole STERNING (GER) df. Serkan BAKIR (TUR), 3-1
SF 2: Danial IZADI (IRI) df. Lyova SHUKHYAN (ARM), 5-0